MARTINSVILLE, VA (October 24) – Mother Nature wreaked havoc on the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway last weekend, forcing shortened practice sessions and a race day delay. Rookie contender Tayler Malsam and his One Eighty Racing team were looking forward to getting back on track after a month long Truck Series break, but their day was cut short on Saturday after transmission issues forced them out of the event. Malsam earned a 28th-place finish in the Kroger 200.
Rain showers early in the day on Friday shortened the first practice and delayed the start of qualifying, but the skies cleared and Malsam’s was the 25th truck to take to the track for his two-lap qualifying run Friday evening. The Raybestos Rookie of the Year candidate posted a speed of 95.675 miles per hour around the .526-mile track, which earned the One Eighty Toyota Tundra 10th place on the starting grid.
Rain showers once again blanketed the area Saturday morning and into early afternoon, but NASCAR and track officials worked diligently to dry the track in a timely manner once the precipitation finally stopped. Led by teammate Mike Skinner, who was making his 200th start in NASCAR Camping World Truck Series competition, Malsam fell several positions in the early laps of the Kroger 200 after communicating to his Randy Moss Motorsports crew that the truck was tight in the center of the corners and off.
Crew chief Doug Wolcott made plans to make a chassis adjustment to the Toyota Tundra during the first pit stop of the day, which came during a caution on lap 35 of the 200-lap race. Wolcott opted for fuel only during the stop and Malsam returned to the track for the lap 39 restart in the 14th position.
There were several differing pit strategies taking place during the event and Malsam was able to run as high as seventh in the middle stages of the race. A yellow flag just prior to the halfway point enabled Wolcott to call his driver back into the pits for four fresh tires and fuel. Malsam returned to the track in the 20th spot and was able to work his way into the top 15 by lap 116. The Seattle-area native was running in 13th place on a lap 120 restart when he suddenly radioed to his crew that there was something wrong with the truck, which eventually stopped on the track. After getting a push into the pit area, the RMM team assessed the problem to be in the transmission and was forced to call it a day. Malsam was credited with a 28th place finish in the event.
Malsam lost only one spot in the driver point standings and now holds down 12th place. Eighty nine points separate him from the top 10.
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series heads to Talladega Superspeedway next weekend for the running of the Mountain Dew 250. The event will be broadcast live at 4 p.m. (ET) on SPEED TV and on select affiliates of MRN Radio and Sirius-XM NASCAR Radio on Saturday, October 31.
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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