AVONDALE, Ariz. (November 13, 2009) – Making his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series start at Phoenix International Raceway, Randy Moss Motorsports driver Tayler Malsam started the event mid pack. After making his way into the top 15 and running as high as sixth, Malsam took the checkered flag in 17th place after a last lap accident while battling for position with a fellow competitor.
Malsam fought a tight handling truck in the practice sessions Thursday afternoon and the Doug Wolcott-led One Eighty Racing team worked hard to ensure the truck would race well on Friday. Malsam’s was the eighth of 36th trucks to take to the track for his two-lap qualifying run early Friday afternoon and his speed of 126.752 miles per hour around the one-mile speedway earned him 19th place on the starting grid.
The green flag flew for the start of the Lucas Oil 150 Friday evening and Malsam communicated to Wolcott that the changes the team had made prior to the start of the event had loosened up the truck and thus Malsam was able to make his way into the top 15 by lap 13 of the 151-lap race. A yellow flag on lap 35 enabled the team to call its driver into the pits for right side tires and fuel, and since many of his competitors opted for four fresh tires, Malsam returned to the track for the lap 39 restart in the sixth position.
Malsam remained in or near the top 10 throughout the middle stages of the race and let his Randy Moss Motorsports team know that the truck was handling pretty well. Wolcott made no adjustments to the truck during a lap 93 pit stop and Malsam took the green flag for the restart in 14th place.
A yellow flag late in the race meant a green/white/checkered finish in the event. Malsam had worked his way into the 11th spot in the closing laps and was battling for position with the No. 16 truck driven by Brian Scott when the two made contact. Malsam’s truck spun and made contact with the turn four wall, resulting in damage to the rear of the machine. Malsam was able to drive the truck to the checkered flag, and completed the race in the 17th spot.
Malsam moved up one spot in the driver point standings, and with just one event remaining on the 2009 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series schedule, holds down 12th place.
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will close out the season next weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The Ford 200 will be broadcast live at 8 p.m. (ET) on SPEED TV and on select affiliates of MRN Radio and Sirius-XM NASCAR Radio on Friday, November 20.
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 visitwww.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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