RACE REPORT
American Ethanol 200
Iowa Speedway
June 19, 2015
Red Horse Racing at Iowa Speedway
Nine races into the 2015 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season, teams traveled to Newton, Iowa to Iowa Speedway for a Friday night showdown under the lights. In Friday’s only practice session, Ben Kennedy was 12th on the board while Timothy Peters recorded the 14th-fastest time. In knockout qualifying, Kennedy transferred to the final round and secured the eighth starting spot, and Peters would take the green flag in 16th. Peters crossed the finish line in sixth place, and Kennedy finished in 16th place after fighting a tight-handling truck most of the evening.
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Timothy Peters No. 17
No. 17 Red Horse Racing
Toyota Tundra
Timothy Peters Claims Sixth-Place Finish at Iowa Speedway
Timothy Peters posted another top-ten finish in the American Ethanol 200 at Iowa Speedway, bringing the No. 17 Red Horse Racing Toyota Tundra across the finish line in sixth for the second week in a row. Peters advanced to the second round of knockout qualifying and started the 200-lap race from the 16th position. By lap 12, the Danville, Virginia native had moved into the top 10, but he was fighting a free-handling condition. Two caution flags flew during the early laps and on the third, which occurred on lap 42, crew chief Marcus Richmond brought Peters to pit road for four tires, fuel and adjustments. The No. 17 restarted in the 12th position, but Peters soon wheeled it back into ninth. After another four-tire stop, Richmond gambled for track position and called for only two tires to be put on the Tundra on the third and final stop with 50 laps to go. Peters exited pit road in second place, but fell back to the sixth position, where he would finish the race at the 7/8-mile facility.
Start -16
Finish – 6
Driver Points Position -7
Laps Led – 0
Timothy Peters Quote:
“It wasn’t a bad run. We just never really got the balance that I felt like we needed to be fast. I mean, we were fast, we definitely went from 16th to sixth in the Red Horse Racing Toyota Tundra, so that was a plus for us. Our pit stops were great and everybody worked hard strategy-wise to get us to the front. Marcus (Richmond, crew chief) made good calls all through the night. We were just a little too free at the start of the run and it would go better there at the end, so all in all it was a good night.”
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Ben Kennedy
No. 11 Local Motors
Toyota Tundra
Hard-Fought 13th-Place Finish at Iowa Speedway for Ben Kennedy
Ben Kennedy and the No. 11 Local Motors team fought hard for their 13th-place result under the lights at Iowa Speedway. Returning to the Newton, Iowa racetrack for the third time in his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career, Kennedy was 12th-fastest in the morning’s single practice session, and he advanced to the final round of knockout qualifying to secure the eighth starting position for the American Ethanol 200. As the sun lowered behind the front grandstands and the green flag dropped, the Daytona Beach, Florida native had his hands full with a tight-handling machine. Crew chief Scott Zipadelli called for four tires, fuel and a series of adjustments during each of the three pit stops. An ill-timed caution on lap 122 caught the No. 11 team as they were leaving the pit stall during a green-flag stop, putting them three laps down to the leader and in the 21st position. With calculated calls, the Zipadelli-led team took the wave-around twice and earned the Lucky Dog to return to the lead lap, and Kennedy drove the Local Motors Toyota to a 13th-place finish.
Start – 8
Finish – 13
Driver Points Position – 10
Laps Led – 0
Ben Kennedy Quote:
“We had a decent run tonight in our Local Motors Toyota Tundra, we just fired off way too tight and made a bunch of balance changes. We were fast there at the end; just kind of struggled in traffic a little bit. It was a long night. We got three laps down (to the leader) and came back to finish on the lead lap. It was a good recovery by our team and good calls were made by Scott Zipadelli (crew chief) on the pit box. We get a couple of weeks off next, and then we go to Kentucky Speedway with the Local Motors Tundra. Onward and upward.”