John Wes Townley joins Red Horse Racing in NASCAR Camping World Truck Series

The Chicken Man has flown the coop again.

John Wes Townley, who earned the nickname “Chicken Man” thanks to his Zaxby’s fast-food chicken restaurant sponsorship, will have a championship-caliber ride with Red Horse Racing in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series next season.

Red Horse is coming off its most successful season in the Truck Series, in which it won five races and saw driver Timothy Peters finish second in the series point standings.

Now it will take on the Zaxby’s money and the challenge of improving Townley as a driver.

“John showed vast improvement on the track this past season,” team owner Tom DeLoach said. “Red Horse Racing is eager to move him to the next level in his racing career.”

What that next level is remains to be seen. Though Townley did have good runs at times – he had two top-10 finishes in 21 races for RAB Racing – he’s far from a championship contender.

He did improve in one area, though: Crashes. A driver with a history of DNFs, Townley only crashed out in two races this season (though he was involved in several other incidents).

Townley will be paired with veteran crew chief Mike Beam and drive the team’s No. 7 Truck, which won races with both John King and Parker Kligerman last year.

“I’m a competitive race car driver, and I want to race and compete for wins,” Townley said. “Red Horse Racing has worked hard and continues to excel in the truck series. The success that this Red Horse Racing organization was able to accomplish last season, is the same success we are looking forward to next year.”