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TOYOTA NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) - Post-Race Notes & Quotes - Gateway International RacewayMIKE SKINNER, No. 5 PC Miler Navigator Toyota Tundra, Randy Moss Motorsports
Finishing Position: 1st
Can you talk about your race tonight?
“I don’t believe it. I’m usually end on the short side of that call with the 13 (Johnny Sauter) there. I was better than he was and he was doing his job. He did a good job. I guess we got by him on the wreck. I have to applaud NASCAR. Sometime we gotta stop being able to wreck the leader to win these races. Pretty soon, the last 20 laps, it’s going to be the next guy wrecking the next guy. I chose not to wreck Ron (Hornaday) twice this year when I had the opportunity and I think today it came back and paid dividends.”
Was the call for four tires the difference today?
“No, they’re flat-stopped when Colin (Braun) wrecked down there. I hate it for Colin. I hate it for Con-way. I hate it for all those guys. We had a horrible pit stop today and that’s what got us back there. Our truck was good. I don’t think it was as good as Ron’s (Hornaday), but it was better than Matt’s (Crafton). It was probably as good as the 30 (Todd Bodine). So I felt like we had a second-place truck today anyway.”
Did you have the best truck today?
“We didn’t have the best truck. We probably had a second or third place truck and we had a mishap in the pits. It got us back there. Our truck was really, really good. That’s what was sad. It was kind of like Chicago. We probably had a second or third place truck at Chicago -- or maybe a truck that could’ve won -- and we ended up finishing 13th. I just applaud NASCAR for putting a stop to wrecking the leader to win races. They gotta stop it sooner or later. I could’ve done that twice this year and I decided not to. Today it paid dividends for me.”
How concerned are you with the point standings?
“We’re just trying to win races, man. I’ll tell you, I can’t thank Toyota enough and the Tundra brand for letting me drive this truck. I’ve lost a bunch of these things with a truck that should’ve won. Today, I won one with a truck that should’ve lost.”
BRIAN SCOTT, No. 16 Albertsons Toyota Tundra, Xpress Motorsports
Finishing Position: 3rd
Can you talk about your race today?
“We had a wild race. We seemed to be in the middle of a lot of things. Unfortunately I did bring out that caution. I hate it for Stacy Compton. I just got loose. I was trying to do everything I could to save our truck and unfortunately he was on the receiving end. We just had an eventful day. We have just had an eventful weekend. We didn’t unload well. We just tried everything we could to get the left-front coil binding to work. We just didn’t pick up speed. With 30 minutes left in final practice, we just threw a conventional setup on but never got a chance to fine-tune it. We were lucky enough to have a good qualifying effort. We were just really tight off the corners the whole race. We made adjustments and got it better and pit strategy and other people wrecking got us up there. It was a sloppy third, but I’m really happy about it. It’s about as good as we could’ve done.”
Did you anticipate the incident between Matt Crafton and Ron Hornaday?
I knew it was going to happen. The 88 (Matt Crafton) had been running into the 33 (Ron Hornaday) on every restart before that. He was getting the sense of urgency to catch him in the championship. I knew it was going to happen. I didn’t see Todd Bodine spin and wreck. I didn’t see that coming. I knew that restart with six or eight to go, that the 33 was probably going around. The 88 had been kind of driving him dirty the whole time. It’s easy when you expect it. You can try to avoid it better.”
ARIC ALMIROLA, No. 51 Miccosukee Resorts/Graceway Pharmaceuticals Toyota Tundra, Billy Ballew Motorsports
Finishing Position: 4th
Can you talk about your race today?
“We just weren’t that good after the last pit stop. I wanted a track bar adjustment and it made is so loose. But, with all the wrecking in front of us, we didn’t want to lose track position. All in all, it was a good top-five for this Billy Ballew Motorsports team. It was a good points day, so I’m happy for that and proud of these guys.”
TAYLER MALSAM, No. 81 One Eighty Toyota Tundra, Randy Moss Motorsports
Finishing Position: 5th
Can you talk about your race today?
“We just struggled all day getting this One Eighty Tundra up there. Doug (Wolcott, crew chief) and the guys did a good job putting me in position, and I just hung on as long as I could up there. I’m very proud of my guys. I’m very happy with how today went.”
What were the late-race incidents like from your perspective?
“We just kept avoiding them and got lucky. It seemed like nobody had patience today, and you have to have patience at a short track like this. It pays off with my teammate winning and us running fifth. We just hung in there all day and things paid off for both of us.”
TIMOTHY PETERS, No. 17 Strutmasters Toyota Tundra, Red Horse Racing
Finishing Position: 7th
Can you talk about your race today?
“This is a great finish for our team this weekend. We struggled in practice but this team really came together and made some great changes overnight. We fought handling during the last race but were able to get another top-10 today. I’m proud of these guys for that.”
STACY COMPTON, No. 60 SafeAuto Insurance Toyota Tundra, Wyler Racing
Finishing Position: 8th
Can you talk about the race today?
“It was wild. It’s like Martinsville all over again. A lot of trucks got torn up today. The fans definitely got their money worth. The SafeAuto Toyota was pretty good. It was awesome through (turns) one and two, but we just couldn’t get through (turns) three and four. Then we got caught up in Ron’s (Hornaday) deal right at the end. I knew we were just going to hold on after that. We came away okay. Not what we were hoping for, but any time you come away we with a top-10, we’ll take it.”
BRIAN ICKLER, No. 15 Graceway Pharmaceuticals Toyota Tundra, Billy Ballew Motorsports
Finishing Position: 15th
DAVID STARR, No. 24 Zachry Toyota Tundra, HT Motorsports
Finishing Position: 16th
TODD BODINE, No. 30 Ventrilo Toyota Tundra, Germain Racing
Finishing Position: 18th
Can you talk about the restart and incident with Matt Crafton?
It’s hard to get going when you have Chevrolets on each end of you and you’re lacking 20 horsepower from what they got. That’s right where it shows up -- on restarts. I tried to jump it a little bit. Held back from Ron (Hornaday) and jumped it. Matt (Crafton) got a good restart. I blocked him, no doubt about it. But how stupid do you have to be to turn somebody going in the corner with eight laps to go? There’s no cure for stupid. This kid has done this crap his whole career. He’s done it to Hornaday this year. He just did it to me. Hell, he wasn’t up far enough to turn me. I can tell you, what goes around comes around. And this kid is gonna get turned. I’m telling you straight out. That’s absolutely ridiculous right now.”
Are you okay after the hard impact?
“Yeah, I’m fine. I hate it for Colin (Braun) and Rick (Crawford). Colin had a good truck, he just got back a little on the pit stops. You know, there’s no cure for stupid, and the kid’s been that way his whole career and he’s going to continue. The kid is second in points. What if he didn’t clear me and turn me and he turned himself into the wall? Then he could be fourth in points. The kid doesn’t think.”
TERRY COOK, No. 25 Cajun Industries Toyota Tundra, HT Motorsports
Finishing Position: 21st
T.J. BELL, No. 11 Red Horse Racing Toyota Tundra, Red Horse Racing
Finishing Position: 24th
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