Pre-Race Notes and Quotes
Martinsville Speedway
Kroger 200
October 24, 2009
MALSAM AT MARTINSVILLE: Tayler Malsam will be making his 23rd start in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) when the green flag drops for the Kroger 200 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway Saturday afternoon. Malsam has made one start on the .526-mile concrete oval. He finished 14th after starting 18th in his No. 81 Randy Moss Motorsports Toyota Tundra earlier this season.
MALSAM’S RIDE: Crew Chief Doug Wolcott and the No. 81 team are utilizing chassis RMM-107 for this weekend’s event. Though this is not the same truck that the team ran in the Martinsville Speedway event earlier this season, Malsam is accustomed to this ride, having been behind the wheel of this particular truck on four previous occasions, including the event at Gateway International Raceway where he earned the first top-five finish of his NCWTS career.
PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT: Both Malsam and his teammate Mike Skinner tested their Toyota Tundras at Little Rock Speedway located in Rockingham, North Carolina on Monday, October 12th in preparation for this weekend’s event. Though the session was cut short by rain, the team was able to make several practice runs in the morning at the half-mile track.
MALSAM’S THOUGHTS ON MARTINSVILLE: “I’m looking forward to getting to Martinsville if for no other reason than to be returning to a track that we’ve already raced at this year. This will be the first time we’ve done that and I think that will really give our One Eighty Racing team a boost. I know that heading to a track that I’ve already run a truck at will take some of the pressure off of me when we get there. There will not be as many unknowns and Doug (Wolcott – crew chief) will go in there already knowing what I like to feel from the truck and what we need to do to run well and get the most out of the weekend. It will give us the chance to spend more time working on qualifying and race setups in practice and less time just giving me a chance to become accustomed to the track. We are really hoping for big things in Martinsville. Our last few races have been a little disappointing all the way around, so we’re hopeful that Martinsville will give us a chance to finish the season off as strong as it started.”
BRING YOUR SHARPIE: On behalf of Toyota, Tayler Malsam will be signing autographs for fans in the midway area of the track grounds at the Toyota PitPass display on Saturday, October 24 from 10-10:30 a.m. Many of his fellow Toyota drivers will also take part in the event.
THE SEASON’S STATS: The No. 81 team has posted one top-five and 10 top-10 finishes in 20 events this season. Malsam posted his best career finish at Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Ill., when he took the checkered flag in the fifth spot. He currently holds down the 11th position in the driver points battle, sitting 26 markers outside the top 10.
WATCH AND LISTEN: Race coverage will be televised on SPEED and heard live on select affiliates of MRN Radio and Sirius-XM NASCAR Radio Channel 128, beginning at 1 p.m. (ET).
POINT AND CLICK: Fans can continue to vote for their favorite driver for the Most Popular Driver Award through the end of October. The results of the online balloting will be announced at the NCWTS awards banquet at the end of the season. Visit www.nascar.com for more details and to cast your vote for Tayler.