Monday, March 14, 2011

Tayler Malsam Darlington Raceway Race Report

Tayler Malsam
No. 25 One Eighty Toyota Tundra
Darlington Raceway – Too Tough To Tame 200
March 12, 2011

The track ‘too tough to tame’ proved to be the one that Seattle, Wash. native Tayler Malsam conquered in qualifying to kick off his 2011 season in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.  After posting solid lap times in both practice sessions and qualifying into the race, Malsam raced inside the top-10 before a motor failure put an early end to his night at Darlington Raceway. 

With a track that has historically taunted drivers with its tough turns and handling challenges, Malsam worked closely with the One Eighty team and crew chief Dan Stillman to dial in the No. 25 Toyota Tundra before the group made their qualifying attempt.  In the opening practice session at the 1.366-mile oval, Malsam recorded a 29.323-second lap ranking him 22nd on the board, and beating out five competitors who also needed to qualify on time.  In the second session, Malsam picked up four-tenths-of-a-second to be ranked 21st. 

Entering qualifying, the One Eighty team knew that making the race could be close; they had to beat three competitors to make the 36-truck field.  Malsam had outrun six of his competitors during the two practice sessions, placing him 32nd of the 39 trucks to take time at the “Lady in Black.”  Malsam posted a 29.238-second lap securing himself a place in the field for the race later that night. 

Saturday night’s Too Tough to Tame 200 marked Malsam’s debut at Darlington Raceway.  The young driver tested at the facility a few years ago shortly after it was repaved, but had not been back to the challenging track known as the “Lady in Black,” in over three years.  The Seattle, Wash. native started the race from the back of the field and took off at the green flag to start picking up positions.  By lap 10, Malsam had picked up 14 positions to be scored in 22nd and continued his steady charge to the front. 

When the caution flag came out on lap 15, Malsam seized the opportunity to discuss the handling of the No. 25 One Eighty Toyota Tundra with his crew.  The truck was aero-tight and loose off the corners, but Malsam said that neither condition was a big concern and that he was overall pleased with his truck. 

As the race progressed, the driver learned different lines around the South Carolina track and used the time to further diagnose the handling of his machine.  With the help of his spotter, Malsam learned the preferred line to travel through turns one and two and was very pleased with his truck on that end of the race track.  However, Darlington Raceway has long-since been known as the track “too tough to tame,” and has challenged drivers for decades with its vastly different corners.  As expected, after having a truck that handled so smoothly through turns one and two, Malsam struggled to get back on the throttle exiting turns three and four.

On lap 98, Malsam dodged several competitors spinning across the narrow front stretch in an accident bad enough to bring out a seven-minute red flag period.  The 22-year-old used the downtime to talk with his crew and start drafting a game plan for the closing laps at Darlington Raceway.  Malsam reported that his truck felt the best it had felt all night asked for no changes during their next pit stop. 

Malsam prepared to restart the race on lap 102 in the 13th position and looked to race his way inside the top-10 before the field completed their scheduled 147 laps at Darlington Raceway.  However, just after the restart Malsam felt his engine let go entering turn three and made the hard left-hand turn into the infield and back toward the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series garage.  Unable to continue, Malsam was credited with a 29th-place finish. 

“We did really good with the One Eighty Toyota Tundra today,” commented Tayler Malsam after climbing out of his truck.  “The guys were really patient all day during practice and qualifying; we did a great job of listening to each other and communicating and making the changes that we needed to the truck.  I felt like I was really starting to get the hang of getting around the track during the race.  We were just keeping pace and trying to avoid the wrecks, but the motor let go with just over 40 laps left.  It’s unfortunate, but we’ll go get ‘em in Martinsville.” 

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will return to Martinsville Speedway on Saturday, April 2.  The Kroger 250 will be broadcast on SPEED Channel, Sirius-XM NASCAR Radio and MRN Radio beginning at 2:00 p.m. EST.  SPEED Channel will also broadcast practice from the Virginia short-track on Friday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. EST, and qualifying for the 250-lap event at 10:30 a.m. EST on Saturday morning.  Fans can visit www.twitter.com/RMMRacing or www.facebook.com/RandyMossMotorsports for news and updates throughout the weekend.