CONCORD, NC (January 30, 2012) – Bubba Pollard won 19 races in 2011, but beating NASCAR driver Kyle Busch in the closing laps of a short track race would have trumped those feats as Busch is has proven to be nearly unbeatable in Super Late Model events in recent seasons.

Pollard traded the lead with Busch several times over the 200-lap SpeedFest event at Watermelon Capital Speedway (GA). Pollard may have had more experience at Watermelon Capital than Busch, who was making his first-ever start there, but Busch wasn’t going to be denied. Busch made the final pass on lap 184 to finish ahead of Pollard at the checkered flag.

“I wish I was doing that,” said Pollard as he pointed to Busch’s burnout in victory lane.

Pollard managed to smile after finishing second to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series star because he knew he had been beaten by one of the best in the business.

“Our car was real good on the short run and I could get by him on the restarts,” added Pollard. “He had a much better car on the longer runs, but I wanted to get out in front of him on that last restart and let him know I could race with him and I had a lot of fun doing it.”

Finishing second found Pollard in front of fellow Georgian and NASCAR driver David Ragan. Also in the mix were defending race winner Chase Elliott, Ross Kenseth, Erik Darnell, Johnny Sauter, Clay Rogers and several other top drivers in the Super Late Model world.

“That’s the best in the country,” said Pollard motioning to Busch. “We hung with him pretty good today and we can’t hold our heads down after a strong run like this. We made a few adjustments at halfway and we came up a little short at the end. It’s pretty fun to race against these guys.”

Pollard ran the Pro Late Model race as well and led the first 76 circuits before giving up the lead. He would end up finishing fourth after a last lap scramble cost him a podium finish.

The two top-five finishes go along with his pair from the 2011 SpeedFest events and his average finish for the last four events at SpeedFest is a 2.75 at two different venues in the state of Georgia.

Pollard’s next schedule race is the Rattler 250 and the Pro Rattler 125 at South Alabama Speedway. Pollard is the defending Viper Series Champion at the track and is looking to capture the track’s biggest events.

For more information on Bubba Pollard visit his website at www.BubbaPollard.com.

- 51 Sports Press Release

TJ Reaid

Reaid, the 22-year-old former All-American 400 winner, bided his time in the CRA Super Series event at the Cordele, Georgia track. He moved from his 22nd-place starting position into the top-15 when the halfway break jumbled the field at lap 100. Still desiring more from his number-41 machine, Reaid and his Jim Barfield-led crew from Bill Elliott Racing made the necessary adjustments at halfway to move into the top-five when the checkered flag flew.

“We just paced ourselves all day and missed what seemed like about a dozen or so wrecks all day,” said Reaid. “We put ourselves in position to race up front at the end. Where we were at halfway, it was a no-brainer to take four tires. If we would’ve had a caution with maybe 10 or so to go, I don’t know if I would’ve had enough for Kyle (Busch, winner) or Bubba (Pollard, second-place), but I feel like I could’ve gotten around David Ragan and Casey Smith (third and fourth, respectively). But that’s one of those ‘if’ deals. All in all, it was a really good weekend for us. It was great to get a top-five finish so we can go on to The Rattler in a month or so.”

The 22nd-to-fifth run in a stout field of short track champions and NASCAR superstars like Kyle Busch, David Ragan and Johnny Sauter is impressive. Considering Reaid did it in his first run for a new team in a brand of racecar foreign to him, the result is even more notable.

“We went down to Cordele the Sunday before to try to test and it rained. The whole next week was hit or miss with the rain and we weren’t able to work together before the race, so I really feel like it was an outstanding weekend.

“I went into the weekend kind of blind. I had never driven those (Grand American Race Cars chassis) cars before and didn’t know what to expect them to do. We had to make a couple changes as far as driver comfort for me, but to come out of the deal with the car in one piece and a top-five was definitely like a win for us.”

Reaid’s first start as part of the Bill Elliott Racing team came as a breath of fresh air after not achieving the success he hoped for in 2011. After winning races over the past few seasons with his own family team and then with Kyle Busch Motorsports through 2010, Reaid was shut out of victory lane in 2011. With a new, focused-on-fun, approach, Reaid is hoping to parlay the strong SpeedFest run into a trip to victory lane in 2012.

“It definitely was a lot of fun this weekend,” added Reaid. “Last year, running for KBM, there was a lot of pressure. You’re sitting in the best seat. Kyle showed it again yesterday by winning the race. Now I’ve gotten back to having fun.

“The Bill Elliott Racing team is definitely a first-class operation. I can see now why they’re tough everywhere they go. Every guy there works beyond their potential. They enjoy doing it and we had a lot of fun. I’m definitely looking forward to working with Jim (Barfield, Reaid’s SpeedFest crew chief) and Ricky (Turner, crew chief for Reaid’s teammate Chase Elliott) and all the rest of the guys more this year. They seemed really pumped at the end of the race and I think that’s a good start to the year for us.”

Reaid’s fifth also gives the young racer momentum for what he hopes will be more opportunities to drive for the BER team in 2012.

“We’ve got The Rattler scheduled for sure with them. I’d like to do the rest of the big races with them. Then in the races where Chase runs or when they’ve got other people scheduled, roll our car out there just to stay in the seat and not get rusty.”

The Rattler will take place March 2nd through 4th at South Alabama Speedway in Opp, Alabama.

For more information on TJ Reaid, visit www.tjreaid.com.

- 51 Sports Press Release

Ansell Protective Products Inc.

“Since Toyota opened their first plant in North America, Ansell was there, protecting their employees with Ansell gloves. As a company, we’re proud to have such a strong relationship of protection and safety with such an esteemed organization both inside and outside of motorsports,” said Steve York, Director of Channel and Vertical Development at Ansell. “We’re encouraged that while Toyota keeps Frank Kimmel safe while driving upwards of 190mph on the racetrack, we’re also keeping Toyota’s associates safe as they enter the workplace to provide for their families.”

ThorSport Racing

“I couldn’t be happier with the change to Toyota Camrys for my No. 44 Ansell/Menards team,” said Frank Kimmel. “With the pre-existing relationship between Ansell and Toyota, it seems to marry the sport and the manufacturing world perfectly. Ansell has such a proud tradition of safety and messaging in safety awareness – and we’re hoping to build on that success this year, both on and off the racetrack. We’re also hoping to visit several Toyota locations to help celebrate that strong partnership of protection onsite – by meeting the employees and staff on the front lines.”

“ThorSport Racing is a first-class organization and a championship-caliber race team, as well as one of the most respected teams in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series,” said Lee White, president and general manager of TRD, U.S.A.(Toyota Racing Development). “We look forward to working together with the entire ThorSport race team and are confident that it will raise the level of our entire Toyota racing program.”

“We’re always on the forefront of competition in whatever series we are competing in,” said Matt LaNeve, Vice President of Motorsports Partnerships for ThorSport Racing. “We’re looking forward to forging ahead with Toyota in the competition arena in 2012. Toyota and Ansell have a strong industry bond in the industrial solutions arena, and we hope to celebrate that through Frank Kimmel, the No. 44 team, and awareness campaigns throughout the motorsports community on how Ansell engages a reputation of protecting workers in many different arenas – from first responders to the military to auto workers.”

ABOUT ANSELL:

Ansell is a global leader in protection solutions, with operations in North America, LAC, EMEA and Asia-Pacific. Ansell designs, develops, manufactures and markets a wide range of surgical, examination, industrial and household gloves, protective clothing and condoms. People in over 100 countries around the world put their trust in Ansell’s innovative, high-quality solutions to offer superior protection, combined with high levels of comfort and performance.

Ansell holds its operational headquarters in Red Bank, NJ, USA and its parent, Ansell Limited, is registered in Melbourne, Australia. Worldwide, the group employs over 10,000 people in 33 countries. In its Fiscal Year 2011, Ansell achieved sales of USD 1.2 bn. For more information visit www.ansell.com, www.safetypro.com, www.activarmr.com and www.ansellconstruction.com.

ABOUT THORSPORT RACING

ThorSport Racing, based in Sandusky, Ohio, is the longest tenured active NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team. NASCAR’s only Ohio-based team, which has run full season schedules annually beginning in 1998, will run in 2012 the No. 88 Menards Toyota Tundra driven by Matt Crafton; the No. 13 Safe Auto/Curb Records Toyota Tundra driven by Johnny Sauter; the No. 98 Ferrell Gas/Agrisure Toyota Tundra driven by Dakoda Armstrong; and the No. 44 Ansell/Menards Toyota Camry driven by Frank Kimmel in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards. ThorSport Racing operates in a state-of-the-art, world-class 100,000 square foot racing facility in Sandusky. For more information, visit us on Facebook: Facebook/ThorSportRacing or Twitter: Twitter.com/ThorSportRacing.

Toyota Logo

TRD, U.S.A. (Toyota Racing Development) Powering all of Toyota’s American racing programs is TRD, U.S.A. (Toyota Racing Development) in Costa Mesa, Calif., and Salisbury, N.C. A subsidiary of Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc., TRD serves as the North American racing arm for design, development and assembly of Toyota’s factory racing engines.

Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.

Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A., Inc. is the marketing, sales, distribution and customer service arm of Toyota, Lexus and Scion. Established in 1957, TMS markets products and services through a network of nearly 1,500 Toyota, Lexus and Scion dealers which sold more than 1.76 million vehicles in 2010. Toyota directly employs nearly 30,000 people in the U.S. and its investment here is currently valued at more than $18 billion. For more information

- Girl Friday PR Press Release

Erik Jones (Photo Credit: Detroit Free Press)

“We have a lot of momentum from the 2011 season,” said Jones. “It shouldn’t be too hard to carry that over into the new year. When you have a great season like 2011 you just can’t wait to get back on the track, the off season seems like it lasts forever.”

Jones was the 2011 Governor’s Cup 200 winner at New Smyrna Speedway (FL) after locking up the JEGS All Stars Tour title a few weeks prior to that. He also had a solid performance going in the Allen Turner Snowflake 100 at Five Flags Speedway (FL) in December before being swept up in a wreck.

2012 will kick off at a new track, as Jones will set his eyes on the 3/8-mile Watermelon Capital Speedway in Cordele, Georgia for the first time at SpeedFest.

“It looks like a fun track from the pictures and should put on a good show for the fans with our Paragon Corvette Reproductions Chevy,” said Jones. “I am really excited to go there. I always like to go to a new racetrack and hopefully race with some new people.”

Those new people will include drivers like NASCAR stars Kyle Busch, Johnny Sauter, Erik Darnell and David Ragan, as well as short track standouts such as Chase Elliott, Bubba Pollard and several other big Super Late Model names.

Three-time CRA Super Series Champion Scott Hantz has stepped in to be the head wrench and driver coach for the young driver.

“Scott Hantz will be working in collaboration with Venturini Motorsports, my ARCA team. I am really looking forward to being able to work with so much experience this year and I’m looking to pick up the 2012 season right where we left off.”

Jones will be focusing his efforts on the ARCA/CRA Super Series Super Late Model 200-lap portion of SpeedFest weekend and will not be competing in the JEGS Tour event.

“It is different not being able to hop into the (JEGS Tour) Pro Late Model at SpeedFest. It bums me out a little bit as I really enjoy running the Pro class. We have had great success with the Super Late Model though and I really enjoyed the faster pace of racing that I got to experience twice last year.

Jones and his Paragon Corvette Reproductions #4 team will start the action on Friday January 27th with practice. Qualifying will take place on Saturday, January 28th with the feature event being on Sunday, January 29th.

For more on Erik Jones, please visit his website at www.ErikJonesRacing.com.

- 51 Sports Press Release

No. 92 BTS Tire and Wheel Distributors / fleetHQ.com Chevrolet Silverado (Clay Rogers) - Photo Credit: Chris Graythen / Getty Images for NASCAR

NASCAR Veteran Jason Overstreet has been named crew chief and team manager for the Ricky Benton Racing (RBR) Enterprises Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) entry. His first race with the team will be the season-opener in Daytona on February 24, 2012.

“I can’t wait for February,” said Overstreet. “I am looking forward to the challenge of helping build this race team in the truck series and having success at the track. There is a great foundation in place at RBR and I am excited to be a part of it.”

Overstreet spent 2010 and 2011 at Rusty Wallace, Inc. (RWI) where he served various roles, including crew chief and car chief for Michael Annett, Brendan Gaughan and David Reutimann. Prior to moving to RWI, Overstreet served as crew chief for Johnny Sauter at ThorSport Racing and at Germain Racing for Justin Marks. From 2004-08, Overstreet was the crew chief for Reutimann at Darrell Waltrip Racing.

“We are very excited to have someone of Jason’s caliber on board with us for 2012,” said RBR Enterprises owner Ricky Benton. “We have made great strides over the last two years with our truck program and look to grow those successes with Jason’s leadership at the shop and at the racetrack.”

Driver Clay Rogers finished 20th in the 2011 NCWTS points standings driving the No. 92 BTS Tire and Wheel Distributors Chevrolet despite only making 15 of 25 starts in the series.

A driver for the No. 92 BTS Tire and Wheel Distributors / fleetHQ.com Chevrolet for 2012 has yet to be determined.

About fleetHQ.com

fleetHQ is a business solutions provider for commercial trucking fleets and service tire dealers all across North America. fleetHQ provides 24-hour support, and helps fleets reduce operating cost while making it easier to do business.

About BTS Tire and Wheel Distributors

BTS Tire & Wheel Distributors offers wholesale distribution services to tire and automotive dealers across the Southeast, operating out of locations in North and South Carolina.

About RBR Enterprises

RBR has been racing in numerous touring series throughout the Southeast for nearly 20 years. Competing extensively in the USAR Pro Cup Series – winning a championship in 2002 in that series – the team has made forays into the ARCA Series and several NASCAR Touring Series. In 2010, RBR joined the NCWTS with driver Dennis Setzer, competing in eight races.

RBR teamed up with Rogers for the 2011 season. Originally, the team was committed to the first five races and 15 races total for the year. The schedule could expand more if additional sponsorship can be secured.

- RBR Enterprises Press Release

ThorSport Racing

“We’d like to thank everyone at Chevrolet for all the support over the last 16 years,” said Matt LaNeve, vice president of motorsports partnerships for ThorSport Racing. “ThorSport Racing, along with dedicated owners Duke and Rhonda Thorson, have a long-standing history and commitment to conservative, steady growth within NASCAR. Toyota’s business and competitive philosophies are in line with our 2012 goals for both Frank Kimmel, as he pursues his 10th ARCA Racing Series Championship; and our NCWTS teams of the 13, 88 and 98, as we further look to increase competition. We are aggressively chasing not only wins in our two respective series, but championship trophies for our drivers and sponsors.”

ThorSport Racing currently operates three NCWTS teams – the No. 13 of Johnny Sauter; the No. 88 of Matt Crafton; and the No. 98 of Dakoda Armstrong. The organization will also field the No. 44 Ansell / Menards Toyota Camry during the 2012 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards season. The No. 13 Safe Auto / Curb Records entry finished second in driver championship points in 2011, matching the organization’s highest previous finish by the No. 88 Menards entry and Matt Crafton in 2009 – narrowly missing the championship by six points but capping the year off with a win at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 18th; adding to driver Sauter’s win list, shared with a trophy clock at Martinsville earlier in the year. The No. 88 Menards entry, piloted by Matt Crafton, finished 8th in overall driver championship points, earned two poles and wheeled into Victory Lane at Iowa Speedway during the 2011 season.

“ThorSport Racing is a first-class organization and a championship-caliber race team, as well as one of the most respected teams in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series,” said Lee White, president and general manager of TRD, U.S.A.(Toyota Racing Development). “We look forward to working together with the entire ThorSport race team and are confident that it will raise the level of our entire Toyota Tundra racing program.”

“We’re always on the forefront of competition in whatever series we are competing in,” said David Pepper, Director of Competition and Team Manager for ThorSport Racing. “We’re looking forward to forging ahead with Toyota in the competition arena in 2012. We’re actively hiring top talent to our existing crew members on our championship-caliber teams. We’re encouraged, during a down economy in both the country and in racing, to be hiring and adding jobs back into our industry.”

ABOUT THORSPORT RACING

ThorSport Racing, based in Sandusky, Ohio, is the longest tenured active NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team. ThorSport Racing’s first race came at the Milwaukee Mile on July 6, 1996. NASCAR’s only Ohio-based team, which has run full season schedules annually beginning in 1998, will run in 2012 the No. 88 Menards Toyota Tundra driven by Matt Crafton; the No. 13 Safe Auto / Curb Records Toyota Tundra driven by Johnny Sauter; the No. 98 Ferrell Gas / Agrisure Toyota Tundra driven by Dakoda Armstrong; and the No. 44 Ansell / Menards Toyota Camry driven by Frank Kimmel in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards.

ThorSport Racing has wheeled into Victory Lane with Terry Cook, Matt Crafton and Johnny Sauter since its inception and has finished a dominating eight times within the top 10 in points with both trucks. Sauter wheeled into Victory Lane twice in 2011 – Martinsville and Homestead-Miami; Crafton in Iowa. Both earned two poles, respectively. In 2011, ThorSport Racing matched its highest previous driver points finish by Matt Crafton and the No. 88 in 2009 – with the No. 13 of Johnny Sauter. In 2009 and 2010, both Crafton and Sauter finished in the top five in driver points. ThorSport Racing operates in a state-of-the-art, world-class 100,000 square foot racing facility in Sandusky. For more information, visit us on Facebook: Facebook/ThorSportRacing or Twitter: Twitter.com/ThorSportRacing

ABOUT TOYOTA:

TRD, U.S.A. (Toyota Racing Development)

Powering all of Toyota’s American racing programs is TRD, U.S.A. (Toyota Racing Development) in Costa Mesa, Calif., and Salisbury, N.C. A subsidiary of Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc., TRD serves as the North American racing arm for design, development and assembly of Toyota’s factory racing engines.

Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.

Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A., Inc. is the marketing, sales, distribution and customer service arm of Toyota, Lexus and Scion. Established in 1957, TMS markets products and services through a network of nearly 1,500 Toyota, Lexus and Scion dealers which sold more than 1.76 million vehicles in 2010. Toyota directly employs nearly 30,000 people in the U.S. and its investment here is currently valued at more than $18 billion. For more information about Toyota, visit www.toyota.com, www.lexus.com, www.scion.com or www.toyotanewsroom.com.

- ThorSport Racing Press Release

NASCAR Logo Large

Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 24 and Austin Dillon, 21, officially were proclaimed champions of the NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, respectively, on the Americana Ballroom stage at the Loews Miami Beach Hotel.

Both were honored with their first NASCAR national series titles. Each became champion in the season following a rookie-of-the-year performance. Dillon becomes the youngest champion in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series’ 17-year history. Both champions won twice during the 2011 season.

Roush Fenway Racing’s No. 60 Ford Mustang won the NASCAR Nationwide Series Owner Championship, as driver Carl Edwards won eight times. The title is the second in the series for Jack Roush, his previous owner championship coming in 2002. It also marked the first time that the same owner claimed both the NASCAR Nationwide Series driver and owner titles with different teams.

Kevin Harvick Inc. claimed its third NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Owner Championship. DeLana Harvick’s No. 2 Chevrolet Silverado posted seven victories with three different drivers in adding to KHI’s owner titles from 2007 and 2009.

Timmy Hill, an 18-year-old Maryland competitor, won NASCAR Nationwide Series Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors by a single point, tying the series’ closest decision for that award. Dillon’s Richard Childress Racing teammate Joey Coulter, 21, won the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Sunoco Rookie of the Year Award, the second time the same organization claimed both championship and rookie laurels.

Elliott Sadler, Justin Allgaier, Aric Almirola and Reed Sorenson finished second through fifth in the championship standings and were honored along with Stenhouse in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.

Johnny Sauter, James Buescher, Ron Hornaday Jr. and Timothy Peters were second through fifth in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series final points and joined Dillon on stage.

After a fan vote on NASCAR.com, in which more than 215,000 combined votes were cast, each series’ Most Popular Driver was revealed. Sadler and Dillon were chosen by the fans in the NASCAR Nationwide and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, respectively. Each was honored for the first time.

SPEED’s Rick Allen and Krista Voda hosted the event, which will air on Dec. 2 from 7-9 p.m. ET on SPEED, prior to the live telecast of the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Awards Ceremony from Las Vegas.

- NASCAR Integrated Marketing Communications Press Release

No. 23 GunBroker.com Chevrolet Silverado

This was White’s fifth top-10 of the 2011 season and a track-best finish for the veteran driver at the 1.5-mile speedway.

Starting 12th after Friday afternoon’s time trials were cancelled due to rain, White spent the opening laps of the 119-lap event inside the top-15 fighting a tight-handling Chevrolet.

Just past the half-way point, White began running lap times as fast as or faster than the leader. When the fourth caution flag was displayed for a spin in turn-two, White made his way down pit road for four tires and fuel. Restarting 11th, White picked up two positions in the closing 18 laps to finish ninth behind race winner, Johnny Sauter.

White finished the 2011 NCWTS season 15th in driver’s standings behind series champion, Austin Dillon.

Notes:

- In four starts at HMS, this was White’s first top-10 finish.

- In 25 starts, Jason White has two top-five, five top-10, top-15 and 17top-20 finishes.

- In 2011, White had an average starting position of 18.8 and an average finish of 16.8. The veteran driver led 50 laps and completed 95.75 percent of laps attempted (3675 of 3838).

For more information on Joe Denette Motorsports please visit: www.JoeDenetteMotorsports.com

For more information on Jason White and GunBroker.com please visit: www.GunBrokerRacing.com

Follow Joe Denette Motorsports on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/TeamJDM23

Follow Jason White on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/JasonWhite23

Follow GunBroker.com on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/GunBroker

- Joe Denette Motorsports Press Release

SS Green Light Racing Thumbnail

Rain showers forced NASCAR officials to cancel qualifying so the trucks were lined up by time from the morning practice session giving Starr the 23rd starting spot for the season ending race.

David would not stay in 23rd for long as he moved his way up to 18th when a competition caution was displayed on lap 20. A problem on the first pitstop dropped the Zachry Toyota back to 28th challenging David to work his way to the front of the 36-truck field.

As he made his way through heavy traffic, David was very fortunate to avoid a spinning German Quiroga on lap 31 avoiding some of the bad luck that has plagued the team this season. He restarted from 20th place when the green flew again on lap 35 and made a bold move on the restart charging up to fifteenth before settling into 18th place where he would stay through a long green flag run that included the full field making green flag stops.

On lap 98 a caution would slow the field for the last time and Starr would restart the Zachry Toyota 18th as the trucks were set for a 36-lap run to the end of the seasons last race.

David charged through the field after the restart, powering his way toward the top-ten moving to 14th on lap 110 and challenging Austin Dillon for tenth when the rain showers came and shortened the race on lap 117. Johnny Sauter held of a charge by Denny Hamlin as the rains began and won the race.

“The finish result does not show how good our truck was,” Starr said. “The SS Green Light team did a great job. We had a hiccup on the first stop and that dropped us all the way to the back but we didn’t give up.”

“When they dropped the green after the last caution our Zachry Toyota was like a rocket ship. I mean the truck was awesome and it was unfortunate the rains came because I felt we had a 7th or 8th place truck. If the caution had come out and we got back some of the real estate, I felt we had a truck capable of getting up to the top-five.”

David Starr - Photo Credit: John Harrelson / Getty Images for NASCAR

Starr finished thirteenth in the NCWTS driver’s standings behind Austin Dillon.

“Overall it was a great season, although we did not live up to our expectation, we had some bad luck and we went through some growing pains; the whole team stuck together, nobody complained or pointed fingers and we learned a lot. You can take everything we learned and apply it to next year and come out stronger. I want to thank everyone who supported us this season including Zachry, NCCER Build Your Future Campaign, Allegro, Advocare, Akzo Nobel and ASI Limited.”

For more information on SS Green Light Racing visit www.SSRacingonline.com.

- SS Green Light Racing Press Release

Event: Ford 200 (Race 25 of 25)

Series: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series

Location: Homestead-Miami Speedway (1.5-mile oval)

Start / Finish: 27th/26th (Running, completed 118 of 119 laps)

Winner: Johnny Sauter of Thorsport Racing (Chevrolet)

Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM)

Quiroga, who started the race from the 27th position, had advanced to the 20th spot on lap 30 when Max Gresham got loose off of Turn 4 and slid up the track into the No. 51 Telcel Tundra. The contact sent Quiroga sliding sideways towards the inside wall along the frontstretch. The veteran driver held the brakes as the truck harpooned along the slippery apron until the front end responded. Once the front end responded, he was able to right the path of the truck and pulled away having avoided contact with the wall.

With two flat tires on the No. 51 Telcel Tundra, the 31-year-old driver proceeded slowly around the track to avoid further damage before bringing the truck down pit road. The over-the-wall crew put four fresh tires on the truck, examined it for further damage, filled it with fuel and returned their driver to the track still on the lead lap.

Unfortunately, Quiroga’s bad luck continued as the crew had sent their driver back on the track before securing all of the lug nuts and were issued a penalty from the NASCAR officials. Quiroga was forced to return to pit road to serve the penalty and by the time the No. 51 Telcel Tundra returned to the track, it was scored one lap down in the 31st position.

German Quiroga

When the race restarted on lap 35, the Mexico City native was in the “Lucky Dog” position, where he ran for several laps, but as the race proceeded caution free for over 60 laps, the leaders began lapping other drivers. Eventually, the leaders once again worked their way around the No. 51 Tundra, putting Quiroga two laps down.

A single car spin brought out the fourth caution of the race on lap 98. With all of the lead-lap cars in front of Quiroga electing to pit, veteran crew chief Rick Ren kept his driver on the track in order to receive the wave around.

When the race restarted on lap 102, Quiroga was scored one lap down in the 27th position. The No. 51 Telcel Tundra was in the 26th position when the caution came out for precipitation on lap 119. Shortly after the field parked on pit road, the rain strengthened and the race was ruled official with 119 of the scheduled 134 laps complete.

“After seeing the poise German showed tonight, you can tell why he is a three-time champion in the NASCAR Mexico series” said Ren, the all-time winningest crew chief in the history of the Truck Series. “Unfortunately, because it rained late in practice, we weren’t able to complete both laps of our mock-qualifying run and we had to start the race near the back of the field. German ended up getting spun early in the race, but showed impressive truck control in avoiding the wall. Then, our guys made a costly mistake on pit road and we went a lap down. I think if that error didn’t occur, he would’ve had a top-15 finish. Instead of getting frustrated after the mistake, he maintained his composure and just took advantage of gaining valuable seat time. I’ve been very impressed with German during the two races that he drove for us this season. Hopefully, we can get things worked out for him to run full-time next season.”

Johnny Sauter picked up his second win of the season. Quiroga’s teammate, Denny Hamlin, finished second and Kevin Harvick third. Rookies Nelson Piquet Jr. and Joey Coulter finished fourth and fifth, respectively. Ty Dillon, Elliott Sadler, Timothy Peters, Jason White and Austin Dillon, who became the youngest driver to win a Truck Series championship, rounded out the top-10 finishers.

There were five caution periods for 16 laps, with seven drivers failing to finish the race.

- Kyle Busch Motorsports Press Release

Johnny Sauter basks in the Victory Lane celebration at Homestead-Miami Speedway after winning a rain-shortened season finale in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. - Photo Credit: John Harrelson, Getty Images for NASCAR

Talk about the win tonight. Did you leave anything on the table?

JOHNNY SAUTER: “Yeah, what an eventful day. This place here during the daytime typically doesn’t — your truck doesn’t handle very well, and last year same deal, and I knew the racetrack was going to come to us, or at least I thought it was, and sure enough, it did. Joe made a great change on that first pit stop and that thing came to life. Phenomenal year. I’ve always wanted to have two wins in the NASCAR series in the same year, and to some people that probably doesn’t mean much. I’ve been fortunate to win some Nationwide races and some Truck races but never two in a year, so that was a huge accomplishment.”

“To come out of here six points back is kind of a bummer with some of the problems we had or whatever throughout the course of the year, but I couldn’t be more proud of Joe and everybody at ThorSport, Duke and Rhonda Thorson. This is essentially the race that I consider you thank everybody, and Safe Auto Insurance, Curb Records. Mike Curb has been a huge supporter, Mud Jugs, UCoat It, Carrier Heating and Cooling, Chevrolet, ECR Engines, Goodyear Tires, everybody that helps get this deal to the racetrack. It’s a pleasure to drive this truck.”

Crew chief Joe Shear, Jr., talk about the effort out there tonight by the No. 13 truck.

JOE SHEAR, JR.: “Just like Johnny said, we came here knowing we had to do what we did tonight. We had to dominate. We had to lead the most laps. And I can’t thank my guys — my guys worked hard all year, and it showed tonight. We had awesome pit stops. You know, we chased the track and everything and we made some adjustments, and we worked very hard to get where we were. It’s just awesome to be here. Really, I’m kind of lost for words. Working as hard as we do, and we’re working on it, and I think we’re pretty strong, and I can’t wait until next year.”

For both you guys, with what Duke and Rhonda’s organization has done this year, looking ahead and moving ahead, would you guys consider yourselves the championship favorite for next year, and why would that be?

JOHNNY SAUTER: “Well, first of all, I don’t think it’s any secret Duke and Rhonda’s commitment to not only NASCAR but to the Camping World Truck Series, 16 seasons full-time. There’s not a lot of people that can say that, whether they were sponsored or unsponsored. I know Duke and Rhonda spend a lot of their own money to make sure I get to the racetrack every weekend. I couldn’t appreciate that more first and foremost. Built a brand new 100,000 square foot shop, we moved into it in August up in Sandusky, Ohio, which is an anomaly in this business, being outside the Charlotte hub, so to speak. I think it’s a huge accomplishment, but I also know what I have for a team, and those guys work hard, and I guarantee you they work harder than anybody in the garage, and I guarantee you that we are a championship team. Even though we’re not champions right now, we are a championship team, and I do believe we’re the favorites for next year.”

At what point did you know the rain was going to be an issue?

JOHNNY SAUTER: “I had no clue until there was rain on the windshield. That’s the only time I knew. We went down into turn 3 there, the lap before, and it started to sprinkle pretty hard, and I came on the radio and I probably was yelling so loud that they probably didn’t even understand what I was saying, and I said, “it’s raining, it’s raining,” and we went down into turn 3 and it was pouring by the time I got to the back stretch, and I knew this was no good.”

“So I just knew that Denny was running the high line, so I knew that I needed to run the high line, but I got really loose getting down in there and just washed up the racetrack. It’s a good thing he’s as good of a driver as he is, or that could have been ugly. He’s amazingly talented and drove a hard race. I’ve gotta thank him for that.”

Race Recap:

Date: November 19, 2011

Track: Homestead-Miami Speedway

Race: 25 of 25

Started: 5th

Finished: 1st

Championship Point Standings: 2nd (-6)

Up Next on the Truck Series Schedule:

Date: November 22, 2011

Loew’s South Beach Hotel & Resort

Event Name: NCWTS Awards Banquet

Broadcast: SPEED at 8pmET

- ThorSport Racing Press Release

Date: Nov. 18, 2011

Event: Ford 200 (Race 25 of 25)

Series: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series

Location: Homestead-Miami Speedway (1.5-mile oval)

Start / Finish: 17th/2nd (Running, completed 119 of 119 laps)

Winner: Johnny Sauter of Thorsport Racing (Chevrolet)

No. 18 Dollar General Toyota Tundra

Celebrating his 31st birthday, Hamlin was like a kid patiently waiting until the end of the party to eat his cake and open his presents. His No. 18 Dollar General Tundra was riding in the catbird seat, tucked behind Sauter’s No. 13 truck, as he patiently waited for the right opportunity to make his move in the final stages of the Ford 200.

With 20 laps remaining Hamlin’s spotter, Curtis Markham, made his driver aware that rain was fast approaching the area and if he felt like he could challenge for the win, he needed to get by Sauter in a hurry. One lap later, Hamlin made a strong run on the outside line through the middle of Turn 3 but just as he began to pull around Sauter coming off of Turn 4, Sauter got loose, slid up the track and brushed Hamlin into the wall. To avoid possibly wrecking both trucks, Hamlin checked up, and Sauter maintained the lead. As the field approached the start-finish line, the rain began falling and the caution waved.

Shortly after the field was parked on pit road, the rain strengthened and the race was ruled official with 119 of the scheduled 134 laps complete.

“I knew I had a Dollar General Tundra that could get around Johnny (Sauter), but I just wanted to be patient and wait until later stages of the race, and also to ensure that we kept the third-place guy behind us and tried to use the draft,” said Hamlin who posted a win and a runner-up finish in two starts for KBM this season. “Strategy didn’t work out. It probably cost us a win today, but they told me one lap before the rain came that it looks like rain is coming, so if I got anything, I’d better go. That was my last-ditch effort on the corner to try to get around him. He slid up and got into us and we got in the wall, and it was one of those things. We were not in a position to really race him that hard anyway.”

With Friday afternoon’s qualifying washed out by rain, the field was set by practice speeds from the morning practice session. Hamlin started the race from the 17th position, but began marching towards the front of the field once the green flag dropped. By lap 11 he had cracked the top 10 and had advanced into the seventh position when the competition caution occurred on lap 20.

The 31-year-old driver communicated to crew chief Eric Phillips that the Dollar General Tundra was tight off the exit of the corners in the early stages of the race. When pit road opened, Hamlin brought his truck down pit road where the KBM over-the-wall crew put on right side tires, filled it with fuel and returned their driver back to the track in the runner-up position.

Hamlin made his way to the lead on lap 25, but after one lap on point, relinquished the lead to James Buescher and settled into the runner-up spot. He remained in the second position when the second caution of the race occurred for a spin involving his teammate, Germán Quiroga, on lap 31.

After the race restarted on lap 35, a long green flag run ensued allowing competitors who took four tires during the competition caution to take advantage of having fresher tires. Hamlin had slipped back to the eighth position when he made a green flag stop for four fresh tires and fuel on lap 70.

When pit stops had cycled through on lap 90, the Virginia native had worked his way back up to the third position. He remained third when the third caution of the race occurred on lap 97. He communicated to Phillips that the biggest issue with the Dollar General Tundra was being loose into the corners.

Hamlin brought the Dollar General Tundra down pit road for four fresh tires and full tank of fuel. Phillips used an air pressure adjustment to try and secure Hamlin’s entry for the final stages of the race and communicated to Hamlin that his truck had enough fuel to make it to the end of the race.

The race restarted on lap 102 with the No. 18 Tundra scored in the third position. On lap 105, Hamlin made his way into the runner-up spot and tucked in behind race-leader Sauter. The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series regular, making just his 13th career Truck Series start, kept within two truck lengths of the lead, applying just enough pressure to try and force Sauter into making a mistake or abusing his equipment.

In the end, Sauter finally slipped up, but Hamlin ran out of both space and time and was forced to settle for a runner-up finish in the rain-shortened race.

Sauter’s win was his second of the season. Hamlin was second and Kevin Harvick third, while rookies Nelson Piquet Jr. and Joey Coulter finished fourth and fifth, respectively. Ty Dillon, Elliott Sadler, Timothy Peters, Jason White and Austin Dillon, who became the youngest driver to win a Truck Series championship, rounded out the top-10 finishers.

Quiroga, the three-time reigning NASCAR Mexico Series champion, finished 26th in KBM’s No. 51 Tundra.

There were five caution periods for 16 laps, with seven drivers failing to finish the race.

The No. 18 Tundra led the Truck Series with eight wins in 2011, but the defending Truck Series owners’ champions finished second in the 2011 standings, 104 points behind KHI’s No. 2 team.

- Kyle Busch Motorsports Press Release

Austin Dillon celebrates his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship with his Richard Childress Racing team at Homestead-Miami Speedway. - Photo Credit: Jerry Markland, Getty Images for NASCAR

THE MODERATOR: Let’s roll into our championship race team in the 2011 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. It’s the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet, driver is Austin Dillon, our crew chief is Danny Stockman, Jr., and our owner is Richard Childress. This is Richard Childress’ second NASCAR Camping World Truck Series drivers’ championship. His first came in the inaugural season in 1995 with driver Mike Skinner. And crew chief Danny Stockman, this is your first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship.

Richard, you talked to me out in the hall. You’ve had a lot of championships, but how does this one rank.

RICHARD CHILDRESS: It’s got to be right up there at the top. It’s so special when you’re family. Our whole family is involved, and I remember the very first championship with Dale Earnhardt. I had the same feeling tonight watching Austin, my grandson. It’s just so special to have the family and know how hard all of them worked.

I was at Ohio, Toledo, when Ty won his championship a few weeks ago, and just it’s a dream come true to have both these young men win championships.

And Danny Stockman, Bass Pro, everybody did so much to help put it together, and Austin kept it together so good under the pressure. For a 21 year old guy man, to be able to hang in there and do what he did was very special.

THE MODERATOR: Speaking of which, our championship driver has joined us now. That’s Austin Dillon. He drives the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet. At 21 years, six months and 22 days, he becomes the youngest champion in NASCAR Camping World Truck Series history. Congratulations, Austin. Tell us what it’s like to win a championship in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

AUSTIN DILLON: How does it feel? Amazing, best feeling I’ve ever had in my entire life. I’m so happy for my grandfather. He’s got two champs this year. I’m worried about Ty coming back and beating me for the youngest champion ever. He’s pretty awesome. It’s going to be a wonderful week, a wonderful month. Can’t ask to go out of the Truck Series any better than this, coming out as a champion.

Danny Stockman has done a great job this year. We’re all a family over at RCR, and we fight like dogs, but we love each other the same. It’s cool that we’re out there, a championship. It was wild. The last restart was not the way I planned it. It made it interesting, but we still came out on top.

THE MODERATOR: Danny Stockman, talk about being the crew chief for this championship team.

DANNY STOCKMAN: Yeah, like Austin said, the last restart was quite gut wrenching. Just awesome to be a part of this deal with Richard and Mike and Austin and Tina and everybody that just let me have this opportunity to be a part of it. Austin Dillon being a great race car driver, up and coming race car driver, just really glad to be a part of it. Got a heck of a good race team, and just got to thank everybody back at the shop there. Really good.

Q. Austin, a little more detail on that last restart. Was it a tire issue? And I think Hornaday said when he went by you there that he saw oil or something like that. Was that communicated to you, as well?

AUSTIN DILLON: I didn’t see the oil, but I know right behind the right front fender we were knocked in. I don’t know what happened. I didn’t hit anybody on the track, but I think it happened on pit road. We got really tight once I got back there, but I think it was more the conservative side when I was three wide. We were three wide in the middle, and to force a spot right there is not worth it.

I wish we would have finished I think we had a shot to win the race. We really had a fast race car. When you get back there in that situation, your head tells you to be smart, but at the same time they’re telling you to go because you’re close there. I went as hard as I could, started entering the corner harder at the end and helped us out. But we got really tight when the fender got knocked in. I think it was close really with the fender, but the rain came at the right time, the Lord was looking after us, and it’s really cool to be where we are today.

Q. Austin, I want to say you didn’t really say anything on the radio as you were falling back there or even for the few laps after that. Did you not want to say anything? What was going through your head?

AUSTIN DILLON: There was no need to, just focus and get back on the wheel. When you get down like that, you can’t do anything but drive back to the front, and we’ve done that all year. I’ve struggled in certain spots and restarts. Actually my restarts have been really great to the end of the year. That one wasn’t a bad restart. I kind of Johnny went I didn’t anticipate as well as I needed to, and when Denny stuck me three wide, I probably could have made something out of it in the middle, could have got to the top quicker, but I didn’t know who was out there and no one said clear on the radio, so we obviously weren’t.

When you get three wide, and these trucks, the air pushes you around so much it’s hard to run three wide, and down the back stretch it was really hairy, so I just rolled out a little bit, got back in line and went to working on everybody in front of me and were able to pass quite a few of them.

Q. Can you just talk about what the last six, seven weeks have been like? You’re leading the points coming out of each of these last six or seven races. Has it been nerve wracking or has it been easier to handle than you thought?

AUSTIN DILLON: You know, watching these guys in the Cup Series talk to each other, it’s pretty wild. I listen to Tony Stewart and I listen to Carl Edwards and the different approaches they take to it. Offense is your best defense most of the time in racing, and I felt like today I probably played too much defense. It wasn’t enough offense, and my grandfather got onto me midway through the race and said, You can’t get comfortable here, you’ve got to keep racing. Went back and got on the wheel and drove up through a bunch of them and found ourselves in second.

We had a fast race car there at the end, and when we got three wide, I had to play conservative because it wasn’t worth it. It worked out for the better of everything, and leading up to this week, I’ve just been hunting and fishing, doing stuff I love to do, keep my mind off of it, hanging out with the people I always hang out with, talking to Danny, preparing ourselves the way we do for every race.

There’s no difference coming into the championship. You can’t approach things different. When you’re sitting outside the lead, you can take more chances, that’s for sure. Johnny could take more chances today than we could, Buescher the same way, they have nothing to lose. Stewart is right, he has nothing to lose for Sunday. It’s hard to play offense. You’ve got to play off, though. My best advice to Carl is to go out there and play offense, go out there he knows what he has to do. They have a different situation; they’re very close in points. There’s a benefit there.

I actually talked to Ricky Carmichael, he’s won lots of championships, and I was talking to him and he said the closest championship was probably the easiest because he knew what he had to do. 16th was what we were supposed to finish to win, and we knew that going in, and got us a top 10, so we did our job.

Q. That said, Austin, what was today like, because it wasn’t maybe a normal day because of the rain and everything. Was there a chance for nerves to get in? And with winning the championship, what’s your experience so far? Is it everything you thought it would be?

AUSTIN DILLON: Today with the rain, it did make it you had to think a little bit more, I guess. You could think about it longer. But I actually watched a Clint Eastwood movie during the middle of the day. That was pretty cool. It kept my mind off it. I laughed a few times. It was the one with the chimpanzee. “Any Which Way But Loose” is what I watched today. I watched it with my buddy Tim Dugger and my girlfriend and his girlfriend, we just hung out and watched the movie and waited on everything, and when it got down to it, started listening to my music, had our team meeting. That’s when we all get emotional is in our team meeting because we all know why we’re here, and it was really cool, we all had a big prayer session before, and I told them I was nervous going in, as nervous as they are, but we’ve got to go do our job, and we did it.

Austin Dillon soaks in the glory after becoming the youngest NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion following Friday night's race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. (Photo Credit: Jared C. Tilton / Getty Images for NASCAR)

AUSTIN DILLON: The championship, yeah, it’s amazing. You get to spray champagne everywhere. You’re on top of the world. It’s the best feeling in the world. You stink real bad. Darrell Waltrip told me the best feeling in the world is going home stinking and having a trophy in your lap, and we were able to do that. I think now I’m more nervous about making a speech Monday, but we’ll figure that out. I’ve got some time.

Q. Going back to your celebration, are you maybe the first NASCAR champion to try planking on concrete?

AUSTIN DILLON: Yeah, the planking is cool. It’s something new. I feel like the good thing about NASCAR, we’ve got some really good drivers coming up. I am friends with a bunch of them that are going to represent the sport well. I think NASCAR has a lot to look forward to going forward. I feel that the newer fans coming in are young, and it’s really cool for sponsors, and I love the social media network, and I’ll be out there having fun any way I can. Yeah, I think that was one of the coolest planks you can do, I guess, winning a championship and then planking.

Q. Maybe your riskiest move of the night, too?

AUSTIN DILLON: That was probably my riskiest move, yeah. But it was wet enough where I could have got a little slide, and I have Sparco suit, so it’s the best suit in the world.

Q. You didn’t think about “Tebowing,” did you?

AUSTIN DILLON: Yeah, I kind of did. I pointed up when I was over the car. I didn’t get down on one knee, but that would have been cool to Tebow. He got it done last night, too; it was pretty impressive.

Q. What were you thinking when the rains came? Did you figure you had it at that particular time?

AUSTIN DILLON: Never thought about it. Andy Houston, my spotter, said, That’s probably going to be it, man, and I stayed in the truck and waited for the signal. It kind of drizzled, it was drizzling, and I knew they had lost the track because it was so slippery driving around under caution, and my grandfather said, Do not spin out under caution; slow down. I said, Wow, if I do this, that would be really a good way to lose the championship, rolling around under rain, so I backed her off and pulled in, and Hermie Sadler told me I won the championship, so I started celebrating and planked.

Actually, you know what, I did play some Xbox this week and tweeted my Xbox Live name and had like 50 people play Xbox Live Call of Duty with me. That was pretty fun, too. That was my RCR clan. It was good. I ended up on top like three times, but it was cool because everybody was going to tune into the championship, and they’re like mention the RCR clan in victory lane. I didn’t do it, but I got it in the media center, so I’m going to go back and play with them and talk to them about the championship. It’s cool, I interacted with fans that way.

Q. For Richard, what do you think allowed him to have the poise and everything to hold onto this lead in the points the last seven weeks, and is there anything that he’s done that you obviously have watched him race since he was little, but is there anything he’s done in the last two months that either particularly impressed you or surprised you?

RICHARD CHILDRESS: I think watching the race at Texas was the key to winning this championship. He was conservative when he had to be and he raced hard when he had to be. I think that was a big win we finished second, but it was a great run, and I think going into tonight, he I haven’t talked to him a whole lot this week because I didn’t want to add any extra pressure. He handles pressure better than a lot of people his age, he and his brother does, Ty. I couldn’t believe with the way he handled himself in the ARCA championship. They must get it from their mom because me and their dad gets a little wound up sometimes.

One other thing: Tonight with Johnny winning, that was 51 wins for ECR, and I told them at our kickoff banquet last year that they won 50 last year, so I told them you’ve got to beat it this year, so tonight made it 51. Great job for ECR.

Q. With the strength and the momentum you have after winning this championship, you’re taking the entire team with you to the Nationwide Series. What are you expecting for next season?

AUSTIN DILLON: Yeah, we’ve built a great team going into 2012. We’ve been working a little bit leading up to this race, and Stockman has been really harping on worried about this race, not worried about next year. But we’re so excited I can’t wait. It’s going to be amazing, feel like we can do it again. Two in a row would be awesome, just keep moving up and doing our job and we’ll be there at the end.

I was able to run some really good races with the Nationwide Series this year, and I feel like we stack up well, and we’ll have similar equipment. RCR and Pop Pop always make sure we have the best, and we’ll go out there and do our job in that No. 3.

THE MODERATOR: Congratulations to the No. 3 truck, Austin, Danny and Richard.

FastScripts by ASAP Sports

About Chevrolet

Founded in Detroit in 1911, Chevrolet celebrates its centennial as a global automotive brand with annual sales of about 4.25 million vehicles in more than 120 countries. Chevrolet provides consumers with fuel-efficient, safe and reliable vehicles that deliver high quality, expressive design, spirited performance and value. The Chevrolet portfolio includes iconic performance cars such as Corvette and Camaro; dependable, long-lasting pickups and SUVs such as Silverado and Suburban; and award-winning passenger cars and crossovers such as Spark, Cruze, Malibu, Equinox and Traverse. Chevrolet also offers “gas-friendly to gas-free” solutions including Cruze Eco and Volt. Cruze Eco offers 42 mpg highway while Volt offers 35 miles of electric, gasoline-free driving and an additional 344 miles of extended range. Most new Chevrolet models offer OnStar safety, security and convenience technologies including OnStar Hands-Free Calling, Automatic Crash Response and Stolen Vehicle Slowdown. More information regarding Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com .

- Chevrolet Press Release

Johnny Sauter poses next the 2011 NCWTS Championship Trophy that eluded him prior to winning the Ford 200 - Photo Credit: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images for NASCAR

With NASCAR’s decision to end the race, it was Johnny Sauter at the lead and pronounced the winner, but even though Sauter did all he could do by leading the most laps and winning the race, it wasn’t enough to win the championship that went to Austin Dillon (who finished the season 6-points ahead of Sauter).

This was Sauter’s second series win of the 2011 season, his fourth series career win and his first series win at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Coming in second was Denny Hamlin followed by Kevin Harvick finishing in third Nelson Piquet Jr. fourth, Joey Coulter fifth, Ty Dillon sixth, Elliott Sadler seventh, Timothy Peters eighth, Jason White ninth and Austin Dillon rounding out the top-ten finishers.

As for Austin Dillon and his first series championship, Dillon (at 21 years, six months and 22 days) became the youngest series champion, the first driver to follow up his Sunoco Rookie of the Year season with a championship the following season, gives Richard Childress Racing their second championship.

The 2011 NCWTS Sunoco Rookie of the Year honor goes to Joey Coulter, who finished the season with five top fives and 13 top 10s.

RACE NOTES:

Average Speed: 125.385 MPH
Time of Race: 1 Hrs, 25 Mins, 25 Secs.
Margin of Victory: Caution
Lead Changes: 14 among 9 drivers
Cautions: 5 for 16 laps
Attendance: 22,000

Unoffical Top-Ten in the Points Standings: 1. Austin Dillon – 888 (Series Champion) 2. Johnny Sauter – 882 (-6 Points Finished Behind the Champion) 3. James Buescher – 859 (-29) 4. Ron Hornaday Jr. – 838 (-50) 5. Timothy Peters – 832 (-56) 6. Todd Bodine – 803 (-85) 7. Joey Coulter # – 796 (-92) 8. Matt Crafton – 785 (-103) 9. Cole Whitt # – 764 (-124) 10. Nelson Piquet Jr. # – 752 (-136).

Next Up: The 2012 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Season

2011 NCWTS Ford 200 Race Results

(i) Ineligible for Points in this Series
# Denotes Rookie

Toyota Motorsports Logo

Homestead-Miami Speedway – November 18, 2011

- Denny Hamlin (second) was the highest finishing Toyota driver in Friday night’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

- Hamlin finished runner-up to race-winner Johnny Sauter in an event that was shortened to 119 laps (from 134) due to rain.

- In his most recent start in the Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM) No. 18 Tundra, Hamlin picked up the victory at Martinsville Speedway (Oct. 29).

- Timothy Peters (eighth) also registered a top-10 finish at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

- Other Tundra drivers in the field included David Starr (11th), Dusty Davis (15th), Todd Bodine (16th), Brendan Gaughan (20th), Max Papis (21st), German Quiroga (26th), Miguel Paludo (32nd) and Johnny Chapman (36th).

- The race at Homestead-Miami Speedway marked the 200th race in the NCWTS for the Tundra.

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 18 Dollar General / DIRECTV Tundra, Kyle Busch Motorsports

Finishing Position: 2nd

Are you happy with your second-place finish?

“Yeah, it was good. We didn’t practice that well with the Dollar General Toyota, and we just weren’t all that great during the course of the race. But we did get better as we went, and obviously the last run I was just trying to be patient. I knew I had a truck that could get around Johnny (Sauter), but I just wanted to be patient and wait until later stages of the race, and also to ensure that we kept the third-place guy behind us and tried to use the draft. Strategy didn’t work out. It probably cost us a win today, but they told me one lap before the rain came that it looks like rain is coming, so if I got anything, I’d better go. That was my last-ditch effort on the corner to try to get around him. He slid up and got into us and we got in the wall, and it was one of those things. We were not in a position to really race him that hard anyway.”

How slippery was the race track in turns 3 and 4 when you tried to make the move on Johnny Sauter?

“I didn’t think it was too bad, it seemed, relative to what we had before. But he (Johnny Sauter) slipped up quite a bit, so he was the first one to evidently get to any moisture that was there. I had already committed to run really wide open on the outside — whatever happens, happens. For us, I didn’t think it was that much different. You know, he would probably be a better guess for that. But it was coming down. You could definitely see as soon as we let off the caution it was pouring pretty bad.”

How difficult was the track at the start of the race and what does it mean for the Cup cars if there is more rain?

“It wasn’t too bad. It was relatively similar to what we had in practice because we kept practicing on green surfaces — not much changed. Every time we’d run our practice session, rain would come, so every new practice session was on a green race track. So, I t hink the Cup cars kind of having a clean slate tomorrow should be relatively fine. I thought the track was very consistent from day to night.”

Would you consider doing any additional Truck Series races next year?

“Maybe a few. It definitely wouldn’t be on a triple weekend or anything like that. But I always try to do just one a year. But yeah, I mean, driving these trucks that KBM (Kyle Busch Motorsports) has just been really good. Those guys put together some awesome race trucks, and I sit in it and I look around and it’s as good as what my Cup car looks like on the inside. They put together some really nice trucks, and obviously they’ve given me, the two times I’ve been in it, two chances to win. Yeah, maybe three or four or something like that, but as long as the schedule all works out. Ain’t going to be on a weekend like this.”

TIMOTHY PETERS, No. 17 Service Central, Red Horse Racing

Finishing Position: 8th

DAVID STARR, No. 81 Zachry Tundra, SS Green Light Racing

Finishing Position: 11th

DUSTY DAVIS, No. 15 Tundra, Billy Ballew Motorsports

Finishing Position: 15th

TODD BODINE, No. 5, International Trucks / Monaco RV Tundra, Randy Moss Motorsports

Finishing Position: 16th

BRENDAN GAUGHAN, No. 62 Tire Kingdom / Service Central Tundra, Germain Racing

Finishing Position: 20th

MAX PAPIS, No. 9 GEICO Tundra, Germain Racing

Finishing Position: 21st

GERMAN QUIROGA, No. 51 TELCEL Tundra, Kyle Busch Motorsports

Finishing Position: 26th

MIGUEL PALUDO, No. 7 Duroline Tundra, Red Horse Racing

Finishing Position: 32nd

JOHNNY CHAPMAN, No. 07 ASI Limited Tundra, SS Green Light Racing

Finishing Position: 36th

- Toyota Motorsports Press Release