'Amazing': Air Force pilot hopes to chart new course in NASCAR Truck Series

Ryan Roulette spent part of the past week scrolling through his phone, discovering pictures from his racing past.

“I found the first car I ever raced,” the 39-year-old native of Minot, North Dakota told Yardbarker. “I found pictures of me racing lightning sprints and legends cars. (I was) just thumbing through, living those memories with my wife the other night.”

On Friday, Roulette will make his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debut at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway — an opportunity the only Air Force pilot in NASCAR said he “never would’ve thought possible in a million years.”

Roulette, who has made 15 starts in the ARCA Menards Series, will be behind the wheel of the No. 67 Chevrolet Silverado for Freedom Racing Enterprises. The birth of the partnership goes back nearly a year, when Roulette was introduced to team owner Spencer Boyd, who pilots the team’s No. 76 truck full time.

A mutual friend of Boyd and Roulette got them connected at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May 2024.

Roulette went into the meeting knowing he wanted to race in the Truck Series, but the unknown quantity was Freedom Racing Enterprises' interest in fielding a second truck, which even on a part-time basis could be difficult for a team that only debuted in February 2024.

In August 2024, Boyd and Roulette participated in the track walk together at the Milwaukee Mile, where they began talking about Roulette’s desire to drive in the Truck Series. A month later, the conversations regarding Roulette’s future with Boyd’s team were no longer hypothetical.

On Jan. 22, it was announced Roulette would make three Truck Series starts with Freedom Racing Enterprises in 2025.

“It’s only their (Freedom Racing Enterprises) second season, but what I really appreciate it is the way they’re going about it,” Roulette said. “They’re not looking to run a second truck full time. It’s strategic, how we’re trying to both build my brand and their brand together for (what is) hopefully a long-term relationship between the two of us.”

Four races into the 2025 Truck Series season, Roulette sees signs of marked improvement by Boyd and the No. 76 team.

“There’s substantial growth for them overall, which is exciting to be coming in and running that second truck,” Roulette said.

Roulette said he's treating preparation for his Truck Series debut in a similar manner to his training for his ARCA starts.

“It’s a lot of sim time, a lot of cycling,” he said. “That’s kind of my big thing to prepare (for races).

The biggest difference?

“The trucks have a lot more data available that I’m able to study,” Roulette explained. “(I’ve been) sitting down with Spencer and going over film, just being a rookie.”

Despite the inherent challenge of being a rookie driver, Roulette has an ace up his sleeve as he prepares for his first start in NASCAR’s top-three series. Well-established Jeff Hammond will be atop the pit box of Roulette’s No. 67 Chevy in his starts. In 1985, Hammond was crew chief for Darrell Waltrip at Junior Johnson & Associates, helping engineer Waltrip’s third Winston Cup Series championship. 

Hammond will be Roulette’s tutor as he takes on the half-mile "Paperclip" of Martinsville Speedway, a track on which Roulette has never raced.

“It’s a tough, elbows up kind of track,” Roulette said of Martinsville, one of the oldest tracks on the NASCAR circuit. “(There’s) definitely going to be some bumping and banging. Whether you want to do it or not, it’s going to happen. I think it’s going to be chaos in a good way.”

Despite the frenzy of preparation and bright lights that will soon be shining on him, Roulette is taking the time to appreciate the opportunity. It’s one that, in retrospect, he never thought he would attain.

“When I first started racing, I was lucky to run a car. When I got the run a different track, that was a big deal,” Roulette said, laughing. “To be able to do this is amazing.”

All quotations obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.