Justin Lofton, No. 77 Lofton Cattle Toyota Tundra
Track: Daytona International Speedway
Event: NextEra Energy Resources 250
When: Friday, February 18th 7:30 PM
Broadcast information: 7:30 PM, SPEED
New Year, New Team: Lofton joins Germain Racing for his sophomore effort in 2011 behind the wheel of the No. 77 Lofton Cattle Toyota Tundra. Lofton is now part of a four-truck stable including teammates Max Papis, Brendan Gaughan, and two-time series champion Todd Bodine. To date, Germain Racing has 22 wins, nine pole awards and two NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championships. During Lofton’s debut season in trucks in 2010, he accumulated a solid stat sheet including four top-five and eight top-10 finishes, with a best finish of third, and a season-ending 12th place showing in the driver point standings.
No “Off” Season for Lofton: Despite the break in competition, Lofton had anything but downtime. He kept busy during the two month absence from the track by hosting a charity golf tournament in his native California. All proceeds from the event benefited the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Imperial Valley. Following the golf outing, Lofton trekked to Nevada and participated in the SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge. He led day one in Class 1 Unlimited and was well on his way to the win on the second and final day before breaking a spindle on the last lap of the event. From there, Lofton returned to North Carolina and participated in two separate test sessions with his new team before heading to Daytona.
Lofton at Daytona: Friday’s event at Daytona may be his first with his new Germain Racing team, but it will not be Lofton’s first on the 2.5-mile superspeedway. In 2010 in truck competition, Lofton started 19th and finished 18th. In 2009, en route to the ARCA Racing Series championship, Lofton earned the pole for ARCA’s season-opener and finished an impressive third.
Birthday Boy: In addition to kicking off the new season on Friday, February 18th, Lofton will celebrate his 25th birthday at the World Center of Racing.
Truck Information: Lofton will race chassis GR015 this week at Daytona. It is a brand new truck that has yet to hit the racetrack.
Lofton on Daytona: “I am so excited about this season with Germain Racing. I’ve spent a lot of time with my new crew chief and we get along great. We’ve got a great group of guys on the No. 77 team and I can’t wait to start the season. It is really going to be a lot of fun this year, and there is no better way to start than racing under the lights at Daytona. I really enjoy superspeedway racing. It’s fun and historic.”
Crew Chief Ryan “Rudy” Fugle on Daytona: “I am excited to be part of the Germain Racing truck program and to work with Justin. Germain is always strong at superspeedways. I feel like we have a good shot at the win. With Friday being Justin’s birthday, it would be extra special.”
