Chase Purdy, Ole Miss, And A Helmet In Enemy Territory

Chase Purdy's Ole Miss-themed helmet for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Talladega Superspeedway.

TALLADEGA, Ala. – Spire Motorsports’ Chase Purdy – or, rather, his helmet – is in enemy territory for Friday afternoon’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Talladega Superspeedway.

The 24-year-old will don a University of Mississippi-themed helmet in the Love’s RV Stop 225, courtesy of longtime airbrush and safety equipment company Off Axis Paint, spearheaded by lead designer and industry veteran Greg Stumpff.

While the helmet itself is an artistic gem, it’s a bit of an odd visual in the heart of the Yellowhammer State, given that the University of Alabama is less than two hours west of NASCAR’s longest racetrack.

The Alabama Crimson Tide sports teams have a long and fierce rivalry history with the Rebels of “Ole Miss,” as the Oxford, Miss., school is colloquially known, dating back to the two teams’ first college football matchup in 1894.

Their bitter duels come as no surprise, either, given that both schools are charter members of the historic Southeastern Conference (SEC).

So why would Purdy – who, by the way, grew up in Tuscaloosa in the shadows of the Alabama campus – have a helmet for Friday’s race at his home track depicting the one of the Crimson Tide’s oldest foes?

“I was born in Tuscaloosa, but raised in Mississippi,” Purdy explained during Truck Series qualifying. “Of course, my parents went to Alabama, so I grew up an Alabama fan and I went to every home game. But then after high school, I actually decided to go to college at Ole Miss, and then two years ago we had Ole Miss on the truck when I was at Hattori [Racing Enterprises] … so this is my tribute back to them for all they’ve done for me in my life, through schooling and everything else.

“It turned out really cool, I think,” he added. “It’s the Realtree WAV3 pattern that Ole Miss wears once or twice a year, and it’s just a really cool deal that we got turned out. Shout out to Greg and everybody at Off Axis for getting it done, and hopefully we can make it look really good in victory lane later on.”

Ole Miss first debuted the Realtree WAV3 color adaptation on their specialty football helmets in September of 2022, a collaboration rooted in the fact that Realtree founder, CEO, and Ole Miss alum Bill Jordan played wide receiver for the Rebels in the early 1970s and has stayed connected to the program.

When Purdy had Ole Miss on his truck at Talladega as the primary sponsor in 2022, he started 26th but earned a top-10 finish in seventh by the end of the race that day.

If he can improve on that by six places and take home one of Talladega’s iconic anvil trophies this time around, Purdy tipped that it would be “one of the biggest moments of my career, by far.”

A fairly raucous celebration would likely ensue, as well, he added.

“It’d be everything to win here [at Talladega],” Purdy said with a coy smile. “Probably drink some cold beers and hang out with family and friends if we can get it done.”

Purdy is making his 95th career Truck Series start Friday and fifth at Talladega. His 2022 effort stands as his track-best mark, and he has four top-five and 21 top-10 finishes overall in Truck Series competition.

Broadcast coverage of the Love’s RV Stop 225 is slated for 4:30 p.m. ET, live on FS1, the Motor Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.