LAS VEGAS, Nev. (September 26, 2009) – Tayler Malsam and the No. 81 Randy Moss Motorsports team headed west to Las Vegas to tackle another track on which Malsam had never before raced. Malsam qualified for the 146-lap event in the 22nd spot and came back from an early race spin to finish in the 10th position.
Malsam’s was the 11th truck to take to the track for his two-lap qualifying run Saturday afternoon. The Raybestos Rookie of the Year candidate posted a speed of 170.821 miles per hour around the 1.5-mile track, which earned the One Eighty Toyota Tundra 22nd place on the starting grid.
Following a brief delay caused by malfunctioning lights in turn one, Malsam took the green flag for the start of Saturday evening’s event and found himself in a bit of trouble early on. On lap four of the 146-lap event, Malsam’s Toyota Tundra became loose heading into turn four. Malsam looped the truck in the corner, but was able to keep it off the wall. Malsam drove his truck to the attention of his awaiting crew, who bolted on four fresh tires and made a track bar adjustment before sending him back out on the track for the lap eight restart in the 30th spot.
Malsam did his best to put the incident behind him and broke into the top 20 by lap 20. Malsam let crew chief Doug Wolcott know that the truck was loose around other trucks and Wolcott made a track bar adjustment during a pit stop several laps later. Malsam returned to the track in 13th place, and though he fell back through the field a bit in the laps that followed, he communicated to his team that the truck was fine and that he was working to get comfortable with the truck and the track.
Wolcott made the strategic decision to take on fuel and not tires during a yellow flag pit stop on lap 52. That decision moved the No. 81 truck up closer to the front of the field as many of its competitors took on four fresh tires. Malsam was able to exit pit road ahead of those teams.
Malsam held down a position inside the top 10 for the remainder of the event, and when the checkered flag flew on lap 146, the No. 81 team stood in 10th place.
After scoring his 10th top-10 finish of the season, Malsam picked up one spot in the driver point standings and now holds down 11th place, 26 points outside of the top 10. He also remains in the middle of a tight points battle, with just 121 points separating him from fifth.
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series takes a couple of weekends off before returning to action at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway on October 24. The Kroger 200 will be broadcast live at 1 p.m. (ET) on SPEED TV and on select affiliates of MRN Radio and Sirius-XM NASCAR Radio on Saturday, September 26.
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.
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