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Natalie Decker to begin transition to NASCAR racing in 2019

Natalie Decker is vastly expanding her racing schedule in 2019, including making her NASCAR national series debut.

Polesitter Natalie Decker

Polesitter Natalie Decker

DGR-Crosley announced Friday it has added Decker to its driver development program for next season and the 21-year-old native of Eagle River, Wis., will compete in a combination of NASCAR Truck, K&N Pro series and ARCA events in 2019.

Decker, 21, finished a career-high seventh in the ARCA series this year, finishing with two top-five and nine top-10 finishes in 20 races while competing with Venturini Motorsports. She also began the year winning the pole for the season-opener at Daytona.

Decker is expected to make her Truck series debut in February in the 2019 series season opener.

“I’m really excited to be making the step up to Trucks, especially with DGR-Crosley. They bring fast Toyotas to the track every weekend whether it be in the K&N series or Truck Series,” said Decker.

“Making the transition to Trucks is going to help me progress my career and build my skillset. Being able to race in all three series will be beneficial because I can run an ARCA or K&N race that will help me prepare for the Truck race.

“I think it’s very important that I’ll have the same team around me whichever series I’m running and having (team co-owner) David (Gilliland) there to help coach me and give me advice.”

Natalie Decker, Chevrolet

Natalie Decker, Chevrolet

Photo by: NASCAR Media

Decker’s full 2019 racing schedule will be announced at a later date.

“We have really competitive cars and a lot of talented drivers lined up for next year, so I’m excited to see what we can do together,” Gilliland said.

“I’ve watched Natalie develop over the last season in an ARCA car. It’ll be fun putting her in our equipment and watching her progress to the Truck Series.”

 

 

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