[media-credit name=”charlottemotorspeedway.com” align=”alignright” width=”187″]
[/media-credit]Dakoda Armstrong
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
N.C. Education Lottery 200 | Media Advance
Charlotte Motor Speedway | Race 5 of 22
Race Information:
N.C. Education Lottery 200
Friday, May 18, 2012
Charlotte Motor Speedway
1.5-Mile Quad-Oval
Banking: 24° turns, 5° straights
134 laps/201 miles
Team Facts: Current Point Standings: 17th Chassis: 23 Crew Chief: Dan Stillman Engines: TRIAD
Broadcast Information: TV: SPEED broadcast live at 7:30 PM EST Radio: MRN broadcast live at 7:45 PM EST
Dakoda Armstrong Charlotte Motor Speedway Statistics
Armstrong will be making his first career start at Charlotte on Friday night
Wide Open at Charlotte: Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender Dakoda Armstrong will make his first appearance at Charlotte Motor Speedway in this Friday’s N.C. Education Lottery 200. During the off weeks, the No. 98 EverFi team has prepared Armstrong’s favorite truck in hopes to give him an extra shot of confidence in his first start. Armstrong has also been utilizing iRacing to prepare for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) main event. With virtual practice and his affection for the high-speed tracks and favorite truck in tow, Armstrong is prepared to hold it wide open for his debut.
“Charlotte is a fast track and seems to have good grip from what I’ve heard, but we’ll have our work cut out for us to get our EverFi Tundra set up in the daytime and race through the changes at night,” Armstrong said.
“I’m just really ready to get back behind the wheel. These long breaks are really hard to sit through, especially since we’ve been improving every week since Daytona.”
Where Armstrong lacks in experience at the 1.5-mile high-speed track, crew chief Dan Stillman picks up with plenty of prior experience. Stillman shared his keys to success as well has predictions for this weekend.
“I really enjoy going to Charlotte because it’s really fast and a lot of fun,” Stillman began. “But you have to constantly be on your toes here. It’s a very high speed track and you have to be able to run pretty close to wide open the entire time to keep your momentum up. The track is also very temperature sensitive, so we’re going to have to stay on top of the adjustments we make to our EverFi Tundra all day and night on Friday.”
Two back-to-back practice sessions on Friday morning, spanning from 9:00 am-11:50 am EST to kick off the NCWTS race day. Qualifying will be at 4:00 pm EST live on SPEED, followed by SPEED’s broadcast of the N.C. Education Lottery 200 at 7:30 pm and the MRN broadcast at 7:45 pm EST.
Appearances Around Town: Maintaining a busy schedule off the track this weekend, Armstrong will be participating in appearances for the fans on Thursday and Friday before the N.C. Education Lottery 200. On Thursday, he will join several other drivers first at Camping World RV Sales in Statesville, NC to sign autographs from 12-1:00 pm, followed by a second autograph session with others at the Concord Commons Wal-Mart in Concord, NC from 2-3:00 pm. Along with fellow Toyota competitors, Armstrong will then sign autographs at Toyota Pit Pass outside the track on Friday from 2-2:30 pm.
A Look Back at Kansas: Surviving pit road penalties and uncharacteristically cold weather and track conditions, Dakoda Armstrong drove to a 15th place finish at Kansas Speedway in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series SFP 250 on Saturday, April 21st. Searching for grip in the front end of the No. 98 EverFi Toyota Tundra for the majority of the afternoon, Armstrong was able to push forward from his 20th starting position with a last lap pass to score the top-15 finish in his first NCWTS start at the track.
Chassis History: The No. 98 EverFi team will roll into Charlotte Motor Speedway this Friday with their “favorite” truck; chassis No. 23. With one previous appearance this year at Rockingham, Armstrong also drove this chassis to his best career NCWTS finish at Kentucky last season.
Dakoda Armstrong on Charlotte Motor Speedway
You’ve never raced at Charlotte before, but what have you done to prepare?
I’m fortunate to have veteran teammates in Matt Crafton and Johnny Sauter, so I’ve been able to ask them what to expect. Besides that, I’ve been practicing a lot on iRacing and watching some old races to see how the track changes throughout the night.
About EverFi, Inc.:
EverFi, Inc. is the leading education technology company to teach, assess, and certify students in critical skills. EverFi’s education learning platforms include Financial Literacy, Student Loan Management, Digital Literacy, Cyberbullying, and Alcohol Abuse Awareness. The company uses the latest technology, including rich media, high-definition video, simulation, diagrams and avatars. EverFi teams with major corporations and foundations to provide the programs at no cost to K-12 schools. For more information visit www.EverFi.com, Facebook.com/pages/EverFi , or Twitter.com/EverFi.
About Drive For Savings:
Drive For Savings (DFS) was founded as a fundraising company. DFS provides solutions to the lack of funding problem that most organizations face on a daily basis. Innovative fundraising programs are designed to meet the specific needs of any organization. The Drive For Savings programs are based on members of organizations selling discount cards. DFS cards are linked to a nationwide discount program that offers discounts at over 260,000 locations. The goal of Drive For Savings is to help organizations succeed by earning necessary funds. The DFS program will increase revenue without adding labor to any organization. Drive For Savings is proud to be part of a network that has been built over the past 27 years and has served over 15 million members.
About ThorSport Racing:
ThorSport Racing, based in Sandusky, Ohio, is the longest tenured active NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team. ThorSport Racing’s first came at the Milwaukee Mile on July 6, 1996. NASCAR’s only Ohio-based team, which has run full season schedules annually beginning in 1998, currently runs the No. 88 Menards Toyota Tundra driven by Matt Crafton, the No. 13 Hot Honeys/Curb Records Toyota driven by Johnny Sauter and the No. 98 EverFi Toyota driven by Dakoda Armstrong.
ThorSport Racing has wheeled into Victory Lane with Terry Cook, Matt Crafton, and Johnny Sauter since its inception and has finished a dominating eight times within the top 10 in points with both trucks. In 2011, ThorSport Racing moved into a state-of-the-art, world-class, 100,000 square-foot facility in Sandusky.
