Austin Theriault

Austin Theriault (born January 23, 1994) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 52 for Rick Ware Racing, and part-time in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series, driving the No. 92 Ford F-150 for RBR Enterprises. He won the ARCA Racing Series championship in 2017, driving for Ken Schrader Racing.

Austin Theriault
Theriault at Richmond Raceway in 2019
Born	(1994-01-23) January 23, 1994 Fort Kent, Maine
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight	165 lb (75 kg)
Achievements	2017 ARCA Racing Series Champion 2016 K&N Pro Series East Most Popular Driver
NASCAR Cup Series career
5 races run over 1 year
2019 position	35th
First race	2019 Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 (Loudon)
Last race	2019 1000Bulbs.com 500 (Talladega)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 0 0
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
6 races run over 2 years
2016 position	120th
Best finish	40th (2014)
First race	2014 Get To Know Newton 250 (Iowa)
Last race	2016 Ticket Galaxy 200 (Phoenix)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 0 0
NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series career
13 races run over 4 years
2019 position	107th
Best finish	24th (2015)
First race	2015 NextEra Energy Resources 250 (Daytona)
Last race	2019 TruNorth Global 250 (Martinsville)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 5 0
Statistics current as of November 17, 2019.

Racing career

Early career

A native of Fort Kent, Maine,[1][2][3] he made his racing debut at the age of 13 in 2007 at Spud Speedway in Caribou, Maine Driving in the local racing divisions before moving up part-time to the touring late model division in 2009 where he qualified for his first American Canadian Tour race at Oxford Plains Speedway.

Theriault competing in the ACT race at Circuit Riverside Speedway Ste-Croix in 2011

Theriault joined the ACT Late Model Tour full-time in 2010, finishing seventh in points driving the family-owned #57ME with a best finish of second. He started the 2011 season in a second car for RPM Motorsports, but returned to the family team mid-season, scoring eight top-ten finishes en route to third place in points. In 2012, Theriault finished no worse than ninth all year, scoring eight top-five runs and earning his first career ACT win at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway en route to another third-place points finish.

Theriault started his first Pro All-Stars Series (PASS) Super Late Model Touring Series event in 2010. He became a development driver for Brad Keselowski Racing during the 2012 season, and switched focus to Super Late Models following the ACT season, making selected starts throughout the Southeast for BKR while running part-time in the PASS North Tour in 2013 and 2014. Theriault won four PASS races between 2012 and 2014.

Theriault occasionally competed in other racing events and divisions from 2011 to 2014, including the ARCA Midwest Tour, World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing, CARS X-1R Pro Cup Series, Parts for Trucks Pro Stock Tour, Sunoco Gulf Coast Championship Series, CRA JEGS All-Star Tour, CRA Super Series Southern Division, CRA Super Series, ACT and the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East.

On July 20, 2013, Theriault competed in the prestigious IWK 250, along with car owner Brad Keselowski, in the No. 29X for BKR. After starting the race in 4th, Theriault had a clean race and brought the car home in an impressive 5th place, just two spots behind Keselowski who finished 3rd.[4][5]

Theriault has competed five times in the Oxford 250, finishing in the top five in his first four starts with a best finish of second in 2014.

Xfinity Series

On May 18, 2014, Theriault made his NASCAR Nationwide Series debut at Iowa Speedway, driving the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro for JR Motorsports where he finished 15th.[6][7] On June 13 of that year, he won his first ARCA race, in Theriault's first start at Michigan International Speedway.

Theriault returned in the Xfinity Series, by practicing in the No. 22 Ford Mustang for Brad Keselowski at Iowa. Theriault later was picked up by Obaika Racing to drive the No. 77 Chevrolet Camaro, starting at Richmond.

Gander Outdoors Truck Series

In 2015, Theriault began racing part-time with Brad Keselowski Racing, driving the No. 29 Ford F-150. He is sharing the ride with Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, and Ryan Blaney. He got his career best finish at Daytona International Speedway in February where he finished 4th.[8] He almost won at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Theriault's home track where he led late in the race before fading to 8th.[9]

On October 3, 2015, Theriault was involved in a huge crash at Las Vegas Motor Speedway when his BKR teammate Tyler Reddick got loose in turn 4 and clipped him, causing the race truck he was driving to hit nearly head on into the front stretch wall where there were no SAFER barriers installed. Theriault's steering wheel collided with and destroyed his helmet,[10] and he eventually suffered a compression fracture in his lower back as a result of the crash.[11][12] After missing the next four races, Theriault returned to racing at Homestead-Miami Speedway,[13] finishing 12th. In 2016, he returned to BKR at Daytona, driving the No. 2.[14]

On September 10, 2018, it was announced that Theriault returned to the Truck Series, driving the No. 30 Toyota Tundra for On Point Motorsports at Las Vegas. He finished in 8th place after avoiding multiple crashes.

On February 4, 2019, it was announced that Theriault would drive at least five races for RBR Enterprises, starting at Daytona. Other tracks will include Martinsville Speedway (two races), Charlotte Motor Speedway, and Bristol Motor Speedway. The team failed to qualify at Daytona in their first attempt.

ARCA Racing Series

Theriault's winning 2017 ARCA car at Road America

On February 18, 2017, Theriault won his second ARCA race in the season opener at Daytona International Speedway. The race was shortened by five laps after a red-flag was brought out for Justin Fontaine's flip, while rain forced ARCA officials to call the race. In late August, he won at Road America after sorting through two last-lap incidents.[15] He also won the following race at DuQuoin after taking advantage of a late restart,[16] and won the three-peat at Salem driving a Jack Bowsher throwback car.[17] On September 22, 2017 Theriault won at Kentucky Speedway and mathematically clinched the ARCA Racing Series championship for 2017.[18] He won the championship on the strength of seven wins.[19]

Monster Energy Cup Series

On June 29, 2019, it was announced that Theriault would make his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series debut at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in July, driving the No. 52 for Rick Ware Racing.[20] After qualifying 36th, he finished 35th in the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 upon retiring with a rear end issue on lap 185.[21] The following week, he stayed with RWR for the Gander RV 400 at Pocono Raceway.[22]

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Monster Energy Cup Series

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	MENCC	Pts	Ref
2019	Rick Ware Racing	52	Chevy	DAY	ATL	LVS	PHO	CAL	MAR	TEX	BRI	RCH	TAL	DOV	KAN	CLT	POC	MCH	SON	CHI	DAY	KEN	NHA 35																	35th	17	[23]
			Ford																					POC 34	GLN	MCH 32	BRI	DAR	IND	LVS
		51	Chevy																												RCH 32	CLT	DOV
			Ford																															TAL 35	KAN	MAR	TEX	PHO	HOM

Xfinity Series

NASCAR Xfinity Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	NXSC	Pts	Ref
2014	JR Motorsports	5	Chevy	DAY	PHO	LVS	BRI	CAL	TEX	DAR	RCH	TAL	IOW 15	CLT	DOV	MCH	ROA	KEN	DAY	NHA 21	CHI	IND	IOW	GLN	MOH	BRI	ATL	RCH	CHI	KEN 18	DOV	KAN	CLT	TEX	PHO	HOM	40th	78	[24]
2016	Obaika Racing	77	Chevy	DAY	ATL	LVS	PHO	CAL	TEX	BRI	RCH	TAL	DOV	CLT	POC	MCH	IOW	DAY	KEN	NHA	IND	IOW	GLN	MOH	BRI	ROA	DAR	RCH DNQ									120th	0^1	[25]
		25																										RCH 37	CHI	KEN	DOV	CLT	KAN
	Rick Ware Racing		Chevy																															TEX 29
	Team Kapusta Racing																																		PHO 27	HOM

Gander Outdoors Truck Series

NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	NGOTC	Pts	Ref
2015	Brad Keselowski Racing	29	Ford	DAY 4	ATL	MAR	KAN 14	CLT	DOV	TEX 5	GTW 10	IOW 12	KEN	ELD	POC	MCH	BRI	MSP	CHI 13	NHA 8	LVS 31	TAL	MAR	TEX	PHO	HOM 12	24th	279	[26]
2016		2		DAY 27*	ATL	MAR	KAN	DOV	CLT DNQ	TEX	IOW	GTW	KEN	ELD	POC	BRI	MCH	MSP	CHI	NHA	LVS	TAL					53rd	21	[27]
	Young's Motorsports	02	Chevy																				MAR 20	TEX	PHO	HOM
2018	On Point Motorsports	30	Toyota	DAY	ATL	LVS	MAR	DOV	KAN	CLT	TEX	IOW	GTW	CHI	KEN	ELD	POC	MCH	BRI	MSP	LVS 8	TAL	MAR	TEX	PHO	HOM	63rd	29	[28]
2019	RBR Enterprises	92	Ford	DAY DNQ	ATL	LVS	MAR 22	TEX	DOV	KAN	CLT	TEX	IOW	GTW	CHI	KEN	POC	ELD	MCH	BRI	MSP	LVS	TAL	MAR	PHO	HOM	107th	0^1	[29]

K&N Pro Series East

NASCAR K&N Pro Series East results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	NKNPSEC	Pts	Ref
2012	Go Green Racing	38	Ford	BRI	GRE	RCH	IOW	BGS	GRE	LGY	CNB	COL	IOW	NHA 19	DOV	GRE	CAR	69th	25	[30]
2016	Hattori Racing Enterprises	1	Toyota	NSM 24	MOB 4	GRE 14	BRI 15	VIR 3	DOM 5	STA 7	COL 2	NHA 5	IOW 2	GLN 20	GRE	NJM	DOV	13th	383	[31]

ARCA Racing Series

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

ARCA Racing Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	ARSC	Pts	Ref
2014	Venturini Motorsports	66	Toyota	DAY	MOB	SLM	TAL	TOL	NJE	POC	MCH 1	ELK	WIN	CHI	IRP	POC	BLN	ISF	MAD	DSF	SLM	KEN	KAN	69th	240	[32]
2015		55		DAY	MOB	NSH	SLM	TAL	TOL	NJE	POC	MCH	CHI	WIN	IOW	IRP	POC 4	BLN	ISF	DSF	SLM	KEN	KAN	88th	210	[33]
2017	Ken Schrader Racing	52	Chevy	DAY 1			TAL 4*																	1st	4735	[34]
			Ford		NSH 4	SLM 5		TOL 6		POC 9	MCH 2		IOW 2	IRP 4	POC 8	WIN 3		ROA 1		SLM 1*	CHI 2	KEN 1*	KAN 25
			Toyota						ELK 1			MAD 1*					ISF 2		DSF 1

^* Season still in progress
¹ Ineligible for series points

References

1. "Fort Kent driver Austin Theriault lands part-time NASCAR Truck Series ride". The Bangor Daily News. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
2. Johnny Mehler (1 August 2015). "Fort Kent's Theriault finishes 4th in ModSpace 125". WLBZ2. Archived from the original on 5 October 2015. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
3. "Maine driver Austin Theriault signs NASCAR deal". The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
4. "TUCKER HOISTS PRESTIGIOUS TROPHY AS VICTOR OF IWK 250 PRESENTED BY STEVE LEWIS AUTO BODY". Maritime Pro Stock Tour. Retrieved 2015-10-04.
5. "2013 IWK 250 Presented by Steve Lewis Auto Body". Racing reference. Retrieved 2015-10-04.
6. "Dale Earnhardt Jr. hires Austin Theriault for three Nationwide races". FOX Sports. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
7. "Hornish capitalizes on opportunity for win at Iowa; Fort Kent's Theriault finishes 15th". The Bangor Daily News. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
8. "Tyler Reddick wins Daytona trucks race for first career victory". USA Today. February 20, 2015. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
9. "Fort Kent's Theriault finishes 8th in NASCAR truck race". The Bangor Daily News. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
10. "Our Newest Driver". Brad Keselowski. October 15, 2015. Retrieved October 15, 2015.
11. "Brad Keselowski Racing teammates collide, driver takes vicious hit at Las Vegas Motor Speedway". FOX Sports. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
12. Joe Rodgers (October 3, 2015). "NASCAR driver Austin Theriault airlifted to hospital after head-on hit at Las Vegas". Sporting News. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
13. "AUSTIN THERIAULT CLEARED TO RACE AT HOMESTEAD-MIAMI". NASCAR. November 19, 2015. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
14. "AUSTIN THERIAULT TO RUN THIRD BKR TRUCK AT DAYTONA". NASCAR. February 8, 2016. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
15. "Austin Theriault survives to win wild ARCA race at Road America". Autoweek. Retrieved 2018-01-16.
16. Winkeler, Les. "Austin Theriault wins Du Quoin ARCA race in overtime". The Southern. Retrieved 2018-01-16.
17. "Austin Theriault wins third consecutive ARCA race at Salem". Autoweek. Retrieved 2018-01-16.
18. Reiman, Samuel (February 18, 2017). "Austin Theriault wins wreck-marred ARCA race at Daytona". Foxsports.com. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
19. "Driver Austin Theriault 2017 ARCA Racing Series Results - Racing-Reference.info". racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2018-01-16.
20. Courchesne, Shawn. "Austin Theriault To Make Monster Cup Debut At NHMS With Rick Ware Racing". Race Day CT. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
21. Hale, Tom (July 22, 2019). "Maine driver Austin Theriault finishes 35th in NASCAR Cup debut". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved July 25, 2019.
22. Barrett, Travis (July 25, 2019). "Auto racing notes: Wiscasset Speedway gears up for golden anniversary". Kennebec Journal. Retrieved July 25, 2019.
23. "Austin Theriault – 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved July 21, 2019.
24. "Austin Theriault – 2014 NASCAR Nationwide Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
25. "Austin Theriault – 2016 NASCAR Xfinity Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
26. "Austin Theriault – 2015 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
27. "Austin Theriault – 2016 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
28. "Austin Theriault – 2018 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
29. "Austin Theriault – 2019 NASCAR Gander outdoors Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
30. "Austin Theriault – 2012 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved October 28, 2017.
31. "Austin Theriault – 2016 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved October 28, 2017.
32. "Austin Theriault – 2014 ARCA Racing Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
33. "Austin Theriault – 2015 ARCA Racing Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
34. "Austin Theriault – 2017 ARCA Racing Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved February 5, 2019.

External links

• Official website
• Austin Theriault driver statistics at Racing-Reference