TOYOTA NCWTS DRIVER FINISHING POSITIONS at Phoenix International Raceway
1st, TIMOTHY PETERS
4th, DANIEL SUAREZ
8th, MATT TIFFT
9th, ERIK JONES
11th, CAMERON HAYLEY
19th, DALTON SARGEANT
23rd, MATT CRAFTON
24th, BEN KENNEDY
25th, JOHNNY SAUTER
31st, WILLIAM BYRON
TOYOTA DRIVER NCWTS POINT STANDINGS following Phoenix International Raceway (race 22 of 23)*
1st, ERIK JONES 861 points
3rd, MATT CRAFTON 829 points
4th, JOHNNY SAUTER 772 points
5th, TIMOTHY PETERS 765 points
6th, CAMERON HAYLEY 731 points
9th, BEN KENNEDY 650 points
*unofficial point standings
TOYOTA NOTES
· Tundra driver Timothy Peters was victorious in Friday night’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) race at Phoenix International Raceway.
· Peters started from the 10th position and led 28 laps (of 150) at the one-mile speedway to capture his second checkered flag of the 2015 NCWTS season.
· With the victory, Toyota has clinched the eighth NCWTS manufacturer’s championship since entering the series in 2004.
· Tundra driver Erik Jones started from pole and led a race-high 106 laps, but was involved in an incident with fellow Toyota driver Matt Crafton relinquishing Jones to a ninth-place finish and Crafton to the 23rd position.
· Other Toyota drivers with top-10 finishes in Friday night’s race include Daniel Suarez (fourth) and Matt Tifft (eighth).
TOYOTA QUOTES
TIMOTHY PETERS, No. 17 Red Horse Racing Toyota Tundra, Red Horse Racing
Finishing Position: 1st
How did you win this race?
“Chris Lambert (spotter) kept me alert and was integral to see what was going on. How about Toyota clinching the manufacturer championship tonight – that’s awesome. Thank you Toyota for what you do for Red Horse Racing. Thank the good Lord, thank this team, Toyota, Triad Horsepower. We were a top-five truck tonight and we earned this one – this is just awesome.”
What went through your mind on the final restart?
“The track was still pretty slick, pretty oily when they gave us the one to go. We were getting a little tight on the corner exit, we were trying not to over drive on the entry. In case people are wondering about what my hat is, it’s for my sunglasses. Thanks to Tom DeLoach (team owner) for giving me this opportunity. It’s just a great day.”
How does it feel to win tonight?
“Thank you to the good Lord for being with us tonight and for blessing us. How about Toyota for clinching the manufacturer championship tonight. So great and proud to be a part of the Toyota Racing family. Thanks to Tom DeLoach (team owner), Red Horse Racing and all the guys back at the shop. What an amazing night.”
What did you think when you saw the leaders crashing off of turn four?
“I am glad they are okay, but you never want to see that happen. It was hard racing I guess, from my perspective it was. We had a top-five truck for sure, but we whipped ourselves into position to take the win tonight.”
How did you hold off John Hunter Nemechek on the final restart?
“His truck was good but our truck was better on the short run. The track was still kind of oily when they put the speedy dry down. We just tried to get up on the restart and not over drive my entry.”
TOM DELOACH, team owner, Red Horse Racing
What does it mean for Red Horse Racing to be the team that clinches Toyota’s eighth NCWTS manufacturer’s championship?
“It’s a real thrill for me. I’m the longest Toyota team in the garage. I’ve been with Toyota longer than anyone in the traveling series garage, so it was very special for me to bring home the manufacturer championship for Toyota. They’ve been a fantastic partner. I’ve seen it grow over the years. When I first started with them, they only raced in the Trucks. Obviously they’ve grown up a little bit bigger in the series now and competing in the top level to get a Cup championship. Nice to see the Toyota growth.”
DANIEL SUAREZ, No. 51 ARRIS Toyota Tundra, Kyle Busch Motorsports
Finishing Position: 4th
MATT TIFFT, No. 54 games.NASCAR.com Toyota Tundra, Kyle Busch Motorsports
Finishing Position: 8th
ERIK JONES, No. 4 Toyota Tundra, Kyle Busch Motorsports
Finishing Position: 9th
How disappointed were you to be involved in the accident with Matt Crafton?
“You’re disappointed you know, I really don’t want to talk about it that much. It’s disappointing. It’s unfortunate, we were racing for the win and that kind of situation happens, but everybody makes mistakes and Matt (Crafton) made one tonight. It cost both of us a shot at the win. It doesn’t take away from the fact that we had a really fast Tundra. We definitely I thought had the best truck here all night. Still have a 19 point lead and we can go to Homestead and have a 15th place day – hopefully we can do that. It’s just unfortunate, wish we could have raced for the win.”
What happened between yourself and Crafton?
“I think it was definitely hard racing. Matt (Crafton) is always racing us pretty hard. Like I said, there was definitely some hard racing. He didn’t want us to get the lead obviously and slipped up and made a mistake. It’s going to happen, it’s racing , it’s hard racing and we both had fast trucks. It’s just a shame when you lose a shot at the win.”
Did you see the championship slipping away when the contact was made?
“At that moment I wasn’t thinking about the championship. I was thinking about winning a race and that flashed before my eyes. I was somewhat worried about it, I wasn’t too concerned about it, I figured we’d be okay since obviously the 88 (Matt Crafton) was involved as well. Still a 19-point lead and that’s a solid margin to go into Homestead.”
What did you feel when Matt Crafton got underneath you?
“I think he (Matt Crafton) was just trying to get a good run off of four and we spooked him a little bit because we got such a good run through three and four on the top. I was starting to roll out of it, I was getting tight and then all of the sudden I got hit in the left-rear. It’s unfortunate, we definitely had the two fastest trucks. I don’t think there was anybody else in the field that really had anything for us all night. It’s a shame and I wish we could have raced for the win side-by-side, but those things are going to happen when you’re racing that hard and that close together. It’s nice that fortunately it didn’t take us out of the championship. We still have a 19 point lead so we can go into Homestead with a nice cushion and just need to have a solid day there.”
How was the racing different tonight compared to previous Phoenix races?
“I think the new tire they brought here is so much softer and it just changed a lot over the course of a run where in years past it stayed pretty consistent. We just seem to get really tight on the long run, especially when we got 20 or 30 laps into, we just got pretty tight center off both ends. We made a couple of adjustments and I thought there on the last stop we really did a good job of getting it good and I was just honestly waiting for Matt (Crafton) to wear his stuff out and on that restart we had such a good run off of two and then such a good run through three and four, I thought that was kind of going to be it to get to clear them and hopefully bring out our Tundra to the win. There’s always next week.”
How will you approach the race at Homestead?
“I think we need to approach it somewhat conservatively. We need to finish at least 16th I think and that’s not too tall of an order for our team. We went and tested at Homestead, I feel pretty good about it and hopefully we can have a good, solid day. It would sure be nice to bring home the championship.”
CAMERON HAYLEY, No. 13 Carolina Nut Co. Toyota Tundra, ThorSport Racing
Finishing Position: 11th
DALTON SARGEANT, No. 5 Galt Toyota Tundra, Wauters Motorsports
Finishing Position: 19th
MATT CRAFTON, No. 88 Ideal Door/Menards Toyota Tundra, ThorSport Racing
Finishing Position: 23rd
What happened in the accident?
“It was 100 percent my fault. We were close and it was tight racing. When you get somebody side-by-side with you, I just got loose and made a mistake. Things happen, we’re all human and we’ll go on to Homestead. I hate it for the guys, we had such a good truck. We’ll just hold our heads up and go to Homestead.”
Did your truck get loose under Erik Jones?
“Just got loose under him. Got loose and I started chasing and when I chased it I was already free at that point and when I did chase it I touched him (Erik Jones) and then it just sent me the rest of the way around and I caught him at the same time and just sent me for a ride and got tore up. I hate it for all of us, I hate it for my guys and I dang sure didn’t want to do it with the 4 (Jones) and those guys. I want to be able to see a Toyota win the championship.”
BEN KENNEDY, No. 11 Local Motors Toyota Tundra, Red Horse Racing
Finishing Position: 24th
JOHNNY SAUTER, No. 98 Smokey Mountain/Curb Records Toyota Tundra, ThorSport Racing
Finishing Position: 25th
What did you see between Erik Jones and Matt Crafton that took you out of contention?
“He (Matt Crafton) was just racing the 4 (Erik Jones) and I think he got loose and spun out and came across the race track and I had nowhere to go. What do you do, it’s racing.”
WILLIAM BYRON, No. 9 Liberty University Toyota Tundra, Kyle Busch Motorsports
Finishing Position: 31st
What happened to take you out of the race?
“I felt like the two of us were side-by-side, I guess he got cleared and he wasn’t cleared. It’s alright, it’s a racing deal. It’s unfortunate because these KBM (Kyle Busch Motorsports) guys worked hard on this Tundra. I hate to end it this early, but I’ll keep my head up as I have a whole year of Trucks ahead of me next year that I’m looking forward to.”
