NEWTON, Iowa (July 28, 2010) — While the NASCAR Nationwide Series is making just its second visit to Iowa Speedway this weekend, it’ll be Pacific Northwest native Tayler Malsam’s third stop at a track in which he’s had some success in the past.
The 21-year-old from Sammamish, Wash., recorded top-10 finishes in his previous races on the .875-mile variably banked oval, first in an ARCA stock car race in 2008 and then in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series last September.
The U.S. Cellular 250 will be broadcast at 4:30 p.m. (PT) Saturday on ESPN2. The network will begin its coverage with NASCAR Countdown at 4 p.m. (PT). Malsam will be making his seventh Nationwide Series start for Braun Racing in the No. 10 Toyota and for the sixth time he will have Iron Horse Jeans as primary sponsor.
Current point leader Brad Keselowski won the inaugural Nationwide Series event last year at Iowa Speedway, starting 11th and leading 121 of 250 laps in a race that featured 12 caution periods. Braun Racing’s No. 10 finished fifth in that race with Kelly Bires behind the wheel.
Saturday’s race marks the first of three straight starts Malsam will make for Braun Racing, with Watkins Glen (Aug. 7) and Michigan (Aug. 14) next on his schedule. Malsam didn’t take part in last weekend’s race at O’Reilly Raceway Park near Indianapolis due to a prior scheduling commitment at Braun Racing. Instead, Indiana native Derrick Griffin made his NASCAR Nationwide Series debut, finishing 36th after a single-car incident early in the race.
Malsam finished 18th in his prior start in the No. 10 Iron Horse Jeans Toyota, on July 17 at Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Ill. In that race, Malsam was collected in a multi-car accident that started when race winner Carl Edwards spun out Keselowski on the frontstretch as they headed for the checkered flag. NASCAR placed Edwards and Keselowski on probation for the remainder of the season after that incident.
A venue visited by NASCAR, ARCA and the Indy Racing League, Iowa Speedway is a favorite of many because the variable banking — 12-14 degrees in the turns, 10 degrees on the frontstretch and 4 degrees on the backstretch — allows drivers to be competitive while racing in either the high or low groove. The speedway was designed by former NASCAR champion Rusty Wallace and it was the first track built with SAFER barriers surrounding the entire perimeter.
On the Web
www.taylermalsam.com
www.oneeightyracing.com
www.braunracing.com
www.ironhorsejeans.com
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