Malsam In The Race! Darlington Thread

6:59- Tayler is done for the race. He was having a great run tonight. Its an unfortunate ending.

6:57- Engine blown.

6:53- Back to yellow after about a 10 minute red flag. Tayler will restart in 13th.

6:42- Big wreck in front of Tayler, he did an amazing job avoiding it. Carmichael spun right in front of Tayler and he maneuvered around it. Boo ya!

6:38- The 88 of Matt Crafton left a lug nut in the pits, so he had to come back down pit road, that moves Tayler up to 14th when the flag goes green.

6:35- Another four tire and fuel stop for the 25 crew, Tayler comes out in 15th. 93 laps complete.

6:29- Caution is out again for the 10 truck.

6:27- Lots of clean air in front of Tayler, he is tracking down the 77 of Justin Lofton.

6:25- Tayler fell to 16th on the restart, but he battled back and regained 14th on the next lap. 81 laps complete out of 147.

6:23- Tayler will restart in 14th, on the outside lane, behind his teammate Travis Kvapil.

6:22- Staying out on the track during the yellow.

6:17- Wreck in front of Tayler. He said he didn't see the 23 of Jason White checking up in front of him. Tayler is good to go however.

6:16- Lap 72 and Tayler is in 17th place trying to chase down Jason White.

6:10- Scoring monitor now showing Tayler is in 17th.

6:08- Four tires and more fuel this time, Tayler goes down to 18th.

6:05- Caution out. "Still too tight, its better than the last run, but I think we can change it even more than last time" is the word from Tayler. Lap 58 and in 15th.

5:59- Tayler's spotter letting him know that he looks great on one and two, but still needs work on three and four. Matt Crafton just passed Tayler dropping him to 13th.

5:59- Picks up two on the restart, now in 12th on lap 42.

5:57- Back to green flag.

5:50- Yellow out. "I can't get back to throttle in 3 & 4, I'm fine in 1 & 2" Tayler said. Piquet came in hot on Tayler in turn four, almost wrecked both of them.

5:49- Gets by the 8 of Nelson Piquet Jr. Now up to 14th on lap 34.

5:47- Green flag.

5:44- Four tires and fuel during that stop, Tayler comes out in 15th.

5:40- Yellow out. "Once we get to that shade, we get tight" is the word from Tayler. 17th place 20 laps complete.

5:37- Up to 17th on that restart. Lap 19.

5:33- Not coming down to the pits as the leaders stayed out.

5:30- Yellow is out. "I get aero tight than I'm loose in, but its good right now." Tayler will come down to the pits if the leaders do. Lap 14 and in 21st.

5:29- Todd Bodine gets by Tayler puts him in 22nd.

5:28- Currently in 21st lap 8.

5:27- Someone spun in front of Tayler, he is clear of it.

5:26- Green flag.

5:24- Scoring monitor shows Tayler in 23rd place.

5:22- Tayler did not lock his tires, he will stay out on the track during the yellow.

5:21- Big wreck on turn one. Tayler avoided it, may have locked up his tires.

5:20- Green flag!

5:18- One to go, Tayler's spotter making sure Tayler is aware of the pit road cone. Says it comes up faster than you think if we do green flag stops.

5:16- Pace laps being taken now.

5:12- Engines have been fired up!

5:08- National Anthem over and we are waiting to start the race.

5:03- Tayler will drop to the back of the field to start the race. The reason was had to do with his qualifying time and owners points.

5:01- Waiting to start the National Anthem and get this thing going!

4:41- Tayler Malsam has qualified for tonight's race at Darlington. Drivers are out on pit road for driver introductions.

Malsam Looking To Qualify For Race Tonight

Practice is all wrapped up here at the track "Too Tough To Tame." Up next is qualifying, and Tayler Malsam must qualify on time to make this evenings race. Their are 14 trucks fighting for 11 spots for tonight's race. In both practices combined, Tayler was the 8th fastest out of the 14 "go or go-homers." Despite the handling of the truck being loose all the way around the track, Tayler was able to pick up speed each time he took the track during practice. During his last run of practice, Tayler had said "it was the best it had felt all day."

Here is the results from both practices.

Tune in to qualify which will be televised on the SPEED channel at 3:30 PM eastern time, followed by the set-up show at 4:30, and the race at 5:00.

I will have an update after qualifying.

Darlington This Weekend; New TM.com Launched

The truck series will be in the spotlight this weekend, as both the Cup and Nationwide series have the weekend off. The trucks take their racing to Darlington, SC to a 1.366 mile track dubbed "the lady in black. " Tayler has not raced at Darlington before, however he has tested at the track in a truck in 2008. In the press release for this weeks race, Malsam said “I’m excited to finally have the chance to race at Darlington [Raceway]. It’s such an old speedway with so much history behind it. It’s unlike any other track on the [NASCAR Camping World] Truck Series circuit, so it will be a whole new experience for me." Click here to read the rest of what Tayler had to say, and to see crew chief Dan Stillman's thoughts on the upcoming race. Tayler's truck will be covered in the classic orange and white of One-Eighty, also on the truck will be Odd Manor and Iron Horse Jeans. The race will start at 5:00 PM eastern time on Saturday. In addition to the race, their will be a lot of TV coverage Saturday, as qualifying will be televised at 3:30 pm, followed by the "set-up" show at 4:30, and then the race. All coverage will be broadcasted by SPEED channel.

Some of you may have noticed that Tayler's official site received a little makeover. The guys at 0484 Creative updated the site, and it looks great. Take some time to check it out.

Race Day; Malsam Must Qualify On Time

It's a one day show at Phoenix International Raceway today. And once again, Tayler will have to qualify on time today in order to make the race. 16 trucks have to qualify on time, and only 9 of them will make the race. Practice is already in the books for today, and here are the results of those 16 trucks from practice:

1. Ron Hornaday 27.142 seconds
2. Cole Whitt 27.237 seconds
3. James Buescher 27.351 seconds
4. Brad Sweet 27.406 seconds
5. Justin Lofton 27.411 seconds
6. David Mayhew 27.463 seconds
7. Max Papis 27.543 seconds
8. Parker Kligerman 27.553 seconds
9. Clay Rogers 27.590 seconds
10. Dusty Davis 27.665 seconds
11. Greg Pursley 27.762 seconds
12. Tayler Malsam 27.835 seconds
13. Mike Skinner 28.024 seconds
14. Rick Crawford 28.049 seconds
15. Brent Raymer 28.323 seconds
16. Chris Eggleston 28.432 seconds

Here is the practice results from the entire field.

Qualifying will take place here at 3:05 pm mountain time, and will be televised live on the SPEED channel.

Tough Luck For Malsam At Daytona

The wait was finally over. After three long months, the highly anticipated 2011 season was upon us, and this week was the kickoff. Unfortunately, Tayler Malsam's season is delayed one more week, as he failed to qualify for the NextEra Energy 250 at Daytona International Speedway. After a promising start throughout practice, Malsam did not make the field of 36 for the season opener.

Because Tayler didn't run the full season in the Camping World Truck Series in 2010, he was forced to qualify "on time." The top 25 in the "Owners Points" were automatically locked in for the season opener at Daytona. Tayler did not have the owner points to guarantee him a spot in the field. After his two qualifying laps, Tayler posted the 31st quickest time, which normally would have allowed him a spot in the field. However, some drivers that were slower than Tayler during qualifying, were allowed into the race because they had been locked in for their owner points. In result, Tayler was left out of the field for tomorrows race.

Obviously disappointed, Tayler's season will begin next week at Phoenix International Raceway. "This isn't the way we wanted to start the season, and it's just unfortunate that we put in all the hard work during the off-season for this race, and we have nothing to show for it. But we are going to get back to shop this weekend and get ready for Phoenix. I'm thankful for One-Eighty coming on board and supporting me through my effort at Daytona. I just wish we could have taken the green flag with them. They have been a big contributor to my racing career," Malsam said.

Malsam will get back on the track next Friday at Phoenix, where he will again try to qualify "on time" for the race.

Malsam Finishes Top Ten In Final Practice; Qualifying Next

(Take a look at the No. 25 guys working on the truck during practice)


Both Randy Moss Motorsports trucks finished in the top 10 in the final practice this afternoon. Tayler Malsam was the fastest truck on the track for much of practice, but he ultimately turned in the 9th fastest lap, with a time of 47.734 seconds. Meanwhile, his teammate Travis Kvapil took home the second quickest lap, he posted a time of 47.116 seconds.


(Tayler being interviewed by Ray Dunlap of the SPEED channel)

Qualifying will begin at 6:05 PM eastern time tonight. Kvapil will head out 25th and Malsam will be the second to last truck to qualify, he will be going out 45th. Qualifying will be broadcasted live on the SPEED channel.

Happy Birthday Tayler Malsam; Road Trip To Daytona Begins

Happy birthday to Tayler Malsam, and we're celebrating by making the eight hour drive down to Daytona. Tomorrow will be the first time the trucks series will see action on the track for the 2011 season. Three hours of practice tomorrow, followed by two practice sessions and qualifying on Thursday. The highly anticipated season begins Friday night with the NextEra Energy 250 at Daytona International Speedway. The 2011 season is shaping up to be the most competitive season in recent memory. Travis Kvapil, Brenden Gaughan, and Max Papis join the series for 2011, in addition to Todd Bodine, Ron Hornaday, Austin Dillon, and Johnny Sauter returning to compete for a championship.

Here is a picture from the race shop that gives people a peak at Tayler's trucks for Daytona.







Jim Utter of thatsracin.com says that the "series appears to take a big step up in the level of competition this year" in his 2011 preview. You can read it right here.

Austin Dillon seems to be many peoples favorite to win the series heading into 2011. Here is another preview from the examiner.

Here is the Randy Moss Motorsports press release for Tayler heading into Daytona.

Expect more information throughout the week.