RACE REPORT
North Carolina Education Lottery 200
Charlotte Motor Speedway
May 15, 2015
Red Horse Racing at Charlotte Motor Speedway
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series traveled to Charlotte Motor Speedway this weekend for the fifth race of the 2015 season. The No. 11 team posted the 20th and 16th-fastest practice speeds in two sessions on Thursday, while the No. 17 team was 18th and 17th-fastest on the board. The teams returned Friday afternoon for knockout qualifying, and Ben Kennedy and the No. 11 Local Motors team advanced to the third round to earn the tenth starting position, while Timothy Peters earned the 17th starting spot for the North Carolina Education Lottery 200. When the checkered flag flew after a green-white-checkered finish, which extended the race to 139 laps around the 1.5-mile speedway, Peters finished seventh and Kennedy posted a 16th-place finish.
Timothy Peters No. 17
No. 17 Red Horse Racing
Toyota Tundra
Peters Battles to Seventh-Place Finish at Charlotte Motor Speedway
As the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series returned to the heart of NASCAR country, Timothy Peters piloted the No. 17 Red Horse Racing Toyota Tundra to a seventh-place finish at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Peters posted the 18th and 17th fastest laps in first and second practice, respectively, on Thursday evening. On Friday, the team returned to the track for knockout qualifying and Peters advanced to the second round, securing a 17th-place starting position for the North Carolina Education Lottery 200. When the sun set on the 1.5-mile facility and the green flag flew, Peters quickly moved into the 13th position, but was fighting a tight-handling condition. The caution waved on lap 20, and Peters brought his Tundra to the attention of crew chief Marcus Richmond and the No. 17 team, who changed four tires, filled it full of fuel and made several adjustments. Peters restarted 11th in the lineup and continued to fight a tight condition. The team continued to make adjustments with another four-tire stop and by the halfway point in the race, Peters had climbed into the top 10. With a third fast pit stop, the No. 17 team helped Peters gain track position and he moved into the top five with 25 laps to go. A late-race caution resulted in a green-white-checkered finish, and Peters crossed the finish line in seventh place.
Start -17
Finish – 7
Driver Points Position – 6
Laps Led – 0
Timothy Peters Quote:
“The pit crew really did a great job tonight. The guys did a great job adjusting on it. We just never gave up all night. Our Red Horse Tundra, it’s showing what we are capable of. Definitely a seventh-place isn’t what we want – definitely isn’t what we want, but kudos to everybody at the shop and everybody here working hard.”
Ben Kennedy
No. 11 Local Motors
Toyota Tundra
Kennedy Finishes 16th at Charlotte Motor Speedway
Ben Kennedy and the No. 11 Local Motors team were ‘home’ this weekend as the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series returned to Charlotte Motor Speedway for the North Carolina Education Lottery 200. Prior to Thursday’s two practice sessions, Kennedy and Local Motors unveiled the winning design of the Ben Kennedy Helmet Challence – winner Serdo Miletec. The No. 11 team returned to the 1.5-mile speedway on Friday and Kennedy advanced the black and white Toyota Tundra into the final round of knockout qualifying. His fast time of 30.521 seconds earned the 10th starting position for the evening’s event. Once the green flag flew, Kennedy had his hands full with a loose-handling machine. Unable to accelerate at full throttle, he fell back to the 16th position. Throughout the 134-lap race, crew chief Scott Zipadelli brought Kenned to pit road on four occasions for tires, fuel, air pressure and chassis adjustments in an effort to improve the truck’s balance. On each visit, the pit crew also cleaned a large amount of garbage off the grille which was causing the water temperatures to rise during the green-flag runs. The caution flag on lap 133 set the stage for a green-white-checkered finish. Kennedy ultimately took the checkered flag in the 16th position.
Start – 10
Finish – 16
Driver Points Position – 12
Laps Led – 0
Ben Kennedy Quote:
“Scott (Zipadelli) and the team worked hard to make adjustments on the No. 11 Local Motors Toyota Tundra all night, but we were just a little too loose to make up the ground we lost early on. It wasn’t the finish we had expected tonight, but we’ll move forward and start getting ready for Dover (International Speedway).”