Theriault Close To Cup Deal [VIDEO]

As Fort Kent's Austin Theriault preps to race in the NASCAR Truck Series race in Martinsville, Virginia this weekend It appears he is close to finally getting his dream chance to race in the Monster Energy Cup Series.

Theriault won the ARCA Racing Series championship in 2017, dominating the competition with seven wins. But, moving up in the racing business - to NASCAR Trucks, the Xfinity Series or the Cup Series has been tough because teams want the driver to bring along sponsorship dollars.

Theriault and Old Orchard Beach native Archie St. Hilaire are working on a deal that would put the Fort Kent driver in a Cup car for several races this year, starting with the New Hampshire Cup Series event in July.

St. Hilaire owns Go FAS Racing team that races the #32 Monster Energy Cup Series car driven by Corey LaJoie. He is currently 29th in the driver standings.

The Theriault-St. Hillaire plan is for a second Cup car on a part-time basis.

Theriault and the #92 Ricky Benton Racing Truck team will need to get into the field for the Saturday Martinsville race through qualifying on a fast time. The team does not have any provisional points as a back up.

The truck team practices on Friday with qualifying on Saturday morning and the race on Saturday afternoon at 2pm.

NOTE: The last Mainer to race in the Cup Series is Ricky Craven, now a Fox Sports racing broadcaster. He raced in NASCAR's top series for 11 years in the 1990s and finishing in 2004.