Gould Treating Martinsville Truck Return As ‘A Fresh Start’

Matt Gould (Scotte Sprinkle/Race Face Digital photo)

MARTINSVILLE, Va. – Friday night at Martinsville Speedway might be Matt Gould’s third career NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series appearance, but he’s treating it like day one all over again.

“A fresh mindset” is what Gould said he’s carrying into the half-mile paperclip, given that his first two Truck Series races last fall both ended short of the full distance due to mechanical gremlins.

That means the 19-year-old has yet to reach a true checkered flag, and as such, knows he has a lot of learning to do and respect to gain along the way.

“I’ve told people this week, I almost feel like I’m making my first start, you know?” Gould told Motorsports Hotspot Friday ahead of on-track activities. “It’s the same number (44), but with a totally different team of guys and Wally (Rogers, crew chief) on top of the pit box. I’m really excited, though. Last year, it was me and a couple other guys that actually built the truck I raced, but we struggled with the mechanical failures even though we showed really good speed.

“We showed top 10-to-15 speed in practice at times and I believe that we could have finished at least in the top 15 in both of my starts last year, so that’s got me pumped up knowing that we’re capable of being there where we want to be,” he continued. “If not for partners like Venture Foods and Chevrolet, I wouldn’t be able to chase this dream, so it’s a privilege to get to be back here and do this. Just have to soak up all the knowledge I can and show that I deserve to be here at the end of the race.”

Gould’s learning process starts in the Boys & Girls Club of the Blue Ridge 200, his second trip to Martinsville. He’ll drive the No. 44 Venture Foods Chevrolet Silverado RST, and noted that one specific lesson stood out from the laps he did get to turn last fall before a faulty kill switch hampered his race.

“One of the biggest things that I will try to do this week will be to keep heat out of the brakes,” he tipped. “I remember in last year’s race, I cooked the brakes a little bit in stage one, and that hurt us through the run. The other keys I’ll try to follow are staying disciplined on the bottom (lane) and knowing where I have to position (myself) on restarts to maintain track position as best I can.”

The teenaged son of longtime Niece Motorsports crew chief Phil Gould also said he’s taken plenty of advice from his father, even though Phil won’t be calling the shots for his son’s Truck Series return.

One nugget of wisdom stands out, however, according to Matt.

“He’s preached to me, ‘Don’t forget where you came from,’” said the younger Gould. “That’s a big thing.”

Where Gould came from was outlaw karts at North Carolina’s Millbridge Speedway, prior to transitioning to pavement and climbing the ranks through the Allison Legacy Series and late models before going Truck Series racing.

Matt Gould inside his No. 44 Chevrolet Silverado RST ahead of racing at Martinsville Speedway. (Niece Motorsports photo)

He’s also spent many hours in the Niece shop working alongside the crew on owner Al Niece’s fleet of trucks, so Gould knows the level of effort and grind it takes to compete at a high level.

“It’s literally been ‘Dirt to Daytona,’ basically,” said Gould, referencing the 2002 video game for PlayStation 2 and Nintendo GameCube. “To have started at Millbridge and get all the way to where I am right now … I couldn’t have done it without my dad, obviously, because he’s put aside a lot of time and resources to make this all happen. I had to take it and run with it, though; he couldn’t do that for me.

“But it’s not just him; a lot of other really good people have guided me along the way, too, from Al Niece and Lane Moore to (Niece general manager) Cody Efaw. They’ve all come together to make this happen for me, and I couldn’t be more grateful to them for all the support and the belief they have in me.”

Gould hopes to pay off that belief with a solid showing Friday night under the Martinsville floodlights. He’s not expecting to set the world on fire, but does feel like he can contend among the top 15 “if the circumstances are right and we’re there when it matters.”

“When I came here last year, I felt like I didn’t waste any time getting up to speed,” he recalled. “I pulled onto the racetrack and felt comfortable with the environment and the situation. Coming back now, I feel even more comfortable having driven the truck once and knowing what it’s going to be like for the first lap of qualifying and the first lap of the race. They say experience is everything, and it’s really true.

“It lets us chase some higher potential goals, but we also don’t want to set the bar too high and have that huge letdown, you know? We’ve gone fast, and I know how to go fast, but it’s my third start and I haven’t been able to make it to crunch time actually in race conditions,” Gould added. “It’s still a big learning curve and I know that, so I just want to be smart and not put myself in any bad situations if I can help it.

“This is a fresh start and I feel ready for it all.”

Broadcast coverage of the Boys & Girls Club of the Blue Ridge 200 is slated for Friday night, March 28 at 7:30 p.m. ET, live on FS1, the NASCAR Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.

Niece’s No. 44 Chevrolet actually enters Martinsville as the team’s highest entry in owner points, sitting in 11th place, just 12 points back of Front Row Motorsports’ No. 34 for the final playoff position through four races.