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Rocklin driver Justin Marks gets an education in Darlington

DARLINGTON, S.C. — Justin Marks made his first date with the “Lady in Black” on Saturday night when he made his first career start at the infamous 1.366-mile egg-shaped oval. Being patient and on his toes seemed to pay off at the track best known for leaving its mark on unsuspecting superstars, until Marks’ – who had avoided the event’s first seven wrecks – made contact with the wall just 49 laps from the conclusion of the 6th Annual Too Tough to Tame 200.

“I was happy that we had a truck that was the most competitive so far this year,” said Marks after the race. “It looked like the GoPro Chevy was headed to a solid top-15 finish, maybe better. I’m not sure if there was something on the track or if I just made a mistake but we got sideways right behind Ricky (Carmichael) when he went around. We caught the wall just enough to end our night. It was pretty disappointing.”

Before the collision, the 29-year-old Rocklin, California native had cracked the top-15, which was a significant improvement over qualifying, where his fast lap would only claim 28th starting spot. “Darlington is a very difficult racetrack but a lot of fun to drive,” said Marks. “Everything you hear about showing respect and staying focused are absolutely true. It requires a level of concentration and confidence rare to other tracks.”

That concentration and confidence paid off at the drop of the green flag. Marks started 28th and never looked back; breaking into the top-20 after 10 laps. After logging 25 laps and avoiding the event’s first three accidents, Marks’ brought his No. 66 GoPro Chevrolet down pit road to the attention of the crew, who outfitted his Silverado with four fresh Goodyear tires, fuel, and an air pressure adjustment to help aid the truck from being tight in the center of the corner, and loose off.

When the race resumed, the truck picked up speed and Marks was able to drive it into the top-15 by lap 40. Taking the opportunity to hit pit road again under caution on lap 59, Crew Chief Doug Wolcott called for two right side tires, fuel, and a track bar adjustment, returning Marks to the track 14th.

The #66 GoPro Chevrolet Truck driven by Justin Marks of Rocklin, CA.

Marks battled in the top-15 until the next caution waived on lap 90 for a single truck wreck in turn two. Making his final pit stop of the night, Marks hit pit road for four tires, fuel, and an air pressure adjustment, returning to the track 15th. Just three laps after taking the green flag on lap 95, Ricky Carmichael wrecked while exiting turn four and made hard contact with the outside retaining wall. Marks tried to take evasive action to miss Carmichael’s machine, but he slapped the wall with the right front instead.

Marks limped his GoPro Chevrolet to pit road under caution where the crew assessed the damage. With the toe knocked out and the right front fender gone, Marks’ chances of coming away with a top-10 at Darlington were done. After a short red flag, the race resumed with Marks in 26th place. Despite the damage, Marks hung on to finish 24th in his Darlington debut.

Marks and the No. 66 GoPro team will enjoy two weeks off before heading to Martinsville Speedway for the Kroger 250 on Saturday, April 2nd for race number 4 of 25 in the 2011 Camping World Truck Series season.

– Turn One Racing Press Release

Learn more about GoPro In-Car and Helmet Cameras at the Official GoPro® Store.

To see all the results from this Camping World Truck Series race go to NASCAR.COM.

Matt Crafton from Tulare is the Truck Series Points Leader

“Remains First in Series Driver Points at 250th Start; ThorSport Racing’s Focus Remains on Championship”

Matt Crafton from Tulare, CA, Driver of the #88 Menards/Tarkett Chevy Truck — Matt Crafton from Tulare, CA is the Driver of the #88 Menards/Tarkett Chevy Truck

Darlington, SC – March 13th, 2011 – NASCAR Camping World Truck Series points leader Matt Crafton, driver of the No. 88 Menards / Tarkett Chevrolet Silverado for ThorSport Racing, powered home in fourth position at the notorious Lady in Black on Saturday night. The finish kept him securely on top of the series points boards, as well as gave the team the third top 10 finish of the season’s three races and first top five.

Nicknamed “Mr. Consistency” this year by the motorsports press, Crafton was true to form from practice to qualifying to race night in the one-day show. Running in the top 10 in both practices, Crafton started the race in fourth position with a qualifying lap time of 28.448 – just one tenth out of pole range.

Running sixth through the first caution of a record 11 for the night, Crafton and crew chief Bud Haefele decided to stay out. On the second caution of the night at lap 25, he brought the truck in for four tires and fuel, saying it was free and lots of debris on the track.

“The truck was super free at the start of the race. I felt we could’ve been up front a little more but weren’t – I just wasn’t racing the race track as much,” said Crafton. “People were taking chances early, so Bud and I were just trying to be smart.”

Restarting 14th and still feeling loose, the team went on to battle for position over the course of the next 92 laps and five cautions. Pitting twice, once at lap 58 and next at lap 88, Crafton wheeled as high as seventh position while still giving feedback that the truck was “free, free, free.” Crafton would restart 23rd and make an impressive drive through the pack to the fourth position at the checkers. The solid performance delivers not only his first top five finish this season, but also his 75th consecutive top 10 series finish and third top 10 finish in as many races this season.

“Coming back for a top five after restarting 23rd with 46 laps to go – that’s really good and I’m proud of how we can dig. I can’t thank the guys enough for working their tails off and giving me a great truck to be able to drive through it like we did at the end. I just wish we hadn’t lost track position today – I think we could’ve had something for the 18 without that loss. We live and die as a team though, and we’re going to take that to Martinsville.”

– ThorSport Racing Press Release

Brad Sweet of Grass Valley will visit Darlington

Brad Sweet and the No. 32 Great Clips Chevrolet will visit Darlington Raceway for the first time this Saturday. A rookie in the Camping World Truck Series, the 25 year old from Grass Valley is currently 11th in the points standings after the first 2 races.

Brad Sweet, driver of the #32 Great Clips Turner Motorsports Chevy Truck

Darlington Raceway –Too Tough To Tame 200

March 12, 2011

No. 32 Great Clips Silverado Team News and Notes

· Racing at the famed Darlington Raceway a first for Sweet… This weekend’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) event at Darlington Raceway, the Too Tough to Tame 200, will mark Brad Sweet’s first start at the famed 1.33-mile track. The rookie driver plans to rely on mentor and team owner for his open-wheel endeavors, Kasey Kahne, who is also competing in the event, for advice on succeeding at the track that is “too tough to tame!”

· First Win… Turner Motorsports captured its first win last weekend in the NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with Mark Martin and the No. 32 Dollar General Chevrolet. The organization is in its sophomore season of NASCAR competition and has already captured one win, one pole, along with 16 top-five and 36 top-10 finishes. Turner Motorsports has expanded from a two-truck NCWTS operation in 2010 to become the largest stand-alone multi-series team in NASCAR’s top-tier touring series, fielding three entries in the NCWTS and four entries in the NNS.

· Last week’s race-winning crew chief to call the shots for Sweet… Fresh off his NNS victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, which marked Turner Motorsports first NASCAR win, crew chief Trent Owens will relinquish a rare NNS weekend off to head to Darlington Raceway and call the shots for Sweet in Saturday evening’s event. The veteran crew chief has logged some laps at the historic raceway himself, having competed there in a NCWTS event in 2002 where he started and finished 15th.

· Momentum on Sweet’s side after solid effort in first two races in 2011… In the first two starts of the 2011 season, Sweet has proven his ability to compete against some of the best drivers in the series. The Grass Valley, Calif.-native ran in the top-five for a majority of the season-opener at Daytona International Speedway and brought home an 11th-place finish at Phoenix International Raceway. Not a bad start to the season for a rookie driver!

#32 Great Clips Chevrolet Truck driven by Brad Sweet

Brad Sweet on Darlington Raceway: “I’m looking forward to racing at Darlington this weekend. It’s so rich in its racing heritage and to become a part of that is pretty cool. I know that it’s going to be challenging race, given that I don’t have any experience there as well as it’s one of the toughest tracks on the circuit. I’ll be relying on my teammates (James Buescher and Ricky Carmichael) for advice and I have already been talking to Kasey (Kahne) quite a bit about getting around the place.

Having Trent Owens atop the box and calling the shots is obviously going to be a huge asset for me as well given the amount of experience he has there. I know that finding a good handling balance is going to be very important during practice. With turns one and two being completely different from three and four, finding the right balance can be tough. If you don’t get it right it could make for a long night, especially at a track like Darlington.”

Brad Sweet on the start of the 2011 season: “I feel pretty good about the way this Great Clips team has started off the season. We have had solid top-15 runs in our first two races at Daytona and Phoenix. At Daytona we ran in the top-five for much of the night until that late-race crash ended our night. Still, solid runs like that to start the season, gives all of us a strong feeling of momentum. And momentum in racing is always good!”

– Turner Motorsports Press Release