HEADING HOME TO "HOME"STEAD

11/11/2013 HEADING HOME TO "HOME"STEAD

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (November 11, 2013) – When the green flag waves at Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway for the 150-lap Truck Series finale on Friday night, it will have been 21 races and 267 days since Joey Coulter, driver of the No. 18 Toyota Tundra made his debut for Kyle Busch Motorsports at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. Although it has been a year of many challenges, Coulter would like to cap off his junior year with a strong run in the final race on the 2013 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) schedule at his home-track.

The 2013 Truck Series season was one for the history books before the checkered flag was ever thrown in Florida nine months ago. The series visited 15 states and traveled north of the border to Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada for the first time in series history to take on their 2.459-mile road course at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. The NCWTS also made history in July when the first NASCAR national series race was held on dirt for the first time in more than 40 years at Tony Stewarts Rossburg, Ohio track, Eldora Speedway. Coulter, who has a background racing dirt late models, was the highest-finishing Truck Series regular in the Mudsummer Classic, finishing fourth. After 21 races, Coulter ranks 14th in the 2013 NCWTS driver point standings with three top-five and five top-10 finishes.

A highlight to Coulter’s season would be his second-place finish at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City back in April. The 23-year-old driver led 15 laps and finished in the runner-up position in a head-to-head battle with now series point leader Matt Crafton. The Florida native is hoping to add another highlight to his season by winning Friday night’s Truck Series finale in front of his friends and family at “Home”stead. In two starts at the South Florida track, the GunBroker.com driver has never finished outside the top-five.

Joey Coulter, Driver of the No. 18 GunBroker.com Toyota Tundra:
You are heading home to Homestead-Miami Speedway for the final race of the 2013 Truck Series season. What does it mean to race at your home track?
“It’s exciting, I love racing down there. It’s about 30 miles from where I grew up in Miami Springs and about 50 miles from the first race shop I ever raced in when I started racing in the Hooters Pro Cup Series. Just being in Florida brings back so many memories for me. My family still has a house in Miami Springs and we also have a house in Islamorada, in the Keys, so I enjoy coming down here and getting away. I’ve been going to HMS for a long time and I’ve watched a lot of races there. It’s always neat to have a lot of friends and family come out to support me and see me race that don’t get to travel to the races throughout the year. Florida is also home to Darrell Gwynn and the Darrell Gwynn Foundation, he has always been a huge supporter of mine and we were able to help and give back to his foundation this year. It’s something I’m proud of and hope to continue to be able to do. He has an annual fishing tournament – Hot Rod & Reels – that I always participate in on Saturday morning, so I’m looking forward to that as well.”

So, you have been coming to HMS for as long as you can remember, but is it a track you enjoy racing at?
“Yes, it’s a lot of fun. It’s a busy day for us with practice, qualifying and the race all in one day, but it’s one of those tracks as the day goes on you are always moving around, looking for another groove to run in. When the race gets started you are on the bottom and all the way up against the wall and everywhere in between, which is a lot of fun for us as driver’s and makes for a good show for the fans.”
 

Harold Holly, Crew chief of the No. 18 GunBroker.com Toyota Tundra:
What kind of challenges are you presented with as a crew chief when you practice during the day, qualify late afternoon and race at night under the lights?
“The biggest challenge is keeping up with the changing track conditions. We will practice when the track has the least amount of grip, so you have to know that it will be different by the time you get to the race. Racing conditions will be closer for qualifying, but even then you won’t get the best read, so you will have to rely on notes to know how to expect the track to change. As the day goes on the racing groove will widen up. They will be able to run around the top, bottom or middle, which gives us a lot of options for chassis setup and adjustments. Homestead is different than any other mile-and-a-half that we race on all year long. There is no dog-leg, so the corner entry and exit are completely different than anything else we race on.”
 

Joey Coulter’s No. 18 GunBroker.com Toyota Tundra:
Chassis KBM14: Coulter will pilot chassis KBM14 in this weekend’s Truck Series finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Friday night. This Tundra was built new for the 2013 NCWTS season and has made four starts to date, including the No. 18 Kyle Busch Motorsports team’s season-best finish of second at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City.

 

KBM- Performance Profile:
Date Site Driver Start Finish Laps Laps Led Status
4/20/13 Kansas Coulter 11 2 167/167 15 Running
5/17/13 Charlotte Coulter 17 32 90/134 0 Running
8/3/13 Pocono Coulter 10 4 54/54 0 Running
11/1 Texas Coulter 19 12 147/147 0 Running

Notes of Interest:
Joey Coulter – Homestead-Miami Speedway Stats:
• In two starts at HMS, has compiled two top-five finishes
• Average Start: 10.5/Average Finish: 4.0
• Best Start: 10th (2011)/Best Finish: Third (2012)
• According to NASCAR’s Loop Data Statistics, has a driver rating of 98.8
• One Nationwide Series start (2012)

Joey Coulter Performance Profile – Homestead-Miami Speedway:
Series Date Start Finish Laps Laps Led Status
NCWTS 10/16/2012 11 3 140/140 0 Running
NCWTS 10/18/2011 10 5 119/119 0 Running
NNS 10/17/2012 15 14 200/200 0 Running

Joey Coulter 2013
• Ranks 14th in the NCWTS driver point standings with 570 points; 50 markers behind 10th-place Timothy Peters, 87 points behind fifth-place Jeb Burton and 171 markers behind series point 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 21 starts in 2013, Coulter has led 18 laps en route to three top-five and five top-10 finishes
• Has completed 93.9% of laps attempted (3044/3243) and has an average start of 14.2 and an average finish of 16.1
• Third full-time season in the NCWTS
 

Kyle Busch Motorsports’ No. 18 Toyota Tundra: 
• In three starts at Homestead-Miami Speedway since 2010, has led 103 laps en route to one win, and three top-five finishes
• Has registered an average start of 8.3 and an average finish of 1.7
• In 2013 has an average start of 14.2, an average finish of 16.1 and has led 18 laps en route to three top-five and five top-10 finishes
• Currently 16th in the 2013 NCWTS owner’s point standings
• Finished fifth in the 2012 NCWTS owner’s 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 87 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 150 at Phoenix International Raceway:
Tying his track-best starting position of 10th and running as high as fifth in the first-half of the event, Coulter felt optimistic about a three-peat for Kyle Busch Motorsports’ No. 18. However, a brake issue with just over 40 laps remaining in the 150-lap event relegated the Miami Springs, Fla. driver to a 26th-place finish in the Lucas Oil 150.

Vote Now, Vote Often:
Voting for the 2013 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Most Popular Driver campaign has launched on NASCAR.com. Cast your vote via NASCAR.com/NCWTSMPD from now through Nov. 15 by 11:59 p.m. ET. You may vote once every 24 hours. Winners will be announced at the 2013 NCWTS Awards Banquet in Miami on Nov.18.