Timothy Peters
No. 17 Big O Tires /Service Central Toyota Tundra
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race 20 of 25
Kentucky Speedway
REACHING MILESTONES: This weekend at Kentucky Speedway Red Horse Racing is chasing two team milestones. Since the inception of Red Horse Racing in 2005, the team has earned 45 top-five and 94 top-10 finishes. By the end of 2011, the team hopes to have surpassed 50 top-five and 100 top-10 finishes with drivers Miguel Paludo and Timothy Peters.
ACHILLES HEEL: Peters and the No. 17 team have struggled this season with 1.5-mile speedways. The team has an average finish of 19.1 at these tracks. This weekend the team is taking a different truck with a new approach.
“After winning the pole earlier this season at Charlotte Motor Speedway and running well there, our mile and a half program has really hasn’t been where we need it to be,” said Peters. “We have met with our Toyota teammates and we feel like we have a different approach this weekend heading into Kentucky. We have really focused our efforts on improving on these types of tracks. In order to make a statement in this championship battle, we feel like we need another win and to be able to give our team owner Tom DeLoach his first win on a 1.5-mile track would icing on the cake this weekend at Kentucky.”
ONE OF THE FEW: After the completion of race number 19 on the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series schedule only seven of the 19 races have been won by a Truck Series regular driver. Peters is one of only five Truck Series regulars to have visited Victory Lane this season.
CHAMPIONSHIP IMPICATIONS: The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series has been making the journey to Kentucky Speedway since 2000. This season is the first time the series will compete at Kentucky Speedway twice in one season. Since 2000, the winner at Kentucky Speedway has gone on to win the season ending championship six out of 11 times. The past three champions have won the race at Kentucky Speedway then gone on to lift the trophy in Homestead.
HAVE A BIG O TIME! This weekend Peters will carry the Big O Tires logo across the hood of the No. 17 Big O Tires/ Service Central Toyota Tundra. Throughout the US visit a Big O Tire, Merchant’s, National Tire and Battery or Tire Kingdom near you. Please visit www.servicecentralauto.com for more details.
CHASSIS HISTORY: The No. 17 team will utilize chassis No. 093 this weekend at Kentucky Speedway. This chassis last competed at Iowa Speedway where Peters earned an 11th-place finish. This will be chassis No. 093 second outing this season.
PREVIOUS RACE RECAP: Last week at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Peters and the No. 17 team scored their ninth top-10 finish of 2011. Peters fought a tight-handling truck throughout the weekend, but was able to overcome a late-race pit road mishap to come home in the ninth position.
Timothy Peters Talks about Kentucky Speedway:
How important is this weekend’s race at Kentucky Speedway to the championship battle?
“I think for myself and the No. 17 team this weekend is about finishing well. It is no secret that we struggled at Kentucky earlier this season, but for our team we need to start running more competitively at these types of tracks. If we can come out of Kentucky with a top-10 or even a top-five finish I think that will put us even closer to our goal of winning this year’s Truck Series championship.”
What is the most difficult thing about racing at Kentucky Speedway?
“The track really has not changed that much over the years. I love racing at Kentucky Speedway, but being able to get your truck to handle over the bumps is the real challenge. I really enjoy the character of this track, I know a lot of people think all mile and a half tracks are the same, but they are all really different. I do not think there is another track close to Kentucky Speedway– it is a very unique place and very hard to get the exact set-up you need.”
During the 2011 season, there has been a lot of discussion about the Cup Series drivers competing in the series. What are your thoughts on this weekend’s standalone event?
“I think the Cup Series drivers coming to the Truck Series only elevate the Truck Series regulars’ level of competition. Even though they will not be competing this week, we still have some of the closest competition throughout NASCAR. Each week I look at the qualifying and practice sheets and every truck is within a few hundredths of each other. The competition is tight — that is why the championship battle has remained as close as it has.”
About Red Horse Racing:
Founded in 2005 by former Mobil Corporation executive Tom DeLoach and NASCAR veteran Jeff Hammond, Red Horse Racing aims to be a professional racing team that strives for excellence on and off the race track. Red Horse Racing hopes to build and maintain solid, mutual relationships with its partners to win races and championships and to represent itself in a professional manner. The team has four victories and five poles in its brief existence. DeLoach and Hammond also own Performance Instruction Training (PIT), the number one pit crew training center in the world that also has many corporate training options that include team-building, lean manufacturing, motorsports demonstrations and more.
About TBC Retail Group
Headquartered in Juno Beach, Florida, TBC Retail Group, Inc., a subsidiary of TBC Corporation, operates more than 800 tire and automotive service centers under the brands: Tire Kingdom, NTB – National Tire and Battery, and Merchant’s Tire and Auto Centers, along with over 400 franchised Big O Tires locations. The contingent of over 1200 stores has trained and certified ASE technicians who use state-of-the-art equipment to provide quality service on cars and trucks. The nationwide warranty provides peace of mind while it protects consumers and their investment in over 40 states. TBC Retail Group employs more than 300 associates at its Juno Beach, Fla. headquarters and approximately 10,000 associates nationally. To locate a store near you, call 800-NEW-TIRE. TBC Corporation, headquartered in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, is one of the nation’s largest marketers of automotive replacement tires through a multi-channel retail and wholesale strategy.
