HAMPTON, Ga. (September 4, 2011) —Timothy Peters was on his way to the front of the field when an electrical issue halted his forward progress and plagued him throughout the 130-lap event at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Peters qualified in the 10th starting position. As the race began, Peters was one of the fastest trucks on the track. On lap 10, Peters was scored in the eighth position when he reported to the No. 17 Toyota Tundra team that his red voltage light had appeared on his dash and the truck was not running as it should. The team determined they had a battery failure and formulated a plan to help Peters under the first caution period.
Luckily for the No. 17 team, the first caution waved shortly after they discovered they had a problem on lap 19 allowing the team to come down pit road and replace the battery on the No. 17 machine. Peters was forced to make multiple stops under the caution in order to change the battery and service the truck with four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment. The race returned to green on lap 26 with Peters scored in the 29th position. Peters slowly began to make his way back toward the front of the field; however, as the driver of the No. 17 began to complete laps he radioed to the team that he did not believe their problems were over. Not only was the No. 17 truck a handful to drive with a loose-handling condition, but Peters also felt that the truck was still not under full power.
The second caution of the night waved on lap 36. The No. 17 team chose to remain on the track under the caution period. Peters reported he was still too loose in the center of the corner off and the truck was still not up to its full running potential. The team chose to leave him on the track to try and preserve the remaining set of sticker tires they had left in the pit area until closer to the end of the event. Peters was scored in the 18th position for the restart on lap 41. Peters was able to maintain his position until the third caution flag flew on lap 60. The team brought the No.17 Toyota Tundra down pit road for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment. Peters restarted from the 16th position on lap 64. The caution was displayed again seven laps later on lap 71. Peters continued to report that the No. 17 truck was not running as it should. The team called Peters down pit road to make some internal adjustments and help his continuing loose-handling race truck.
The field went back green on lap 76. The woes of the No. 17 team were far from over. On lap 77, Peters went spinning through the infield as he had cut a left-rear tire. The No. 17 truck sustained minor damage but the team took their time trying to get the truck repaired properly. Peters’ extended time on pit road resulted in the team losing a lap to the leader on lap 80. Peters was scored in the 28th position when the race restarted on lap 81. Peters quickly moved himself into the “lucky dog” position making the No. 17 truck eligible to get their lap back should the caution wave again.
Peters continued to maintain his position despite having to hold on to a loose-handling Tundra. As the laps wound down in the 130-lap event the team told Peters he was solid to make it to the end of the event on fuel. With only 10 laps remaining many of the leaders began to come to pit road for a final splash of fuel. Peters was able to make it to the end of the event without having to make a final stop allowing him to move up the running order and take the checkered flag in the 16th position. Peters remains third in the championship standings, only 14 markers out of the top spot.
The Truck Series returns to action in two weeks on Friday, September 16, 2011 at Chicagoland Speedway for the Fast Five 200 which can be viewed live on SPEED at 8:00 p.m., EDT.
