RACE REPORT
Active Pest Control 200
Atlanta Motor Speedway
March 4, 2017
Red Horse Racing at Atlanta Motor Speedway
After 130 laps in the final race on Atlanta Motor Speedway’s current pavement, Timothy Peters and the No. 17 Red Horse Racing team notched the organization’s first top-10 finish of the 2017 season. Brett Moffitt and the No. 7 team orchestrated an astonishing comeback by finishing 11th after being involved in an accident on the opening lap of the event. Peters and Moffitt both improved their positions in the championship standings, are shown in sixth and 13th, respectively, after two of 23 events.
Timothy Peters No. 17
No. 17 Red Horse Racing
Toyota Tundra
Peters’ Late-Race Rally Nets a Top-10 Finish
Timothy Peters’ hot streak at Atlanta Motor Speedway continued on Saturday evening in the Active Pest Control 200 with a ninth-place finish, which was his third consecutive top-10 finish at AMS. The second race of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season yielded the first top-10 finish for Peters and the No. 17 Red Horse Racing team after a late-race rally from a loose lug nut.
In the three practice sessions on Friday, Peters and crew chief Chad Kendrick constantly searched for the right balance, reaching a high point of 16th. On Saturday, the Red Horse Racing team turned a corner and Peters posted the third-fastest lap in round one of qualifying, and finished eighth in round two. Once the green flag dropped, Peters immediately said his Toyota Tundra was hindered by a tight balance on the exit of both corners. Kendrick and company made a chassis adjustment to complement four fresh tires at the end of Stage 1, where Peters was scored 11th. Those changes, and the cooling track temperature, awoke Peters’ No. 17. He climbed well inside the top 10 and advanced to fifth by lap 72. Peters gained one more position by the end of Stage 2, earning seven points by running fourth at the conclusion of lap 80.
After restarting fifth on lap 88 to begin Stage 3, Peters radioed that his truck had become much too free, and he fell to eighth when a caution flew on lap 105. Peters pitted for four tires under the caution, but was forced to make an extra pit stop for a loose lug nut. Consequently, Peters restarted from 20th on lap 113 and began his rally towards the top 10. In just 12 laps, Peters was back inside the top 10, and finished ninth after a two-lap dash to the checkered flag. Peters scored 35 points and is sixth in the NCWTS standings as the series heads to Martinsville Speedway on April 1.
Start: 8
Finish: 9
Drivers Points Position: 6
Laps Led: 0
Timothy Peters Quote
“I have to hand it to my team on this Red Horse Racing Tundra. We weren’t where we wanted to be in practice, and they turned it around into a real strong truck tonight. We just had a mistake on pit road, but these boys rarely make mistakes. We’re in this together. We win as one, and lose as one. We came from some adversity, not only during the weekend, but tonight as well, and got a top-10. We’ll take this break to improve and show up at Martinsville to try to win ourselves a clock.”
Brett Moffitt
No. 7 Red Horse Racing
Toyota Tundra
Brett Moffitt Perseveres for 11th-Place Finish after Adversity at Atlanta
Brett Moffitt and the No. 7 team fought through adversity to earn an 11th-place finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway in the Action Pest Control 200. On Friday, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series teams participated in three practice sessions and Moffitt posted the 14th, fourth and 19th-fastest times after having an electrical issue in the second and third practices. On Saturday, two rounds of single-truck knockout determined the starting order at the 1.5-mile oval. Moffitt earned the 13th starting spot in the first round. Under sunny skies, the field took the green flag Saturday afternoon, but Moffitt was caught up when another vehicle spun and sustained damage to the No. 7 Toyota Tundra on lap 2. Crew chief Butch Hylton brought him to pit road for repairs and the team sent Moffitt back out on the lead lap. Following several stops to repair damage, Moffitt restarted on lap 5 in the 28th position. Moffitt began to work his way back through the field, but another yellow flag flew on lap 26, and he again returned to pit road for the No. 7 team to work on the damage. Once repairs were made, Moffitt restarted in the 26th position on lap 32 and, running lap times comparable to the leaders, began moving toward the front of the field. At the conclusion of Stage 1 on lap 40, the 24-year-old was in the 17th position. Repairs continued under the yellow flag, and Moffitt returned to pit road for a second time for four tires and fuel. By the next caution on lap 50, he was in the top 15. At the conclusion of Stage 2, Moffitt had cracked the top-10 and earned one point. During the four-tire pit stop under the yellow, there was trouble with the left front tire, which caused a long pit stop, putting Moffitt back to 17th. Within 10 laps, Moffitt was back to the 13th position. Hylton brought him to pit road one final time for four fresh Goodyear tires and Sunoco fuel, and Moffitt restarted in the 11th position with 17 laps to go. He worked his way to ninth, but ultimately recorded an 11th-place finishing position.
Start – 13
Finish – 11
Driver Points Position – 13
Laps Led – 0
Brett Moffitt Quote:
“We had a really good Toyota Tundra this weekend, we just had some gremlins in practice and didn’t quite get to make the adjustments we needed to for qualifying. Then unfortunately we got caught up in someone else’s mess early on and just had to fight back from that. I’m proud of the guys for sticking with it and working hard to get us back into contention.”