Camping World Series News (1660)
Camping World Truck Series News
Empire Racing Partner, Warriors In The Workplace, Extends Services to Military Spouses
Written by Steven B. Wilson
As Memorial Day approaches, many look to find a way to honor those who have served to keep our country safe. Empire Racing is pleased to announce that its marketing partner, Warriors In The Workplace, has found another way to do so. Warriors In The Workplace, a non-profit organization that provides a connection between veteran friendly employers and those veterans looking for jobs, recently decided to extend their services to include military spouses. Spouses will now be eligible to create an account, search the database of available positions, and post their resume online, free of charge, at the company’s website, www.warriorsintheworkplace.org.
“As we looked to see how we could best serve the members of our military, our Board of Directors realized that the spouses of active military and veterans are also struggling to find employment in the current economy. Anything we can do to ease the burdens felt by those who have served our country and their families is one way of honoring their service” explained John Birmingham, Executive Director of Warriors In The Workplace.
“It has been an honor to work with a group that is so dedicated to giving back to our military veterans. And we are very pleased that Warriors In The Workplace is expanding to offer help to the spouses of veterans. I think that offering their employment services to spouses will help ease some of the burden our returning veterans are feeling as they try to provide for their family” added John Bellesfield, Team Manager of Empire Racing.
Empire Racing PR
Turner Scott Motorsports Drivers to Visit Carolinas HealthCare System's Levine Children's Hospital
Written by Steven B. Wilson
Turner Scott Motorsports drivers Miguel Paludo, Justin Allgaier, Kyle Larson and Nelson Piquet Jr. will visit Carolinas HealthCare System's Levine Children's Hospital to meet with patients and staff on Friday, May 24. The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) and NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) drivers will be on site from 3:00-4:00 p.m. EDT and will be available for media one-on-ones and photos in addition to patient visits.
Paludo's No. 32 Levine Children's Hospital Chevrolet Silverado will also be on site for Friday's visit. Paludo drove the Levine Children's Hospital-branded machine to a seventh-place finish last Friday night in the NCWTS event at Charlotte Motor Speedway after leading 33 laps. The truck will be on display in the circle in front of the Carolinas Medical Center facility.
NNS drivers Allgaier, Larson and Piquet Jr. will hit the track at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the History 300 on Saturday afternoon. The event will air live on ABC at 2:30 p.m. EDT.
TSM PR
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver Todd Peck took steps to help fight arthritis, literally. He particpated in the Arthritis Walk-Charlotte at the U.S. National Whitewater Center to help raise funding for the Arthritis Foundation. Peck, who was diagnosed with arthritis as a child, trotted a three-mile course along with hundreds of arthritis patients and their families as a reminder to stay moving for at least 30 minutes a day to help prevent or treat arthritis.
As the Arthritis Foundation's signature event, The Arthritis Walk raises funds and awareness every year to fight the nation's leading cause of disability. In addition to fighting arthritis and helping the millions of people who live with arthritis pain, the foundation aims to make the impact of arthritis and move together to help prevent and treat this serious and painful disease through research, education and community programs.
Participants walked for friends or family members with arthritis, and those with arthritis wore blue hats to signify their action to take control of their condition.
"Today was a whole lot of fun," Peck said. "I really enjoyed seeing everyone come together and make strides towards fighting arthritis. It's obviously an important cause to me and I was really excited to see the support that flowed in from the community."
Peck, driver of the No. 40 Arthritis Foundation Silverado, had his race truck and team hauler at the event for the walk's participants to experience. In an effort to boost the fundraising efforts, he accepted $1 donations for the foundation from participants to sign a sticky note and post it on his truck. He also accepted donations to sign his pit wall banner.
"It's an honor to use our race program to help the Arthritis Foundation," said Keith Wolfe, general manager of Peck Motorsports. "We're proud to support their efforts and hope we can continue to do so for years to come. We're already looking forward to next year's walk."
Peck announced last week that he will return to NASCAR Camping World Truck Series action this season, driving for his family-owned Peck Motorsports team. His first race will be at Kentucky Speedway on June 27.
Peck Motorsports PR
New number, new sponsor and new career-best finish for NTS Motorsports rookie
Written by Steven B. Wilson
NTS Motorsports Rookie Brennan Newberry went into Friday night’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) race at Charlotte Motor Speedway with great confidence and came out with his career-best finish in the NCWTS with an 18th-place finish, as well as some great experience racing in the top 10.
As the sun went down Friday night, Newberry would roll off the grid with his Qore-24 truck in the 15th position.
The first caution came on lap 17 and Newberry radioed to the team that he was really tight on the first green-flag run. Crew chief Eddie Pardue called him down pit road for four tires and fuel. Newberry would restart in the same position as his truck number, 24.
After a quick caution where Newberry stayed out, he began to find his groove with help from spotter Rick Carelli.
The trucks raced for 40 laps before the next caution. Newberry explained to the crew he was too tight and the guys behind him were catching him. Pardue brought Newberry down pit road for four tires and a full tank of fuel for the Qore-24 truck. When they went back green, Newberry would be racing the No. 5 truck for the lucky dog position. He was able to gain that position and as the caution came out on lap 84, he returned to the lead lap after another set of four tires and topping off with fuel. Newberry restarted from the 17th position. Just as Newberry was racing through the field and gaining positions, teammate Ron Hornaday blew a tire and was hit in the rear-end by a competitor causing another caution.
The Qore-24 ambassador would gain great track experience running in the top 10 for 20 laps in the closing laps of the race. Unfortunately, Newberry was unable to avoid damage to his No. 24 truck after two competitors collided in front of him to bring out the caution on lap 123. After examining the truck, the team realized it had only slight damage. Newberry would restart 16th with eight laps to go and after dropping a few spots before the checkered flag, he earned his best finish of the season and his career with an 18th-place finish.
Newberry Knowledge:
“That was so much fun; I can’t get over how much fun it is to race up there in the top 10. Eddie (Pardue, crew chief) and the Qore-24 crew gave me a great truck and we were hauling it. Not quite the finish I wanted, but it was such a cool night of racing where I was able to get up on the wheel and drive.”
NTS Motorsports PR
Hornaday's competitive day went up in smoke after blown tire
Written by Steven B. Wilson
Veteran Ron Hornaday’s night ended early after a blown tire and late-race incident ended his hopes for a top-10 finish in the N.C. Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
During sunny skies early Friday afternoon, Hornaday took to the track for qualifying where he would lay down a lap of 30.318 to give him a top-25 starting position.
Under the Friday night lights at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Hornaday took the green flag from the 22nd position and quickly gained spots in the first few laps. In only three laps, the four-time Champion was up to the 15th position. As the first caution came out on lap 17, Hornaday told his crew he was having handling issues. Crew chief Bruce Cook felt it was too early in the race for tires, so he called Hornaday down pit road for fuel only.
When the field returned to green, it was a mix of old tires, two new tires or a set of four new tires. The guys with fresher tires began passing Hornaday as Cook told him he was doing a good job and they would get him fixed up on the next stop.
The caution flew again on lap 73 giving Cook the chance to bring his NTS Motorsports driver down pit road. The No. 9 crew made a great stop gaining two spots while they changed four tires, filled it with fuel, made a trackbar adjustment and pulled tape from the grill. Hornaday restarted from the 13th position.
As the caution flew on lap 84, the driver of the No. 9 requested a little more of the last adjustments and Hornaday returned to pit road for four fresh tires, fuel and adjustments. The veteran restarted 14th and set sail racing three wide with eventual winner Kyle Busch.
A few laps later, Hornaday called to the crew that he had a flat tire and before he could get to pit road he was hit in the rear-end by a competitor to bring out the fifth caution. The No. 9 crew went to work on pit road to fix the damage. Hornaday returned to the track five laps down, but felt the truck still was not tracking right. Cook told him to take it to the garage where the NTS Motorsports crew met him to survey and repair the damage the best they could. Hornaday would return to the track and complete a few more laps before calling it a night and finishing in the 30th position.
Hornaday Hype:
“I can’t say enough about Bruce Cook and my NTS Motorsports crew. We had just found something really good and were headed to the front when I had a tire go down. They did everything they could to fix the damage and get me back out there to gain Championship points. It just wasn’t our day here at Charlotte. We’ll take the week off and head to Dover.”
NTS Motorsports PR
Ryan Blaney (@RyanBlaney22), driver of the Brad Keselowski Racing (@TeamBKR) No. 29 Cooper Standard Ford F-Series, made his first career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) start at Charlotte Motor Speedway Friday night, after posting a 9th place qualifying effort earlier in the day.
Blaney got off to a solid start staying around the top 10 before the first caution flew of the evening. Crew chief, Doug Randolph, brought Blaney to pit road for three adjustments up on the track bar, four tires and fuel - after Blaney had been complaining of a very tight truck.
After the No. 18 wrecked and brought out caution number three on lap 73, Randolph, brought Blaney back to pit road for four tires, fuel and two adjustments up on the track bar, since the previous three track bar adjustment stop had tightened up Blaney's Race Truck too much.
The night took a turn for the worse for Blaney and No. 29 Cooper Standard team, when Blaney radioed in under green on lap 97 saying his Truck was really, really bad. Randolph brought Blaney to pit road under green and realized one of the air guns being used to change tires had jammed and was not tightening the lug nuts accordingly, costing Blaney to go three laps down.
With a combination of bad luck and being in the wrong place at the wrong time all night long, Blaney and the team did all they could do to salvage a 25th place finish.
Blaney and the No. 29 Cooper Standard team now sit 7th in NCWTS driver point standings, 42 points back from first.
"That's just racing. We can't hang our heads over something out of our control. We'll go back to the drawing board and prepare accordingly for Dover in a few weeks where I know we can get back on track. It's really unfortunate to have a night like that in Charlotte of all places, because you want to show your best stuff at home where your friends and family are." - Ryan Blaney
BKR PR
Ross Chastain Charlotte Truck Post-Race Report
Written by Steven B. Wilson
Ross Chastain (@Ross Chastain), driver of the Brad Keselowski Racing (@TeamBKR) Melon 1 Ford F-Series, started in the 7th position Friday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway during the 11th Annual North Carolina Education Lottery 200. It was Chastain's third start for BKR after finishing in the top 20 at Daytona International Speedway and Martinsville Speedway earlier this season.
Chastain had a solid start to the night racing in the top 10, before the caution came out on lap 72 for a wreck. Chastain said he was having trouble in the center off so, crew chief Chad Kendrick brought his Ford F-Series to pit road for one track bar adjustment, four tires and fuel.
The night all but came to a close for Chastain on lap 77 under green when there was a hole in the right rear of his Melon 1 Ford, forcing Chastain down pit road for two right side tires under green, knocking him off the lead lap.
The yellow flag waved again on lap 101 and Kendrick called Chastain back to pit road for a half a track bar adjustment and fuel. Chastain was granted with the lucky dog, putting him back on the lead lap in the 17th position. Chastain kept digging in the closing stages of the race and found himself placing in the 9th position overall after an up and down night.
The No. 19 BKR team now sits 11th in NCWTS owner point standings, 151 points back from first.
"It was one of those nights at Charlotte, I have to thank my team for not giving up. We saw a fast race Truck slip out of contention, but we battled hard to get back on the lead lap and place in the top 10. I'm proud of everyone and we are looking forward to Dover in a couple of weeks." - Ross Chastain
BKR PR
Brad Keselowski Charlotte Truck Post-Race Report
Written by Steven B. Wilson
Brad Keselowski (@Keselowski), driver of the No. 2 Draw-Tite Ford F-Series, made his inaugural season start in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) during the 11th Annual North Carolina Education Lottery 200 Friday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Keselowski, the owner of Brad Keselowski Racing (@TeamBKR), qualified his Ford F-Series machine in the 19th position earlier in the day.
Keselowski opted to not pit during the second caution of the night on lap 25, instead, elected to stay out which positioned the Draw-Tite Ford in the 12th spot once the green flag fell again. On lap 71, under caution, Keselowski brought his Ford down pit road for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment, saying he can see the leaders lift in the corners, but not being able to make up any ground.
After battling all night long to get up to the lead pack, Keselowski found himself sitting in the 2nd position with a little under 50 laps to go. The caution came out on lap 115 - Keselowski stayed out to sustain track position, restarting in the 4th spot.
With 15 laps to go, the No. 54 truck got loose under Keselowski, pushing him into the wall out of turn two, which damaged the Draw-Tite machine. The accident forced him back down pit road for repair and ultimately costing him a top five finish, placing him in the 14th spot overall.
Keselowski is slated to run additional NCWTS races for BKR later this season.
"It was a tough night behind the wheel and with my owner's cap on tonight at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The team continues to improve and we are heading in the right direction, just need a little bit more speed in our trucks. I want to thank Draw-Tite and Cooper Standard for bringing all their employees and customers to the track today. I'm looking forward to my next (NASCAR Camping Wolrd Truck Series) start in Kentucky." - Brad Keselowski
BKR PR
Riggs, RBR battle to season-best finish at Charlotte
Written by Steven B. Wilson
At the end of the night, the truck that Scott Riggs pulled on pit road at Charlotte Motor Speedway did not look like one that was a last-lap pass away from a top-ten finish.
Riggs overcame a bruised and battered BTS Tire and Wheel Distributors/Goodyear FleetHQ/QMI/Davis Tire Chevrolet for an 11th place finish in the North Carolina Education Lottery 200. Justin Lofton passed Riggs off of turn tour on last lap to deny the Bahama, N.C. driver of his first top 10 since Martinsville last fall.
"I hate we got passed there at the end," said Riggs, who started 24th, "but after the night we had, I'll take it. We took some speed out of the truck after practice and it hurt us in qualifying, but it made us better during the race.
"The guys did a heck of a job all race. We got behind after the first pit stop but (crew chief) Mike (Hester) called a great race and got us some track position in the mid part of the race. With the damage, the truck just got too tight at the end."
On a restart on lap 88, Brad Keselowski came across the nose of Riggs' Chevrolet severely damaging the truck's left front fender. Riggs was running third at the time.
"(Spotter) Keith (Barnwell) warned me that Keselowski was going to do exactly what he did," said Riggs. "I went down to break his momentum but he just kept going lower down the frontstretch. They had much fresher tires than we did. When we got into turn one, he came right across our nose."
Fortunately for Riggs, another caution came out on lap 95 when Jake Crum and Ron Hornaday, Jr got together in turn four.
"The guys did a great job getting the hole plugged up and getting us back out there without losing a lap," said Riggs.
"Scott drove a heck of a race," said Hester. "It would have been easy to give up after getting the damage on that restart, but he stayed with it and the guys gave us some good stops and we got a good finish out of it."
RBR PR
Paludo Leads 33 Laps En Route to Seventh-Place Finish in Charlotte
Written by Steven B. Wilson
Miguel Paludo and the No. 32 Turner Scott Motorsports team continued their strong start to the 2013 season, exhibiting clever strategy and skillful driving in the fifth race on the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) schedule at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Earning their third top-10 start of the year, Paludo went on to lead 33 laps and dominate on late restarts before bringing home a seventh-place finish in the Levine Children's Hospital Chevrolet.
After laying down the fifth-fastest lap in the afternoon's qualifying session, Paludo took the green flag with the intent of bringing home the first win of his NCWTS career. Paludo dropped to the 11th position after finding that his Silverado was pushing tight back to the throttle, so when the yellow flag waved on lap 17, the No. 32 team took the opportunity to adjust the Levine Children's Hospital machine, taking two tires, fuel and an air-pressure adjustment.
Restarting in the 10th spot, tightness continued to affect the handling of the No. 32, and despite maintaining their position, the team decided to make a bold move when the second caution of the day came on lap 27. "I want to make some big changes and get this thing right early," said crew chief Jeff Hensley. "We're going to gamble and give up some track position, but let's see if we can get ourselves one of these wins." Performing a thorough four-tire pit stop, the TSM team gave Paludo a track-bar adjustment, air-pressure adjustment and fuel while pulling a spring rubber. Although he emerged from the pits in the 26th position, Paludo now had a truck that was adjusted for the track conditions and more fuel than his competitors that opted to remain on track.
When racing resumed, Paludo began a march to the front that put him into the 14th spot by the time green-flag pit stops began on lap 66. With plenty of fuel to continue, Paludo remained on track as other trucks peeled off the track to pit road. The Brazilian was scored 10th when the third yellow flag of the day waved on lap 73, allowing Paludo to come to pit road for a final tweak of the Levine Children's Hospital Chevrolet. Hensley called for four tires, fuel and a track-bar adjustment, putting Paludo ninth for the green flag. "Save me some fuel," said Hensley. "We're about five laps short but we're getting exceptional fuel mileage tonight. We're not going to pit again if we can help it."
When green-flag racing resumed on lap 77, Paludo did an excellent job of moving around the racetrack, finding the best possible lines to improve his lap times. When the caution came out again eight laps later, Paludo was scored seventh. With several competitors opting to pit for tires and fuel, Paludo was on the front row for the lap-88 restart in the second position.
Paludo quickly overtook the first-place truck after the green, leading at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the first time in his career. Once in clean air, Paludo promptly pulled away from the pack, holding a steady lead as the yellow was shown on lap 95. Making his lane choice as the leader for the restart, Paludo battled NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Brad Keselowski on the front row, pulling away effortlessly in the first turn. "This running up front thing is fun," relayed Paludo over the radio.
The field was tightened by caution flags two more times, and each time Paludo dominated the restart and defended his position as the fastest truck on the track. Paludo continued to battle hard, finally being forced to relinquish his lead on lap 120 to a truck with fresher tires. Restarting with eight laps remaining, Paludo fell victim to other competitors who opted for fresh tires in the closing laps, and as a result of aero tightness as his clean air was lost, Paludo crossed the finish line seventh.
"I like being up front," said Paludo with a smile. "We were really good tonight, we were great in clean air, we just lost to fresher tires at the end. My guys did a great job tonight. We made the calls we needed to make to win a race, and I'm very proud of everybody. We keep showing them we're here; we haven't had a race this season that we weren't good enough to win. I'm hoping Dover will be the one where we finally make it to victory lane. I have to thank Levine Children's Hospital for coming on board, they've taken good care of my son Oliver in the past and I'm looking forward to visiting with some of the kids there next week."
Paludo gained two spots in the NCWTS Driver Point Standings, now ninth in the standings and three points out of eighth. The Truck Series has a one-week break before going 'off to the races' at Dover International Speedway on Friday, May 31st.
TSM PR
