MOORESVILLE, N.C. (Jan. 28, 2011) – Red Horse Racing and drivers Timothy Peters and Miguel Paludo kicked off the 2011 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season with a test this week hosted by Toyota at Walt Disney World Speedway.
The goal of the two-day test was two-fold: Refine the team’s chassis setup for the 2011 season and continue to build communication between drivers, crew chiefs and team members.
Peters, 30, who will drive the No. 17 Tundra in 2011 with Crescent Tools and K&N Filters as sponsors, has a new crew chief in Butch Hylton. Paludo, a 27-year-old from Brazil, joins Red Horse for a full-time effort in the No. 7 Toyota this season. Paludo will compete for the truck series rookie-of-the-year title with Rick Gay as his crew chief.
“We got everything done we wanted to accomplish,” Peters said of the test. “We left there with a good idea of what we need to do to improve it even more. It was good to work with Butch and some of the guys who will be on the 17 crew.�
“It was great to work with Miguel and help him – and Miguel helped me on some things when we were down there, too.
“It was good to be back behind the wheel, getting familiar with everything inside the truck again and working with Butch, getting used to his voice and what he’s wanting, communication-wise. All in all, it went very well.”
Peters was working with the veteran Hylton for the first time.
“Communication between a crew chief and driver is very critical. We hit it off right off the bat. Sometimes, change is good, and I think we’re going to be the strongest we’ve ever been in 2011. Thanks to (owner) Tom DeLoach for the opportunity he’s given me and for everything he’s doing to supply everybody at Red Horse the resources we need to go fast.”
While Peters is an established driver in the truck series, with two career victories and a sixth-place finish in the points last year, Paludo will try to make a name for himself in NASCAR. He competed in four truck races a year ago, finishing ninth in his NASCAR debut at Bristol Motor Speedway and ninth in the season-finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
“I’m looking this season to have a win,” said Paludo, a native of Nova Prata, Brazil. “This is my goal: To be the first Brazilian to win a race in NASCAR, and to be competitive my rookie season. The first win is so important to me because no Brazilian has won here. If I got a win, I’d be the first Brazilian to win a race in one of the top three NASCAR series.”
Some of the first steps toward that goal came at the Walt Disney test.
“We tried a lot of things,” said Paludo, who will fly STEMCO-Duroline colors this year. “We learned that my style is a little bit different than Timothy’s. We shared the truck a lot. I would run, he would run, I would run. We may have lost a little bit of time working on setup, but overall, we learned about our different styles. Now, Rick and Butch can work together for both of us.
“It was a good test. We tried different things and worked them out for me, and he tried different things and worked it out for him.”
Time for a Showdown
Pauldo is slated to compete in the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown at Toyota Speedway in Irwindale, Calif., in for car owner Greg Rayl this weekend.
“I’m glad to be racing in the All-Star Showdown for the first time,” Paludo said. “It’s my second year of racing in the United States, and I’m glad to have the opportunity. I hope to do a great job and finish in the top 10. Let’s see what’s going to happen.”
The All-Star Showdown main event is broken up into three sections – two 100-lap segments and a 25-lap dash to the finish. The race features secured starting spots for the 2010 champions of NASCAR’s developmental series and race winners of the NASCAR K&N Pro Series from the 2010 season.
Paludo does not have a guaranteed starting spot and will have to make the race via qualifying.
Both Friday and Saturday night’s racing will air live on SPEED, beginning each night at 10 p.m. Eastern.
Get Social
Follow Red Horse Racing via Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/RedHorseRacing) and Twitter (@RedHorseRacing). Also follow Timothy Peters and Miguel Paludo on Twitter (@TimothyPeters17 and @MiguelPaludo).
About Red Horse Racing
Founded in 2005 by former Mobil Corporation executive Tom DeLoach and NASCAR veteran Jeff Hammond, Red Horse Racing aims to be a professional racing team that strives for excellence on and off the race track. Red Horse hopes to build and maintain solid, mutual relationships with its partners, to win championships and races and to represent itself in a professional manner. The team has four victories and five poles in its brief existence. DeLoach and Hammond also own Performance Instruction and Training (visitpit.com), the number one pit crew training center in the world that also has many corporate training options that include team-building, lean manufacturing, motorsports demonstrations and more.
