Townley Posts 20th-Place Finish at Iowa Speedway

John Wes Townley and his RAB Racing team were able to overcome a pre-race setback that saw them go to their backup Toyota Tundra due to a practice crash to finish 20th in Saturday’s American Ethanol 200 at Iowa Speedway.

 

His fifth top-20 finish of the 2012 season allowed Townley to advance two positions, to 20th, in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series point standings.

 

Townley’s weekend began on a promising note by posting the sixth-fastest time in Friday’s opening practice session. The following morning, with minutes remaining in the final practice session, Townley spun his Toyota Tundra and made heavy contact with the outside retaining wall. After a thorough investigation, the Chris Rice-led RAB Racing team determined the damage was too severe to repair, forcing them to unload their backup truck.

 

Despite not turning a lap around the 7/8th-mile oval prior to qualifying, Townley was able to record the 29th-best qualifying time of the 39 drivers on hand.

 

From the drop of the green flag later that night, Townley showed the setback would not ruin his race as he advanced four positions in the opening 10 laps. As the laps clicked off, Townley maintained his position inside the top 20. Despite spinning as a result of a bad set of tires at Lap 136, Townley was able to overcome the challenges of the weekend to take the checkered flag in the 20th position.

 

“Our Toyota Tundra was really fast in practice and it’s a shame we had to go to the backup,” said Townley. “As a whole though, I feel like we ran well and I’m extremely proud of these guys. They got the backup ready for the race and I’m thankful for all their hard work.”

 

RAB Racing PR