Bristol, TN. (Aug. 22, 2012) -- Armstrong and his No. 98 EverFi Toyota Tundra team headed to Bristol Motor Speedway with high hopes for another solid finish in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS.) However, with only 52 laps under his belt, Armstrong had to pull his truck behind the wall to get worked on because of a lack of breaks. It was a tough break for the EverFi team that ultimately wouldn't end their night, but would take them out of contention for another great finish. They would end the NCWTS UNOH 200 in the 30th position.
"It ended up being a disappointing night for me and my team, but I really feel like we had a strong truck on long runs. The fastest lap we ran in practice was with 62 laps on our tires. We thought we were going to be really fast in the race. My team worked really hard to put together this EverFi Toyota, and I wish the night would have turned out differently."
The No. 98 EverFi crew, led by crew chief Dan Stillman, worked hard in both practices to get Armstrong's truck's kinks worked out before the race. Armstrong was complaining of his truck being too tight in the center of the corners, and Stillman and the EverFi crew rallied back in the second practice to help make his truck turn better through the center.
"I can't say enough about how hard my guys worked to get the truck ready for the race. Every change they made was positive, and by the end of the second practice, even though we were 19th, I feel like in the race we were going to definitely be a top 10 contender again."
When the green flag dropped for the UNOH 200, Armstrong was starting in the 18th position. He held his position for the first 20 laps, but then his truck seemed to be falling off. This is when Armstrong came on the radio and told his crew that his truck's brakes were getting too hot, and his pedal was going to the floor. After trying to ride it out waiting for a yellow that would not come in time, Stillman radioed for Armstrong to bring the truck in to the pits. It was then that the team noticed that the bleeder had fallen off, and the truck's brake fluids had all leaked out which caused Armstrong to have no brakes at all. The EverFi Toyota Tundra crew brought the truck behind the wall to begin repairing the bleeder and were able to get Armstrong back out on the track 32 laps down.
"We had a really good truck, and it was hard to see our night turn out like that."
On lap 135 out of 200, Armstrong was relaying to Stillman that he had a fluid on his windshield, and it was making it hard to see. Stillman told Armstrong to come in to the pits to remove a tear off on the windshield and he was back on the track. Armstrong finished the race in the 30th position, but said that after the bleeder was fixed, he was able to follow behind the leaders and stay right on their bumpers.
"I really want to thank my crew for the hard work they put into getting the truck ready for the race and for fixing it during the race. Tonight was just not our night, and things didn't go as we thought they would, but that's racing. We had a really good truck, but we had even worse luck. It was a disappointing night, but hopefully we can go to Atlanta and have a really good race."
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will travel to Atlanta Motor Speedway for the 14th race of the 2012 season on Friday, August 31. Live coverage of the Jeff Foxworthy's Grit Chips will begin at 7:30 pm EST on SPEED.
Media Coverage: Be sure to tune in at 10:00 am EST on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio this Saturday August 25, to hear Armstrong discuss Bristol with Pat Patterson.
Race Information
UNOH 200
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Bristol Motor Speedway
.533-Mile Oval
200 laps/106.6 miles
Unofficial Results:
Start: 18th
Finish: 30th
Status: Running
Current Point Standings: 15th (--)
Next Event:
Jeff Foxworthy's Grit Chips 200
Atlanta Motor Speedway
Friday, August 31, 2012
SPEED Broadcast live at 7:30 PM EST
About EverFi, Inc.:
EverFi, Inc. is the leading education technology company to teach, assess, and certify students in critical skills. EverFi's education learning platforms include Financial Literacy, Student Loan Management, Digital Literacy, Cyberbullying, and Alcohol Abuse Awareness. The company uses the latest technology, including rich media, high-definition video, simulation, diagrams and avatars. EverFi teams with major corporations and foundations to provide the programs at no cost to K-12 schools. For more information visit www.EverFi.com, Facebook.com/pages/EverFi , or Twitter.com/EverFi.
About Syngenta:
Syngenta is one of the world's leading companies with more than 26,000 employees in over 90 countries dedicated to our purpose: Bringing plant potential to life. As the leader in water optimization in corn, Syngenta developed Agrisure Artesian™ technology to provide growers with season-long drought protection. Hybrids with Agrisure Artesian technology maximize yield when it rains, and increase yield up to 15% when it doesn't. Through world-class science, global reach and commitment to our customers we help to increase crop productivity, protect the environment and improve health and quality of life. For more information about us please go to www.syngenta.com.
About ThorSport Racing:
ThorSport Racing, based in Sandusky, Ohio, is the longest tenured active NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team. ThorSport Racing's first came at the Milwaukee Mile on July 6, 1996. NASCAR's only Ohio-based team, which has run full season schedules annually beginning in 1998, currently runs the No. 88 Menards Toyota Tundra driven by Matt Crafton, the No. 13 Hot Honeys/Curb Records Toyota driven by Johnny Sauter and the No. 98 EverFi Toyota driven by Dakoda Armstrong.
ThorSport Racing has wheeled into Victory Lane with Terry Cook, Matt Crafton, and Johnny Sauter since its inception and has finished a dominating eight times within the top -0 in points with both trucks. In 2011, ThorSport Racing moved into a state-of-the-art, world-class, 100,000 square-foot facility in Sandusky.