Justin Lofton, No. 77 Lofton Cattle Toyota Tundra
Track: Nashville Superspeedway
Event: Bully Hill Vineyards 200
When: Friday, April 22, 8 PM (Eastern)
Broadcast information: 7:30 PM (Eastern) SPEED
Last Time Out: Justin Lofton and the No. 77 Lofton Cattle team had all of the ingredients for a competitive run at the short track in Martinsville, Virginia during the tour’s last race on April 2nd. After two practice sessions, the team posted the fourth fastest time on the speed chart, followed by a strong eighth place qualifying position. Unfortunately, once under green flag conditions, it didn’t take long for trouble to find Lofton. With traffic falling a lap down early around the half-mile short track it took less than 20 laps for the racing to get congested. A lapped truck made contact with Lofton’s Toyota Tundra, sending him hard into the outside wall. The damage forced Lofton into the garage for prolonged repairs. He eventually rejoined the race, ending the day in the 32nd position.
Off Week, Off Road: Lofton spent last weekend in Nevada preparing for his run next weekend in the Best in the Desert Off-Road Racing Series. With an off week in NASCAR Truck competition, he will take advantage of the down time by returning to his racing roots by wheeling a class 1500 entry. In 2004, Lofton earned the Best in the Desert Class 1000 championship and Rookie of the Year honors. Lofton at Nashville: Lofton will make his third Camping World Truck Series start on the 1.33-mile concrete race track under the lights on Friday. Last season he started both events within the top-10, with a best finish of ninth. To date, his best finish at Nashville is a fifth place effort, which he collected in 2008 while competing in the ARCA Racing Series.
Truck Information: Lofton will race chassis GR010, TRD122. It is the same truck that the team raced earlier this season at Darlington, scoring a 13th place finish. Lofton on Nashville: “I am ready to get back to racing. It’s always tough to start the season and then have some off weeks peppered in between our races. I’d love to race every week. We’re really looking forward to Nashville because we had such a strong truck in Martinsville, and we’re heading to the track this week with another strong truck. I’m ready to get back at it.”
Crew Chief Ryan “Rudy” Fugle on Nashville: “We have moved on from our bad luck over the last two weeks. We are going to restart our season in Nashville. We have been fast, that is the most important thing, and we are looking to continue that and get a complete weekend with a win at Nashville.”
2011 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Results Date Track Race Start Finish Laps Status Earnings February 18 Daytona NextEra Energy Resources 250 17 18 98/103 Running $11,125 February 25 Phoenix Lucas Oil 150 24 30 139/150 Running $7,725 March 12 Darlington Too Tough To Tame 200 17 13 147/147 Running $7,175 April 2 Martinsville Kroger 250 8 32 160/250 Running $7,600
