Devon Rouse is officially making his NASCAR Truck Series debut.
The openly gay, Burlington native will be driving for Reaume Brothers Racing with sponsorship support from Marcus Lemonis and his Camping World brand.
Rouse tested with the team at Myrtle Beach Speedway in 2020 and will take the reigns for the first time in race action at the first annual Corn Belt 150 next Friday.
“I’m looking very forward to running with RBR in making my Camping World Truck Series debut,” Rouse said in a release. “I tested with them back in the beginning of 2020 and the second I stepped into the pits I felt welcome, even before coming out. I think RBR works amazingly with the diversification that we are now seeing in Motorsports. See everyone in Knoxville.”
“After coming out last year, Devon joins a small group of openly gay athletes and the only one to represent NASCAR as a driver. Reaume Brothers Racing is committed to diversity and inclusion in our sport, where we all share a common passion, the love of racing,” the release says.
In the release, also, Reaume Brothers Racing states that the team had planned to run Rouse during the Eldora Truck Series race that was originally apart of the series schedule for 2020.
The event ended up not being ran, due to COVID-19 shutdowns.
“We were going to have Devon run Eldora for us last year, but with Covid and Eldora being taken off the schedule, we had to go back to the drawing board,” team owner Josh Reaume said in the release. “Knoxville is a perfect place for Devon to be able to debut, and it makes it even more special that it is a home track for him. I pride myself in believing that I have the most diverse team in any of NASCARs top series, and Devon not only adds to that, but also becomes a part of our family here at Reaume Brothers Racing. Furthermore, we cannot thank Marcus Lemonis enough for his support of this effort and many others this year. We are incredibly grateful for the opportunities he has given drivers.”
The series will run a practice night on Thursday July 8, before taking to the track for the race on Friday night, televised on Fox Sports 1.
