Stats:
Started: 7th
Finished: 21st
Laps: 136/200
Status: Running
Driver Points: 7th (-80)
Owner Points: 10th
Dover, DE (May 30, 2015) – Despite a promising start to 18-year-old Cameron Hayley’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) debut at Dover (Del.) International Speedway, the Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender’s day came to an early end when engine issues plagued his No. 13 Carolina Nut Co. Toyota Tundra, leaving him with a 21st-place finish, 63 laps down to race winner, Tyler Reddick.
Running solidly inside the top-10 for almost the entire first half of a caution-plagued Lucas Oil 200 on Friday, Hayley fought “loose” conditions early on with his Carolina Nut Co. Toyota Tundra. Running as high as first, leading one lap, and as low as 11th, Hayley maintained an Average Running Position of 11.5 during the 200-lap event.
Coming to pit road under caution at laps 28 and 106, respectively, crew chief Jeff Hensley called for four tires, fuel and adjustments to improve the handling of the ThorSport Racing machine. Unfortunately, less than 20 laps later, Hayley notified his crew of a “really bad oil smell” in the cockpit of his Toyota Tundra.
Retiring behind the wall on lap 127, the Carolina Nut Co. team worked to get Hayley back out on the track in an attempt to regain a couple positions. Returning for a few late-race laps, the Calgary, Alberta, Canada native was able to make up some ground before having to pull back behind the wall.
In the end, the Sunoco rookie contender maintained the seventh position in the NCWTS standings, but now finds himself 79 points behind leader, and ThorSport Racing teammate, Matt Crafton.
Quote:
“We just broke a motor, that’s the easiest way to say it. We dropped a valve spring and came in thinking our day was done. The team decided to put another valve spring back in it. We did, and tried to make some laps, but we were just leaking too much oil and NASCAR black-flagged us.”
“We had a super fast truck though. We ran top-3 all night and had a really good truck. We had perfect pit stops and great track position, it just didn’t work out. I wish we could have had a better finish to the night for the awesome sponsors we had on the truck this week, Carolina Nut Co. and Cabinets by Hayley.”
Notes:
- Cameron Hayley finished 21st in his NCWTS Dover International Speedway debut on Friday
Hayley was the seventh highest finishing Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender in Friday evening’s Lucas Oil 200 - The ThorSport Racing driver maintained the seventh position in the 2015 NCWTS driver point standings following the sixth race of the season
Running as high as first, and as low as 22nd, Hayley maintained an Average Running Position of 11.5 - Tyler Reddick won the Lucas Oil 200 followed by Daniel Suarez (second), Erik Jones (third), Daniel Hemric (fourth), and Matt Crafton (fifth). Fellow ThorSport Racing teammate Johnny Sauter finished 9th
- Up next: The WinStar World Casino 400k at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth on Friday, June 5
ABOUT THE CAROLINA NUT CO.:
For more than 60 years The Carolina Nut Co. has used unique handcrafted family recipes to create gourmet nut flavors for every nut lover. Located in Henderson, N.C., The Carolina Nut Co. is a family-owned company that is spreading its delicious nut creations throughout the nation. To learn more, visit www.carolinanut.com.
ABOUT THORSPORT RACING:
ThorSport Racing, based in a state-of-the-art 100,000-square-foot facility in Sandusky, Ohio, is the longest-tenured NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team. ThorSport, which has competed in the NCWTS since 1996, will run the No. 88 Menards Toyota Tundra driven by two-time NCWTS drivers’ champion Matt Crafton, the No. 98 Nextant Aerospace/Smokey Mountain Herbal Snuff/Curb Records Toyota Tundra driven by Johnny Sauter, and the No. 13 Cabinets by Hayley Toyota Tundra driven by Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender, Cameron Hayley in 2015.