Tayler Malsam
No. 25 Coinstar/H-E-B Toyota Tundra
Texas Motor Speedway – WinStar World Casino 350K
November 5, 2010
Tayler Malsam rejoined Randy Moss Motorsports this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway for his second race of the 2010 season in the No. 25 Toyota Tundra. The Pacific Northwest native raced with hometown support of Coinstar in a newly designed green, black and white paint scheme, marking the Seattle, Wash., company’s first outing with Randy Moss Motorsports.
Malsam started the WinStar World Casino 350K in the 20th position, but showed the strength of his Toyota Tundra as he picked up 10 positions in the opening lap around the mile-and-a-half track. The sophomore driver called into the crew around lap 15 to report that the No. 25 Coinstar/H-E-B Toyota Tundra was loose all the way around the track and the crew promised to tighten up his machine during their opening pit stop.
After just 33 laps of racing, the 21-year-old from Sammamish, Wash., was headed down pit road for an unexpected stop when the right rear tire began delaminating. Malsam knew something was wrong when the Coinstar/H-E-B Toyota Tundra became “stupid loose” and after careful examination by the Randy Moss Motorsports crew and Goodyear tire experts it was obvious that Malsam made the right move coming down pit road.
Lap 53 brought another round of challenges for the young driver when the No. 77 spun ahead of Malsam exiting turn two. The defending series champion Ron Hornaday Jr. checked up to avoid the crash, but Malsam did not see the incident until he had no time or room to avoid it. He tried to go high around Hornaday, but did not have enough room to make the move and instead brushed the outside wall with the right side of his Toyota Tundra and collected the veteran driver’s truck. Displeased with the situation, Hornaday turned Malsam’s truck around under caution on the backstretch.
Malsam brought the No. 25 Coinstar/H-E-B Toyota Tundra down pit road three times during the ensuing caution period allowing the crew to make a series of repairs and keep their position on the lead lap of competition. After the green-flag fell, Malsam continued to pick up positions and moved as high as the sixth position during a round of green-flag pit stops. Before the cycle was complete, Malsam brushed the truck of another competitor dislodging his bumper cover and resulting in a black flag for the No. 25 machine. Malsam slowed his machine to pit road speed and came in for repairs relegating him to the 22nd position three laps behind the leader with about 30 laps remaining in the race.
Malsam managed to make up one more position with the No. 25 Coinstar/H-E-B Toyota Tundra to be scored 21st at Texas Motor Speedway when the checkered flag fell.
“Our finish tonight was really a shame because the truck was hauling even though it was too tight all weekend,” said Malsam following the action at Texas Motor Speedway. “We worked on the truck when we could, but after everything that happened throughout the night, it was messed up pretty bad. Despite it all, I think we could’ve gotten close to a top-10 finish if it wasn’t for [the contact that resulted in a black flag for Malsam’s dislodged bumper cover].”
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will travel to Phoenix International Raceway on Friday, November 12. The Lucas Oil 150 will be broadcast on SPEED Channel, Sirius XM Satellite Radio and MRN Radio beginning at 7:30 p.m. EST. Fans can also watch qualifying on SPEED Channel at 4:30 p.m. EST on Friday afternoon. Two practice sessions will take place on Thursday but will not be televised.