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[/media-credit]RCR Post Race Report — Kansas Speedway
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series – RACE: SFP 250
Race Highlights:
Richard Childress Racing teammates finished ninth (Ty Dillon), 14th (Joey Coulter) and 17th (Tim George Jr.).
George Jr. earned his career-first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series pole award.
According to NASCAR’s Loop Data Statistics, Dillon spent 96.4 percent of the race running in the top 15 while Coulter spent 61.6 percent in the top 15, ranking them seventh and 13th, respectively.
Coulter earned a 101.5 driver rating ranking him sixth overall.
Dillon made 65 green-flag passes during the 167-lap event, the most of any driver.
Dillon ranked third in the Closers category, gaining seven position in the final 10 percent of the race, while Coulter ranked sixth by advancing five spots.
Loop Data Statistics scored George Jr. with 26 quality passes in the SFP 240.
James Buescher took the checkered flag followed by Timothy Peters, Brad Keselowski, Nelson Piquet Jr. and Todd Bodine.
The next scheduled Camping World Truck Series race is the N.C. Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Saturday, May 18. The fifth race of the 2012 season is scheduled to be televised live on SPEED beginning at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time and broadcast live on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.
Tim George Jr. and Applebee’s Team Battle Transmission Issues to Finish 17th at Kansas Speedway
After scoring the first pole position of his young NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career, Tim George Jr. and the No. 2 Applebee’s Chevrolet team overcame transmission issues to score a 17th-place finish in the SFP 250 at Kansas Speedway. The Richard Childress Racing driver was shuffled out of position at the start of the 167-lap event and settled into the 10th spot by lap five. Just prior to a lap-35 caution period, George reported a strong vibration on the No. 2 Applebee’s Chevrolet and came to pit road to the attention of the Marcus Richmond-led crew. The team hoped for a simple tire issue, but the problem turned out to be a concern with the transmission, which plagued the team throughout the remainder of the event. While up to full speed on the track and running in fourth gear, the 31-year old driver was challenged with keeping the No. 2 Chevrolet from jumping out of gear. With each ensuing pit stop the Applebee’s crew worked to assist George with the handling of the race truck and with the mechanics inside the cockpit to keep the truck in gear under high speed. With a long green-flag run to end the race, George battled to maintain position and finished the 250-mile affair in the 17th position.
Start – 1 Finish – 17 Laps Led – 0 Owner Points – 8
TIM GEORGE JR. QUOTE:
“The No. 2 Applebee’s Chevrolet team was really strong all weekend and it showed by scoring my first career pole in the Truck Series on Saturday. We were hoping to follow that up with a strong finish in the race; especially since Kansas Speedway is in the backyard of Applebee’s headquarters. The initial vibration was so strong I knew there had to be an issue, but we worked well as a team to overcome it and we’re fortunate it held on until the end. It’s not the finish we were hoping for with the Applebee’s Chevrolet but we know we had a strong truck so we’ll look forward to our next race together in Kentucky.”
Ty Dillon Finishes Ninth at Kansas Speedway
Ty Dillon and the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet team finished ninth in the SFP 250 at Kansas Speedway after battling a tight handling truck throughout the event. After the 20-year-old started the 167-lap affair from the fifth-place position, he soon reported a tight-handling Chevrolet. Dillon was able to maintain his position in the top 10 until a lap-35 caution allowed the Scott Naset-led team to make a round of adjustments. Naset called for a chassis adjustment along with four fresh Goodyear tires and fuel before sending Dillon back out onto the racing surface in the 10th position. Dillon continued to battle a tight-handling black and orange machine throughout a majority of the remaining laps. The No. 3 team made adjustments during two additional pits stops, but with changing track conditions, the changes were unable to remedy the tight-handling Chevrolet Silverado. On the final restart of the day, the Welcome, N.C., native was scored in the 15th position and was climbed to the ninth position in the final 10 laps of the SFP 250 bringing home his fourth top-10 finish of the 2012 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season.
Start – 5 Finish – 9 Laps Led – 0 Points – 4
TY DILLON QUOTE:
“To be honest, I’m a little disappointed with our ninth-place finish. I know we had a better truck than that. If we want to contend for the championship at the end of the year, we need to finish better. We’ll turn our focus towards the race at Charlotte Motor Speedway and work towards a better result.”
Coulter Charges Back to a 14th-Place Finish at Kansas Speedway
Joey Coulter drove the No. 22 Husky Liners Chevrolet to a 14th-place finish in Saturday’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event at Kansas Speedway. Coulter started the Husky Liners Silverado from the seventh position and remained in the top 10 for the first 100 laps of the SFP 250. Despite being faced with a tight-handling machine early in the 167-lap race, the Miami Springs, Fla., native drove up to the fifth position. The Harold Holly-led team made a series of air pressure and chassis adjustments throughout the afternoon that improved the truck’s balance. While on pit road for a routine stop on lap 99, the caution flag was displayed for debris on the race track, trapping the Richard Childress Racing driver one lap down to the leader and relegating him to the 23rd position when racing resumed. Armed with ECR power, Coulter drove the No. 22 Silverado through the field but the ensuing long green-flag run kept the team a lap down and denied the 2011 Rookie of the Year the opportunity to challenge the leader. Coulter and the Husky Liners team took the checkered flag in the 14th position and remain 12th in the Camping World Truck Series driver championship point standings.
Start – 7 Finish – 14 Laps Led – 0 Points – 12
JOEY COULTER QUOTE:
“First, I want to thank Husky Liners for coming on board with us. Harold (Holly, crew chief) and the No. 22 guys gave me an incredible Husky Liners Silverado today. With ECR power under the hood, this was easily a top-five truck. This team did everything right today. The truck was great and they were solid on pit road. The one thing we couldn’t control was our luck, which went down the tubes when that last caution came out while we were on pit road. Unfortunately, our finish didn’t match how strong the Husky Liners Chevrolet was today. One of these races is bound to go our way soon.”
