RACE REPORT
American Ethanol e15 225
Chicagoland Speedway
September 16, 2016
Red Horse Racing at Chicagoland Speedway
For the last race of the regular season, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series teams traveled to Joliet, Illinois and Chicagoland Speedway. On Thursday, during two practice sessions on the 1.5-mile oval, Matt Tifft was sixth-fastest in the first and 19th-fastest on the board in final practice in the No. 11 BrainGear/Surface Sunscreen Toyota Tundra in his return to NASCAR competition, while Timothy Peters was fourth and sixth fastest in the No. 17 Red Horse Racing Toyota Tundra. In two rounds of single-truck knockout qualifying on Friday afternoon, Peters earned the fifth starting spot with a lap of 30.767 seconds, while Tifft began the 150-lap race in 11th place. Peters had tire trouble and went three laps down at one point, but drove his way back into the top-10 to finish eighth and secure his place in the inaugural NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chase, while Tifft rebounded from an early loose wheel to finish 12th.
Timothy Peters No. 17
No. 17 Red Horse Racing
Toyota Tundra
Timothy Peters Earns Chase Berth with Eighth-Place Finish at Chicagoland
In the final race of the regular season, Timothy Peters battled back from three laps down to finish eighth and secure a berth in the inaugural NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chase at Chicagoland Speedway. In two practice sessions on Thursday afternoon, Peters was fourth and sixth on the board, respectively. During two rounds of single-truck, knockout qualifying, Peters transferred to the final round to earn the fifth starting spot for the American Ethanol e15 225 with a lap of 30.767 seconds. After taking the green flag, Peters battled a tight handling condition on his No. 17 Red Horse Racing Tundra. On his first pit stop on lap 47, the No. 17 team gave him four fresh Goodyear tires and a tank full of Sunoco fuel, but a penalty for an uncontrolled tire had him returning to pit road to top off on fuel and restarting at the tail end of the field. Then Peters brushed the wall and pushed a fender in on the left rear tire, cutting it and forcing him to pit road, and a few laps later Peters returned to pit road with another tire down. This time the team clearanced the tire and Peters returned to the track three laps down. A rash of cautions enabled the 17 team to stay out and take the wave around and soon Peters was the first truck one lap down, and he earned the “Lucky Dog” benefit on lap 117 to get back on the lead lap. Under that caution period, the team made further repairs to the fender and changed four tires and filled up with fuel. Peters restarted 20th with 32 laps to go, and drove his way into the top-10 to finish eighth and lock himself into the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chase in the eighth and final position.
Start – 5
Finish – 8
Driver Points Position – 8
Owner Points Position – 9
Laps Led – 0
Timothy Peters Quote:
“We were just approaching it like any other night, for sure. Obviously with the Chase, it puts a lot of intensity around everyone, but we knew if we came here and did what we needed to do, we’d be fine. We’re glad Kyle (Busch) won, for sure. We fought back from adversity on our Red Horse Racing Tundra. I got a little loose off of turn two and got into the wall, then the guys did a good job on pit road fixing the damage and finishing eighth. Eighth isn’t what we wanted, and we didn’t win a race yet, but they better look out.”
Matt Tifft
No. 11 BrainGear/Surface Sunscreen
Toyota Tundra
Matt Tifft Finishes 12th at Chicagoland in Return to Racing
After an absence of nearly three months since competing behind the wheel, Matt Tifft completed an exemplary comeback in the American Ethanol e15 225 at Chicagoland Speedway in the No. 11 BrainGear/Surface Sunscreen Toyota Tundra. Friday night’s regular season finale marked the 20-year-old’s return to NASCAR competition after being sidelined since June, and he did it in workman-like fashion. Tifft rallied from a lap down to post a 12th-place finish at the conclusion of 151 laps in his second-career start at the 1.5-mile tri-oval. The Hinckley, Ohio native wasted no time getting back up to speed, posting the sixth-fastest lap in opening practice on Friday, and earning the 11th starting position in qualifying. From the outset, Tifft ran firmly inside the top 10, until an early, unscheduled four-tire pit stop on lap 21. Tifft rejoined the fray in 28th, one lap down to the leaders. While battling a tight condition, crew chief Scott Zipadelli’s methodical strategy calls put Tifft in position to catch the Lucky Dog award, and he regained his lap on a lap 84 caution. The previous unscheduled pit stop put Tifft at a disadvantage, and forced the No. 11 team to bolt on “scuffed” tires during that caution period, yet he still managed to claw his way up to 17th by lap 96. His final visit to pit road for fresh tires came on lap 115, and gave him the ability to race for position inside the top 10 in the final fuel run. As five additional caution flags blanketed the closing stages, Tifft’s aggressive restarts helped him climb to as high as seventh, and he completed his comeback in the 12th position after the final overtime restart.
Start – 11
Finish – 12
Owner Points Position – 5
Laps Led – 0
Matt Tifft Quote:
“It was an up and down night for sure. It started out with an unscheduled stop and we got way off cycle there. Our BrainGear, Surface Sunscreen Tundra was awesome early on, and thought we had something for them tonight. I was trying to be way more aggressive than I had been in the past, and it was going really well. We eventually got back on (pit) cycle. We had new tires, and other guys were on old tires and some of those late cautions hurt the momentum we had. Obviously, it’s great to be back, and I guess you could say I’m ‘happily frustrated’ to finish 12th.”