Timothy Peters (fourth) was the top finishing Toyota driver in Friday night’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Todd Bodine (fifth), Mike Skinner (sixth), David Starr (seventh) and T.J. Bell (10th) also finished in the top-10 driving Tundras at the 1.5-mile oval. Toyota drivers Brian Scott (12th), Kyle Busch (13th), Aric Almirola (14th), Tayler Malsam (15th), Stacy Compton (21st), Brad Sweet (27th) and Mike Bliss (31st) were also in the field.
Five Tundra drivers are among the top-10 in the final unofficial NCWTS point standings to end the 2009 season -- Skinner (third), Bodine (fourth), Scott (seventh), Peters (eighth) and Starr (ninth).
TIMOTHY PETERS, No. 17 Strutmasters.com Toyota Tundra, Red Horse Racing Finishing Position: 4th
Are you happy with the way you ended your 2009 season tonight? “What a way to end a year with this Strutmasters.com Red Horse Racing Toyota Tundra. It’s just awesome to end a year on this note right here. We looked to stay out and we didn’t have anything to lose. We were gambling to see if we could get us another victory but I tried to get the tires as clean as I could and I spun them a little bit. A rookie mistake on my part. I’ve got to thank Chad Kendrick (crew chief) and everybody on this team. They do a great job. From where we started at Daytona not knowing if we could make it past Martinsville. Tom DeLoach (Red Horse Racing, team owner) gave me an awesome opportunity to be here. Strustmasters.com, Toyota, Toyota, Toyota -- I can’t thank those guys enough. I’m looking forward to next season.”
How did your truck handle during the race? “It was good for us. Our Strutmasters.com Red Horse Racing Toyota Tundra was good right off the lift gate. We made a gamble there at the end to stay out thinking some people would stay out with us but everybody came in. Chad Kendrick (crew chief) did a great job. The whole team -- considering where we started at in Daytona not knowing that I could make it past Martinsville. I don’t know where we ended up in points but we had a good finish and got us a win this year.”
Why did those trucks beat you on that final restart? “They had fresh tires. Everybody came down pit road and we were just the lonely sole out there. But all in all it was a good day. I’m just ecstatic. When we joined Red Horse Racing we were 19th in drivers points and I think we ended up around seventh. It’s been an awesome year and I’m ready to go to Daytona.” What happened on the final restart? “When you race with these guys you learn a lot and (Kevin) Harvick is the best of the best. I cleaned my tires off but evidentially it wasn’t enough. I made a rookie mistake and spun them too much, but he had new tires and was going to go by us in turn one anyway.”
TODD BODINE, No. 30 Copart Toyota Tundra, Germain Racing Finishing Position: 5th
What happened from your viewpoint on the ‘green-white-checkered’ finish? “The truck series usually is pretty crazy with the green-white-checkered. Before the caution came out we had the fastest truck on the track. We were just so far back, we were running seventh, so we decided to come in, put two tires on and gain a little track position. We pumped the right front tire up a little too high and it pushed too much in the last two laps. We still gained two spots. Copart and everybody, I really appreciate what they’ve done for us this year in getting us through the year with their sponsorship. It’s typical Germain Racing -- we just never give up. We started the season with a win at Daytona with no sponsor on the truck and we made it through the season with the help of Copart, Ventrillo and Lumber Liquidators. It was a tough year, but we got through."
