HOPING TO CHANGE HIS "LUCK" IN THE WINDY CITY

9/9/2013 HOPING TO CHANGE HIS "LUCK" IN THE WINDY CITY

Friday the 13th has foreboding reputations dating back from ancient times. There are two such occurrences in 2013 and Friday night’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) EnjoyIllinois.com 225 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill. is one of them. The second infamous “Friday the 13th” is in December and the two such occurrences happen to be 13 weeks apart. Why is Friday the 13th considered one of the unluckiest days on the calendar? Well, the superstition does have deep, compelling roots in Western Culture, but stems from two separate fears – the fear of the number 13 and the fear of Friday’s.

Racing superstitions are nearly as old as the sport itself and although they are not as prevalent today, there are still certain fixtures drivers and crew members shy away from. Peanuts, $50 bills and even the color green are primarily superstitions that many drivers have steered clear of over the years. Although Joey Coulter, driver of the No. 18 Darrell Gwynn Foundation Toyota Tundra for Kyle Busch Motorsports, doesn’t have any superstitions he does believe that he could use all the “luck” he can get in the final seven races of the year starting with this weekend’s NCWTS EnjoyIllinois.com 225 at Chicagoland Speedway.

Coulter’s “bad luck” stems from a four-week span of misfortune dating back to Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn (August). After wrecking his primary  Toyota Tundra in practice – a truck he says was capable of winning the race and the best truck he has had all year – the Miami Springs, Fla. native had to pull out his back-up and finished 14th at the 2-mile oval – ending a two-week streak of top-five finishes. At Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway just four days later, Coulter made contact with the Turn 2 wall in qualifying relegating the No. 18 team to a 34th-place starting position – his worst start of the season. The following week in Canada at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Coulter was unable to control his “bucking” Monster Energy Tundra and found himself in the tire barrier early in the inaugural event forcing him to take the checkered flag from the 26th position. Finally, in last weekend’s Truck Series event at Iowa Speedway in Newton, Coulter was forced into the Turn 2 wall when the No. 62 machine of Brendan Gaughan had a break issue on a green-white-checkered restart relegating Coulter to a 25th-place finish and his first DNF of the season.

Coulter would like nothing more than to turn his luck around this weekend in Chicago by turning the fifth day of the week and the number 13 into a lucky No. 18 after 150-laps on the 1.5-mile oval in the “Windy City.”
                 
Joey Coulter, Driver of the No. 18 Darrell Gwynn Foundation Toyota Tundra:
In two starts at Chicagoland Speedway, you have never had a top-10 finish. What is it that you like or dislike about the track and do you think you can break in to the top-10 this weekend?
“I like Chicago a lot – it’s a fun race track – I just haven’t had the luck there that we have needed. We led a bunch of laps there last year and got in a late-race wreck which took us out of contention for a good finish. The year before was the same thing – we ran really well and something out of our control took us out. So, just not a lot of luck there, but I do really enjoy the race track. The track surface has a few years on it, but it’s still fairly new, and still has pretty good grip – it’s been a lot of fun to race on in the past and I’m looking forward to getting back on track this weekend.”

The NCWTS race at Chicagoland Speedway is considered a one day show with practice, qualifying, and the race all in one day. Do you enjoy this type of schedule?
“There are up’s and down’s. I like it because you are in and out. You don’t have a lot of time to second guess yourself or over-think a change – you go through the day really quick. But, the downside is you go through the day really quick. If you don’t unload really close, it’s hard to make up for that time because you have a short practice, straight into qualifying and then the race.”

The EnjoyIllinois.com 225 is on Friday the 13th. Are you superstitious?
“It’s bad luck to be superstitious, so no. We will see what happens this weekend though. The way this year has gone, it will probably work better for us if I put a black cat in the truck with me and drove under a ladder at some point – just to get the bad luck out of the way. We just may need to embrace the ‘bad luck’ and see if things turn around for us.”


Harold Holly, Crew chief of the No. 18 Darrell Gwynn Foundation Toyota Tundra:
Both Truck Series practices at Chicago are during the day when the temperatures are hotter, but the race is at night when the temps are in the 40’s. How do you transition the truck for these conditions and what kind of racing can we expect to see in Chicago this weekend?
“Well, our first practice is in the morning and our second practice is in the early afternoon, so the temps should be comparable to the start of the race on Friday night – especially since both the Nationwide and Cup cars will be on the track all day – it will keep the tracks temps up. Chicagoland (Speedway) is a fast mile-and-half track, but the surface, banking and transitions give it character. It can be bumpy down low and has multiple grooves, so some guys will try to driver around the bumps. The backstretch is slightly curved which changes the exit of Turn 2 and the entry of Turn 3 compared to other intermediates we go to.  With it being so cold there Friday night, the track will be fast and make for some good racing.”

Joey Coulter’s No. 18 Darrell Gwynn Foundation Toyota Tundra:
Chassis KBM17: The No. 18 Kyle Busch Motorsports team will unload chassis KBM17 for the EnjoyIllinois.com 225 at Chicagoland Speedway on Friday. Built new for the 2013 season, this chassis was last seen at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth (June). Starting 11th, Coulter ran solidly inside the top-10 before a flat left rear tire blew just 54 laps into 167-lap event relegating Coulter to a 25th-place finish.

Chassis KBM17 Performance Profile:
Date Site Driver Start Finish Laps Laps Led Status
6/7/13 Texas Coulter 11 25 78/167 0 Running

Notes of Interest:

Joey Coulter – Chicagoland Speedway:
• In two NCWTS starts has complied two top-15 finishes
• Best start: second (2012)/Best Finish: 12th (2011)
• Completed 100% of laps attempted (300 of 300 laps)
• Average Start: 6.5/Average Finish: 13.5
• Has two ARCA Racing Series starts, including two top-10 finishes

Joey Coulter NCWTS Performance Profile- Chicagoland Speedway:
Series Date Start Finish Laps Laps Led Status
NCWTS 9/16/11 11 12 150/150 0 Running
NCWTS 7/21/12 2 15 150/150 0 Running
ARCA 8/28/09 10 6 100/100 0 Running
ARCA 8/27/10 10 8 100/100 0 Running

Joey Coulter 2013
• Ranks 12th in the NCWTS driver point standings with 436 points; 28 markers behind 10th-place Brendan Gaughan, 59 points behind fifth-place Timothy Peters and 133 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 15 starts in 2013, Coulter has led 17 laps en route to three top-five and five top-10 finishes
• Has completed 92.95% of laps attempted (2190/2356) and has an average start of 14.6 and an average finish of 15.1
• Third full-time season in the NCWTS

Kyle Busch Motorsports’ No. 18 Toyota Tundra: 
• In three starts at Chicagoland Speedway since 2010,  has led 131 laps en route to one win (Kyle Busch, 2010), two top-five and three top-10 finishes
• In 2013 has an average start of 14.6, an average finish of 15.1 and has led 17 laps en route to three top-five and five top-10 finishes
• Currently 14th in the 2013 NCWTS owner’s 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, 42 top-five and 61 top-10’s across 86 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-Fan Appreciation 200 at Iowa Speedway:
After a 17th-place qualifying effort and going a lap down to the race leader prior to the half-way point in the 200-lap event, Joey Coulter was on the fast track to a top-10 finish in the closing laps of the Fan Appreciation 200 when a late race accident with the No. 62 machine of Brendan Gaughan sent him hard into the Turn 1 wall. The unfortunate event relegated the Kyle Busch Motorsports driver to a 25th-place finish at Iowa Speedway - his first DNF of the 2013 season.

Get Your Name In The Fast Lane:
Have you ever wanted to get your name on Joey Coulter’s Toyota Tundra? Now you can! In an effort to raise $18,000 for the Darrell Gwynn Foundation by the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November, Coulter has created a program to get your name etched on the TV panel of his No. 18 Toyota Tundra for the NCWTS race on Nov. 15. For more information log-on to JoeyCoulter.com and click on the “Get Your Name in the Fast Lane” link on the right side of the page or visit: "Get Your Name in the Fast Lane" for more information on how to help this great cause.