Boyd Set For Full Truck Series Season With New Team

Spencer Boyd (second from right) will drive for Freedom Racing Enterprises this year in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. (Andrew Fuller photo)

MOORESVILLE, N.C. – Revealed Monday afternoon during a media conference at Charlotte Motor Speedway, NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series veteran Spencer Boyd has launched a new team, Freedom Racing Enterprises.

Formed by Boyd and co-owner Chris Miller, Freedom Racing Enterprises plans to contest the full Truck Series schedule this year, with Boyd handling driving duties of the team’s No. 76 Chevrolet Silverado.

After spending the last five years with Young’s Motorsports, Boyd moves to his own operation for his sixth full season of Truck Series competition. It’s a lofty challenge, but one that Boyd is eager for.

“This is a wildly proud moment for me,” said Boyd. “If you asked a wide-eyed, 20-year-old me at Martinsville Speedway [years ago] if I was going to start my own NASCAR team in the next decade, I might have laughed it off. I have been blessed to be able to race cars for a living and remain part of the NASCAR family for as long as I have. This is the next step in that journey.

“I wouldn’t be here without a small group of very important people to my career, so I definitely want to thank them for believing in me through thick and thin,” Boyd added. “They know who they are and hope they are sharing in this feeling of pride.”

Though Boyd has 161 career starts across NASCAR’s three national series since debuting in 2016, he’s found a home at the Truck Series level over the past half decade.

Since 2019, Boyd has started 102 of the 114 Truck Series races held during that span, attempting to qualify for all but six of them in total. He picked up a breakthrough Truck Series victory at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway on Oct. 12, 2019 – one of three top-10 finishes as a journeyman driver in the division.

Freedom Racing Enterprises got its name, in part, from Boyd’s love of country and deep patriotism. It’s also a nod to Miller’s company, Freedom Warranty, which provides extended vehicle warranties and will back the team during the season.

“This is an invigorating endeavor with some very competent people,” noted Miller. “Business success is about surrounding yourself with good people all pulling the rope in the same direction and that is what we have here. I look forward to being part of the journey.”

This season will mark Boyd’s second time carrying the No. 76 in NASCAR competition, as he also drove the number during his lone full-time season in the Xfinity Series in 2018, when he was with SS Green Light Racing under the guidance of veteran team owner Bobby Dotter.

FOX Sports analyst and two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion crew chief, Jeff Hammond, has been tabbed by Boyd to serve as the general manager for Freedom Racing Enterprises.

With five decades of industry experience, including time in the Truck Series as a co-owner of Red Horse Racing from 2004 to 2017, Hammond brings a veteran business presence to Freedom Racing Enterprises’ Truck Series efforts.

“I’m motivated by the optimism and professionalism in the group of people that Spencer has assembled,” tipped Hammond, whose NASCAR career began in 1974 as a tire changer for Texas driver Walter Ballard, who earned Cup Series rookie-of-the-year honors three years earlier.

“The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series has undergone many changes this offseason, so it is an ideal time to form a new team,” Hammond continued. “We know the Trucks produce some of the greatest racing in the world, so I’m delighted to be energized by Spencer Boyd and Freedom Racing Enterprises.”

Veteran Greg Ely will serve as Boyd’s crew chief this season, with Rick Bourgeois working alongside Ely in the truck chief role. Boyd’s longtime business manager, Tom Rice, will spearhead team partnerships.

Coupled with the team’s acquisition of a large portion of the fleet and equipment from the now-defunct GMS Racing team – which captured two Truck Series championships (2016, 2020) and ceased operations at the end of last season – Boyd believes his team is poised to succeed despite being a new venture.

“My parents had no idea what they were getting into when they put me in a go-kart at five years old, but I hope my father Paul and my mother Bonnie will take a moment to realize all the sacrifices they made have led us here,” said Boyd. “This step in my career is one that allows me to build something that keeps the Boyd name in NASCAR competition for the long haul.

“I am beyond grateful for this opportunity and look forward to an exciting future.”

Specific sponsor announcements for the team will be made at a later date.

Boyd and Freedom Racing Enterprises will begin the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season Feb. 16 at Daytona (Fla.) Int’l Speedway. Coverage of the season-opening Fresh From Florida 250 will be broadcast on FS1, the Motor Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.