BLOUNTVILLE, Tenn. — Defending Kingsport Speedway Late Model Stock and Tennessee State NASCAR Whelen All-American Series champion Nate Monteith of Blountville is excited about being invited to compete in the very prestigious Denny Hamlin Foundation Short Track Showdown at Richmond International Raceway on Thursday, April 26.

The NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and Denny Hamlin Foundation Short Track Showdown doubleheader will kick off three straight nights of racing under the lights in The River City, with the NASCAR Nationwide Series running Friday and then followed by the Sprint Cup Series in action Saturday night.

Seventy-five NASCAR Whelen All-American Series drivers from New York to Tennessee received invitations to try and qualify for the 36-car starting field. Along with defending race winner Denny Hamlin, other NASCAR drivers such as Tony Stewart, Kyle Busch, Jeff Burton, Joey Logano, Aric Almirola, Michael Waltrip and Timothy Peters will be competing. Monteith is the only driver from the Volunteer State that received an invitation to run the event.