RCR's Coulter Scores Sixth-Place Finish at Texas Motor Speedway

11/4/2011 RCR's Coulter Scores Sixth-Place Finish at Texas Motor Speedway

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Rookie of the Year contender Joey Coulter returned to Texas Motor Speedway armed with experience and confidence and left with a solid top-10 finish in Friday night's WinStar World Casino 350k. Coulter started the No. 22 Eurocopter Chevrolet from the 14th position under the lights at the Fort Worth-based facility and following a fast and flawless pit stop by the Harold Holly-led crew during the lap-13 caution, was catapulted from 12th to seventh position for the ensuing restart. While working lap 50, the Miami Springs, Fla., native overtook the eighth position and reported that the Chevrolet Silverado was getting better with each lap. Coulter climbed as high as second in the running order by lap 70, but then the truck's handling made a drastic shift to the loose-side once again. Despite the added challenge of controlling an incredibly loose-handling machine, determination and perseverance paid off as Coulter remained in the top 10. A lap-97 caution gave the No. 22 team an opportunity to make additional chassis adjustments to the Chevrolet Silverado in an effort to tighten the truck's balance. Another impressive performance on pit road by the No. 22 pit crew gained Coulter two spots, putting him in fourth for the lap-104 restart. Slipping to the seventh position over the next 20 laps, Coulter told his team the truck was starting to develop a tight-off condition. As the long green-flag run progressed, the No. 22 racer gained momentum and was in the sixth position when the final caution of the night fell on lap 142. Remaining on the track during the yellow-flag period, Coulter lined up fifth on lap 147 for the green-white-checkered finish, ready to make a charge on the leaders. Coulter's forward progress was slowed when the No. 60 ran out of fuel right in front of the No. 22 machine, forcing the 21-year-old to take the checkered flag in the sixth position and earn his 12th top-10 finish of the 2011 season.

 

Start - 14                     Finish - 6                     Laps Led - 0                 Points - 8

 

JOEY COULTER QUOTE:

"Harold (crew chief Harold Holly) and the entire No. 22 team did a great job tonight. The pit stops were incredible. The Eurocopter Chevrolet was really fast, especially late in a run. I think we would have had a top-five finish if the No. 60 truck hadn't run out of gas right in front of us on the last restart. I'm really excited to head to Homestead-Miami Speedway in two weeks and wrap up the season at 'home,' hopefully with the Rookie of the Year title for this team."