Waters confirmed for NASCAR debut

Tickford Racing star Cam Waters has confirmed he will make his NASCAR debut next weekend, with the Supercars race winner to compete in the Truck Series.

Waters, 29, will race in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event at Martinsville on April 5.

The Tickford driver will contest the Martinsville event with Ohio-based ThorSport Racing, which has won five championships.

Waters regularly contests speedway events in Supercars off-seasons, and last year told Supercars.com he would "love to have a crack" in NASCAR machinery after watching last year's Martinsville race trackside.

Now, a NASCAR cameo will become reality, with Waters to tackle the Long John Silver 200 in ThorSport's #66 Ford Performance F-150.

"We’ve been working away at making this happen for some time and to finally be given the chance to race, and with a top operation, is great," Waters said.

"I’m not putting too much pressure on myself knowing I will be getting thrown into the deep end without any testing, but hopefully I can adapt reasonably quickly and be competitive. It’s a short oval so I’m sure it will be pretty wild out there.

The Martinsville race comes two weeks before Waters' next Supercars round, the ITM Taupō Super400 in New Zealand, on April 19-21.

Waters has won 11 Supercars races, and despite a rollercoaster start to the 2024 season, is expected to fight for victories throughout the season, and challenge for the title.

It comes after Shane van Gisbergen, a long-time rival of Waters, won on his Cup Series debut in Chicago last July, before opting to pursue a career in NASCAR.

“Anything that can provide Cam with further seat time is a bonus. His foray into Sprint Car racing and now a NASCAR Truck event provides a fantastic way to stay sharp and further test his skills," Tickford Racing co-owner Rod Nash said.

"The timing in-between the AGP event and Taupō works for our team and we’ll be wishing him well and watching with huge interest."