Tire Issues Plague Joey Coulter at Martinsville Speedway

3/31/2012 Tire Issues Plague Joey Coulter at Martinsville Speedway

Joey Coulter and the No. 22 Steak-umm Chevrolet team finished 30th at Martinsville Speedway after cutting a tire before the halfway mark derailing their run. Starting the 250-lap race in the 21st position, Coulter reported to crew chief Harold Holly early on that the Chevrolet Silverado was a little tight in the center of the 11-degree banked corners of the half-mile paperclip-shaped short track. Holly advised the 21-year-old NASCAR Camping World Truck Series sophomore to adjust his brake fans under the first caution-flag period of the day instead of making a pit stop. Coulter remained on track, but a tire issue on lap 76 sent Coulter into the outside retaining wall, causing significant damage to the right side of the No. 22 machine. The Miami Springs, Fla., native was able to drive the battered truck down pit road for repairs, but went several laps down to the leader in the process. Once returning to the track, Coulter raced competitively for the remaining laps and gain five crucial positions. He wrapped up his third-career start at Martinsville with a 30th-place effort and now sits 24th in the Camping World Truck Series driver championship point standings, 42 points in arrears to current leader John King.

Start -21 Finish - 30 Laps Led - 0 Points - 24

JOEY COULTER QUOTE:
"It was a tough day for the No. 22 Steak-umm Chevrolet. While I was happy we were able to get back on the track and gain some positions, we needed a good run to gain some points after the race in Daytona.