Charles Russell "Chase" Purdy III (born November 11, 1999) is an American former professional

stock car racing Stock car racing is a form of Auto racing, automobile racing run on oval track racing, oval tracks and road courses. It originally used Production vehicle, production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifical ...

driver. He most recently competed full-time in the

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck-based stock car racing, s ...

, driving the No. 77

Chevrolet Silverado The Chevrolet Silverado is a range of trucks manufactured by General Motors under the Chevrolet brand. Introduced for the 1999 model year, the Silverado is the successor to the long-running Chevrolet C/K model line. Taking its name from the to ...

for Spire Motorsports. He has competed for MDM Motorsports in the Truck and ARCA Racing Series, David Gilliland Racing in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East, and Anthony Campi Racing in super late model racing. Purdy was named to the 2017–2018 and 2018–2019 NASCAR Next classes.

Racing career

Advancing up the ladder as many racers do, Purdy first raced in go-karts, noting a memorable winning experience across the way from

Talladega Superspeedway Talladega Superspeedway (Alabama International Motor Speedway from 1969 to 1989) is a tri-oval superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama. Built in 1969, the track has hosted a variety of racing events, primarily races sanctioned by NASCAR. The track is ...

when he was young. He later moved to Bandolero cars, Legend cars, Late Model Stock cars and super late model cars, teaming up with former NASCAR driver

David Gilliland David Leonard Gilliland (born April 1, 1976) is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver and team owner. Since 2017, he has operated Tricon Garage, a team that races in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. The team has also com ...

and his team in SLMs. 8 Chase Purdy car 2018 ARCA Madison

Purdy is a former NASCAR Whelen All-American Series national rookie of the year. He finished fourth in his debut NASCAR K&N Pro Series East season in 2017. Purdy began driving full-time in the ARCA Racing Series in 2018. Purdy finished fourth in the season-long points tally, but did not break into Victory Lane. He also raced ten Super Late model events that year, including traveling across the United States to finish sixth in the Slinger Nationals at Slinger Super Speedway in

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

. Purdy raced in his first

ARCA Midwest Tour The ASA Midwest Tour (known between 2012 and 2022 as the ARCA Midwest Tour) is a pavement Late model, Super Late Model auto racing series based in the Midwestern United States with its headquarters in Oregon, Wisconsin. It was a developmental se ...

race at Wisconsin International Raceway and won the Dixieland 250 in his first appearance at the D-shaped 1/2 mile track. In the summer of 2018, Purdy's backers told him that they would not return for 2019, leaving his racing career in limbo. In his final late model race of 2018, Purdy won the Snowflake 100 at Five Flags Speedway. On October 17, 2018, it was announced that Purdy would make his

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck-based stock cars. The series i ...

debut at Martinsville, driving the No. 99 truck for MDM Motorsports. He started 27th and finished 21st, and raced again in the Truck Series two weeks later at ISM Raceway, where he started 19th and finished 13th. Purdy could not find a ride in NASCAR or ARCA for the 2019 season (MDM closed down after the 2018 season) and did not end up racing that year. He spent the year focusing on his studies at the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (Epithet, byname Ole Miss) is a Public university, public research university in University, near Oxford, Mississippi, United States, with a University of Mississippi Medical Center, medical center in Jackson, Miss ...

. He attended the 2019 fall Talladega race weekend as a fan and connected with people in the garage for the Truck Series race to try to get a ride again. He returned to the series in 2020, joining GMS Racing for a seven-race schedule in the No. 24 at

Pocono Raceway Pocono Raceway (formerly known as the Pocono International Raceway in early years) is a tri-oval track in Blakeslee, Pennsylvania. The track has held a variety of events since its opening in 1969, including NASCAR, IndyCar Series, and IMSA GT ...

, Kentucky Speedway, both Kansas Speedway events,

Las Vegas Motor Speedway Las Vegas Motor Speedway (track complex formerly known as Las Vegas Speedway Park from 1993 to 1996, Las Vegas Speedway in 1992, Las Vegas International Speedway from 1990 to 1992, as the Las Vegas International Speedrome from 1972 to 1990) is a ...

, and Texas Motor Speedway. In

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

, Purdy became a full-time driver for GMS in the Truck Series, replacing Brett Moffitt in the team's No. 23 truck. On October 1, 2021, GMS announced that Grant Enfinger would drive the No. 23 truck full-time in

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

. Purdy moved to Hattori Racing Enterprises and the No. 61 truck. Purdy moved to Kyle Busch Motorsports in 2023 driving their No. 4

Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ) is an American automobile division of the manufacturer General Motors (GM). In North America, Chevrolet produces and sells a wide range of vehicles, from subcompact automobiles to medium-duty commercial trucks. Due to the promi ...

. On September 8, 2023, Purdy scored his first career Truck Series pole in the Kansas playoff race. In 2024, Purdy moved to Spire Motorsports in the No. 77

after KBM closed and had its assets purchased by Spire after the previous season ended. Before the 2024 season-finale at Phoenix, Purdy indicated that he did not have a deal to race in 2025 for Spire or any other teams. In December 2024, a ''NASCAR Reddit'' user made a post pointing out that Purdy had added "(former)" next to "NASCAR driver" in his Instagram profile bio, indicating that he could be stepping away from racing.

Personal life

Purdy was born in

Tuscaloosa, Alabama Tuscaloosa ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, Tuscaloosa County in west-central Alabama, United States, on the Black Warrior River where the Gulf Coastal Plain, Gulf Coastal and Piedmont (United States), Piedm ...

and raised in

Meridian, Mississippi Meridian is the List of municipalities in Mississippi, eighth most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, with a population of 35,052 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the county seat of Lauderdale County, Mississippi, ...

. He attended Lamar School and Cox Mill High School. He attended the

and was a Phi Delta Theta Fraternity member. He majored in finance with a minor in accounting.

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. ** – All laps led.)

Craftsman Truck Series

Season still in progress
Ineligible for series points

ARCA Racing Series

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

K&N Pro Series East

References

External links

Official profile at Spire Motorsports
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Purdy, Chase 1999 births Living people NASCAR drivers ARCA Menards Series drivers Racing drivers from Mississippi Sportspeople from Tuscaloosa, Alabama Racing drivers from Alabama Sportspeople from Meridian, Mississippi ARCA Midwest Tour drivers