Turner Scott Motorsports NCWTS Previews: Kentucky Speedway

Turner Scott Motorsports NASCAR Camping World Truck Series News & Notes:
Kentucky Speedway

Ron Hornaday
No. 30 Rheem Comfort Products Silverado
Kentucky Speedway – UNOH 225
June 26, 2014

Bluegrass State…The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) heads to Sparta, Ky. this week for the UNOH 225 at Kentucky Speedway. Four-time NCWTS champion Ron Hornaday is set to make his 12th-career start at the 1.5-mile oval and is looking to bring home his fourth-career win at Kentucky. Hornaday has compiled three wins, three top fives, six top 10s, and led 141 laps in his previous 11 starts at Kentucky Speedway.

Gotta Have a Rheem…At Kentucky, Hornaday will once again pilot the No. 30 Rheem Comfort Products Chevrolet for Turner Scott Motorsports (TSM). Rheem Manufacturing Company (www.rheem.com) is privately held with headquarters in Atlanta. In its 88th year of operation, the company manufactures a full line of high-quality residential and commercial heating and cooling systems; tank, tankless, solar, and heat pump water heaters; swimming pool heaters and commercial boilers throughout North America and world markets. The company’s premium brands, including Raypak, Ruud and Rheem, have been recognized with countless industry and consumer awards for reliability, innovative design and high quality. Rheem is now in its eighth consecutive year as a NASCAR sponsor.

Watch and Listen…The UNOH 225 can be seen live on Thursday June 26 on FOX Sports 1. Race Coverage begins at 7:30 p.m. EDT, and the event can also be heard live on PRN Radio as well as SiriusXM Radio, Channel 90. Catch all the action from the No. 30 truck as Hornaday runs an on-board camera in Thursday’s event.

Previous Race Recap…Hornaday began the Drivin’ for Lineman 200 in the 16th position but by the first pit stop, the NCWTS veteran had worked his way to the 10th position. Hornaday returned to the track one lap down to the leaders due to pit stops not fully cycling through. A caution flag on lap 66 allowed Hornaday to regain his lap while running in the 10th position. During a caution on lap 124, Hornaday ran over an obscured brake rotor, which forced the four-time champion to come to the pits for four tires. When the race resumed on Lap 133, Hornaday was scored in the 12th position. Hornaday was able to work his way past competitors in the race’s closing laps, crossing the finish line in fifth.

Ron Hornaday on Racing at Kentucky Speedway:

“We’ve put together some good runs the past few races with this Turner Scott Motorsports team. I’m really proud of the way everyone on this Rheem Chevrolet has been working and hopefully we can continue to build upon our success even more this week at Kentucky.”

NCWTS Results at Kentucky Speedway:
Starts: 11
Wins: 3
Poles: 1
Top 5: 3
Top 10: 6
Laps Led: 141
Average Start: 11.3
Average Finish: 12.1

Kentucky Derby…The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) heads to Kentucky Speedway for the eighth stop of the 2014 season. Ben Kennedy will make his first-career start at the 1.5-mile D-shaped oval in the UNOH 225. However, Thursday will not be the first time that Kennedy will make laps at the Sparta, Kentucky facility. Kennedy and the No. 31 team tested at Kentucky Speedway last month, earning the 22-year-old valuable experience at the intermediate track.

Racing To Excellence…This week in Kentucky, the No. 31 Turner Scott Motorsports team will be hosting a member of the University of Northwestern Ohio Racing to Excellence program. Haley Smith, a winner of the STEM essay contest, will join Kennedy and his team to observe how they use science, technology, engineering and mathematics every day to win races. The University of Northwestern Ohio invented the high performance/motorsports program in 1992 and has been training students with the latest technology available in the industry since. This equipment and technology provides their students extensive and relevant experience throughout their training. For more information, visit unoh.edu.

This Week’s Silverado…Kennedy and the No. 31 Turner Scott Motorsports crew will utilize chassis TSM-600 this week at Kentucky Speedway. TSM-600 was a favorite of the No. 32 team in 2013, who selected it to run in eight events last season, including Kentucky Speedway, where it earned a seventh-place finish. TSM-600 finished in the top 10 in six of the eight events it ran last season, with its best race coming at Pocono Raceway where Miguel Paludo earned the first starting spot and finished second.

Watch and Listen…The UNOH can be seen live on Thursday, June 26 on FOX Sports 1. Race coverage will begin at 7:30 p.m. EDT, and the event can also be heard live on MRN Radio as well as SiriusXM Satellite Radio, channel 90.

Previous Race Recap…In the NCWTS’ triumphant return to Gateway Motorsports Park, Kennedy overcame early handling issues and appeared to be on his way to at least a top-five finish when the No. 31 Turner Scott Motorsports Chevrolet unexpectedly ran out of fuel, putting him two laps down late in the race. However, the No. 31 team battled back, by virtue of the wave around and free pass, returning to the lead lap and bringing home a 14th-place finish.

Ben Kennedy on Kentucky Speedway:

“I’m really excited to get to Kentucky. I feel like I learned a lot at the test last month, so the learning curve won’t be quite as steep there as it has been at some of these tracks I’ve never raced on before. Our last two races, we really didn’t finish as good as we ran in the race, so I’m looking for a little bit of redemption. Our guys have been working really hard and bringing fast trucks to the track, so I’m really hoping that we can have a strong weekend and get the kind of finish we deserve.”

NCWTS results at Kentucky Speedway:
-No Previous Starts-

Racing in Kentucky…After a weekend away from the racetrack, Tayler Malsam and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) head to Kentucky Speedway for a night of racing at the 1.5-mile oval. Having two previous NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) starts at Kentucky Speedway, Malsam will make his second-career NCWTS start on Thursday night in the No. 32 Outerwall Chevrolet.

This Week’s Silverado…Crew chief Mike Hillman Jr. and the No. 32 TSM team will unload a familiar chassis this weekend in Sparta, Ky. Driven to a top-10 finish at Kansas Speedway by Malsam in his 2014 debut, TSM-602 was also successful on the NCWTS circuit last year, having claimed one pole and a top-10 finish at Kentucky Speedway.

Let’s Go…This week at Kentucky Speedway, the No. 32 will sport the colors of Outerwall for the fifth of 12 races this year. As the company that brought consumers Redbox® entertainment, Coinstar® money services, and ecoATM® electronics recycling kiosks, Outerwall is leading the next generation of automated retail.With more than 20 years of experience, the company mission is to create a better everyday by delivering breakthrough kiosk experiences that delight consumers and generate revenue for retailers.

Previous Race Recap…In his second-career NCWTS start at Gateway Motorsports Park, Malsam claimed a top-10 finish in the No. 32 Outerwall Chevrolet after battling handling issues along with heavy race traffic throughout the 160-lap race. Malsam was one of just eight NCWTSdrivers that had previous experience at Gateway, having competed in the NCWTS as well as the NNS in NASCAR’s last visit to the 1.25-mile track in 2010. Throughout the three practice sessions, the TSM team made multiple adjustments to the No. 32 truck and ran a total of 62 laps to get reacquainted with the track. After claiming an 18th-place starting position, Malsam consistently ran the same lap times as the leader but struggled with handling on entry and in the corners. In a mad dash to the finish line with three laps to go, Malsam maintained his top-10 position until the checkered flag waved.

Watch and Listen…Don’t miss any of the action as the NCWTS races under the lights at Kentucky Speedway. The UNOH 225 can be seen live on Thursday, June 26 beginning at 7:30 p.m. EDT on FOX Sports 1. The race can also be heard live on MRN Radio as well as SiriusXM Satellite Radio, channel 90.

Tayler Malsam on Racing at Kentucky Speedway

“I’m really excited about racing at Kentucky [Speedway]. This is by far one of my favorite tracks. I raced in the Nationwide Series here in 2012, but I haven’t raced a truck on this track since 2009; it’s going to take a few laps to get reacquainted. We’re taking a solid truck and I think we’ve got a good shot at being up front at the end. I’m looking forward to being back at a mile-and-a-half track, for sure. I know they’re my strong point.”

NCWTS Results at Kentucky Speedway

Starts: 1
Wins: 0
Poles: 0
Top 5: 1
Top 10: 0
Laps Led: 0
Average Start: 8.0
Average Finish: 13.0