NASCAR Next driver Nicole Behar will take the next step in her racing career development, competing in 2016 for David Gilliland Racing.

One of 12 members of the 2016 NASCAR Next class, Behar will split much of her time between racing on the CARS Tour Series for Super Late Models and the Pro All Star Series South (PASS). She’ll also do some select K&N Pro Series West races.

A fifth generation racer from Otis Orchards, Washington, Behar will drive the No. 97 DGR Toyota Camry with sponsorship from Custom Welding & Fabrication.

The new ride is part of a driver development program that Gilliland began in 2015, which according to a media release is “for aspiring racers to make the transition from Karts, Legends Cars and Quarter Midgets to bigger NASCAR-style race cars.”

Although only 17, Behar has been racing for nearly a decade. In 2015, she was named the Most Popular Driver in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, where she finished 10th in the standings with two top-fives and nine top-10s.

That included setting K&N West history with the highest finish by a female driver, taking second place in a race at Irwindale, California.

“I am very excited to team up with Toyota and David Gilliland Racing for the 2016 season, providing me not only the opportunity to run the CARS Tour and PASS Series, but a great experience beneficial to my racing career,” Behar said in a media release. “I believe that DGR has the equipment, resources and knowledge capable to run up front.

“Along with the full Super Late Model schedule I will be running select NASCAR K&N Pro Series races as well as some races on the west coast. We are focusing on getting me as much seat time as possible working with multiple racing series.”

Behar’s first race for DGR will be a PASS race on March 5 at Dillon (South Carolina) Motor Speedway.

Follow @JerryBonkowski