NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Lucas Oil 150
Phoenix International Raceway
November 9, 2012
Race Highlights:
Richard Childress Racing teammates finished third (Joey Coulter), 15th (Ty Dillon) and 23rd (Brendan Gaughan).
Dillon is third in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver championship point battle, 12 markers behind the leader; while Coulter ranks fourth in the standings.
The No. 3 Chevrolet team is third in the Camping World Truck Series owner championship point standings, with the No. 22 team fourth in the standings and the No. 2 team 14th.
Dillon leads the Sunoco Rookie of the Year point standings ahead of Cale Gale.
According to NASCAR’s Loop Data Statistics, Coulter scored a 101.1 Driver Rating, to rank him fifth best in the 36-truck field.
Dillon ranked third in the Closers category, improving two positions in the last 10 percent (15 laps) of the event, while Coulter ranked fifth gaining one spot.
RCR drivers made a total of 67 Green Flag Passes during the 153-lap event with Coulter and Dillon each earning 23, the second-most of all drivers, and Gaughan making 21 passes, the ninth-best amongst all competitors.
Coulter ranked first in the Quality Passes category, making 19 while running in the top 15, with Gaughan ranking seventh (15) and Dillon ninth (14).
Coulter scored the eighth-highest Average Running Position of 9.680, while Dillon ranked 10th with a 10.451 and Gaughan ranked 14th with a 14.026.
Coulter was the fifth-Fastest Driver on Restarts, while Dillon ranked eighth-fastest and Gaughan ranked 10th in the Friday night affair.
Combined, RCR drivers ran the Fastest Laps for 12 laps. Coulter scored six of those circuits, with Dillon earning five, and Gaughan adding one lap. Coulter maintained the fifth-fastest Speed in Traffic (127.244 mph).
Coulter spent 93.5 percent of the event (143 laps) in the top 15 ranking him fifth amongst the rest of the field, while Dillon ranked 12th (101 laps) and Gaughan was scored in the top 15 for 77 laps, ranking him 15th in the category.
Brian Scott won the Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix International Raceway followed to the line by Kyle Larson, Coulter, Timothy Peters and Ryan Blaney.
The final Camping World Truck Series race is the Miami 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Friday, Nov. 16. The season finale race is scheduled to be televised live on SPEED beginning at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time and broadcast live on Motor Racing Network beginning at 7:45 p.m.
Brendan Gaughan Relegated to a 23rd-Place Finish Following an On-Track Incident
Brendan Gaughan and the No. 2 South Point Hotel & Casino team were relegated to a 23rd-place finish in the Lucas Oil 150 after being involved in an on-track incident on lap 111 while running in the top five at Phoenix International Raceway. The Las Vegas native started the scheduled 150-lap event from the 19th position and quickly began his trek toward the front of the pack, moving into the top 10 on lap 41 following a visit to pit road under caution-flag conditions. As the race progressed, Gaughan continued to move forward in the running order, taking over the fifth position on lap 109. The 37-year-old driver had settled into the top five when another competitor made contact with the black and gold machine sending it spinning into the outside retaining wall. The No. 2 Chevrolet sustained severe damage from the contact with the wall, bringing the team’s night to an early end and relegating them to a 23rd-place result.
Start – 19 Finish – 23 Laps Led – 0 Owner’s Points – 10
BRENDAN GAUGHAN QUOTE:
“This was definitely not the way we wanted to end the night. The team gave me a great South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet tonight and to be taken out of the race while running in the top five was really disappointing. I have to thank everyone at Richard Childress Racing for giving me such great equipment each week and Richard (Childress, team owner) for the opportunity to run for his team.”
Disappointing 15th-Place Finish for Dillon at Phoenix International Raceway
Ty Dillon and the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops team suffered damage in a late-race incident resulting in a 15th-place finish in the Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix International Raceway. Dillon started the 153-lap affair from the 21st position and began to move towards the front of the field. Crew chief Marcus Richmond called for a two-tire pit stop that included fuel and a chassis adjustment under a caution-flag period on lap 36. The two-tire pit strategy placed the 20-year-old driver in the second position for the ensuing restart. Dillon gained the lead on the following restart and led for the next 20 laps around the one-mile track. After returning to pit road for service on lap 72, the No. 3 Chevrolet team was shuffled to the eighth position as other teams elected to stay on the racing surface. As Dillon was climbing his way back up through the running order, he was collected in an incident on lap 109 and suffered significant right-front damage. The Richmond-led team was forced to pit to repair the damaged machine. The Welcome, N.C., native returned to the track in the 18th spot and improved his position to 15th before crossing the finish line. Dillon sits third in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver championship point standings, 12 markers behind the leader going into the final race of the 2012 season.
Start – 21 Finish – 15 Laps Led – 21 Points – 3
TY DILLON QUOTE: “It’s frustrating to have such a good truck and get caught up in a wreck like that. I’m proud of the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops team for working so hard this weekend and getting us back on track after the incident. We’re not out of this championship hunt yet, we’ll do our best next weekend in Miami.”
Joey Coulter Scores Seventh Top-Five Finish of Season
at Phoenix International Raceway
Joey Coulter and the No. 22 American Eurocopter Chevrolet team survived an accident-filled race at Phoenix International Raceway and persevered to their seventh top-five finish of the 2012 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season. After a 17th-place qualifying effort, the 22-year-old driver alerted his crew chief Harold Holly that the black and blue Chevrolet was tight in the 10-degree banked corners of the one-mile oval. Settling into the top 20, Coulter narrowly escaped six different multi-truck accidents over a 41-lap period and moved into the top 10 by lap 90. Holly directed the Miami Springs, Fla., native to stay out and not pit under a lap-103 caution-flag period and the strategy paid off as Coulter restarted in the fourth position. Over the final portion of the 153-lap event, Coulter maintained the top-five running position, eventually passing one competitor with fewer than 10 laps to go, taking the checkered flag in third-place for his seventh top-five finish of the season. With the strong effort, Coulter kept his Camping World Truck Series title hopes alive by advancing one position in the driver championship point standings to fourth, 29 markers out of the top spot.
Start – 17 Finish – 3 Laps Led – 0 Points – 4
JOEY COULTER QUOTE:
“Overall, it was a great job by everyone on the No. 22 American Eurocopter team tonight. I don’t know what was going on with some of the drivers out there, but there seemed to be a lot of cautions throughout the night. I’m glad we stayed out of trouble and kept our hopes alive for a championship.”
