NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race Report | Race 20 of 22
Texas Motor Speedway | Lucas Oil 150
Timothy Peters
No. 17 Red Horse Racing Toyota Tundra
Start: 14th
Finish: 10th
Point Standings: 3rd (-25)
Fort Worth, TX (Nov. 3, 2012)- Traveling to Texas Motor Speedway for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series WinStar World Casino 350 with a brand new Toyota Tundra chassis in tow, the No. 17 Red Horse Racing team and driver Timothy Peters were prepared to battle in race number 20 of the 2012 season. After a 14th place qualifying effort, Peters and his team fought a tight handling condition for most of the evening. Patience during the long runs and fast work on pit road helped Peters move forward to claim a 10th place finish.
Working to find the right balance as the track temperatures and conditions changed from day to night and between practice, qualifying and the race, Peters held a steady wheel inside his Toyota Tundra during qualifying to take the 14th starting spot. Moving forward a couple of positions after the start, Peters reported to his crew just 15 laps in that he was loose, especially in traffic. The No. 17 Red Horse Racing team created a plan of action to make changes during the first round of pit stops Friday night to help tighten up their Tundra and clicked off a fast four tire stop, gaining a couple of positions to put Peters in 11th on the restart.
During the second green flag run, Peters worked with Hylton to find a line that would work well with his Tundra and the handling conditions he was experiencing. Using patience on the long run, Peters was able to gain positions as other trucks faded back. On lap 62, Hylton brought his driver down pit road for the second time under caution to make some more adjustments. The Red Horse Racing pit crew showcased their talent and completed their stop quick enough to gain Peters two spots for the restart, boosting him to eighth.
Differing pit strategy mixed up the running order for the restart on lap 69, creating a hornet’s nest of traffic for Peters to sort through. As the field bunched up in front of him, a competitor made contact with Peters, causing damage to the nose and splitter of his Tundra. After sliding back a few positions to avoid the scramble, Peters used the consistency his Red Horse Racing Tundra had on the long run to methodically work his way back towards the front. Working on his line until the final pit stop under green flag conditions, Peters came onto pit road on lap 107 from the 12th position to get one last set of adjustments. His pit crew performed once again, gaining him three positions on the track when the stops cycled through.
As he counted down the final 40 laps, Peters reported to his crew that his Tundra remained too tight to make a charge for the leaders. The extended green flag run to close out the final 78 laps of the race separated the field and prevented the opportunity for Peters to gain positions on the long run as he had earlier in the night. After relinquishing one position to teammate Todd Bodine in the closing stages, Peters and the No. 17 Red Horse Racing team came away from Texas with a 10th place finish. Following the checkered flag, the team discovered the damage to the nose and splitter of their Tundra was more significant than they had originally thought, likely causing the handling and vibration issues Peters suffered for the second half of the evening.
“On the long runs, our Toyota Tundra was pretty good and I was able to make some passes, but we just needed a little more to be able to run with the leaders tonight,” Peters explained. “I thought I had made contact with another truck during that second restart, but we didn’t see how significant the damage was until after the race was over. Overall not a bad day to come home with a top-10 and not lose any points in the championship, and we’re not going down without a fight in these next two races.”
Parker Kligerman No. 7 Red Horse Racing Toyota Tundra Start: 10th Finish: 2nd Point Standings: 4th (-27)
Fort Worth, TX (Nov. 3, 2012) — Capturing his sixth top-five NASCAR Camping World Truck Series finish since joining the Red Horse Racing stable nine races ago, Parker Kligerman drove his No. 7 Toyota Tundra up into the top-five early Friday night in the WinStar World Casino 350 at Texas Motor Speedway and never relinquished his track position. Running a solid race after starting from the 10th position, Kligerman was within striking distance of the lead prior to the final round of pit stops. After a two-tire stop and taking over the lead with 26 laps remaining, Kligerman slid back into the second position with 10 laps to go and came home with his fourth runner-up finish of the 2012 season.
From the drop of the green flag, Kligerman made his move to the front from his 10th starting spot. He first broke into the top five just 10 laps into the event and never looked back. First reporting to crew chief Chad Kendrick that he was just a little tight in the center of the corner on lap 15, Kligerman would wait for his first set of changes under the first caution of the night on lap 32. With a quick four tire change and minor adjustments, Kligerman restarted in fifth.
Throughout the next long green flag run, Kligerman pushed his way solidly into the top-three, working with his spotter and Kendrick to find the best line around the track to hunt down the leaders. The second and final caution on lap 66 created the second round of pit stops for the No. 7 Red Horse Racing crew, giving Kligerman another round of adjustments and four fresh tires. Restarting fifth after some competitors only took right side tires, Kligerman marched back to the third position in just a few short laps.
Just past lap 100, Kendrick brought the No. 7 Toyota Tundra down pit road under the green flag to get enough fuel and adjustments to make it to the checkered flag. Making a daring pit strategy call, Kendrick decided on a two tire change that would put Kligerman at the front of the field with a sizable lead over those who took four. As the laps clicked away, Kligerman radioed to his crew that the combination of new and worn tires had made his Tundra too loose to hang on to. With 10 laps to go, he was passed for the lead but remained close by in second to take the checkered flag.
“I hate to finish second and you don’t want to be the one that gives up a win when you’re so close, but we gave it everything we had tonight and I’m proud of this Red Horse Racing team,” Kligerman recapped.
“This Toyota Tundra chassis has been great for us at every race so far and Chad Kendrick made great calls in the pits today and even a little strategy at the end to try and win it. It’s good momentum going into the next two races, which realistically I think we can go to victory lane at both Phoenix and Homestead. It’s going to be a tight battle for this championship right down to the wire.”
Todd Bodine No. 11 Toyota Care Toyota Tundra Start: 19th Finish: 8th Point Standings: 14th
Fort Worth, TX (Nov. 3, 2012) — Texas Motor Speedway ace Todd Bodine and the No. 11 Toyota Care Tundra team traveled to the Fort Worth, Texas track on Friday night with the two-time champion’s experience and a fast Red Horse Racing chassis in their corner for the WinStar World Casino 350. Bodine used the knowledge from his six NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victories at the 1.5-mile track to find the balance and speed he needed in his Tundra throughout the weekend to contend for another win. Solid work on pit road by his Red Horse crew and timely adjustments throughout the night helped Bodine secure an eighth place finish.
Reporting to crew chief Rick Gay just a handful of laps into the 147-lap competition that his Toyota Care Tundra was loose, Bodine remained patient and was able to gain two spots from his 19th starting position prior to the first round of pit stops. Gay would get his first shot at the handling under a caution on lap 32, bringing Bodine down pit road for his first round of adjustments and four fresh Goodyear Wranglers. Though the first set of changes seemed to push the No. 11 Tundra in the right direction, the two-time champion driver asked his crew for some additional help during the next green flag run.
Receiving their second chance for changes under the lap 62 caution, Gay decided to take a big swing at the handling for his driver, calling for some major adjustments during the four tire stop. Despite the extensive change, the Toyota Care pit crew didn’t lose any positions and performed a very timely stop to get Bodine back out to the track in 17th. “The Onion” vocalized his appreciation for the pit crew and reported the changes made his Tundra much better after resuming green flag competition.
Over the next green flag run, Bodine fell quiet over the radio as he went to work with his Toyota Care Tundra. Picking off positions one by one, Bodine moved up to the 11th spot prior to the last round of pit stops and relayed to Gay that the last changes had helped, but he needed just a little more to make that final push to the front. Coming down pit road on lap 108, Bodine received four fresh tires and one last round of adjustments from his speedy pit crew that gained him another spot under the green flag stop to move him up to 10th.
Going to work in the closing 39 laps, Bodine began to click off lap times as fast as, if not quicker, than the leaders as he picked off two more positions. The long green flag run for the final 78 laps of the race had put distance between competitors that Bodine pushed hard to make up, but needed the help of a caution to bunch the field back together to be able to have a shot at the leaders. As the checkered flag dropped, Bodine crossed the line in the eighth position.
“We started off the day really loose with our Toyota Care Tundra, but Rick Gay made some great changes during the pit stops and our pit crew did a phenomenal job tonight to get us off of pit road fast no matter what changes they had to make. I’m proud of the effort today by this Red Horse Racing team and how much we improved throughout the night. We haven’t had many finishes this year that show how good this team and these Tundras are, so when we can come home with a top-10 and in one piece, I’m happy with that. If we could have had a caution at the end to get back all of that lost track position, I know we would’ve had something for the leaders,” Bodine concluded.
Championship Points Update: The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship battle has tightened up once again with just two races remaining on the schedule. Timothy Peters will head into next week’s competition still in third position, 25 points behind the leader. Parker Kligerman closed the gap and now sits just 27 points behind the championship lead in the fourth spot.
Next on the Schedule: Next Friday night, Red Horse Racing and the rest of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series competitors will travel to Phoenix International Raceway for the Lucas Oil 150. Coverage of the event will begin live on SPEED at 7:30 pm EST.
###
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 10 victories and nine 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.
