KANSAS CITY, Kan. — (April 28, 2010) Professional athletes have to excel wherever their sport takes them: at home or on the road, in small venues and large. But that doesn’t mean they don’t have preferences.
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver Tayler Malsam is no exception.
“Any mile-and-a-half track, those are my favorites,” the 21-year-old from Sammamish, Wash., said recently. “I’ve run Kansas Speedway the most of all those tracks, but this time it’s going to be different — I know we’re bringing a very fast truck.”
After a month layoff, Malsam and the NASCAR truck series return to action this Sunday in the O’Reilly Auto Part 250 at Kansas Speedway. The race will be broadcast on SPEED beginning with the NCWTS Setup Show at 9:30 a.m. (PT) with the green flag slated to fall at 10:15 a.m.
Sunday’s event at Kansas Speedway is the fifth of 25 for the 2010 season, and the first of a string of fast tracks that the series will visit in the coming weeks. With the high-banked Dover International Speedway (May 14) and 1.5-mile ovals in Charlotte, N.C. (May 21) and Texas (June 4) on the horizon, the Northwest native hopes to rebound from some early-season disappointments.
“I’m looking forward to getting to those tracks,” said Malsam, who races for Kyle Busch Motorsports in the No. 56 Toyota Tundra. “But, I think we’ve run well everywhere so far — we were good at Martinsville — but it depends on luck as much as me.”
In three of four races this season, that luck hasn’t gone Malsam’s way. A blown tire with two laps to go cost Malsam a solid top-10 finish at the half-mile in Martinsville, Va., and he was the victim of other drivers’ mistakes at Daytona and Atlanta. Malsam’s 17th-place finish in the series’ most recent event on April 2 at Nashville — the first victory as a team owner for Malsam’s boss, NASCAR star Kyle Busch — was the first time this season that he didn’t run near the front of the field.
Qualifying near the front will be critical at Kansas Speedway, which has 15-degree banking in the turns. The nine previous NASCAR truck series races there have been won by drivers starting in the first 10 positions. There have been no repeat winners. Malsam started 10th and finished 11th in last year’s race, which was won by Mike Skinner, one of three drivers to have won the race from the outside of the first row.
The O’Reilley Auto Parts 250 marks a rare Sunday race for the NASCAR truck series, which is paired with the Indy Racing League at Kansas. The IRL Road Runner Turbo Indy 300 will be run at 10:30 a.m. (PT) on Saturday with ABC providing the telecast.
With Busch in Richmond, Va., racing with NASCAR’s Sprint Cup and Nationwide series, Brian Ickler will drive the No. 18 Toyota for KBM at Kansas. Busch may fly out to Kansas for the truck race.
“Whether he’s there or not, it doesn’t change the situation,” Malsam said with a laugh. “He’ll still be looking over our shoulder and if you’re not fast, you’ll hear from him on Monday.”
On the Web
www.taylermalsam.com
www.oneeightyracing.com
www.kylebuschmotorsports.com
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