GMS Racing
Race Report
Joey Coulter Closes Out the 2014 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Season with a 23rd-place Finish at Homestead-Miami Speedway
Joey Coulter and the No. 21 Allegiant Travel Chevrolet Silverado team earned a 23rd-place result on Friday evening in the season-finale NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) event at the Homestead-Miami Speedway. The GMS Racing driver started the 134-lap affair from the 19th position and battled a loose-handling Chevrolet Silverado during the early stages of the race. The first of seven caution flags waved on Lap 6 for an incident in Turn 2, and on the Lap 9 restart Coulter had moved into the 15th-postion. Crew chief Jeff Stankiewicz directed Coulter to pit road on Lap 25, under caution, for four tires, fuel and chassis adjustments to combat the handling issues his Florida native driver was fighting. The 24-year-old restarted on Lap 28 in the 10th-postion. The Miami Springs, Fla., native maintained a top-13 running position until the Lap 71 caution period. After a routine yellow-flag pit stop for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment, Coulter restarted eighth on Lap 75. Moments later, on Lap 79 Coulter made an unscheduled four-tire pit stop under green-flag conditions for a reported vibration. After falling as far back as the 27th in the running order and going one lap down to the leader, the Allegiant Travel driver persevered and raced his way back onto 21st- place by Lap 100. Under caution, on Lap 101 the GMS Racing team serviced the No. 21 Allegiant Travel Chevrolet Silverado with four tires and fuel. Coulter was unable to catch a break with 33 laps remaining, the coveted “Lucky Dog” pass for the lead lap just out of his grasp. He brought home a 23rd-place finish in his season ending race with GMS Racing. Coulter finished the season seventh in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver championship point standings with three top-five and 10 top-10 finishes.
Start – 19 Finish – 23 Laps Led – 0
Joey Coulter Quote:
“It is always tough to end the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season on a not-so-good note, but at the same time a little bad luck at the end of the year cannot ruin a successful season for GMS Racing, either. I’m really proud of everyone at GMS Racing and especially the guys on the No. 21 Allegiant Travel Chevrolet Silverado team. Everyone worked hard and we made a lot of progress throughout the year. I think we have got ourselves in a good spot going into 2015 season.”
Spencer Gallagher Exits the 2014 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Season with a Solid 14th Place Finish at Homestead-Miami Speedway
Under the lights at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Spencer Gallagher drove GMS Racing’s No. 23 Allegiant Travel Chevrolet Silverado to a 14th-place finish in the Ford EcoBoost 200 at the Homestead-Miami Speedway. Gallagher and the No. 23 Allegiant Travel crew started the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) season-finale from the 16th-position. Under the Lap 6 caution, Gallagher reported debris damage on the front nose of the Chevrolet Silverado. The Las Vegas native would line-up in the 14th-position for the restart on Lap 9. Shortly after returning to green-flag conditions, on Lap 24, caution lights lit up around the 1.5-mile speedway. The Shane Huffman led-crew brought the Allegiant Travel Chevrolet Silverado to pit road for a four Goodyear tires with an air pressure adjustment, Sunoco Racing fuel, and to repair the damage. Gallagher would restart from the 23rd-position on Lap 28. After adjustments were made to the Allegiant Travel machine, Gallagher reported to Huffman that the bottom groove was working well with his Chevrolet Silverado. On Lap 40 the yellow flag flew again, and Gallagher returned to pit road for a four-tire change, fuel, and a chassis adjustment. On Lap 60, Gallagher had moved into the 11th-position under green-flag conditions. The caution flag waved on Lap 70 for debris, once again allowing the No. 23 Allegiant Travel Chevrolet to return to pit road for another set of tires, fuel, and chassis adjustments. Gallagher rolled off pit lane with his Chevrolet Silverado in 11th-position for the Lap 75 restart. The caution flag again wove on Lap 100; this would be the last time the No. 23 Allegiant Travel Chevrolet Silverado would pit, so the GMS Racing crew decided on a four-tire, fuel, track bar, and air pressure adjustment to the blue and orange machine. Gallagher restarted from the 16th-position on Lap 103. With the race winding down to the final laps, late-race cautions allowed Gallagher to battle for positioning to get to the front. Gallagher ultimately brought his nine-race season to a close with a hard fought 14th-place finish at the Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Start – 16 Finish – 14 Laps Led – 0
Spencer Gallagher Quote:
“Our Allegiant Travel Chevrolet Silverado was challenging at times, but with the help of my No. 23 GMS Racing team, and crew chief Shane Huffman, we pulled through and pulled a respectable finish out of what could have been a rough night at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Overall though, I couldn’t be more proud of what we’ve accomplished as a team, and for the 2015 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season, we will only get better!”