FORT WORTH, Texas – Saddling up for his eighth NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) start of the season, veteran Tyler Young (@TylerYoung02) is aiming for his second consecutive top-10 performance in Friday night’s JAG Metals 350 at Texas Motor Speedway.
Young, a native of Midland, Texas heads to the Lone Star State on the heels of his best finish of the season two races ago at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, where despite being collected in a massive last-lap pileup, he was credited with a 10th place finish.
Knowing that his Young’s Motorsports team brought their best superspeedway truck to the plate for Talladega, he’s leaning on crew chief Chad Kendrick to do the same with a brand-new truck for Friday night’s penultimate intermediate race of the season.
“I always enjoy going back to Texas,” said Young. “It’s a big race for me and my family. We’ve been fortunate to have some good runs there – but we’ve raised the stakes a little bit this weekend knowing we’re bringing a new truck.
“I know we’ll probably have to work some of the bugs out during the first practice, but that final practice session – a little closer to qualifying and race time will be crucial for our team to get steered in the right direction. I feel like we can leave Texas with a strong finish.”
For the second consecutive weekend, Young’s Motorsports will field two trucks in Truck Series competition. Austin Hill will remain buckled in the team’s flagship No. 02 truck, while Young is set to pilot the No. 20 Young’s Building Systems / Randco Industries Chevrolet.
Last weekend Hill joined Jeb Burton in his Truck Series return at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. Both trucks ran consistently in the top-20 before Burton suffered a mechanical failure late in the Texas Roadhouse 200.
Hill went on to log a 16th place finish.
“Experimenting with two teams is making our program more sound,” offered Young. “Long-term, we’d like Young’s Motorsports to become a more viable outlet for customers. “We’ve been able to make some gains during the season, but we’re not there yet.
“Everyone is working hard and I’m very pleased with the shop atmosphere not only at the track but at the race track too. The time is here to hammer down and try and get ahead for 2018 and I’m hoping this new truck will lead us in that direction.”
This weekend’s JAG Metals 350 will be the 26-year old’s 10th start at the 1.5-mile speedway.
In his previous nine races, the Texan has earned a best finish of 14th twice, but Young is hoping to sway a recent string of bad luck at TMS and earn his sixth-career top-10 finish.
“The repave has made the track a little sketchy at times,” sounded Young. “I think you’ll see this weekend that it may take a little while for the groove to widen out – but once it does, it should produce some great racing.
“For me, we need to have a good run at Texas. It’s been a little bit since we’ve left there satisfied. For one reason or another, it just hasn’t worked in our favor. We were running pretty good in the spring – with my best qualifying effort at Texas, but had an engine failure shortly after halfway and that put a damper on our night.
“I realize it’s still the Playoffs and I’m going to be respectful of my friends and competitors who are a part of that championship case – but we need to go out there and do our dance too. We definitely have the momentum to have a good show at Texas, I’m just hoping we can contend for another top-10 run when it’s all said and done.”
In 77 career NCWTS starts, Young holds five top-10 finishes to his credit with a career-best sixth at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway in February 2016. A sixth-place qualifying effort at Eldora Speedway in July 2015 is his best time trials effort to date. Young’s Motorsports has competed on the tour since 2012.
For more on Tyler Young, please visit YoungsMotorsports.com or click on his Facebook page. Young is also active on Twitter. You can follow and tweet with him @TylerYoung02.
The JAG Metals 350 (147 laps / 220.5 miles) is the 21st of 23 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races on the 2017 schedule. Practice begins on Thurs., Nov. 2 from 2:00 p.m. – 2:55 p.m., with a final practice session is set for 4:00 p.m. – 4:55 p.m. Qualifying is set for race day, Nov. 3 beginning at 3:00 p.m. The 32-truck field will take the green flag shortly after 7:00 p.m. with live coverage on FOX Sports 1 (FS1), the Motor Racing Network (Radio) and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Satellite Radio, Channel 90). All times are Central (CT).
No. 02 Young’s Motorsports Texas Motor Speedway Fast Facts:
Driver: Tyler Young (@TylerYoung02)
Owner: Randy Young (Young’s Motorsports)
Crew Chief: Chad Kendrick
Truck Chief: Andrew Abbott
Manufacturer: Chevrolet Silverado
Engine Builder: Collins Engine Works
