Luckily for the No. 17 team, the first caution waved shortly after they discovered they had a problem on lap 19 allowing the team to come down pit road and replace the battery on the No. 17 machine. Peters was forced to make multiple stops under the caution in order to change the battery and service the truck with four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment. The race returned to green on lap 26 with Peters scored in the 29th position. Peters slowly began to make his way back toward the front of the field; however, as the driver of the No. 17 began to complete laps he radioed to the team that he did not believe their problems were over. Not only was the No. 17 truck a handful to drive with a loose-handling condition, but Peters also felt that the truck was still not under full power.
The field went back green on lap 76. The woes of the No. 17 team were far from over. On lap 77, Peters went spinning through the infield as he had cut a left-rear tire. The No. 17 truck sustained minor damage but the team took their time trying to get the truck repaired properly. Peters’ extended time on pit road resulted in the team losing a lap to the leader on lap 80. Peters was scored in the 28th position when the race restarted on lap 81. Peters quickly moved himself into the “lucky dog” position making the No. 17 truck eligible to get their lap back should the caution wave again.
Peters continued to maintain his position despite having to hold on to a loose-handling Tundra. As the laps wound down in the 130-lap event the team told Peters he was solid to make it to the end of the event on fuel. With only 10 laps remaining many of the leaders began to come to pit road for a final splash of fuel. Peters was able to make it to the end of the event without having to make a final stop allowing him to move up the running order and take the checkered flag in the 16th position. Peters remains third in the championship standings, only 14 markers out of the top spot.
The Truck Series returns to action in two weeks on Friday, September 16, 2011 at Chicagoland Speedway for the Fast Five 200 which can be viewed live on SPEED at 8:00 p.m., EDT.
Founded in 2005 by former Mobil Corporation executive Tom DeLoach and NASCAR veteran Jeff Hammond, Red Horse Racing aims to be a professional racing team that strives for excellence on and off the race track. Red Horse Racing hopes to build and maintain solid, mutual relationships with its partners to win races and championships and to represent itself in a professional manner. The team has four victories and five poles in its brief existence. DeLoach and Hammond also own Performance Instruction Training (PIT), the number one pit crew training center in the world that also has many corporate training options that include team-building, lean manufacturing, motorsports demonstrations and more.
- Red Horse Racing Press Release
