Armstrong Not Spooked by ‘Dega, TSR Honors Wheldon

Armstrong Not Spooked at Talladega: Though some fellow drivers may have mixed feelings about restrictor plate racing, re-visiting Talladega Superspeedway is a thrill for Dakoda Armstrong. With roots in open wheel racing on short tracks, competing on the enormous 2.66-mile oval is a whole new world for the 20-year-old rookie driver, who won his first ever contest at the track in the ARCA Racing Series in 2010. As the site of his first stock car victory, Talladega will always hold a special place in Armstrong’s heart. He’ll be the first person to tell you however, it’s a giant chess game out there.

“I grew up watching races at Talladega as a child so the excitement of getting to run at such a prestigious track is a thrill for me, but you never know what to expect during a restrictor plate race. It’s pretty hard to have any kind of strategy because really anything goes once you get out there,” Armstrong explained.

“At Talladega it’s just about putting yourself in the right spot at the end because once you’re in the draft; all of the trucks are the same speed. You just have to stay out of trouble and just be there at the end to even have a chance.”

Drive For Savings, Armstrong and the National FFA Convention: Armstrong will be visiting the Drive For Savings booth during the opening day of events at the 84th National FFA Convention on Wednesday, October 19th from 1 to 5 pm. He will be on hand to sign autographs and greet fans next at the Drive For Savings (DFS) display. The area will contain Armstrong’s No. 98 Ferrellgas/Agrisure/Drive For Savings Chevrolet, as well as information about the DFS discount card program that benefits organizations like FFA.

Held each October, the national FFA convention is one of the largest annual student conventions in the country, providing educational sessions, hands-on activities, leadership workshops, information about numerous careers and much more. Drive For Savings, sponsor of Dakoda Armstrong and his No. 98 ThorSport Racing team in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS), will participate in AutoWorld, an area of the convention career show originated to give students a path who are seeking careers in the automotive, motorsport, and racing industries. AutoWorld spans over an 8,000 square foot section of the show and displays automotive, racing, motorsports and classic industries, combined with technical schools and colleges involved in these respected categories.

Godspeed, Dan Wheldon: All members of the ThorSport Racing family were affected by of Dan Wheldon’s passing in last weekend’s IZOD IndyCar Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. As a Curb Records teammate, Wheldon was a member of the ThorSport Racing family, and the entire organization will honor him with special decals on all three TSR entries in addition to apparel to be worn by all of the team’s drivers and crew members.

ThorSport Online Store Now Open: Long awaited by all, the ThorSport Racing online store is now open! We encourage everyone to check out our newest addition at http://store.thorsport.com. If you can’t make it out to the new shop in Sandusky, you can now purchase merchandise online.

Chassis History: Armstrong will pilot chassis No. 24 at Talladega this weekend. Prepared by his Ferrellgas/Agrisure/Drive For Savings team, this truck was last seen on track under the direction of Matt Crafton at Daytona in February and finished 10th.

Dakoda Armstrong on Talladega Superspeedway

What is your mindset headed into a mentally tough race like Talladega provides?

“The biggest thing is to remind yourself to be patient, especially there, anything can happen because everyone races in a tight pack. You have to be able to last until the final ten laps and that’s when you really start racing hard. To set yourself up for that final run, you need to figure out what other trucks your truck works best with, be calm and not get into any trouble early on.”

Did you have any special strategy that helped you get the ARCA Racing Series win here last year?

“ARCA was a little different than the truck series; you don’t have as many cars all in the same big draft. I tried to stay close to the top ten and waited for the second lane to get moving when it was time to go. It was kind of one of those deals where you help other people out and hope that they help you out. Definitely a chess game.”

 

ThorSport Racing PR