Randy Moss Motorsports: One Year Later

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will head to Kentucky Speedway this weekend where a veteran team will mark a new sort of anniversary, the one-year anniversary of team co-owner Randy Moss coming on board, transforming Morgan-Dollar Motorsports to Randy Moss Motorsports.

After Moss came on board, several drivers rotated in and out of the #81 truck. The team finished out the year 20th in the owners' points standings.

As the 2009 season dawned, the team put the pieces together to head to Daytona with veteran Mike Skinner (#5 Toyota) and Raybestos Rookie of the Year contender Tayler Malsam (#81 One-Eighty Toyota) as their drivers. After the season's first 11 races, the team has accomplished a lot in very little time.

"It is definitely exciting to come to our one-year anniversary mark and head back to where our first race was last year," said team co-owner David Dollar. "Together, Randy and I have been able to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. To get a win at Kansas this year with Mike was huge. It was our first win together and I think it proved that we are here to be competitive week-in and week-out. Mike and Tayler have done a great job for our program and to have them both in the top seven in the points standings says a lot about our organization and the people we have working at RMM."

Moss is enjoying the accomplishments as well while keeping his eye on what lies ahead. "I can't believe that it has already been a year since I started this partnership with David (Dollar)," said Moss. "Mike's win at Kansas was very exciting. I was bummed that I couldn't be there in person but I talked to him after the race and I was very excited. And to have Tayler as a rookie come out of the gate and perform at such a high level is awesome.

"As much as it's nice to look back and see the accomplishments that we have achieved so far, we are looking forward to the future. There are great opportunities for us and we are setting our goals high. Mike is in position for the championship and Tayler is in position to win the Rookie of the Year Award. To be in a position to win two trophies at the end of the season is something to be proud of."

Wyler Racing Looks To Put On Show For Home Crowd

Saturday's race at Kentucky Speedway is a homecoming for Wyler Racing. Owned by Ohio natives David and Jeff Wyler, the team expects to put on a great show for friends, family and their local supporters.

"I think everybody's got a home track and for us, this is our home track," said David Wyler, president of Wyler Racing. "We're going to have a few hundred of our family, our employees and our friends there. The track is a half-hour outside of where we live and it's really special for us that we can have the race team come up so close to home."

Wyler not only enjoys racing at home but in the series as well. "We love the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series," he said. "We've been doing this now for over four years. The camaraderie that you've got in this series is unique in the sport. It's grassroots racing and the fact that the people racing just truly want to be in the series. They're racers at heart and that can go for the fans as well. You're not going to find any better racing in NASCAR than the Truck Series."

The team's driver, veteran Stacy Compton, is looking forward to the weekend hoping to get the Wylers' #60 SafeAuto Toyota into Victory Lane. "I'm really excited to go to Kentucky. Combined with having 300-400 people show up between the Wylers and our sponsor SafeAuto, it's going to be a busy week," said Compton. "We're doing an appearance at the Wylers' (dealership) on Thursday and going to the Reds game that night. We've got a lot of people going, all the people who support us and who have helped us; we'll have a chance to spend a little time with (them). It's going to be fun and it's going to be busy but hopefully it will be an excellent weekend."

Compton sits 12th in the standings, only 22 points out of the 10th position. "We know we've got a good race team. We know we can get back into the top 10 and hopefully back into the top five by the time the season's over with," he said. "We've just got to keep digging and never give up."

Kentucky Speedway Victory Lane Boasts No Repeat Winners

Kentucky Speedway is among just three tracks on the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series schedule which have yet to produce a repeat winner.

Saturday's race will mark 10 years of truck competition at a facility where both veterans and first-time race winners have made it to Victory Lane.

Previous winners expected to compete include Dennis Setzer (#8 Chevrolet), Ron Hornaday Jr. (#33 Longhorn Chevrolet) and Mike Skinner (#5 Toyota). Each is eager to be the first repeat winner.

"We won this race in 2006 and I would like to win there again, especially since nobody else has won there twice," said Hornaday. "Mark Smith (his engine builder) has been giving us really good engines and it makes it so much fun for me to drive these trucks. Rick Ren (his crew chief) and the guys will be working really hard to get the truck where it needs to be and I just have to go out there and do my part."

Hornaday is not only attempting to become Kentucky's first repeat winner, but could become the series' second driver to win three consecutive races with a Kentucky victory in the mix. 2008 series champion Johnny Benson accomplished the feat last year. He kicked off his streak at Kentucky before winning the next two on the schedule, at ORP and Nashville Superspeedway.

Hornaday has the first two down, winning the past two races at Milwaukee and Memphis.
 
Director's Take: Wayne's Words

"After a quick couple weeks off its going to be great to get back to racing this weekend at Kentucky Speedway, a place we really like going to. This will be our 10th trip and I expect that the racing will be just as good as the first nine visits.

"Kentucky can be a tough track. It's fast with two racing grooves for the drivers to run on. The track conditions are also ever-changing. We practice in the evening Friday, then qualify in the afternoon Saturday before the race that night. All that to keep in mind, crew chiefs are going to have to find the right setup to get the job done.

"From the NASCAR Nationwide Series race there last month, we saw how challenging pit road can be so there is one more thing to factor into the strategy for the night.

"The garage area is kind of a fans' paradise. It is really wide open, allowing a broad area for folks to walk around and watch drivers and teams work on the trucks.

"We're really getting into the heat of the summer and the time when drivers have to step it up in order to end up on top at the end of the season. It's going to be interesting to see who can make it to Victory Lane this weekend."
- Wayne Auton,
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Director

Owners' Battle Heating Up

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is known for tough drivers and tough competition which for 14 seasons has given way to a tight points battle for the drivers' championship.

Not only are the series' drivers competitive, so are their owners. The fight for the owners' championship is heating up as the series approaches its midpoint.

The #33 Chevrolet of Kevin Harvick Inc. took the lead from the #51 Toyota team of Billy Ballew Motorsports following Ron Hornaday Jr.'s win at Memphis Motorsports Park.

The #33 now leads the #51 by 31 points as the series heads to Kentucky.

"There are a lot of variables that can come about between now and November with the Series not halfway through the season," said Billy Ballew, owner of Billy Ballew Motorsports which fields the #51 as well as the #15 Toyota. "We've come close over the years and to achieve the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Owners' Championship would be the pinnacle of success for me as an independent team owner," said Ballew. "We've had a lot of successful drivers come through the doors at Billy Ballew Motorsports over the past 14 years and if we were granted the championship, it would be a true testament not only for those drivers, but for these employees that have stood by this team."

Brian Ickler will be behind the wheel of the #51 Miccosukee Resort/Samsung Instinct Toyota, a ride he shares with Kyle Busch. Ickler has been impressive. In seven starts he's gathered two top-five finishes, his highest finish was third at Michigan.

Battle For The Owners' Crown

     Owner              Truck #      Points
  1. DeLana Harvick    33        1713
  2. Billy Ballew          51        1682
  3. Rhonda Thorson   88        1637
  4. David Dollar            5       1579
  5. Steve Germain     30        1564
  6. Jim Harris            24       1482
  7. Joe Scott            16        1468
  8. Tom DeLoach      17       1444
  9. Randy Moss        81      1418
10. Sharon Harris       25       1418

Kentucky Speedway is host to both the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and the NASCAR Nationwide Series. In the nine previous races, fans have seen some memorable finishes, including Carl Edwards' first post-win back flip in 2003.

Loop Data: Todd Bodine Back On Track After Mini-Slump

Four NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races ago,Todd Bodine snapped out of a mini-slump that saw four consecutive finishes outside the top 10 (and two that were outside the top 20).

When the slump started, Bodine was second in the series standings, 25 points behind leader Kyle Busch. At the end of it, he was sixth in points.

But then came the 1.5-mile Texas Motor Speedway, a track Bodine had conquered four times in his career. He won there a fifth time, and that started a string of three top 10s in four races.

The surge launched Bodine two spots in the points. He now sits fourth, 149 points behind leader Ron Hornaday Jr. going into another 1.5 mile venue – Kentucky Speedway.

Though Bodine excels on such wide-open style tracks, he has yet to visit Victory Lane at Kentucky. He came close once, though.

In 2005, Bodine finished second to Dennis Setzer with a Driver Rating of 117.7, an Average Running Position of 5.1, 16 Fastest Laps Run, and a Laps in the Top 15 percentage of 99.3% (he ran 150 of the 151 laps in the top 15).

But since then, Bodine has been up and down at Kentucky, scoring finishes of 10th, 11th and 27th over the last three races.

Still, his overall numbers are solid there. In his four Kentucky races, Bodine has a Driver Rating of 86.6, an Average Running Position of 13.2, 21 Fastest Laps Run and a Laps in the Top 15 percentage of 67.1%.

2009 Raybestos Rookie of the Year Standings

Rk  Driver                   Points
1.   Tayler Malsam       120
2.   Johnny Sauter        119
3.   James Buescher    102
4.   Ricky Carmichael    70
5.   J.R. Fitzpatrick        60
6.   Brian Ickler             59
7.   Brent Raymer         41
8.   Chris Jones            32
9.   Chase Austin          16

Manufacturers' Standings:

Toyota holds on to the lead in the manufacturers battle as the series heads to Kentucky. The manufacturer managed to lead all the laps last year as Johnny Benson went on to a dominating win. With Ron Hornaday Jr. coming on a hot streak, Chevrolet has made gains on Toyota. The manufacturer also holds the most wins at Kentucky with three.

Ford and Dodge both have made it to Victory Lane twice in the Bluegrass state. Ford made the two trips with Roush Fenway Racing drivers Greg Biffle (2000) and Carl Edwards (2003). Biffle's win came the year he went on to win the series championship. Edward's victory fell during his first full season with the series. The win was his first of three that season and one of six career wins in the series.

Dodge's last visit to Victory Lane was with the late Bobby Hamilton in 2004, the same year he claimed the series title.

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series 2009 Manufacturers' Championship
following Race 11 of 25 at Memphis Motorsports Park

Up Next: O'Reilly Raceway Park

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will head to O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis for short-track racing under the lights Friday, July 24.

ORP is one of four tracks that has been on the schedule since the series' inaugural 1995 season. In 14 races there have been 11 different race winners. Previous winners expected to compete include Mike Skinner (1995, 1996,), Terry Cook (2002), Dennis Setzer (2005), Rick Crawford (2006), and Ron Hornaday Jr. (1997, 2007).
(NASCAR PR)(7-13-2009)

Matt Crafton Keeps Name In Mix For Series Title

Matt Crafton (#88 Menard's Chevrolet) might be thinking he's experiencing ome déjà vu. As the series prepares to head to Kentucky Speedway next weekend, he's sitting right where he was at this point last year, second in points behind leader Ron Hornaday Jr. (#33 Longhorn Chevrolet). This time around though, Crafton is looking to reverse what became of last season.

In eight races at Kentucky, the Tulare, Calif., native has five top-10 and two top-five finishes. He finished third last season, which allowed him to hold on to his second place in the standings. From there, however, he slowly fell back before finishing the year fifth, matching his previous best points finish of 2004.

Surrounded by three former series champions, the driver knows the competition he's up against and how valuable each week is in order to end up on top.

"We're heading into the summer stretch where contenders start to separate themselves from the pack a bit," said Crafton. "Sometimes, you have an awesome truck and maybe don't have a strong finish to show for it. Other times, you're fortunate to finish well when you don't have your best truck. The bottom line with all of it is staying focused on what it takes to be successful each week, on the things we can control. That's what will get us to where we want to be.

"This series is so competitive and we only have 25 races, so you have to make each race count. It's important to make the absolute most out of your situation each week and the biggest part of that is finishing races. You can't challenge for wins if you're not there at the end; if you're not in position."

Being in Victory Lane is something that took Crafton a while to accomplish. He grabbed his first career win last season at Lowe's Motor Speedway in his 178th start. He's eager to get back there as noted after finishing second to Todd Bodine (#30 Toyota) to take over the points lead at Texas in June. "I would give up the points lead to be where Bodine is tonight," he said.

Is Kentucky Success Key To Championship?

Ron Hornaday Jr.'s season is coming together as though he might be on his way to a record fourth series title. But as previous seasons have shown, anything can happen in the remaining 14 races that send the decision down to the final lap at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November. The series heads to Kentucky Speedway for race #12 on Saturday, July 18. In nine visits to the Bluegrass State, the series has yet to see a repeat winner. However, they have seen four eventual series champions win: Greg Biffle (2000), Mike Bliss (2002), Bobby Hamilton (2004) and most recently Johnny Benson (2008).

Of those perched among the top five in the current standings, only two have wins at Kentucky. Points leader Hornaday won in 2006. He finished 10th in 2007, the same year he claimed his third championship and then again last year before he finished the year runner-up to Benson.

Mike Skinner (#5 Toyota), third in the current standings, made it to Victory Lane in 2007. Last year he sat on the pole before finishing the race in seventh.

One title contender has had mixed luck at the track. In four starts, Todd Bodine (#30 Toyota) has a second-place finish, a top 10, and two finishes outside the top 10. A year ago, an accident relegated him to a 27th-place finish.

Looking at who occupies the fifth position in the standings, David Starr (#24 Zachry Toyota) is having a strong season. Starr might be the one to wind up in Victory Lane and break his 82-race winless drought. Starr finished fifth last season at Kentucky. In six additional starts, he only has two finishes outside the top 10 —15th in 2000 and12th in 2007. His best finish was third in 2004.

Loop Data: White Hot Braun Launching Up Standings

Something must have clicked for Colin Braun after the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Dover.

He finished 22nd that race – his fourth DNF in five races, all the result of accidents.

The finished dropped him to 20th in the series standings. His runs were much better than that, but luck refused to smile on him to that point.

But then came the race at fast Texas Motor Speedway, a track at which his Roush Fenway Racing team always excels.

Braun finished third that race. A week later, at Michigan, Braun collected his first career victory (and Roush Fenway's 50th in the series). The Victory Lane visit launched him to 12th in points.

Then another top 10 at Milwaukee, and another at Memphis, and Braun is in the top 10 in points for the second time in his career (the first was a one-week stay earlier this season, after a ninth-place finish at Daytona).

Still, Braun's statistics suggest he should be even higher in the points if not for that early-season bad luck. He ranks in the top five in practically every key Loop Data category.

Braun has a Driver Rating of 94.8 (fifth-best), an Average Running Position of 10.1 (fifth), 64 Fastest Laps Run (seventh) and a Laps in the Top 15 percentage of 79% (fifth).

Rookie Standings

Rk  Driver                   Points
1.   Tayler Malsam       120
2.   Johnny Sauter        119
3.   James Buescher    102
4.   Ricky Carmichael     70
5.   J.R. Fitzpatrick        60
6.   Brian Ickler              59
7.   Brent Raymer          41
8.   Chris Jones             32
9.   Chase Austin          16

Most Popular Driver Voting Begins

Online voting begins today for the 2009 Most Popular Driver of the Year Award in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Fans can visit NASCAR.com to cast their vote.

Last season, the first year fans had the opportunity to have a hand in the selection process, over 60,000 votes were cast for the award. Johnny Benson took home the honors at the banquet in addition to his first series title.

This year, fans will have the chance to "write in" their favorite driver if he/she is not among the nominees for a specific series.

Fans should go to fanfeedback@nascar.com to submit their write-in vote. Fans may vote or submit a write-in candidate once per day and are encouraged to vote throughout the season. Polls will close Oct. 31.

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Manufacturers Championship Standingsfollowing Race 11 of 25 at Memphis Motorsports Park:

Up Next: Kentucky Speedway

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series has one more week to prepare for the racing action at Kentucky Speedway. The series heads to the Bluegrass State for the Built Ford Tough 225 presented by Greater Cincinnati Ford Dealers on Saturday, July 18.

Ron Hornaday Jr., Mike Skinner and Dennis Setzer are some of the former winners expected to compete.
(NASCAR PR)(7-6-2009)

Hornaday Steady; Braun, Starr Make Significant Gains

What many call the toughest stretch of racing on the 2009 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series schedule has ended.

In Wimbledon terms, Ron Hornaday Jr. (#33 Longhorn Chevrolet) held serve. Hornaday, the leader by 84 points entering five consecutive weekends of racing in late May, remains in the #1 position. He leads Matt Crafton (#88 Menards Chevrolet) by 76 points.

Hornaday, bidding for a record, fourth series championship, won two of the five races, most recently at Memphis Motorsports Park on June 27. The 51-year-old Palmdale, Calif., veteran is the season's only three-time winner.

The points leader, however, isn't the only one to watch when racing resumes July 18 at Kentucky Speedway. The Dover-to-Memphis swing significantly shook up top-10 rankings. Three competitors — Colin Braun (#6 Con-way Freight Ford), Tayler Malsam (#81 One-Eighty Toyota) and David Starr (#24 Zachry/Harris Trucking Toyota) moved into the elite grouping.

Braun, on the strength of his victory at Michigan International Speedway, made the biggest gain from 19th to 10th. After finishing 22nd at Dover, the 20-year-old Roush Fenway driver reeled off four straight top-10 finishes.

Starr, a 12-year veteran of the series, is enjoying his best season since 2006. Driving for Virginian James Harris, the Houston native scored top-10 finishes in four of his five most recent starts, including thirds at Memphis and Dover. He was 13th after the Lowe's race and stands fifth in current standings, just 231 points behind leader Hornaday.

Malsam Making Most Of Raybestos Rookie Campaign

Team co-owner David Dollar calls him "an owner's dream"

Patience, says crew chief Doug Wolcott, is what sets Tayler Malsam apart from his peers.

Malsam currently leads Raybestos Rookie of the Year standings, albeit by a single point, over Johnny Sauter (#13 Fun Sand/Rodney Atkins/Curb Records Chevrolet), but the 20-year-old holds the rare distinction of being a freshman driver ranked among the championship top 10. The Sammamish, Wash., sprint car graduate posted consecutive top-10 finishes at Texas, Michigan and Milwaukee.

His greatest achievement may be finishing on the lead lap in 10 of his 11 starts.

"Tayler is really coming on and has exceeded all our expectations," said Dollar, co-owner of Randy Moss Motorsports. "He is a team owner's dream by taking care of the equipment and bringing the trucks home each week in one piece"

Wolcott calls Malsam a team player. "Tayler has a lot of talent but what really sets him apart is that he is very patient and really looks out for his crew," he said. "He really stands behind the guys, even when we have trouble in the pits. He's on the radio telling them it's okay and gets back on the track and races hard to get the spots back"

Loop Data: Hornaday Is Perfection

Ron Hornaday Jr. has experienced perfection each of the last two weeks – literally.

In his victories at both Milwaukee two weeks ago and Memphis this past weekend, Hornaday scored a perfect Driver Rating of 150.0. It is the first time since the inception of the Loop Data statistic in 2005 that a driver in any of NASCAR's three national series has posted two consecutive perfect Driver Ratings.

Hornaday has made a habit out of being perfect. Since 2005, there have been 14 perfect Driver Ratings in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series – seven of those belong to Hornaday. That is by far the most in the series. Mike Skinner comes in second in that category, with three perfect Driver Ratings.

But maybe the most compelling statistic is the regularity of his statistical perfection. Since 2005, Hornaday has 16 wins. With seven of those victories notching a Driver Rating of 150.0, Hornaday has been perfect in an amazing 44% of his wins.

Breaking it down even further, Hornaday scored his first perfect Driver Rating in 2007. So, all seven of his perfect ratings came in the last two-plus years. With 13 wins since 2007, Hornaday's perfection percentage jumps to 54%.

Hornaday, who has led the series in Driver Rating through 11 races in three of the last five season, owns the top statistics in practically every key category this season: Driver Rating (121.9), Average Running Position (6.3), Fastest Laps Run (278) and Laps Led (537).

Raybestos Rookie of the Year Standings

Rk  Driver                   Points
1.   Tayler Malsam       120
2.   Johnny Sauter        119
3.   James Buescher    102
4.   Ricky Carmichael    70
5.   J.R. Fitzpatrick       60
6.   Brian Ickler             59
7.   Brent Raymer         41
8.   Chris Jones            32
9.   Chase Austin          16

Etc.

• Three NASCAR Camping World Truck Series figures will be inducted into the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame in July 3 ceremonies at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale (Calif.). Wayne Spears, whose Spears Motorsports team competed in 315 series races between 1995 and 2007 winning four times, is joined by Kevin Harvick Inc., general manager Rick Carelli and Billy Ballew Motorsports crew chief Doug George. Carelli and George are NASCAR Camping World Series West and Southwest Tour champions.
• Mike Skinner will spend the Fourth of July weekend at Goodwood Estate in Sussex, England, participating in the annual Festival of Speed. He will drive a Team Red Bull Toyota, formerly campaigned in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Held since 1993, the Festival celebrates historic cars from all forms of racing. The three-day event, hosted by the Earl of March at his family's estate, features a 1.16-mile hill-climbing competition for all classes and types of race cars and motorcycles, plus a 2.5-kilometer course for historic rally cars. This year's Festival runs from July 3-5. Rusty Wallace, Landon Cassill and Taylor Earnhardt also will participate.
• DeLana Harvick's #33 team has taken the lead in the series Owners' Championship points standings for the first time in 2009. Harvick holds a 31-point edge over the #51 of Billy Ballew, the leader since race #2 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series 2009 Manufacturers' Championship Standings following Race 11 of 25 at Memphis Motorsports Park:
Toyota:     84
Chevrolet: 76
Ford:        48
Dodge:     34

Up Next: Kentucky Speedway

Who's next?

Or, will Ron Hornaday Jr. do to the Kentucky Speedway record book what he accomplished at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in 2007?

There have been nine consecutive different winners at the 1.5-mile speedway, host of the July 18 Built Ford Tough 225 presented by the Greater Cincinnati Ford Dealers. Hornaday won in 2006.

Hornaday, who will be gunning for his third consecutive series victory, snapped NHMS' run of 11 different winners. He added another win at the New England facility last September.

Two other former Kentucky winners are expected to compete: Mike Skinner (#5 Exide Toyota) and Dennis Setzer (#8 Malcolmson Construction Chevrolet).
(NASCAR PR)(6-29-2009)