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Niece Motorsports announces All-Star lineup for No. 45 truck including Ross Chastain and Johnny Sauter

JHby:Jonathan Howard•02/09/24•

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Niece Motorsports 45 truck
Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

The folks at Niece Motorsports just put out one heck of a lineup for their No. 45 car that will start with Johnny Sauter in Daytona. Sauter returns again to the NASCAR series where he won the 2016 championship and 2018 regular season championship.

A three-time winner in the Truck Series Daytona opener, Sauter is going to be chasing a fourth win in that race. His last victory at Daytona came in 2018. His last victory overall was back in 2019 at Dover.

Sauter drove for Roper Racing last year for a few races. Kansas, Darlington, and North Wilkesboro. He had a best finish of P19, far from his usual performances.

It doesn’t stop there. Niece Motorsports is going to put Ross Chastain, Kaden Honeycutt, and Connor Mosack. That’s a great group of drivers who will be competitive with Niece.

“I’m appreciative to everyone at Niece Motorsports for the chance to get back behind the wheel and start the season at Daytona,” said Sauter in a press release. “I’m ready to go racing and I know Phil and this Niece Motorsports team are ready to get back on track too. We’re ready to compete for a win in Daytona.”

Ross Chastain will then take over the Niece Motorsports No. 45 truck at COTA. He also has races lined up for Darlington, North Wilkesboro, Pocono, and IRP in Indy.

Chastain and Niece go way back. You could argue that Niece is on that Trackhouse Racing tree of influence. Chastain gets starts with them for more laps, the team gets a great driver, and they even fielded Shane van Gisbergen last year in his first NASCAR race on an oval at IRP.

Ross Chastain happy to return to Niece Motorsports

There is a lot to be said about this Chastain and Niece Motorsports relationship. They gave Chastain a shot in 2019 to run full-time in their truck. He paid them back with wins and a second-place finish in the standings.

Now, Chastain is the Melon Man and one of the most popular figures in the sport. He still has time for Niece, though.

“I love coming to race in the Truck Series,” said Chastain. “I’m thankful to Al Niece and everyone at Niece Motorsports for allowing me to get behind the wheel of these Chevrolets. We’re going to do our best to go out and win races and compete for an Owner’s Championship. It would mean a lot to me to be able to bring that home to Al Niece.”

Cody Efaw, the GM of Niece Motorsports highlighted that relationship as well. And don’t sleep on Honeycutt or Mosack, two up-and-coming drivers with a lot to prove.

“Ross means a lot to our organization and we’re appreciative that he continues to come back and race with us,” said Niece Motorsports General Manager Cody Efaw. “We’re also excited about the young talent we’ll have behind the wheel this season with Kaden Honeycutt and Connor Mosack. They’ve shown a lot of talent and we’re hopeful that we can help them polish that with more time behind the wheel.”