JOEY COULTER Ready To Roll With The Changing Tides MOORESVILLE, N.C. (October 15, 2013) - The 18th race on the 2013 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) schedule at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway is one of two superspeedway races on the 22-race schedule. The Alabama track is the largest the series visits as well as one of NASCARs top 10 fastest tracks on the circuit. The 2.66-mile Tri-oval holds the all-time NASCAR track record for an incredible fast lap of 212.809 produced by Bill Elliott in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series qualifying in 1987. Its also a track that most teams circle on their calendar as The Wild Card. Most drivers will tell you winning at Talladega takes a combination of skill and luck. Coulter proved he had the skill to run up front at Talladega earlier this season in the Nationwide Series, where he led three laps and was running inside the top 10 before a late accident relegated him to a 21st-place finish. Now with another race of experience on the famed track and veteran crew chief Harold Holly, an Alabama native, providing solid strategy atop the pit box, all the No. 18 Kyle Busch Motorsports team needs is to get a little luck to go their way. With several misfortunes keeping them from collecting a win this season, the team is hoping that the tides will change on Saturday and they will roll to victory in the freds 250 powered by Coca-Cola. Joey Coulter, Driver of the No. 18 Darrell Gwynn Foundation Toyota Tundra: Talladega Superspeedway is considered one of the top 10 fastest tracks in NASCAR. Do you enjoy superspeedway racing at Talladega? Its hard not to enjoy racing at Talladega. It is one of the fastest tracks that we race at and when it comes down to the end, its probably one of the most intense. Our trucks punch such a big hole in the air that the closing rate is really fast, which can make things unpredictable. You have had two weeks off since your last Truck Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Do you enjoy the down time between races or do you prefer a more back-to-back schedule? Off weeks arent good for me, I really enjoy racing every weekend. A break is good every once in a while, but for me the more racing the better.I recently hosted a charity go-kart race which was a lot of fun and Ive been back a couple times since. Granted the karts arent my Toyota Tundra, but I was making laps, racing against some fellow Truck Series competitors and that kind of kart racing really keeps you in shape for what we do in these trucks. Whatever I have to do to stay active and engaged, whether its a go-kart or a late model, Im in. Do you feel like you have unfinished business in the No. 18 Toyota Tundra this year? We do have unfinished business in the 18. Our goal this year was to win the championship. Our goals now have shifted to winning these last 5 races and performing like the championship team that we know we are. Harold Holly, Crew chief of the No. 18 Darrell Gwynn Foundation Toyota Tundra: Do you approach superspeedway racing with a plan on how to run the race or do you allow the race to play out and then make a plan? Ultimately you like to go into it thinking you have a plan, but anything can happen and based off of circumstances your plan can change a little bit. Some teams decide going into the race that they are going to lay back for a little while, but when the green flag drops, we are going to go and whatever happens, happens. We are going there to race, not lay back, thats our plan. What type of race do you expect on Saturday? Typical Talladega. It usually gets bottled up and the bottom is faster, then the top will make a big run. I believe it will be good three and four-wide racing and not just two-by-two racing through the field. Its a day race and it will be a little bit cooler,so Im sure there will be some that test the waters, but I think it should be a good show for all the fans. Joey Coulters No. 18 Darrell Gwynn Foundation Toyota Tundra: Chassis KBM13: The No. 18 Kyle Busch Motorsports team will unload chassis KBM13 for the eighth annual freds 250 powered by Coca-Cola at Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday. This is the same Toyota Tundra that Coulter piloted to a 22nd-place finish at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway earlier this year. Running as high as second in the season-opener, the Miami Springs, Fla. native was relegated to a 22nd-place finish when his No. 18 Tundra was caught up in a multi-truck accident on the frontstetch on the last lap of 100-lap event. Chassis KBM13 Performance Profile: Date Site Driver Start Finish Laps Laps Led Status 2/24/13 Daytona Coulter 10 22 100/100 0 Running Notes of Interest: Joey Coulter - Talladega Superspeedway: Has two NCWTS starts at the 2.66-mile Tri-oval Best Start: 7th/Best Finish: 11th Completed 100% of laps attempted (188 of 188) Average Start: 9.0/Average Finish: 17.0 Ranked 7th in Average Running Position (10.772) Has one NASCAR Nationwide Series start. Led three laps in the Kentucky 300 at Kentucky Speedway before a late-race incident relegated him to a 21st-place finish. Joey Coulter NCWTS Performance Profile- Las Vegas Motor Speedway: Series Date Start Finish Laps Laps Led Status NCWTS 10/22/11 7 20 94/94 0 Running NCWTS 10/6/12 11 14 94/94 0 Running NNS 5/4/13 10 21 104/110 3 Crash Joey Coulter 2013 Ranks 13th in the NCWTS driver point standings with 488 points; 32 markers behind 10th-place Brendan Gaughan, 79 points behind fifth-place Miguel Paludo and 156 markers behind series points leader Matt Crafton Recorded a season-best second-place finish at Kansas Speedway (4/20/13) Recorded a season-best fifth-place start in the UNOH 225 at Kentucky Speedway (6/27/13) In 17 starts in 2013, Coulter has led 17 laps en route to three top-five and five top-10 finishes Has completed 93.7% of laps attempted (2484/2652) and has an average start of 14.1 and an average finish of 15.4 Third full-time season in the NCWTS Joey Coulter 2012 Earned first career NCWTS victory at Pocono Raceway (8/4/12) Captured three pole awards (8/18/12 @ Michigan International Speedway, 9/21/12 @ Kentucky Speedway and 9/28/12 @ Las Vegas Motor Speedway) Collected eight top-five and 15 top-10 finishes en route to a third-place finish in the final point standings 749 drivers points accumulated over the final 20 races of the season were more than any other NCWTS driver Joey Coulter Camping World Truck Series Career: In 64 starts, has compiled 1win (Pocono, 2012), 3 poles (2012), 137 laps led, 16 top-five and 33 top-10 finishes 2011 - Earned Rookie of the Year award in the NCWTS after registering four top-five and eight top-10 finishes en route to a seventh-place finish in the final point standings 2010 - Collected 1 win ( 8/7/10 @ Berlin Raceway), 7 top-five and 10 top-10 finishes en route to an eighth-place finish in the final ARCA Racing Series point standings 2009 - Captured two poles (7/11/09 @ Iowa Speedway and 9/4/09 @ Toledo Speedway) and recorded seven top-five and 13 top-10 finishes en route to a fourth-place finish in the final ARCA Racing Series point standings as a rookie
Posted on: Tue, 15 Oct 2013 17:08:05 +0000
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