Cowboy Hats Make Great Birthday Presents

6/4/2013 Cowboy Hats Make Great Birthday Presents

JOEY COULTER
Cowboy Hats Make Great Birthday Presents

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (June 4, 2013) – Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, known as the “No Limit’s Wild Asphalt Circus,” is the host of the seventh race on the 2013 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) schedule. The fast mile-and-a-half track is not only the home to the Toyota Tundra, but home to some impressive stats for Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM) driver Joey Coulter. The Toyota Tundra driver two-steps into the “Lone Star State” with the highest average finish (5.2) of any driver in the field over the last four NCWTS races and is also the only driver to finish in the top 10 in each of the last four races. In a state where horses run free, Coulter hopes that his horsepower will take him to victory lane in the 31st running of the WinStar World Casino 400k - a feat that would be sure to make his 23rd birthday on Saturday, June 8 a Texas-size memory.

The Truck Series has visited TMS twice a year since 1999 after making its debut in 1997. Coulter, who has four-career starts at the Fort Worth, Texas track, seems to always make strides in the championship point standings following the June race on the NCWTS schedule. In 2011 Coulter entered the June Texas race 11th in the driver point standings and following the 168-lap event he was ninth. In 2012, Coulter entered the June Truck Series race at TMS 10th in the championship point standings and following the 167-lap event he was eighth. Although the third-year Truck Series driver made a big swing in points following his eight-place finish at Dover (Del.) International Speedway last week, another solid top-10 finish under the lights is just what the 18 team needs to get their season back on track.


Joey Coulter, Driver of the No. 18 NCWTS Darrell Gwynn Foundation Tundra:
What is it about Texas that seems to suit your driving style?
“Texas is a high speed, high momentum race track that develops multiple racing grooves over the course of the night. I have always enjoyed race tracks that have multiple racing grooves because it makes the racing more exciting and it allows for a lot more passing. Texas is one of the tracks that we race at throughout the year that drastically changes from day to night. To my advantage, Harold and I have worked with each other for so long we are able to tune my truck up for the night time during the day where most teams struggle to do that.”

Due to your success at Texas, this track seems to be a turning point in your season. I know you haven’t had the success this season as you may have hoped, but do you foresee yourself being able to turn that around this weekend at Texas?
“Texas is definitely a place where we can turn our season around. After coming from the back to the front at Dover, the team and I both have a lot of confidence and a lot of momentum going into this race. We're bringing another brand new truck similar to the truck we had a Kansas, which performed extremely well all weekend long. Since the beginning of the season whether we have had a good run or not so good run, Harold and I always come back to the shop having learned something new about the Tundra’s that we are racing. Toyota and TRD have constantly been giving us feedback and information that makes our program better every week.”

Harold Holly, Crew Chief of the No. 18 NCWTS Darrell Gwynn Foundation Tundra:
The NCWTS will practice during the day and then qualify and race at night at TMS this weekend. How do you prepare your truck for that kind of transition?
“The track temperatures during the day this time of year are generally pretty hot. So, typically, I try to work as hard as I can during the day to get the truck into a four-wheel drift. Then, when the sun goes down, you don’t have such a massive swing one way or another – front or rear grip – it’s all four. That way, you typically won’t swing to the loose side. If you end up detuning the back of your truck to try and make the front work for the night time, my philosophy is the first tire that slips is the first one to grip. So, when it starts slipping in the heat of the day, it’s the first one to gain grip at night and everything you have done to get around the right front tire during the day will go bad on you in the night. Trying to keep all that in mind we typically just try to tune ourselves into a really good driving, evenly balanced four wheel drift in the heat of the day so we don’t get a huge shift one way or the other.”

What kind of racing can we expect this weekend at TMS?
“The bottom of the race track will be fast when we unload but as we go through the weekend the top will start to come in. I think that you will probably see the leaders –pole sitter and on restarts - taking the top side and it will be one of those deals where once you get going in the race, you can run the bottom in one end and the top on one end.  However, on all restarts and short runs, you will want to be on the top of the race track. If you get trapped on the bottom, you will typically go backwards.”    
             
Joey Coulter’s No. 18 Darrell Gwynn Foundation Tundra:
Chassis KBM017: Coulter will pilot KBM 017 in this weekend’s WinStar World Casino 400k at Texas Motor Speedway. Built new for the 2013 season, this chassis will make its debut in Friday night’s 167-lap event.

Notes of Interest:
Joey Coulter: Lone Star Stats:
• In four NCWTS starts at TMS, has compiled two top-five and four top-10 finishes
• Has a driver rating of 103.2, ranked sixth overall
• Average start: 8.0/Average finish: 5.2
• Only driver to finish in the top-10 in the last four races at TMS
• Best start: second (June, 2011)/Best finish: third (June, 2012)
• Completed 100% of laps attempted (630/630)
• Spent 99.4% of laps attempted in the top 15 (626)
• Nine laps led
• One ARCA Racing Series start (2010)

Joey Coulter NCWTS Performance Profile – Texas:
Series Date Start Finish Laps Laps Led Status
NCWTS 11/2/2012 5 7 168/168 0 Running
NCWTS 6/8/2012 11 3 148/148 0 Running
NCWTS 11/4/2011 14 6 167/167 0 Running
NCWTS 6/10/2011 2 5 147/147 9 Running
ARCA 4/16/2010 5 23 95/105 0 Running

Joey Coulter 2013
• Ranks 11th in the NCWTS driver point standings with 173 points; three markers behind 10th-place Dakoda Armstrong, 28 points behind fifth-place Ryan Blaney and 72 points behind series point leader Matt Crafton
• Gained the most positions on track during the Lucas Oil 200 at Dover (Del.) International Speedway more than any other driver in the field to bring home his second top-10 finish (eighth) of the 2013 season
• Recorded a season-best second-place finish at Kansas Speedway (4/20/13)
• Recorded a season-best 10th-place start in the season-opener at Daytona (Fl.) International Speedway
• In six starts in 2013, Coulter has led 15 laps en route to one top-five and two top-10 finishes
• Has completed 95.83% of laps attempted (1012/1056) and has an average start of 15.7 and an average finish of 15.3
• Third full-time season in the NCWTS
Notes of Interest:
 

Kyle Busch Motorsports’ No. 18 Toyota Tundra: 
• In six starts since 2010 at TMS, has collected 1 win (Kyle Busch, Nov., 2010), 80 laps led (Kyle Busch, Nov., 2010), 3 top-five and five top-10 finishes
• Has registered an average start of 8.0 and an average finish of 9.7 across six starts at TMS
• This weekend’s NCWTS event at the “No Limits Wild Asphalt Circus” will mark the 31st running of the WinStar World Casino 400k at TMS. A Toyota has been to victory lane 11 times.
• In 2013 has an average start of 15.7, an average finish of 15.3 and has led 15 laps en route to one top-five finish (second, Kansas)
• Currently 14th in the 2013 NCWTS owner point standings
• Finished fifth in the 2012 NCWTS owner championship standings
• Over the final 18 races of the 2012 season, collected 683 owner’s points, the most among Truck Series teams during that span
• Led the NCWTS with 17 top-10 finishes in 2012, including nine straight to end the season, while collecting seven top-five finishes and one win (Brian Scott 11/9/12 at Phoenix International Raceway)
• All seven drivers that made a start in 2012 posted a top-10 finish (Ku. Busch, Ky. Busch, Hamlin, Herring, Leffler, Mayhew and Scott) and six of the seven led at least one lap
• Since debuting in the Truck Series in 2010, has compiled 17 wins, 8 poles, 40 top-five and 57 top-10’s across 76 starts
• Led the Truck Series in wins in each of its first two seasons: 2010 (8) and 2011 (8)
• In 2010, became first team since the NCWTS originated in 1995 to win the owner’s championship in its inaugural season

Last NCWTS Event-Lucas Oil 200 at Dover:
Coulter entered the sixth race on the 2013 NCWTS schedule at Dover (Del.) International Speedway on a mission to make monster-sized strides not only on the field, but in the points as well – which is exactly what he did. After starting 24th, the Toyota Racing driver advanced more positions after 200 miles than any other driver in the field – gaining 16 spots on Dover’s high-banks – to bring home his second top-10 finish in three starts at the “Monster Mile,” and his second top 10 of the 2013 Truck Series season.

Fast & Fun Facts:
• Coulter two-steps into Texas with the highest average finish (5.2) of any driver in the field over the last four NCWTS races and is also the only driver to finish in the top 10 in each of the last four races
• The Miami Springs, Fla. native will celebrate his 23rd birthday on Saturday, June 8