BRISTOL, Tenn. (August 20, 2009) – Bristol Motor Speedway has a reputation for showing no mercy to veterans and rookies alike, and Wednesday’s O’Reilly 200 was no exception for driver Tayler Malsam and the No. 81 One Eighty team. After breaking into the top 25 following a 30th-place qualifying effort, Malsam was the innocent victim in a two-truck accident early in the race. The team was able to finish the event after making extensive repairs and took the checkered flag in the 31st spot.
The No. 81 One Eighty Toyota Tundra was the second of 39 trucks to take to the track for qualifying Wednesday afternoon. Malsam posted a speed of 117.913 miles per hour around the .533-mile track, earning the team 30th place on the starting grid.
Malsam took the green flag for the start of the race and made quick work of slower traffic, breaking into the top 25 early in the event. While the young rookie raced with veteran driver Todd Bodine and worked feverishly to maintain his position on the lead lap, Bodine’s Toyota became loose and clipped the left rear of the One Eighty machine, sending Malsam careening into the inside of the turn two wall.
Malsam was able to ease his battered truck into the garage area and crew chief Doug Wolcott and the rest of the team went to work to assess the damage. Extensive repairs were made to the nose of the machine, including replacing the radiator. The One Eighty crew made the needed repairs quickly and Malsam was able to return to the track, albeit missing much of the front end of the Tundra, on lap 83 of the 200-lap event.
Malsam spent the remainder of the night making laps in an effort to gather the maximum amount of points possible. He took the checkered flag in the 31st position.
“We were pretty loose in qualifying and I think the early draw may have hurt us a bit, but I was pretty confident about the way things would work out for us during the race,” commented Malsam after the event. “I don’t know exactly what happened there with Bodine. I was running the top and I guess he just got loose and got into me. That’s just the way it goes sometimes at a place like Bristol, I guess.
“I’m really proud of how hard Doug and the One Eighty guys worked here today. They made a lot of repairs in a short amount of time and we were at least able to get back out there, make laps and finish the race. Obviously this wasn’t what we were hoping for tonight and I’m sure it will hurt us a bit in the points and the rookie battle, but we’ll put this one behind us and look for better things at Chicagoland.”
Despite the disappointing finish in Bristol, Malsam and his Randy Moss Motorsports team remain in the top 10 in both the owner and driver points’ battles.
Tayler Malsam and the No. 81 Randy Moss Motorsports Toyota Tundra team will return to action at Chicagoland Speedway on Friday, August 28. The EnjoyIllinois.com 225, the inaugural NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at the speedway, will be broadcast at 9 p.m. (ET) on SPEED TV and on select affiliates of MRN Radio and Sirius-XM NASCAR Radio.
ABOUT ONE EIGHTY: One Eighty, founded in 1976, encompasses hospitality, senior housing, and international brands, all of which require their customers to “Twist Your Thinking.” One Eighty’s hospitality brand has three divisions – Edibility, PrimeFit, and Twist Travel, which offer a bold take on their individual specialties. Edibility includes retirement community food services, corporate and social event catering, restaurant development and management, culinary classes, and signature food items. Also, PrimeFit and Twist Travel take a similar cover-the-all bases approach. For more information about One Eighty, please visit www.oneeightytwist.com.
ABOUT RANDY MOSS MOTORSPORTS: Randy Moss Motorsports ownership consists of Randy Moss, New England Patriots All-Pro Wide Receiver; and David Dollar, a long-time participant in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. The team fields the No. 81 Toyota Tundra and the No. 5 Toyota Tundra full-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. For more information about Randy Moss Motorsports, please visit www.randymossmotorsports.com.