HOMESTEAD, Fla. (November 20, 2009) – Finishing in the 15th position in the final NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race of the season, rookie driver Tayler Malsam completed his first full season of competition having earned one top-five and 10 top-10 finishes in the No. 81 Randy Moss Motorsports Toyota. Malsam scored a respectable 12th-place finish in the driver points battle.
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 15th of 38 trucks to take to the track for his two-lap qualifying run early Friday afternoon and his speed of 163.547 miles per hour around the mile and a half speedway earned him 19th place on the starting grid.
The green flag flew for the start of the season ending Ford 200 Friday evening and Malsam immediately let the team know that the truck was bottoming out. Crew Chief Doug Wolcott made plans to make a chassis adjustment to ease that problem as well as a four tire change during the first pit stop of the evening, which came during a caution period on lap 34. Malsam returned to the track in the 21st position and battled for a spot in the top 20 during the ensuing laps.
Wolcott had another opportunity to make changes to the One Eighty Racing Toyota during a pit stop on lap 60. Malsam was fighting a tight handling truck and Wolcott called for a track bar adjustment and fuel during that stop. Wolcott opted not to change tires and that decision moved the No. 81 Randy Moss Motorsports Toyota Tundra into fourth place for the lap 63 restart.
Unable to hold off those trucks with fresher tires, Malsam fell through the field a bit, but fought hard to remain in the top 15. A late caution resulted in a green/white/checkered flag finish and Malsam crossed the finish line for the final time during the 2009 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season in 15th place.
Malsam finished up his rookie season in 12th place in the driver point standings.
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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