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Coulter heads to series first race in Bowmanville, Canada

Joey Coulter: Hopes to "Unleash the Beast" on the competition in the Inaugural Truck Series event north of the border at the Canadian Tire Motorsports Park

Edited: Jun 1, 2018, 2:52 PM

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Pit stop for Joey Coulter

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (August 28, 2013) - For the second time this season, the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) will embark on new territory - making racing history once again - this time north of the border at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park (CTMP) in Bowmanville, Canada. The 2.459-mile track marks the series' first visit to a road course in over 13 years - the last time the series raced on anything other than an oval was June 24, 2000 at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International.

Pit stop for Joey Coulter

Photo by: Eric Gilbert

Although Coulter has only experienced the 10-turn course through simulation racing and videos - much like a majority of the 30 truck field - the driver of the Monster Energy Toyota Tundra does have an advantage on the field. Since 2009, the Miami Springs, Fla. native has made three starts on a road course in the ARCA Racing Series, including two laps led en route to one top-five and two top-10 finishes. The 23-year-old hopes his knowledge of turning left and right will pay dividends in Sunday's inaugural event.

Heading into this weekend's Truck Series event at CTMP, Coulter is solidly inside the top 10 in points - a position he hasn't been in since April - after finishing a season-high second at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City. In a field mixed with a few road course ringers and mostly road course rookies, the No. 18 Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM) driver hopes to claw into the competition by capitalizing on his road course racing experience to make "Monster" size strides in the points.

Joey Coulter, Driver of the No. 18 Monster Energy Toyota Tundra:

The Truck Series will head to a road course for the first time in in 13 years - making racing history for the second time this year - what are your thoughts on having such a diverse schedule of tracks in the Truck Series?

"I like it a lot - it's something I enjoyed when I was racing in the ARCA Series too. I like knowing that the Truck Series has a little bit for everyone - a variety of flavor. Much like the drivers - a mix of veterans and rookies - we have road courses, superspeedways, short tracks, dirt, concrete and pavement tracks. To win the championship at the end of the year, you have to be a well-rounded driver - be able to adapt to new tracks and surfaces - that's what makes them the best. I know the trucks used to race on road courses and I'm excited to see the series get back to its roots, just like we did at Eldora earlier this year. I'm especially excited about the trip north to Canada this weekend - there is a huge NASCAR fan base up there and I felt like the Truck Series was missing out on it. Canadian Tire Motorsport Park is a really cool looking road course - I've watched a lot of races there and I'm looking forward to having a lot of fun up there in my Monster Energy Toyota Tundra."

Although you have never raced at CTMP, you are one of a handful of drivers that has road course racing experience. What are your thoughts on road course racing - do you like the 'left and right turns'?

"Yeah for sure - it's not something that we normally do and it breaks up the schedule of just turning left all the time. Road course racing brings on an entirely new level of challenges for not only the drivers but the crew chiefs, engineers and pit crews as well. Just like the dirt race did for us this year, I think it will be a lot of fun with the diverse field we have - lots of action, passing, some of us just trying to figure it out but just a lot of fun."

Coulter's Favorite Monster Energy Drink: Monster Rehab - Tea & Lemonade

Harold Holly, Crew chief of the No. 18 Monster Energy Toyota Tundra:

The 30-truck field will all be considered rookies for this weekend's Truck Series race at CTMP. What are your expectations of the track and what are your goals for the No. 18 KBM team.

"It's been a long time since the trucks have raced on a road course and I believe other than one driver the field will all be rookies in a truck on the road course. The best we can tell about the course is that it's not a huge breaking course; the curves are not huge, so I don't foresee a lot of mechanical failures. There are only a few corners where you will have to down shit to third and only one corner where you will have to down shift to second, so the track won't be as violent on the equipment as some of the other road courses in other series. Joey's experience at Millville and Palm Beach in the ARCA Series won't help him in terms of track design this weekend, but it will in terms of driving tactics. Every track has different breaking and shifting points, but how you attack road courses and the tactics you use, I feel like he will have an advantage. One of the most important things on a road course is not only getting your tire wear squared up and good balance on your truck, but qualifying, pit strategy and fuel mileage. You have to play the race backwards and you really have to pick the right time to pit, because track position is key. Road courses create different challenges for the teams than ovals do in terms of equipment and you have to approach road courses much differently. Based off our VIR test, I feel really good about the package we are bringing this weekend. All three KBM trucks are leaving the same way because all three drivers drove the same truck at VIR and we were all happy with the package. I'm pretty optimistic on our chances and truly have expectations for a solid top-five day."

Kyle Busch Motorsports

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