Next weekend, Paulie Harraka will attempt to qualify for the Toyota/SaveMart 350 at Sonoma Raceway. If Harraka, 23, makes the field, he will be the first Drive for Diversity graduate to compete at the Sprint Cup level.
Since 2010, Harraka has competed in more than a dozen races between the NASCAR Nationwide and Truck Series. His best results were a pair of 17th-place finishes last year in the #5 truck, at Dover and Kentucky Speedway.
At Sonoma, Harraka will drive the #52 HASA Pool Products Ford for Go Green Racing team owner Archie St. Hilaire. Veteran crew chief Ben Leslie will oversee the team. Harraka has three starts at Sonoma in the K&N Pro Series West and an average finish of 9.2, with a career-high result of second.
“Archie St. Hilaire and I have worked together in three Nationwide races already, and it’s there that we built the platform to run this Cup race,” Harraka said. “I feel like it’s a great opportunity for both of us me and the team to make the step into the Sprint Cup Series and start learning what that’s like together. St. Hilaire said realistically he would be pleased with a finish around 25th to 28th.”
If everything goes according to plan, Go Green Racing would also attempt the Cup races at New Hampshire and Watkins Glen later this summer. (FoxSports)
