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Premier Racing "Struts" it's stuff in Homestead Danville, VA- 11.18.08- Premier Racing entered Homestead/Miami Speedway determined to once again show the fans, sponsors, national media and competitors they are poised to be a top contender in 2009. After a pre-race ritual of setting up the pit stall equipment, tuning the motor and waxing and polishing the truck; the team was ready for its show to begin. On a clear and cool Thursday evening the #17 Hayes Iron & Metal/Strutmasters.com Toyota and competitors took to the track for the first practice session. Right from the start of the 1st practice the #17 team knew that they would have a competitive truck to keep pace with the leaders during the race. The #17 team ended the first session in 10th place with a speed of 164.004 mph, and continued to improve in the final Thursday night practice session, moving up the board to 8th place with a speed of 164.820 - just a ½ second off from the fastest truck in practice. The next afternoon under sunny skies, the Hayes/Strutmasters team continued its recent success in qualifying, placing the #17 Hayes Iron & Metal/Strutmasters.com Toyota a solid 13th on the grid out of the 37 trucks that attempted qualifying for the race. After qualifying, Peters commented on his new Toyota truck, “I don’t think that I could ask for more support than I have been given today by the people at Toyota, the engineering support, the test data and the overall willingness to help the team. I think the results will show in tonight’s race; I can’t wait to be a part of their program next year.” On Friday evening, under a picturesque Florida sunset, the field approached the green flag for the final event of the twenty-five-race schedule to determine the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship. From the start of the race Peters and the #17 Premier Racing truck was seemingly on a rail, passing trucks and working its way past each competitor towards the front of the pack. “Truck feels real good,” Peters radioed back to Crew Chief Chad Kendrick during the initial stages of the race. Kendrick radioed back, “You’re doing a great job, and you are one of the fastest trucks on the track right now. Keep it up.” Peters continued to work his way through the field picking off spots and when the caution flag flew on lap 42 for debris on the track, Peters was running in the 8th position. Two laps later, Peters made his way around the access road for his first stop of the day for tires and fuel. Unfortunately, a routine pit stop ran afoul after a crew member got knocked to the ground while changing a tire. This costly error caused an extended amount of time on pit road, and the team re-entered the race the race in the 30th position. Spotter Michael Brooks encouraged his driver on the radio, “Be patient Timothy; you have one of the fastest trucks, and we will get the positions back.” The driver responded with precision caliber moves on the race track to continue his march back to the front. By lap 70 the #17 Hayes Iron & Metal/Strutmasters.com Toyota was running lap times consistent with the leaders, and the truck was being scored in the 10th position. Halfway through the run, Peters again came on the radio to say, “I am doing the best I can, but the right front (tire) is wearing out.” Kendrick responded, “Your tire wear looked good after the last pit stop; just keep racing hard, and we’ll get you set up right on the next stop.” This extended green flag run caused Peters to lose several positions while he conserved the tires, but the team caught a valuable caution on lap 91 when the yellow flag flew for debris on the turn three backstretch. After a quick pit stop for tire pressure adjustments, fuel and fresh Goodyear tires, Peters returned to the track in the 12th position, thereby picking up three spots on the field. The #17 truck continued to post fast lap times while maintaining the 12th position, but remained mired in traffic for next thirty laps. The second-to-last caution occurred on lap 126, after a competitor blew a tire and scattered debris on the track. Following a flurry of calculations atop the pit box of the #17 team, a quick decision was made to pit for tires to help adjust the handling of the truck and gain spots in the field with fresh tires. The green flag flew again on lap 130, but only three laps later the caution flag flew again for a wreck on the backstretch. This set up a green/white/checkered flag finish. This dash to the finish bunched up all of the trucks, and the decision to pit proved to be for naught as the team was unable to regain any positions before the end of the race. The #17 Hayes Iron & Metal/ Strutmasters.com Toyota team raced across the finish line in the 15th position. In post race comments Peters was upbeat about the team’s performance, but disappointed with the results, “I felt like we had a truck capable of finishing in the Top-5 tonight, but a couple of mistakes in the pits cost us some positions. I know I should not be disappointed in our race tonight, but that’s the competitor in me. Everybody in the garage has seen how far we have come this year, and I can’t wait to get to Daytona in February. We still have a lot to prove.” Team owner Scot Jones echoed the driver’s statements, “We were not sure how this team would perform when we started this deal midway through the season, but we came in here and showed everyone that with heart and determination, you can succeed at the highest level in racing. Philip (principal team owner Philip Hudgins), Steve and I are real proud of the team that Timothy and Chad have assembled, and we look forward to competing for truck series wins in 2009. NASCAR racing has been a great experience for all of us, and we are looking forward to being here for many years to come.” The #17 Premier Racing team has announced plans to build a brand new shop in the industrial section of Danville, VA and will be making future announcements in the coming weeks regarding its exciting 2009 plans for the team. For more information about the #17 Premier racing team, please visit our website at www.premiertruckracing.com The team would also like to send its heartfelt condolences to the Hudgins and Ingle families on the passing of Lala Ingle Milam, the mother of Linda Hudgins and mother-in-law of Team Owner Philip Hudgins.
Archives: Premier Racing Adds Sponsor - 11/10/08 Patience pays off for Peters - 10/21/08
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