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2011 NCWTS Tayler Malsam - Photo Credit: John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR

No. 25 One Eighty Toyota Tundra

Darlington Raceway – Too Tough To Tame 200

March 12, 2011

No. 25 One Eighty Toyota Tundra News and Notes

• This Week’s Tundra… Tayler Malsam will compete with chassis MDM-110 at Darlington Raceway.  MDM-110 is a brand new chassis that was built especially for Darlington Raceway.  The laps during the opening practice session on Saturday morning will be the first laps completed by MDM-110 on a track. 

• First Timer…This weekend will mark Tayler Malsam’s first race at the “Lady in Black.”  The Seattle, Wash. native tested at the 1.366-mile oval in 2008 as a development driver for Bill Davis Racing.  Malsam, then 19, logged laps around the difficult South Carolina track while behind the wheel of a Toyota Tundra and hopes to benefit from that experience during the race on Saturday evening.

• Meet Tayler… Fans at the track in Darlington, S.C. will have the opportunity to meet Tayler Malsam in the hours leading up to the race on Saturday afternoon.  The driver of the No. 25 One Eighty Toyota Tundra will join other drivers in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series to meet fans and sign autographs.  The NCWTS autograph session will be held on pit road at Darlington Raceway from 1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. EST.

• Local Talent Returns Home… Fayetteville, N.C. native Matt House will return to his home track, Darlington Raceway, for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event this weekend.  House, a 2004 graduate of Cape Fear High School, is in his third season as the front tire carrier on the No. 25 One Eighty Toyota Tundra team.

• Welcome Back One-Eighty… One Eighty, the Seattle-based company that acted as Malsam’s primary sponsor at Daytona International Speedway last month, will make another appearance on the hood of the 22-year-old’s Toyota Tundra this weekend at Darlington Raceway.  One Eighty’s senior housing brands (Leisure Care, Leisure Care Premiere, Dolcetto and Signature 180) operate over 40 communities and nearly 7,000 units in the Western United States and Canada.  One Eighty also owns hospitality brands Twist Travel™, PrimeFit™ and Edibility™ and is involved in One Eighty Racing.  For more information visit www.oneeightytwist.com.

• Follow Tayler… Fans are invited to follow Tayler Malsam, driver of the No. 25 One Eighty Toyota Tundra, on twitter @TaylerMalsam and Facebook (NASCAR Driver Tayler Malsam).  Fans can also check out http://www.taylermalsam.com for news, updates, and photos throughout the week.

No. 25 One Eighty Toyota Tundra

• Get the Inside Scoop… Follow Randy Moss Motorsports on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook to get real-time updates and behind the scenes information:  @RMMRacing or facebook.com/randymossmotorsports.

No. 25 One Eighty Toyota Tundra

• Watch and Listen…The Too Tough To Tame 200 from Darlington Raceway will be broadcast live on SPEED, MRN Radio and Sirius-XM NASCAR Radio, channel 128, at 5:00 p.m. EST on Saturday, March 12.  Qualifying will also be broadcast live on SPEED at 3:30 p.m. EST Saturday afternoon. 

Tayler Malsam on racing at Darlington Raceway

“I’m excited to finally have the chance to race at Darlington [Raceway].  It’s such an old speedway with so much history behind it.  It’s unlike any other track on the [NASCAR Camping World] Truck Series circuit, so it will be a whole new experience for me.  The trucks put on a really great show there last year, and I’m sure this year will be no different.  The One Eighty Toyota Tundra team put a lot hard work into building us a brand new truck for this weekend and we all know what we need to accomplish during practice.  We’re looking forward to going to the track and getting the weekend started.”

Crew Chief Dan Stillman on competing at Darlington Raceway

“Darlington [Raceway] is truly the track that is ‘too tough to tame.’  It’s a driver’s track—Tayler and I will need to work together and communicate well to determine what his Toyota Tundra is doing as he drives through the corners.  Then we need to adjust the One Eighty Toyota Tundra to make it handle exactly how he needs it.  If he’s wrestling the truck to get through the corners, it will be a long 200 miles at that track.  The guys on the One Eighty team put a lot of work into getting our truck ready for this weekend; we’re taking a brand new chassis and one that we believe will perform very well at Darlington [Raceway].”

Tayler Malsam

Driver Bio

Birthdate: February 15, 1989

Hometown: Seattle, Washington

Residence: Mooresville, NC

Status: Single

After spending the 2010 season making a series of starts in both the NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS), Tayler Malsam returns to his seat at Randy Moss Motorsports to compete with the team that helped him throughout his rookie campaign.  The 21-year-old from the Pacific Northwest proved to be a contender in his Randy Moss Motorsports-prepared Toyota Tundra two seasons ago, and with another year of racing experience and greater confidence in his talent, the young driver is sure to make his mark in the series in 2011.

Malsam began racing shifter karts at age 15 in his hometown of Sammamish, Wash.  After qualifying for the US Nationals, Malsam made the leap into a full season of Formula TR open-wheel road racing in 2005.  That same year he began competing in both 360 and 410 Winged Sprint car competition, advancing to the Knoxville Nationals where he set the fastest qualifying lap for a rookie during the 47^th annual event.

In 2007, Malsam made the jump to stock cars, racing Late Models at Irwindale (Calif.) Raceway.  He also made his ARCA Racing Series debut at Toledo Speedway that year, starting his first race from the eighth position.  His talent caught the eye of Penske Racing, who gave him a shot as a development driver in 2008, racing the full ARCA Racing Series season and finishing ninth in the driver Points Standings.  In August 2008, Malsam also made his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.

By 2009 Malsam moved up the ranks to race full-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series when an opportunity opened up at Randy Moss Motorsports.  The Sammamish, Wash., native finished second in the Raybestos Rookie of the Year standings and recorded one top-five and 10 top-10 finishes throughout his rookie campaign.  The success caught the eye of NASCAR standout Kyle Busch who hand-picked the young driver to join the newly formed Kyle Busch Motorsports to start the 2010 season.  After an opportunity arose to race in the NASCAR Nationwide Series for Braun Racing, Malsam returned to Randy Moss Motorsports to finish out the season.

With 38 NCWTS starts on his resume, Malsam has proven to be a quick study in figuring out the ins and outs of truck series racing.  The young driver boasts a total of 11 top-10 finishes, including a 10^th-place finish in the 2010 season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, and a career best finish of fifth at Gateway (St. Louis) International Raceway.

Defining Moments…

• First NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race:

August 20, 2008, Bristol Motor Speedway, (qualified 22^nd, finished 21^st)

• NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Career Best Start:

Fifth – Iowa Speedway, September 5, 2009

• NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Career Best Finish:

Fifth – Gateway International Raceway, September 12, 2009

• NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Career High Points Finish:

12^th – 2009

- Randy Moss Motorsports, Press Release