For the first time in 2024, the action is heading to the 3.41-mile-long technical road course in Austin, Texas. The coveted Circuit of the Americas will test the Cup, Xfinity, and Truck Series this week as the field gears up for their first road course of the schedule. The marathon will start off with the Truck Series race, where a 21-year-old newbie trucker will experience life in the fast lane for the very first time.

From simulations to the real deal, young Californian Vicente Salas is all set to make his first NASCAR start in Saturday’s Truck Series race in COTA. Unfortunately, Salas, who was on cloud nine, eyeing to make the most of his dream opportunity, had to come to terms with reality in the most terrible way, losing his way in practice.

Truck Series debutant Vicente Salas loses his way in COTA even before the race

Salas is taking his shot to parlay his iRacing career into a career as a professional stock car driver. The 21-year-old, who competes in the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing series, is getting his chance on the national stage as he readies the guns to make his Truck Series debut. Vicente Salas will drive the #20 Chevy for Young’s Motorsports this weekend in Saturday’s XPEL 225.

The youngster has been a solid presence in the short-track racing scene, winning his first race at the famed Hickory Speedway in March 2023. He also won the iRacing NASCAR Contender Road to Pro Series championship in 2023, driving for Deadzone Racing. However, it looks like transitioning from iRacing straight to a truck for the ambitious racer didn’t go as smooth as expected.

A practice day incident got the driver’s hopes sideways which eventually got him thinking, sharing his thoughts on social media, “If anybody tells you this stuff is easy, they’re lying. So grateful for all the lessons learned today! Much more to gain tomorrow but we’ve got a long race ahead and a great group of guys behind us. NasTexas racin on tap! ” 

While one debutant lost his way, another found his way to the front, clinching the pole as the teenage sensation outpaced the field to claim his first-ever NASCAR pole.

The No. 7 Chevy claims the pole position in COTA

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17-year-old North Carolina native Conor Zilisch is on the pole for his first-ever start in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, blowing the competition out of the water in Friday’s time trial session at Circuit of the Americas, driving the #7 Chevrolet for Spire Motorsports. What is even more impressive is that the young gun shattered the track record of Ross Chastain when he set a new record for the fastest lap time around the 3.41-mile track, getting from start to finish in a record time of 2 minutes, 11.983 seconds.

When qualifying began, the Trackhouse Racing development driver had made less than 10 laps around the 3.41-mile road course, yet he managed to obliterate the regular truckers in both rounds of qualifying, including Corey Heim, who recorded the second-fastest time. Saturday’s event will mark Zilisch’s first-ever Truck race as he becomes the 27th driver to earn a pole in his first national start.

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