(LAKEVILLE, Minn. - October 25, 2012) - Win-Tron Racing will field an entry for this Saturday's NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event at Martinsville Speedway, the team announced earlier this week.

Matt Merrell, the Portland, Texas native who scored his first ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards victory last July at Berlin Raceway, has been tapped to drive the No. 35 Win-Tron Racing Chevrolet Silverado.

"We're very excited to be a part of Saturday's race at Martinsville," said Nate Thiesse, co-owner of Win-Tron Racing with former NASCAR Camping World Truck Series competitor Kevin Cywinski. "Matt has done a superb job for us on the ARCA Racing Series side and we expect him to do the same with the trucks."

Currently, the Lakeville, Minn.-based team plans to run a limited NASCAR Camping World Truck Series schedule next year, in addition to another championship run in ARCA.

"Looking long-term, we want to have a healthy and proud presence in NASCAR," said Thiesse. "We've always had a successful driver development program in ARCA and we wanted to offer another option for our drivers as they make their move into the upper ranks of racing. Now we can do that."

For Merrell, 27, this is a humbling opportunity, but he is looking forward to any challenges he may face.

"I can't thank Nate (Thiesse) and Kevin (Cywinski) enough for this opportunity," said Merrell, who also competed for Win-Tron Racing in the Rev-Oil Pro Cup Series. "I've always wanted to compete in NASCAR and now I'll have that chance. Obviously, Martinsville is a huge race, but I think we'll be fine. Our main objective is to qualify for the race and bring home the truck in one piece. From there, we can move forward and look toward the future."

Veteran crew chief Mark Rette will call the shots for Merrell on Saturday afternoon. The race air on SPEED at 1:30 p.m.

From Team Release