Matt Tifft’s scheduled double-duty weekend at Iowa Speedway has been derailed by injury. Tifft was scheduled to drive the #11 Toyota Tundra for Red Horse Racing in Saturday night’s Speediatrics 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event at Iowa, and the #18 Toyota-backed Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing in Sunday’s Xfinity Series American Ethanol E15 250. Multiple sources say Tifft is battling a disc problem in his back, and will not compete in either of this weekend’s events. He will be replaced in Sunday’s Xfinity race by veteran Sam Hornish, Jr., making in his first NASCAR start of the 2016 campaign. No replacement has been confirmed for Saturday night’s Truck race. Tifft, a native of Hinckley, Ohio, has run six of 13 races this season on the Xfinity Series, with back-to-back eighth-place finishes in his last two starts at Talladega and Dover. He has also made three Truck Series starts in 2016, with a best showing of fifth at Charlotte Motor Speedway.(Godfather Motorsports)(6-14-2016)
UPDATE: Driver German Quiroga will return to Red Horse Racing again at Iowa Speedway and Gateway Motorsports Park. Quiroga will sub for Matt Tifft at Iowa and pilot the #11 Toyota Tundra as scheduled at Gateway. In addition to finishing in eighth place at Texas Motor Speedway earlier this season, Quiroga piloted the #77 Toyota Tundra for Red Horse Racing in 2013 and 2014, recording five top-five finishes, 16 top-10s and one pole position.(Red Horse Racing)(6-15-2016)
UPDATE 2: Joe Gibbs Racing Xfinity Series driver Matt Tifft is out indefinitely after doctors found a brain tumor while treating him for a disk condition in his back. Tifft, 20, will have surgery for what the team described as a slow-growing, low-grade glioma in the brain. He will need to spend time in rehabilitation before being cleared to race. Tifft has competed in six Xfinity races this year, including three in the JGR #18 car. He sat on the pole in April at Talladega, where he finished a career-best eighth. He also finished eighth two weeks later at Dover. In addition to his part-time Xfinity schedule, Tifft was driving a part-time Camping World Truck Series schedule in the Red Horse Racing #11 truck. He finished a career-best fifth in his most recent outing in May at Charlotte. He has seven top-10 finishes in 18 career truck starts.(ESPN)(6-28-2016)
