Post-Race Notes & Quotes
Homestead-Miami Speedway – November 20, 2009
- Timothy Peters (fourth) was the top finishing Toyota driver in Friday night’s NASCAR Camping World Truck
Series (NCWTS) race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
- Todd Bodine (fifth), Mike Skinner (sixth), David Starr (seventh) and T.J. Bell (10th) also finished in the top-10
driving Tundras at the 1.5-mile oval.
- Toyota drivers Brian Scott (12th), Kyle Busch (13th), Aric Almirola (14th), Tayler Malsam (15th), Stacy Compton
(21st), Brad Sweet (27th) and Mike Bliss (31st) were also in the field.
- Five Tundra drivers are among the top-10 in the final unofficial NCWTS point standings to end the 2009 season –
Skinner (third), Bodine (fourth), Scott (seventh), Peters (eighth) and Starr (ninth).
Finishing Position:
4thAre you happy with the way you ended your 2009 season tonight?
“What a way to end a year with this Strutmasters.com Red Horse Racing Toyota Tundra. It’s just awesome to end a year on this note right here. We looked to stay out and we didn’t have anything to lose. We were gambling to see if we could get us another victory but I tried to get the tires as clean as I could and I spun them a little bit. A rookie mistake on my part. I’ve got to thank Chad Kendrick (crew chief) and everybody on this team. They do a great job. From where we started at Daytona not knowing if we could make it past Martinsville. Tom DeLoach (Red Horse Racing, team owner) gave me an awesome opportunity to be here. Strustmasters.com, Toyota, Toyota, Toyota — I can’t thank those guys enough. I’m
looking forward to next season.”
How did your truck handle during the race?
“It was good for us. Our Strutmasters.com Red Horse Racing Toyota Tundra was good right off the lift gate. We made a gamble there at the end to stay out thinking some people would stay out with us but everybody came in. Chad Kendrick (crew chief) did a great job. The whole team — considering where we started at in Daytona not knowing that I could make it past Martinsville. I don’t know where we ended up in points but we had a good finish and got us a win this year.”
Why did those trucks beat you on that final restart?“They had fresh tires. Everybody came down pit road and we were just the lonely sole out there. But all in all it was a
good day. I’m just ecstatic. When we joined Red Horse Racing we were 19th in drivers points and I think we ended up
around seventh. It’s been an awesome year and I’m ready to go to Daytona.”
What happened on the final restart?
“When you race with these guys you learn a lot and (Kevin) Harvick is the best of the best. I cleaned my tires off but
evidentially it wasn’t enough. I made a rookie mistake and spun them too much, but he had new tires and was going to go
by us in turn one anyway.”
Finishing Position:
5thWhat happened from your viewpoint on the ‘green-white-checkered’ finish?
“The truck series usually is pretty crazy with the green-white-checkered. Before the caution came out we had the fastest
truck on the track. We were just so far back, we were running seventh, so we decided to come in, put two tires on and gain
a little track position. We pumped the right front tire up a little too high and it pushed too much in the last two laps. We
still gained two spots. Copart and everybody, I really appreciate what they’ve done for us this year in getting us through the
year with their sponsorship. It’s typical Germain Racing — we just never give up. We started the season with a win at
Daytona with no sponsor on the truck and we made it through the season with the help of Copart, Ventrillo and Lumber
Liquidators. It was a tough year, but we got through.”
What were you adjusting in your truck when you lifted the hood halfway through the race?
“The first set of tires, we corded the inside pretty bad. I think it was really the right call to come in and adjust it so we
didn’t blow it out. We didn’t need to finish in the back – we needed to keep the points up to finish fourth in points. It really
didn’t help it drive any better, but it definitely saved the tire and kept us in front of Johnny (Sauter) for fourth in points.”
Finishing Position:
6thWhat happened from your viewpoint on the ‘green-white-checkered’ finish?
“That was crazy and that cost us a spot right there. I didn’t know if I was supposed to come on pit road or not. Just had a
lot of confusion going on with the radio right there. We had about a fourth or fifth-place truck and we lost a couple spots
right there at the end. We’ve got a good race team and we’ve got a lot to build on. I’m proud to be driving a Toyota Tundra
and I can’t wait till Daytona.”
“It was a great season and I really felt like I would have liked to have finished a little better last night. I thought that we
might have had a little better truck. Eric (Phillips, crew chief) did a good job, the pit crew did a fantastic job – I don’t think
the driver did that good of a job tonight. I kept overdriving the corners and trying to get grip that just wasn’t there. Tim
Fedewa did a great job spotting, he kept trying to get me to slow down in the corner. When I would slow down getting in
the corner, I would run really good laps and we had a really good truck. Got to work on the driver a little bit with these tires
that are like this. Goodyear does a great job and I know they’ll get us better stuff next year.”
DAVID STARR, No. 24 Zachry Toyota Tundra, HT Motorsports
Finishing Position: 7th
T.J. BELL, No. 11 Sea Land Environmental / Time Bandit Fishing Vessel Toyota Tundra, Red Horse Racing
Finishing Position: 10th
BRIAN SCOTT, No. 16 Albertsons Toyota Tundra, Xpress Motorsports
Finishing Position: 12th
KYLE BUSCH, No. 51 Miccosukee Resort Toyota Tundra, Billy Ballew Motorsports
Finishing Position: 13th
ARIC ALMIROLA, No. 15 Graceway Pharmaceuticals / AKAwareness.com Toyota Tundra, Billy Ballew Motorsports
Finishing Position: 14th
TAYLER MALSAM, No. 81 Stocks for Tots Toyota Tundra, Randy Moss Motorsports
Finishing Position: 15th
STACY COMPTON, No. 60 SafeAuto Insurance Toyota Tundra, Wyler Racing
Finishing Position: 21st
BRAD SWEET, No. 90 Great Clips Toyota Tundra, Stringer Motorsports
Finishing Position: 27th
MIKE BLISS, No. 25 Harris Trucking Toyota Tundra, HT Motorsports
Finishing Position: 31st
- TOYOTA Motorsports Press Release