Toyota NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) Post-Race Notes & Quotes
Michigan International Speedway
Race 14 of 23 – 200 miles, 100 laps
Saturday, August 27, 2016
TOYOTA NCWTS DRIVER FINISHING POSITIONS at Michigan International Speedway
1st, BRETT MOFFITT
2nd, TIMOTHY PETERS
4th, WILLIAM BYRON
5th, CAMERON HAYLEY
6th, BEN RHODES
7th, MATT CRAFTON
13th, RICO ABREU
16th, AUSTIN WAYNE SELF
20th, CODY COUGHLIN
23rd, RYAN TRUEX
24th, CHRISTOPHER BELL
TOYOTA DRIVER NCWTS POINT STANDINGS following Michigan International Speedway (race 14 of 23)*
1st, WILLIAM BYRON 379 points
3rd, TIMOTHY PETERS 335 points
5th, MATT CRAFTON 322 points
7th, CHRISTOPHER BELL 305 points
9th, CAMERON HAYLEY 288 points
12th, BEN RHODES 264 points
13th, RICO ABREU 245 points
16th, AUSTIN WAYNE SELF 179 points
*unofficial point standings
TOYOTA NOTES
· Tundra driver Brett Moffitt earned his first career victory in Saturday afternoon’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) race at Michigan International Speedway.
· Moffitt led only one the final lap of the race – his first career lap led in a NASCAR national touring series race.
· Tundra driver and Moffitt’s Red Horse Racing teammate Timothy Peters finished second and led the most laps in the race with 42 at the two-mile speedway.
· The victory marked the 10th Tundra victory this season.
· In addition to Moffitt and Peters, fellow Tundra drivers William Byron (fourth), Cameron Hayley (fifth), Ben Rhodes (sixth) and Matt Crafton (seventh) also earned top-10 finishes.
TOYOTA QUOTES
BRETT MOFFITT, No. 11 Toyota Tundra, Red Horse Racing
Finishing Position: 1st
What does this win mean to you?
“This has been huge. At the beginning of the year we didn’t have anything on the schedule. Coming here and these guys give me such good race trucks week in and week out. I knew it was just a matter of time. Honestly, during the race I didn’t think it was going to be our day. It was just tough out there with the draft, but what an amazing finish. It couldn’t have worked out any better for us. I can’t thank Tom DeLoach (team owner) and everybody at Red Horse Racing enough and Camping World for putting this on.”
Were you concerned about the fact that Timothy Peters needed to win to get locked into the Chase?
“I’m here to win – I said it earlier and I’ll say it again, I’m not going to wreck him for it. I’m going to race him clean because I know he needs to get in the Chase, but this team needs to win and these guys deserve to win. That’s what we come to do and our partners at Toyota want to do the same and we got it.”
What were your thoughts on the white flag lap?
“Honestly, I was just hoping to hold onto third there for a while. I didn’t really think it was going to be our day to win. I knew we were going to be competitive and when the 9 (William Byron) got to the inside of him, I knew it would slow them both down and I thought this couldn’t be any more perfect. Barely got to the inside of him going into (turn) one and from then on I was just hoping and praying that it was enough to hold him off down the backstretch.”
What does this win do for your career?
“I needed this. I had no races on my schedule this year and to get picked up by Tom DeLoach and everyone at Red Horse Racing is amazing and our partners at Toyota have been really good at backing us and giving us the technology we need. This is everything I needed to have happen and it couldn’t happen at a better finish streak there – three-two-one. This is amazing.”
What can you say about this being the only NASCAR national series lap you’ve ever led?
“It’s the only one you have to lead, that’s when the pay window is open and that’s when the checks are getting wrote.”
How were you able to make that pass on the final lap?
“I went wide open and go where they aren’t. That’s all you can do. I knew it might be sketchy because I knew Timothy (Peters) would try to move up a little bit, but we had such a run on him and we were rolling about 10 miles an hour faster going into turn one and I knew if there was room to get to the outside then I didn’t care if it would stick or not, I’m here to win races and luckily we were able to drive right by them.”
How important is this win for you moving forward?
“Winning is awesome, no matter what the circumstance is. Last week finishing second was really frustrating for me because I have a short timetable to get the job done and I knew everyone was impressed with the runs we were having and happy, but for my sake I needed to go out there and win. This was our job to get the 11 truck in the owner’s championship and we did that and hopefully we can get another win next week and hopefully some more doors open down the road. All in all it’s been a great opportunity and a lot of fun racing when you have the right tools for the job and our partners with Toyota and Tom (DeLoach, team owner) give us those tools and me and Scott (Zipadelli, crew chief) are just able to make the most of it.”
How did this opportunity come about?
“I was sitting on my couch and riding bikes. Every year my career has kind of been like that. I’ve always been kind of not knowing where I was going to go and I thought I had a three-year deal with Michael Waltrip Racing and they closed down and that kind of put me right back in the same situation. Every time when I start getting comfortable, it seems like the rug gets pulled out from under me. For Tom and everyone to give me this opportunity, it’s really special that they took the chance and I guess everything happens for a reason. I didn’t see the light of day when MWR shut down, but God put me in this place and this is a great place to be and everything with this team is phenomenal and everyone works really hard and they’re able to run really well. It just makes racing fun again. Last year it was becoming a job when you’re not competing for wins and all you’re doing is counting the money coming in. This year we’re competing for wins again and it’s putting a fire under my butt and it’s just fun.”
SCOTT ZIPADELLI, crew chief, No. 11 Red Horse Racing Toyota Tundra, Red Horse Racing
How were you dealing with the closing laps of the race?
“Just kind of the same as every other lap really. Just wondered if it was going to work out really. Just watching like everyone else. Not a lot I could do from my vantage point. It looked like we had a good, solid run and I didn’t see anyone that was going to challenge that at that point.”
TOM DELOACH, team owner, Red Horse Racing
What was going through your mind in the closing laps?
“On the restart, the idea was that Brett (Moffitt) would get behind Timothy (Peters) and get out front. The two of them got out, Timothy got the lead and the 9 (William Byron) was still kind of running really well and beside Timothy and we told them that you get out front and you guys settle it between the two of you. It’s one of those things that as a team owner you’re thrilled for one of them and you’re feelings are hurt for the other one, but it’s very nice to come in for a one-two finish, it’s kind of hard when you have a one-two to say you’re disappointed. It’s not there at all, it’s a fantastic day for Red Horse, the guys worked so hard to get this stuff done. I kidded the entire 11 team this week, at Eldora we had driver in his first dirt race and we finished fourth and then we had Brett in at Pocono and finished third and then we had a second-place finish at Bristol. I said, you know what the progression is – four-three-two and here’s one. It worked out well.”
TIMOTHY PETERS, No. 17 Red Horse Racing Toyota Tundra, Red Horse Racing
Finishing Position: 2nd
How difficult is it to finish second knowing the importance of a victory for the Chase?
“Good day for Red Horse Racing – congrats to Brett Moffitt with our one-two finish. I wish I would have won, but all in all the company brings a trophy back. The 9 (William Byron) locked onto our bumper there and pushed us really hard down into turn three, but we had to do all we could do to stay in front, but good effort by everybody at Red Horse Racing, Shane Huffman (crew chief), the pit crew, Toyota, Triad Engines – just tough to swallow right there, but it felt good to run like we did all day.”
Is this frustrating for you to finish second today?
“Not really frustrating from a company standpoint. Personally, it’s very frustrating, but you have to look at it – we’ve been consistent all year long and the Lord had a plan today and we finished second and that’s the way we look at it. Leading the most laps, that’s fine and dandy and wish we could have capped it off for sure. Again it goes back to a good company finish – one-two for Red Horse Racing. It hasn’t been done in a while, it’s been done before, but we had a great truck all day and it’s all about execution. It goes back to what Daniel (Hemric) was talking about with the outcome of the race – he gives him a good push, the 9 (William Byron), in my opinion gives his move to early so that drug down he and I drug the pace down, which gave the 11 (Brett Moffitt) a chance to catch up like that with the run that Daniel gave him. All in all, great for the company and from a personal standpoint, a little frustrating, but we’re still alive. It doesn’t affect us, it doesn’t knock myself out of the Chase so we still have a couple more shots. Hopefully we can get a win and if not, hopefully we can make it through on points.”
How much do you think about the Chase scenarios?
“You’re always thinking about different scenarios. It’s just like there at the end, it all comes down to restarts. Everything is won on these restarts. You get so aggressive on these tracks where you’re drafting like we are here, I thought it was funny that Chris Lambert (spotter) came on and said that I was going to talk to you like we were at Daytona or Talladega. It’s just part of it. Also, three-quarters of the field probably spent more of the race looking out the rearview mirror rather than the windshield, I know I did. With that said, it’s different strategies and different scenarios, who’s lining up fourth? Do you put teammates together or do you split them up? As you can see, nobody really ran away with the race. All in all, everybody did their homework and I’m glad that we’re still alive.”
WILLIAM BYRON, No. 9 Liberty University Toyota Tundra, Kyle Busch Motorsports
Finishing Position: 4th
How was the race?
“It was pretty good, I think we just had to go there when we got side-by-side with the 17 (Timothy Peters) so had to try to make that work and we were side drafting really hard. Fourth is good and I’m happy for Brett (Moffitt), that was a great win. With the drafting out there, it’s pretty crazy. I had a fast Liberty University Tundra and hopefully we can get a win at MoSport.”
CAMERON HAYLEY, No. 13 Ride TV/Cabinets by Hayley Toyota Tundra, ThorSport Racing
Finishing Position: 5th
What happened in the closing laps of the race?
“Our three ThorSport trucks were lined up and we were trying to stay lined up because we knew that was the only way we could catch that lead pack and challenge. We got pretty aggressive at the end – a lot of drafting and a lot of side-drafting. Overall a great run for our RideTV Tundra, but came up a little short on the setup. Top-five is great, but we need a win right now.”
BEN RHODES, No. 41 Carolina Nut Co. Toyota Tundra, ThorSport Racing
Finishing Position: 6th
MATT CRAFTON, No. 88 Great Lakes Flooring/Menards Toyota Tundra, ThorSport Racing
Finishing Position: 7th
RICO ABREU, No. 98 Safelite Auto Glass/Curb Records Toyota Tundra, ThorSport Racing
Finishing Position: 13th
AUSTIN WAYNE SELF, No. 22 AM Technical Solutions Toyota Tundra
Finishing Position: 16th
CODY COUGHLIN, No. 51 JEGS/AFCO Toyota Tundra, Kyle Busch Motorsports
Finishing Position: 20th
RYAN TRUEX, No. 81 Toyota Tundra, Hattori Racing Enterprises
Finishing Position: 23rd
CHRISTOPHER BELL, No. 4 JBL Toyota Tundra, Kyle Busch Motorsports
Finishing Position: 24th
Are you okay and what happened in the accident?
“I’m fine, just really bummed for everybody that works on this JBL Toyota No. 4 team. We had a really fast Tundra today and I felt like I did a really good job all race just biding my time, I knew I had a really good Tundra. Just trying to take care of it and I got the opportunity there late in the race and still had a lot of race left and probably should have waited a little bit. I had the opportunity, tried to take it and it didn’t work out.”
