The Rookie Overcomes Spin and Captures Second Top-10 of Season
CONCORD, N.C. (May 17, 2009) – During Friday night’s North Carolina Education Lottery 200, Tayler Malsam and his Randy Moss Motorsports team showed the resilience and determination it takes to compete up front in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS). Running consistently in the top-15, Malsam went for a ride through the infield grass on lap 34, just as his teammate Mike Skinner hit the wall hard and slid down the track on his side. The No. 81 One Eighty Toyota Tundra crew went to work under caution to fix the damage that Malsam received and for the remaining 100 laps, the Seattle, Washington native steadily battled his way through the field to come home with an eighth-place finish. This was the second top-10 finish of the season for Malsam and the 20-year-old remains the leader in the Raybestos Rookie of the Year point standings.
Due to qualifying being rained out, Malsam started the 201-mile race from the 12th position. The No. 81 Toyota quickly moved and remained in the top-10 when the first caution of the night came out on lap 27. Malsam, who was good in the high groove, was called to pit road on lap 28 by crew chief Doug Wolcott for four fresh tires and the following lap, the One Eighty Tundra returned to pit road for fuel. The Raybestos rookie restarted the race on lap 34 from the 14th position, but within one lap, Malsam had received contact from a fellow competitor which sent the No. 81 Toyota through the infield grass. After a red flag period, the pit crew went to work to fix the damage that Malsam had received and he restarted the race on lap 41 from the 21st position.
During the next 40-lap green flag run, Malsam worked his way up to the 12th position. On lap 83, green flag pit stops began and Malsam broke into the top-10. Four laps later, the caution flew before the No. 81 One Eighty team made their trip to pit road. The Raybestos Rookie radioed to his crew that his truck was “so much fun to drive” and on lap 88, Wolcott called Malsam to the attention of his crew for four tires and an air pressure adjustment. The next lap, Malsam returned to pit road for fuel. The green flag waved on lap 95 to restart the race, with Malsam in the third position.
Malsam continued to run in the top-five for the next ten laps and when the checkered flag flew on the 134-lap event, Malsam came home in the eighth position. This was Malsam’s second top-10 finish, fifth top-15 finish, and his second time capturing the Raybestos Rookie of the Race award in the 2009 NCWTS season.
After his solid finish, Malsam stayed in the 12th position in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship point standings. He is currently 17 points behind 10th-place Brian Scott. In addition, Malsam held his lead in the Raybestos Rookie of the Year standings, expanding his lead to five points over second-place James Buescher.
Tayler Malsam and his No. 81 One Eighty Toyota Tundra team will take a well-deserved week off, before returning to racing action at Dover International Speedway on Friday, May 29th. The AAA Insurance 200 will begin at 5 P.M. Eastern, with SPEED carrying television coverage on a delayed basis, starting at 8 P.M. Eastern. Select affiliates of MRN Radio and Sirius-XM NASCAR Radio Channel 128 will have live radio coverage of the 200-mile event, starting at 5 P.M. Eastern.
Tayler Malsam Quotes:
How was your race?
“This One Eighty Randy Moss crew did it all today. When I got caught up in that first accident, they got us back out there and I just drove the wheels off for these guys. I can’t thank them enough. This is a huge, huge race for us. I hate to see it for Skinner to go out like that. He had a fast truck too. It just shows that Randy Moss Motorsports is here and here to stay because we both ran up front all night.”
What happened when you spun on the frontstretch?
“We were just running the high line. The No. 11 truck decided to come up into us and just spin us out. But that’s racing. It shows that this One Eighty crew can get it back together and we can come back there and finish in the top-10.”
You were very fortunate to not hit anything.
“Yeah, definitely. I thought we knocked the whole front end in when we hit the wall over there but we were good. It was a good fun race. I just can’t thank my guys enough.”
What did you need for the truck to finish a little bit better?
“On the long runs we were killer but just got a little tight on that last session. This truck was amazing. You couldn’t ask for a better one.”
You ran well and had a good finish here at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. How important is this or you and the team?
“It’s huge especially going into the next race at Dover. Doug (Wolcott, crew chief) has an amazing setup there. They won at Dover last year and tonight was a big step for us.”
Did you see Mike Skinner’s accident?
“I was spinning backwards so I don’t know what happened to him. I heard he flipped and I heard he’s okay. He’s a little sore but glad to know that he’s okay.”
-RMM-