Testing SpeedwayMedia.com

Category: Featured Stories

Featured stories from SpeedwayMedia.com

  • Former Champion Todd Bodine Makes Case That Truck Series Is ‘Really Strong’

    Former Champion Todd Bodine Makes Case That Truck Series Is ‘Really Strong’

    Four weeks into the NASCAR season there is little to complain about.

    It’s a rare occurrence and one that will be marked down. After all, this is a sport where hearing the thoughts of others is not hard to come by. Whether you want them or not, whether they are warranted or not, they will be heard.

    [media-credit name=”Mary Ann Chastain/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”279″][/media-credit]A month into a new season though, so far so good.

    There have been close if not three straight sellouts for the Sprint Cup Series events at Daytona, Phoenix and Las Vegas. For those keeping score, many say there have been three perfect National Anthems. Records have been broken and the winners have been favorites.

    Oh, and the overall racing hasn’t been bad either.

    Saturday night though all eyes were on the Camping World Truck Series. They were a stand alone event not only at the Darlington Raceway but of the weekend with Cup and Nationwide heading into their first break of the season.

    Promotions ran wild and while it wasn’t a sell out by any means, the crowd for a Saturday night event was well above expectations. The starting field was impressive, past champions and Sprint Cup Series stars were ready to battle the Lady in Black.

    Everything fell right into place. So much so that defending CWTS champion Todd Bodine took time in his media availability to address the state of the sport, something he had plenty to say about.

    “The state of the series is pretty obvious,” Bodine started.

    “We’ve got probably the best field of trucks that we’ve ever seen in the history of the series and we do have a lot of younger kids coming in so the experience level may be down a little bit but we’ve got a lot of kids that have a lot of talent and a lot of future and a lot of promise,” he said.

    Young kids like Cole Whitt who set a new track and won his first career pole, It was just his fourth career CWTS start. There’s sophomore sensation and fan favorite Austin Dillon who had an incredible rookie season in 2010 with two wins and seven poles.

    Saturday there were 11 rookies in the field. There was also an 18-year-old female competing.

    As a past champion of the sport as well as a driver that has been around for many years, Bodine has the ability to speak about such topics. On Saturday when he wasn’t talking about the racing he was bubbling in talking about the CWTS.

    The sixth annual Too Tough To Tame 200 was one that he was looking forward to for many reasons. The aforementioned attendance was on even the driver’s minds as Bodine mentioned the fans before and after the race, even if he did exaggerate his numbers.

    “The state of the series is strong,” Bodine stated.

    “Really strong. I think you’re going to see by the crowd that we’re going to get here [Saturday],” he continued.

    “Everybody kind of didn’t understand why we’re here at a standalone race last year. Last year they [Darlington] struggled for attendance – there’s no doubt. It was kind of last minute thing, but they’re really been promoting it and they’ve been doing a great job in the area.”

    Bodine continued to talk about the crowd but it was his statement about how strong the series is that was the most important part. When polling some fans they’ll tell you the trucks produce some of the best racing on any given weekend. However, they do struggle to put fans in the stands.

    Yet, as a whole the CWTS does just fine. The 2011 season has started off on a great note for the sport in general and the complaints, at least those more than normal, have quieted down. It could be for a few different reasons, such as the euphoria of a new season starting or still trying to figure out all the rules changes.

    “The series as a whole is really strong,” he said.

    “The fan base is up. The ratings are up. The truck count is up and the quality of equipment is up. Everything about it is up and that speaks volumes for it.”

    It means the CWTS will head into their own break before returning to action at Martinsville on April 2 on a high note. They currently are in the midst of a close point battle, have had three different winners to start the season and produced plenty to talk about.

    Yes, things are going pretty well for NASCAR right now. The naysayers have gone on a hiatus and everyone in the sport is riding the wave while it lasts and pleased with the direction it is heading.

    Said Bodine after this third place finish, “Look at the crowd we got. This tells you what the Truck Series is about. These fans are hardcore, they came out here on a Saturday night just to watch Trucks race. Everybody at home, we appreciate you watching. The Trucks are the greatest.”

  • Lady Tamer: Kasey Kahne Wins Too Tough To Tame 200 at Darlington

    Lady Tamer: Kasey Kahne Wins Too Tough To Tame 200 at Darlington

    A race at Darlington is normally one of attrition and Saturday night’s Too Tough To Tame 200 was no different.

    The Camping World Truck Series was the only show in town and on tap for the weekend. They didn’t disappoint. It started with ROY candidate Cole Whitt capturing from the pole, the first of his career, with a new track record.

    [media-credit name=”Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”247″][/media-credit]The action started on lap one when the field charged down into turn one and never made it to turn two. Travis Kvapil, Miguel Paludo, Max Papis, Ryan Sieg, Norm Benning, Justin Lofton and David Starr all had trouble to bring the first caution out.

    There were two more yellow flags within the first 30 laps.

    Once things settled down, Kasey Kahne quickly asserted himself as the man to beat. While others found there way to the front through pit stops and strategy, Kahne was always lurking and once he took the lead he had no problem driving away from the field.

    One of the scarier incidents of the night came after Ricky Carmichael spun on the front stretch and was t-boned by Johanna Long. The caution, eighth one of the night, also brought the action to a halt as the red flag.

    Both drivers were evaluated and released from the infield care center.

    With 29 laps to go Timothy Peters came down pit road to get his final set of tires, while the leaders stayed out. It didn’t help the battle was up front between Kahne and the defending winner of the event, Todd Bodine.

    Even with a restart with less than five laps to go, no one could catch the 18 of Kahne and he would go on to capture the win. It was the third straight race that a driver not running for points in the CWTS has won.

    The win was Kahne’s third in his last four starts and second at Darlington. He won back in 2004. It was also the second straight win for Kyle Busch Motorsports.

    Ron Hornaday finished second and Bodine finished third. The polesitter, Whitt, who thought he had lost a cylinder and dropped to 26th, came home in the eighth position. He was the highest finishing rookie and moved to second in the CWTS points.

    Matt Crafton hangs onto the point lead as the trucks will have a few weeks off before heading to Martinsville on April 2nd.

    Unofficial Race Results

    Pos. St. No. Driver Make Pts. Bon. Laps Status
    1 2 18 Kasey Kahne  Toyota 0 0 147 Running
    2 6 33 Ron Hornaday  Chevrolet 42 0 147 Running
    3 12 30 Todd Bodine  Toyota 41 0 147 Running
    4 4 88 Matt Crafton  Chevrolet 40 0 147 Running
    5 7 31 James Buescher  Chevrolet 40 1 147 Running
    6 11 17 Timothy Peters  Toyota 38 0 147 Running
    7 8 2 Elliott Sadler  Chevrolet 0 0 147 Running
    8 1 60 Cole Whitt * Chevrolet 37 1 147 Running
    9 3 13 Johnny Sauter  Chevrolet 35 0 147 Running
    10 13 81 David Starr  Toyota 34 0 147 Running
    11 26 92 Clay Rogers  Chevrolet 33 0 147 Running
    12 31 93 Shane Sieg  Chevrolet 32 0 147 Running
    13 17 77 Justin Lofton  Toyota 31 0 147 Running
    14 18 29 Parker Kligerman * Dodge 30 0 147 Running
    15 5 3 Austin Dillon  Chevrolet 29 0 147 Running
    16 19 39 Ryan Sieg  Chevrolet 28 0 147 Running
    17 24 5 Travis Kvapil  Toyota 27 0 147 Running
    18 16 9 Max Papis  Toyota 26 0 147 Running
    19 27 46 Craig Goess * Toyota 25 0 147 Running
    20 35 1 Jeffrey Earnhardt * Chevrolet 24 0 147 Running
    21 15 15 Dusty Davis * Toyota 23 0 147 Running
    22 29 50 T.J. Bell  Chevrolet 22 0 146 Running
    23 33 7 Jamie Dick  Chevrolet 21 0 146 Running
    24 28 66 Justin Marks  Chevrolet 20 0 145 Running
    25 23 62 Brendan Gaughan  Toyota 19 0 144 Running
    26 34 57 Norm Benning  Chevrolet 18 0 143 Running
    27 14 7 Miguel Paludo * Toyota 17 0 135 Running
    28 30 22 Joey Coulter * Chevrolet 16 0 111 Running
    29 36 25 Tayler Malsam  Toyota 15 0 103 Engine
    30 22 4 Ricky Carmichael  Chevrolet 14 0 96 Accident
    31 32 20 Johanna Long * Toyota 13 0 96 Accident
    32 9 8 Nelson Piquet Jr. * Chevrolet 12 0 93 Accident
    33 10 23 Jason White  Chevrolet 11 0 72 Accident
    34 25 10 Chase Mattioli * Ford 10 0 55 Accident
    35 20 51 Justin Johnson * Toyota 9 0 41 Accident
    36 21 32 Brad Sweet  Chevrolet 8 0 13 Accident
  • One-On-One with NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Driver Jeffrey Earnhardt

    One-On-One with NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Driver Jeffrey Earnhardt

    With the last name Earnhardt, everybody automatically expects you to do well, once you hit the track. That’s no exception with Jeffrey Earnhardt as there are already the predictions hitting the floor.

    [media-credit name=”Flickr” align=”alignright” width=”248″][/media-credit]He came out of the gate with a top 10 at Daytona and went to Phoenix and finished 19th. While everybody is looking for this success, he right now is set on learning lessons and moving forward with them.

    While preparing for Darlington this weekend, he took some time to answer some questions for the readers.

    Ashley McCubbin: What are some of your thoughts on the year so far?

    Jeffrey Earnhardt: So far, I’ve had a pretty good season starting off. We finished seventh at Daytona and we finished 19th at Phoenix – didn’t have the best shot, but we ran it right to the end of the race and we didn’t have a single scratch on the truck. Anytime you can finish out a race like that it’s definitely progress. We’re just slowly working on making our entire program better. We’re just waiting for everything to fall into place to run upfront, but for now it’s just having everything work in order, giving the feedback and getting the seat time to learn these trucks.

    AM: How’d you get involved with Rick Ware Racing?

    JE: Well, I guess it was like two or three years ago, I got the opportunity to drive some Nationwide races for him. We went to Dover and tried to make the race and ended up not making the race, but that’s when I first met him. This opportunity came about to do five races and obviously the five races last year led to a full season this year.

    AM: What are some of your expectations for this year?

    JE: Just the seat time. We want to go out here and run the best we can, but also we want to go out and learn as much as we can with finishing races. I mean, if we do that then I don’t see why we can’t be competiting to win rookie of the year. There’s definitely a possibility as we’ll see how the year goes and where it takes us, but to start, it’s just to get as much seat time and just go from there.

    AM: Speaking of lessons, what are some of the lessons you’ve learned so far this year?

    JE: Just to get to the finish and figure out what the truck needed and if you do that, you’ll come out in one piece and if you’ll have a decent finish. Even though you’re getting the finishes, you got to understand that you’re still learning and probably the biggest thing I’ve learned is to be there at the finish.

    AM: What are some of your thoughts going into Darlington?

    JE: I actually just rode around with Todd Bodine in a pace truck and it is quite a strange track. It’s got totally different corners and seems to be a tough track as we talked about how he did, how tough it is and how easy it is to take yourself out of the race. It seems that’s the toughest part, just getting used to the track, but not stepping over that boundary.

    AM: With the last name Earnhardt, there are a lot of expectations. Care to share any thoughts on that?

    JE: There’s a lot of expectation and a lot of pressure that gets put on you. It’s just that you got to learn how to deal with it and if you can handle it the right way, you’ll be fine and I think I’ve done a pretty good job of not letting it get to me. Just doing my thing and I’m just here to learn and be a racecar driver and I try not to worry about all that.

    AM: Which race track are you looking forward to?

    JE: I look forward to all of them. I mean, I’m looking forward to go doing to Dover for simple fact I ran good there before and I think we can get out of there with a successful run. I mean, I look forward to each and every race and each race I am just as excited as the next one and there’s really no special one I’m really look forward to.

    AM: Where do you see yourself in five years?

    JE: I would like to be up in the Cup level. Obviously, my goal is too potentially to end up at that level and five years from now I should be there. And hopefully won a championship in one of the three NASCAR series, whether Nationwide or Truck, but I’d like to be at the Cup level in five years.

    AM: What is your advice for other people getting into racing?

    JE: Just don’t ever give up. It’s tough and it’s not as easy as some people may think. If you really want it bad enough, you can get it accomplished. You just gotta really stick to it and push hard to get what you want. It may seem tough and you may want to get down, but if you push hard enough, eventually you’ll get it and the reward is definitely worth the wait.

    AM: Who do you admire outside of racing?

    JE: Johnny Cash was definitely a good one for me just because he was his own man and he was just kind of a man’s kind of man and more of that kind of person, but I know, really, I’ve just always been in racing and never really worried about anything else. I’ve been around racing my entire life and haven’t really cared about watching anything else.

  • Lap by Lap: Too Tough To Tame 200 won by Kasey Kahne

    Lap by Lap: Too Tough To Tame 200 won by Kasey Kahne

    Rookie Cole Whitt took the pole for the Too Tough To Tame 200 with a new track record, followed by Kasey Kahne, Johnny Sauter, Matt Crafton and Austin Dillon.
    Chad McCumbee, Chris Fontaine and Chris Lafferty were the trucks that did not make the field.

    “Turn 1 racing just brought this awesome truck, I want to keep this red bull truck at the front and keep it there. These guys built an awesome truck….We’ve come back a long ways since missing the race at Daytona. I’m proud of this team.” – Cole Whitt, pole sitter

    [media-credit name=”NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”240″][/media-credit]Crafton leads Clay Rogers by 1 point in the points standings, followed by Witt and Sauter

    “Charlotte was special, but Darlington would be bigger. So much history here, so hard to win, it’d be awesome to win here.” – Matt Crafton

    Cole Whitt leads the field to the green

    Caution lap 1 Paludo, Papis and Kravil all spin as people slow in front

    Restart on lap 4

    Lap 5 – Cole Whitt leads Kahne, Timothy Peters, Crafton and Ron Hornaday

    Lap 7 – Chase Mattioli spins, no caution

    Lap 14 Caution – Brad Sweet hits the wall. He had issues in qualifying as he spun on his second lap. Norm Benning gets the lucky dog.

    Restart Lap 19

    Lap 21 – Whitt Kahne Buescher Sauter Hornaday Crafton Sadler Peters Dillon Kligermann

    Lap 25 – Whitt Kahne Buescher Hornaday Sauter Sadler Crafton Peters Dillon Bodine

    Caution Lap 26 Brendan Guaghan goes for a spin
    PIT STOPS
    Lots of people are saying the visibility are terrible as some take two tires, some take four tires.�
    Race off pit road: Sadler, Dillon, Busch, Buescher, Hornaday, Kligermann, Bodine and Peters. Leader Cole Whitt had a long pit stop as his team had lug nut issues.

    Restart lap 30

    Caution lap 35 Dustin Johnson plows the wall after getting loose underneath Jeffrey Earnhardt.

    Restart Lap 40 – Sadler leads

    Lap 41 Kahne to the lead, Sadler drops back to fourth with Buescher second and Dillon third. Sadler says he got a bad start, thanks to his teammate Ron Hornaday getting up under him

    Lap 50 – Kahne Buescher Sadler Bodine Hornaday Dillon Sauter Peters Whitt Carmichael

    Lap 53 – Chase Mattiolli into the wall again – no caution

    Lap 54 – Sauter and Peters have both passed Dillon, putting Dillon back to eighth. Dillon says the truck is tight and then loose late in the corner. Dillon only took two tires while most of the leaders took four. Sadler was the other one with two tires.

    Lap 58 – Caution for debris

    Restart Lap 62 Cole Whitt leads the field to the green after taking two tires

    Lap 63 – Kasey Kahne takes the lead from Cole Whitt in turn 1

    Lap 64 – James Buescher to the lead

    Lap 69 – Pole Sitter Cole Whitt drops through the field with his two tires – now back to seventh

    Lap 70 – Kahne back to the lead.

    Lap 72 – Kahne Buescher Bodine Hornaday Sauter Dillon Sadler Crafton Peters and Whitt

    Lap 74 Caution – Nelson Piquet Jr into the wall, Joey Coulter and Jason White wreck behind them. Looks as though Piquet had a flat tire, which caused him to get into the wall. Coulter and White looked to try to slow behind them, both getting hit from behind and then hitting near the inside wall.

    “Just somebody spun out in front of us and with the sun going over the wall, it got hard to see and I just got run into from behind. I’m sure it was nobody’s fault, just a blind spot on the track. It was just starting to get fun as I was just starting to learn this place.” – Joey Coulter

    David Starr gets the Lucky Dog

    Restart lap 79

    Lap 82 – Kahne Hornaday Bodine Buescher Sauter Dillon Crafton Sadler Peters Gaughan

    Lap 87 – Pole Sitter and Rookie Cole Whitt has dropped a cylinder

    Lap 88 Caution – Chase Mattoilli into the wall for the third time

    Sadler first off pit road with two tires while most take four tires. Crafton had to come back down pit road as he had a loose lugnut. Johanna Long gets the lucky dog.

    Restart lap 96 with Sadler leading, though Kahne gets the lead from him before the end of the lap.

    Caution Lap 97 – Ricky Carmichael wrecks as Nelson Piquet Jr. and Johanna Long wreck behind him. Carmichael wrecked first and then behind him, Piquet and Long made contact, which cut both their tires. Piquet went up into the outside wall while Long plowed into Carmichael as she couldn’t steer the truck around him. There was a sevne-minute red flag to clean up the wreck.

    “Yeah, I’m alright. We were fast in race trim all day long. Coming from behind, we qualified horrible – you put yourself in a hole and we never got caught up from there. Finally I think I know what I am doing and having to come from behind makes it tough.” Carmichael, who said he either got loose or someone hit him.

    Max Papis gets the lucky dog

    “We had a really good truck and we finally got our lap back. Our team worked hard on the truck and hopefully we can get the truck fixed for Nashville as sponsorship is low…..I think another truck hit the wall and I think I hit him as he came down a little bit.” Johanna Long

    Restart 45 to go

    43 to go Tayler Malsam down pit road for unscheduled stop. He was slow down the backstretch. He said on twitter that they blew the motor.

    41 to go Joey Coulter brings truck back on track to make laps after earlier incident.

    39 to go Cole Whitt must have fixed motor issue on pit road as he has moved his way back up to 11th. The problem he was having was the throttle stop.

    33 to go Kahne leads followed by Hornaday, Bodine, Sadler and Peters

    29 to go Caution for Debris as some of the leaders pit while most stay out, including leader Kasey Kahne. The record for cautions is 10, which was set in 2004 when Kahne won then.

    Restart with 25 to go

    24 to go Todd Bodine passes Ron Hornaday for second

    22 to go Kahne Bodine Hornaday Buescher Whitt Sadler Dillon Crafton Goess and Sauter make up the top 10.

    21 to go Crafton passes Dillon for seventh

    19 to go Sauter passes Goess for ninth
    Kahne Bodine Hornaday Buescher Whitt Crafton Sadler Dillon Sauter and Goess

    17 to go Peters passes Goess for 10th. Peters took four tires under the previous caution while most of the leaders stayed out.

    11 to go Crafton has passed Sadler for sixth

    9 to go Kahne Bodine Hornaday Buescher Whitt Crafton Sadler Dillon Sauter and Peters

    8 to go Ron Hornaday reported a bad vibration a couple of laps ago.
    CAUTION 8 to go as Jeffrey Earnhardt makes contact with the outside wall – This ties the record for the most cautions in a Camping World Truck Series race at Darlington at 10. The record was set in 2004 when Kahne won.

    “That’s our last chance right here. He’s got a little vibration. We’ve overcome some adversity as we had to go to the back after that wreck at the beginning. I just want to thank the guys at the shop as we’ve had to overcome a lot of adversity. We’ll take a shot at the 18 truck this start.” – Todd Bodine’s crew chief Mike Hilman Jr.

    Bodine says his right front tire feels like its bouncing up the track.
    “We’ll see what we got for him. The main thing is we got to get to that checkered flag…..Espically on these old tires, it’s really easy to spin the tires and that’s where the difference comes in. If you don’t spin them and he does, then you got him down there. If I don’t make any mistakes, which I’ve been known to make, then we’ll be in good shape.” – Todd Bodine

    “Yeah, it just seems that helps in one and two and down the backstretch.” – Kasey Kahne on choosing the outside lane.
    “We just got to get through the gears and get out there…..We’ll see what we can do as these guys at Kyle Busch Motorsports build awesome trucks.” – Kasey Kahne
    Kyle Busch is watching from Cancun, Mexico while on vacation, and is watching it in Spanish, despite not being able to understand a thing.

    Restart with 4 to go

    3 to go Dillon falls back through the field as he gets loose, Bodine gets loose and falls back, allowing Hornaday to pass him

    2 to go Kahne starts to stretch out his lead

    Checkered Flag: Kasey Kahne wins the Too Tough To Tame 200. In his four truck starts, he has three wins a second place finish.

    Ron Hornaday finished second, followed by Todd Bodine, Matt Crafton, and James Buescher rounding out the top five. Peters was sixth, followed by Sadler, Whitt, Sauter and Starr.

    “I mean, I came into this weekend wanting to win as that was the plan. This is a tough series to win in and on the restart with Todd, he drove me all the way up to the wall and I think he got himself loose there. I want to thank Kyle Busch for letting me drive this truck and all of Kyle Busch Motorsports for working so hard on this truck. Eric Phillips was great to work with…..I will buy them vacationing time to drive this truck, again.” – Kasey Kahne

    “I owe everything to Jeff Hensley and this entire team working so hard on this truck. I got into the wall in practice causing them to work harder and then got into somebody on pit road. Your brother (Elliott Sadler) spun his tires and I got into the back of him. Kahne was pretty tough; we got to figure out what he does.”

    “Kasey was going to be tough and we both spun the heck out of tires. I drove into one and about wrecked. These trucks are so aerodependent as I don’t know how I didn’t wreck with that truck on my tail. Ron did what any veteran would do and legged back there. I am loving the Truck Series. We didn’t want third, second would’ve been better but we’re back.” – Todd Bodine

    “We had a problem on pit road and to come from shotgun where we were with 46 to go to here is pretty good.” – Matt Crafton

    Crafton leads Whitt by 6 points in the standings, followed by Peters, Rogers and Sauter.

    FINISHING ORDER
    1 Kasey Kahne

    2 Ron Hornaday Jr.

    3 Todd Bodine

    4 Matt Crafton

    5 James Buescher

    6 Timothy Peters

    7 Elliott Sadler

    8 Cole Whitt

    9 Johnny Sauter

    10 David Starr

    11 Clay Rogers

    12 Shane Sieg

    13 Justin Lofton

    14 Parker Kligerman

    15 Austin Dillon

    16 Ryan Sieg

    17 Travis Kvapil

    18 Max Papis

    19 Craig Goess

    20 Jeffrey Earnhardt

    21 Dusty Davis

    22 T.J. Bell

    23 Jamie Dick

    24 Justin Marks

    25 Brendan Gaughan

    26 Norm Benning

    27 Miguel Paludo

    28 Joey Coulter

    29 Tayler Malsam

    30 Ricky Carmichael

    31 Johanna Long

    32 Nelson Piquet

    33 Jason White

    34 Chase Mattioli

    35 Justin Johnson

    36 Brad Sweet

  • Too Tough To Tame 200 Qualifying: Cole Whitt on the Pole

    Too Tough To Tame 200 Qualifying: Cole Whitt on the Pole

    [media-credit name=”Darlington Raceway” align=”alignright” width=”190″][/media-credit]After two eventful practice sessions, the Camping World Truck Series had qualifying for tonight’s Too Tough To Tame 200.

    After stating earlier this week that he would be leaning on Kasey Kahne, Red Bull Racing driver Cole Whitt captured his first career pole with a lap of 173.93 mph. Whitt has only competed in four previous CWTS events. This season he’s competing for Rookie of the Year honors and is currently third in points.

    Whitt also set a new track record.

    Point leader Matt Crafton will start from the fourth position. Crafton holds a one-point lead over Clay Rogers.

    Defending winner of this even, Todd Bodine, was pleased with his practice effort in the No. 30 Germanin.com Toyota, but will start 12th. According to Bodine, both Kasey Kahne and Elliott Sadler will be tough competition in tonight’s event.

    Kahne will drive the No. 18 Toyota for Kyle Busch Motorsports starting in the second position. Many have tabbed him as the favorite for the event. Sadler on the other hand is back behind the wheel of the No. 2 for Kevin Harvick Inc. and is coming off a second place in Daytona. Sadler will start in the eighth position.

    Jeffrey Earnhardt qualified his No. 1 Fuel Doctor Chevrolet 35th and will be in a backup truck after wrecking in practice this morning. Those who did not qualify for the event were Chad McCumbee, Chris Fontaine and Chris Lafferty.

    The Too Tough To Tame 200 can be seen on SPEED channel at 4:30 p.m. ET. The green flag falls at 5:19 p.m. ET.

    RACE LINEUP
    Too Tough to Tame 200, Darlington Raceway
    March 12, 2011 – Race 3 of 25
    ====================================
    Pos. No Driver Make Speed  Time Behind
    ====================================
    1 60 Cole Whitt* Chevrolet 173.933 28.273 0
    2 18 Kasey Kahne Toyota  173.613 28.325 -0.052
    3 13 Johnny Sauter Chevrolet 172.93 28.437 -0.164
    4 88 Matt Crafton Chevrolet 172.863 28.448 -0.175
    5 3 Austin Dillon Chevrolet 172.614 28.489 -0.216
    6 33 Ron Hornaday Chevrolet 172.499 28.508 -0.235
    7 31 James Buescher Chevrolet 172.457 28.515 -0.242
    8 2 Elliott Sadler Chevrolet 172.348 28.533 -0.26
    9 8 N. Piquet Jr.* Chevrolet 172.306 28.54 -0.267
    10 23 Jason White Chevrolet 172.107 28.573 -0.3
    11 17 Timothy Peters Toyota  171.974 28.595 -0.322
    12 30 Todd Bodine Toyota  171.65 28.649 -0.376
    13 81 David Starr Toyota  171.447 28.683 -0.41
    14 7 Miguel Paludo* Toyota  171.028 28.753 -0.48
    15 15 Dusty Davis* Toyota  170.869 28.78 -0.507
    16 9 Max Papis Toyota  170.762 28.798 -0.525
    17 77 Justin Lofton Toyota  170.543 28.835 -0.562
    18 29 P. Kligerman* Dodge  170.537 28.836 -0.563
    19 39 Ryan Sieg Chevrolet 170.012 28.925 -0.652
    20 51 Justin Johnson* Toyota  169.93 28.939 -0.666
    21 32 Brad Sweet Chevrolet 169.836 28.955 -0.682
    22 4 R. Carmichael Chevrolet 169.777 28.965 -0.692
    23 62 Brendan Gaughan Toyota  169.908 28.994 -0.721
    24 5 Travis Kvapil Toyota  169.491 29.014 -0.741
    25 10 Chase Mattioli* Ford  169.467 29.018 -0.745
    26 92 Clay Rogers Chevrolet 169.456 29.02 -0.747
    27 46 Craig Goess* Toyota  169.432 29.024 -0.751
    28 66 Justin Marks Chevrolet 169.31 29.045 -0.772
    29 50 T.J. Bell Chevrolet 168.394 29.203 -0.93
    30 22 Joey Coulter* Chevrolet 167.859 29.296 -1.023
    31 93 Shane Sieg Chevrolet 166.636 29.511 -1.238
    32 20 Johanna Long* Toyota  166.377 29.557 -1.284
    33 7 Jamie Dick+ Chevrolet 163.451 30.086 -1.813
    34 57 Norm Benning+ Chevrolet 153.469 32.043 -3.77
    35 1 J. Earnhardt+* Chevrolet – – –
    36 25 Tayler Malsam Toyota  168.192 29.238 -0.965

  • Todd Bodine Confident About Darlington but Knows Cup Ringers Will Be Strong

    Todd Bodine Confident About Darlington but Knows Cup Ringers Will Be Strong

    With two races in the books for the Camping World Truck Series and thanks to NASCAR’s new pick a series rule, there has yet to be a winner who’s running for the 2011 championship.

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”283″][/media-credit]Michael Waltrip’s emotional yet controversial win took center stage in Daytona to kick off the season. He’s not running for points in the CWTS and neither was the second place finisher Elliott Sadler. A week later in Phoenix it was more of the same as Kyle Busch took the win and Clint Bowyer was the runner up.

    The series rolls into the Darlington Raceway this Saturday where again two drivers not running for points are looking to crash the party. CWTS regulars such as the defending winner of the event, Todd Bodine, have other plans.

    First on the agenda for ‘The Onion’ is to continue his climb through the point standings. After a wreck in the season opening event, his 14th place finish in Phoenix has him sitting 12th in points.

    The early deficit puts him in unfamiliar territory in his title defense. Attempting to become the first driver in CWTS history to win back-to-back championships, another strong performance Saturday will help his effort.

    This past August in Darlington Bodine, in his No. 30 truck led 47 of 147 laps on his way to the victory. He comes into this weekend as the favorite to do it again. In part, it’s because the egg shaped track is one that Bodine is very much familiar with, making him a contender each time NASCAR is in town.

    After practice Saturday morning Bodine was confident he’d be up front again.

    “We were pretty good, pretty happy with it,” he said. “Drives good and does everything I need it to.”

    Something that pleased Bodine was how his truck maintained a consistent speed on older tires. The track is starting to get the feel of old Darlington back he said, one that is eats rubber. During practice he wore out ever set of tires he had.

    “I think we’ve got something for them,” he said about the race though. “I think we’ll be just fine.”

    His August victory goes with one from a Nationwide Series race in 2003. Bodine’s experience also extends to the Cup Series.

    That’s where his toughest competition will come from. Two of the most competitive and winning teams in the CWTS have big guns in their trucks. Kasey Kahne has the wheel of the No. 18 Toyota from Kyle Busch Motorsports while Elliott Sadler will be behind the wheel of Kevin Harvick Inc.’s No. 2 truck.

    Kahne is also a past Darlington winner in the truck series at Darlington. It came in the first time he competed at the track back in 2004. That race also happened to be the first CWTS race of Kahne’s career.

    Saturday will be his first start of the 2011 season in the CWTS.  As of right now he does have any other truck races planned but says that could change. First comes Darlington.

    “Darlington is an awesome race track and I’m sure that the Truck Series will put on a great show for the fans this weekend,” said Kahne. He’ll drive the same truck he finished second with at Pocono last year to Sadler.

    Second at Darlington would ruin Kahne’s plan.

    “I was looking around at all the victory banners on the wall when I took my seat over to KBM a few weeks ago,” Kahne said.

    “Whether they came from trucks or late models, Kyle was the driver for pretty much every win. I told [him] I need to get a banner this year so he doesn’t control the wall.”

    Both Kahne and Sadler will be up front on Saturday, many already putting money on the No. 18. Bodine knows that as well and doesn’t to see it become three for three in non-point winners.

    “Well, that’s what we’re here for [to win], not to finish second,” said Bodine.

    The Cup drivers winning the first two races of the year happened for a few reasons, Bodine said. What allowed Waltrip and Sadler to drive away for the win in Daytona was their understanding of the bump drafting from their experience in the Cup cars.

    Waltrip’s win was then defended by Bodine.

    “Everybody talked about Michael losing that spoiler and winning the race — that’s not what won him the race. He won the race because he was smart and I just want everyone to know that.”

    In terms of Phoenix, the trucks that the Cup drivers were racing in are phenomenal and come from great teams. Adding a driver with of the caliber of a Kyle Busch or Kasey Kahne makes it hard to keep them from running up front.

    “A guy like myself, we got caught up in a crash,” said Bodine.

    “We weren’t probably going to win the race but we were going to be up front. [Ron] Hornaday didn’t have a perfect truck so there’s other factors involved than just those guys being that good.”

    He then said, “they are that good — there’s no doubt about that. But there are other factors involved and you have to look at the whole picture to understand that.”

    Bodine then said that when it comes to the race Saturday night the CWTS regulars will show that they can run with the Cup guys. Cup guys that will again be at the front of the field.

    “There’s no doubt about it,” he said.

  • Rookies Beware: The Lady in Black Awaits on Saturday Night

    Rookies Beware: The Lady in Black Awaits on Saturday Night

    There’s a reason why the Darlington Raceway is most often referred to by her nicknames ‘Too Tough to Tame’ and ‘The Lady in Black.’

    She’s not nice.

    [media-credit id=12 align=”alignright” width=”291″][/media-credit]When the Camping World Truck Series takes the green flag Saturday night in the Too Tough to Tame 200, it’ll be more than their third race of the season. Drivers will be in an all out fight not only with each other but with the track. Most are going to lose and only one can say he was able to survive be the track tamer.

    Then come the 11 rookies entered in the field.

    If all goes according to plan they’ll have looked at the performance Austin Dillon put on here last August in hopes of repeating it. To them, all hope isn’t lost. Dillon was on top of the speed charts during each practice session and then came home with a solid fifth place finish.

    Being a rookie is already a disadvantage. But racing at Darlington, a rookie has an even bigger task ahead. Every one of them in the field, all 11, have never raced at Darlington in a truck before, except on any racing simulators they’ve invested in.

    Simulators and confidence are the only things they’ll have entering Saturday night.

    “I think the learning curve is going to be a lot like it was in Phoenix,” said Kevin Harvick Inc. driver Nelson Piquet Jr. The Brazilian finished 13th at Phoenix two weeks ago and sits 16th in points.

    “It’s going to be another weekend where I’m learning the track and trying to gain as much experience as I can. I hope that some of what I learned in Phoenix will apply when we get to Darlington, but obviously they’re different tracks with different characteristics and difference challenges.”

    Piquet Jr. feels his Phoenix performance will end up helping him at Darlington. Being able to race so closely to other competitors while bumping and banging was a good opportunity he says and something that he knows will come into play at Darlington.

    On the other hand, Miguel Paludo from Red Horse Racing says he knows almost nothing about Darlington.

    “I saw last year’s race on television,” he revealed.

    “One thing I noticed is it’s a narrow track. I think it would drive a bit like Homestead, and since I have experience at Homestead that should help a little bit.”

    Paludo will rely on his teammate Timothy Peters. Peters sat on the pole for last years race and finished second. Any experience that might rub off on the rookie is more than he had before.

    And while he doesn’t know much about the track, Paludo does know about the famed Darlington stripe.

    His crew chief in fact said that if he doesn’t get one this weekend his crew chief going to be upset because “it’s something that when you’re really fast and you’re running well, it should happen because you’re close to the wall.”

    The wall has the tendency to become a magnet to racecars and trucks. From Darlington stripes to hard wrecks, the track isn’t very forgiving. It’s up to the driver to be on their best behavior or wait until as some says, the lady jumps out and bites you.

    In order to avoid that, Red Bull Racing driver Cole Whitt will be leaning on Sprint Cup Series star and past Darlington winner Kasey Kahne. He won’t be a in a RBR truck, but Kahne will be in Saturday’s field.

    Other than that Whitt says, “there is not a whole lot you can do. Kind of just have to get in there and get some first laps and just shake it down and get the feel for it and wing it. I think it will be good though.”

    Whitt is the current Rookie of the Year point leader. Paludo follows close behind with Jeffrey Earnhardt in third. Just four points separate the top three as Joey Coulter, Justin Johnson and Craig Goess follow behind.

    As the day begins every driver and every rookie will have an air of positivity about their chances. Each calling their shot and confident in their freshly painted and finely prepared trucks.

    It won’t stay that way for long. Darlington is looming.

    As the saying goes for rookies, “what they don’t know they don’t know.” Nowhere is that more true than this Saturday night.

  • Spending the Off Weekend in Darlington: Elliott Sadler Gets Another Shot in KHI’s No. 2 Truck

    Spending the Off Weekend in Darlington: Elliott Sadler Gets Another Shot in KHI’s No. 2 Truck

    It was a day that Elliott Sadler and his fans will never forget and since then they know it can happen many more times.

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]After years of experiencing heartbreak, new teams and constant struggles they were back on top. Sadler had jumped at the opportunity drive a Camping World Truck Series truck for Kevin Harvick Inc. last year in Pocono. In doing so he found the magic and the talent he knew he hadn’t lost when he went out and won.

    It led to a full-time ride in the Nationwide Series with KHI as well as a part-time Truck schedule. This weekend in Darlington while NNS and the Sprint Cup Series are on an off weekend, Sadler will again be behind the wheel of the No. 2.

    “I really enjoy racing at Darlington Raceway,” said Sadler.  “I have had a lot of success there in the past and think it is important anytime that you can go to a track and get some extra track time.  I have had a lot of fun competing in the Truck Series and I’m ready to try and tame the track they claim is ‘Too Tough to Tame’ as we try and get our first victory of 2011.”

    The Virginia native inherits a truck that has finished second in the first two races of the 2011 season. Sadler finished second to Michael Waltrip in an emotional yet controversial finish in Daytona. Clint Bowyer finished second to Kyle Busch in Phoenix two weeks ago.

    For Sadler, the truck will be familiar. Not only the number and the team but the chassis. That long awaited and needed victory in Pocono has led the way for the chassis No. 042 to be used at Darlington.

    Sadler is looking for his second win with KHI in his last 10 starts. He’s again looking for the magic.

    The 2011 season is one of redemption as he continues to prove that he belongs in this sport and that he can be a contender. Racing for KHI has him feeling like a brand new driver and a young one at that. Something that he’s repeatedly said is that he has been looking forward to having fun while racing.

    That hasn’t happened in a while. It won’t when you’re struggling. Good things however, have happened to Sadler since joining KHI and climbing in their racecars or trucks.

    When a driver knows they can win that’s when the fun comes. The No. 2 truck can win, Sadler can win and ironically so can the colors that will adorn the truck this weekend. Amour Vienna Sausages are back on board and will be looking for its fifth win with KHI. Victory lane has been their residence the four previous times it has been a sponsor, no matter the driver or the series.

    What more can Sadler ask for? An undefeated truck and a chassis he’s won in before – he’ll be one of the drivers looking to make it three-for-three in races that a non-Truck driver has won.

    Much like the NNS, a driver competing for points has not yet won a race. With Sadler behind the wheel of the No. 2 and Kasey Kahne also competing on his off weekend in the Kyle Busch Motorsports No. 18, the two will be tough competition for the Truck regulars.

    It’s setting up to be a good showdown on a showdown type of track.

    If Sadler needs any more momentum or good mojo he can look no further than what his company and sponsor will be doing. Amour Vienna Sausages, American Marketing Group (AMG) and KHI will be hosting over 50 soldiers from the Wounded Warriors Program. They’ll meet all the KHI drivers and get a tour of the Darlington Raceway.

    If the saying holds true that good things happen to good people, Sadler and his No. 2 team should again be in good shape come Saturday night.

  • One-On-One Interview with NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Driver Joey Coulter

    One-On-One Interview with NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Driver Joey Coulter

    Joey Coulter is living a dream right, so far having what he calls a spectacular time at Richard Childress Racing.

    Coulter began racing in 1998, racing go-karts at West Coast Kartway in Naples, Florida, and then also started running the WKA Horstman Gold Cup Series in 1999, followed by the Florida FASTTRUCK Series in late 2005.

    [media-credit name=”David Yeazell” align=”alignright” width=”273″][/media-credit]In 2007, he moved up to the USAR Hooters Pro Cup Series, where he finished in the top 10 multiple times, including top-10s at the 2007 Thanksgiving Classic at Kenly and Baileys 300 at Martinsville Speedway. His first stock car victory, though, would come in December of 2008 at Southern National Raceway Park in Kenly, N.C.

    The 2009 season marked his rookie year in the ARCA, which resulted in two poles, seven top-fives, 13 top-10s and a fourth-place finish in the season-ending point standings. Last season, he finished eighth in points while winning the Bill France Four Crown Award and his first victory at Berlin Raceway.

    Following the final race of the ARCA Racing Series season at Rockingham, Coulter got the surprise phone call from RCR with an offer to drive a second truck for their team. Coulter immediately accepted, ready to make that jump up to the next level. In his first two starts this year, Coulter has already impressed as he was running up front at Daytona before a tire blew and finished ninth at Phoenix.

    Coulter took some time out of his schedule to talk about the season so far and more.

    Ashley McCubbin: What are your thoughts on the year so far?

    Joey Coulter: So far it’s been spectacular. It’s really been going well and everybody over at RCR has been doing an awesome job kind of helping me out with getting ready for the race track and getting a handle on the truck. It’s really been a good experience. At Daytona, we had a really good qualifying run, we’re running real smart in the top 10 and blew a right front tire and ruined our night, but right before then we were having a real good night. Phoenix, for it being a hard track, to go from being terrible in practice to a finish in the top 10 was really good. The first two races have been really good. I mean, I didn’t think we’d do as good as we did with Phoenix being a tough track.

    AM: What’s it been like working the guys, such as crew chief Harold Holly?

    JC: Working with Harold has been great. I mean, him and I worked together with the ARCA cars and things have gone well. Our communication has carried well over to the truck. I feel like it’s really gotten better since then too. We’ve working two years with each other and he’s been great with helping me out and he’s been making some great changes to the truck.

    Working with Austin Dillon has been even better. He’s helped me out so much, epically out there at Phoenix. He helped me. Mike Dillon has helped me a ton there, too. He’s helped with telling me where I need to be to be in the right place, and like in the right groove.

    AM: How did the deal coming together with Richard Childress?

    JC: I was surprised to say the least. After the season finale at Rockingham in the ARCA series, I told Mike Perelli that we’d be doing this again next year and trying to win the championship. Looking over the whole year, there was nothing that stuck out a whole lot that I would say RCR would look at. There wasn’t anything that was really clearly there. I mean, we won at Berlin and we won the Bill France Award, but there never seemed to be that big moment.

    Then a week after Rockingham, my dad called me and said to me that I needed to go over to RCR and they want to talk to you and I was like ha-ha you’re kidding. He said, ‘I’m dead serious. They want you there at 10 o’ clock for a meeting’. So from the ball got rolling and once we got up, there they showed us around the shop and we talked about some things and we signed.

    AM: Speaking of the ARCA Series, how do you feel the experience has helped you?

    JC: For one, when we go to some of these big race tracks, like I haven’t run most of these races, but when we go to places like Michigan, Iowa, Kansas, Chicago, places like that, it’s really going to pay off as I got lots of laps on those race tracks. You know in ARCA last year, things were really competitive as there were a ton of different winners. Only two people won twice, and there were a lot of different people running well and it really showed how good the competition there. I think the type of racing with that crowd of drivers really gets you prepared for the truck series because the competition jumps by 10. So just getting a little taste of that in the ARCA series really helps you out.

    AM: What are some of your expectations for the year?

    JC: Right now our expectation is to finish in the top 10 every weekend. Overall, for the entire year, we want to win rookie of the year. We feel with the experience from Austin winning it last year will help me a lot. I really don’t think rookie of the year is that far out of reach.

    AM: What are some of your thoughts going into Darlington?

    JC: I’m just really excited. I’ve just been talking to a lot of people about that place. I’ve never been there, never seen it, probably watched the last 10 races there the last couple of weeks trying to learn everything I can. I’ve talked to Austin Dillon a lot. I’ve just been doing a lot of talking to a lot of people. I’ve been trying to figure out what it’s like, what’s the tire wear like, what are some things you need to look out for. I’ve heard getting on pit road is really challenging so we’ll see how that plays out. It’s going to be exciting. I know I will have a really good truck when I get there. Austin ran really well there last year and we’re going back with the same set-up and I feel like we have a really good chance to get another top 10.

    AM: There have been a lot of pictures being tweeted of what Speed is going to makeover (which will be shown during their pre-race show on Saturday). How has that gone?

    JC: That was a lot of fun. We went to a bunch of different places and you got to watch it on Saturday as it was a lot of fun. I don’t think I’ve spent that much on clothes but it will be cool to show off our new look for the rest of the year. We had a good time.

    AM: What is one of your favorite racing stories to tell?

    JC: One of them is the phone call from RCR to get here because this is like – since I was eight years old, I’ve wanted to be a NASCAR driver and drive for a team like RCR, Hendrick, Roush and to get that phone call when I was least expecting, it is really cool. In the same year that we got our first win in the ARCA Series at Berlin, which was a race track that I didn’t really like the first time I went there and we just went back the second time and had a really good car and ran great and won the race and running well the next three races, that led us to winning the Bill France Crown Award. I guess, just last year as a whole was big for me.

    AM: What are some of your hobbies?

    JC: I’m a big RC car, like the little remote control nitro powered cars – I’ve got quite a few of them. They’re all like tricked out. When I get to go back down to Florida, I’m a big scuba diving fan as I do a ton of scuba diving, a lot of deep sea fishing and things like that.

    AM: Favorite TV Show?

    JC: Race Hub, Wind Tunnel – I watch those a lot.

    AM: Favorite Movie

    JC: Days of Thunder, Top Gun

    AM: Favorite Food

    JC: Pizza

    AM: Any specific topping?

    JC: Just pepperoni

    AM: Favorite Color

    JC: Blue or Black

  • Amanda Speed Is Keeping It All In Perspective

    Amanda Speed Is Keeping It All In Perspective

    [media-credit name=”ScottSpeed.com” align=”alignright” width=”236″][/media-credit]In spite of the trauma of husband Scott losing his Cup ride with Red Bull Racing last season, Amanda Speed is keeping the couple’s spirits up, preparing to have their child, and coping with her mother-in-law’s cancer.

    And even with those major highs and lows in their lives, Amanda Speed is working hard to keep it all in perspective.

    “Well the day he got the fax from Red Bull was the same day we found out his mother had cancer,” Speed said. “So that put things into perspective real quick.”

    “Scott and I have always been the type that love to enjoy life no matter what we are doing,” Speed continued. “So spending time with our family and friends is what is helping this process.”

    Speed may have perspective but she is still understandably shaken by the seemingly abrupt firing of her husband in November 2010. The fact that the news was delivered to them via the fax machine was especially distressing.

    “I was sick to my stomach honestly,” Speed said. “Especially with the way it was handled, I mean, a fax… Come on seriously.”

    “You renew his contract halfway through the year, fit him for his 2011 firesuit in October and then a week after the last race of the year, you fire him through a fax,” Speed continued. “Just unbelievable.”

    In response to being released from Red Bull Racing, the couple decided they needed to take action. Scott Speed filed a $6.5 million lawsuit against the race team, alleging breach of contract.

    Amanda Speed admits that the filing of a lawsuit has not been easy for her husband or for her. She also noted that the experience has changed how they relate to people, particularly in the racing world.

    “It is difficult that’s for sure, and I will be glad when it is over,” Speed said of the lawsuit. “But Scott would have never filed the suit if he was not 100% sure of it.”

    “You can only take so much of being run over,” Speed continued. “In the long run I think it has made us both stronger, but also both very conscious of the people that we are around.”

    “We have always been people who trust everyone until they break that trust,” Speed said. “However, now it is the opposite. You will now have to gain our trust. It is just really hard.”

    Although the experience of the firing, the breaking of trust, and the lawsuit have been most difficult, the Speeds have some good news recently.

    Scott Speed reached an agreement with Kevin Harvick, Inc. to run two Nationwide Series races, one at Iowa Speedway on August 6th and the other on the road course in Montreal on August 20th.

    Amanda Speed is thankful for the new ride coming Scott’s way, especially since it will return the couple to the race track.

    “It is so hard not being at the track each weekend,” Speed said. ” Before I met Scott I was working at the track, and I grew up at the drag races, so to not be at a racetrack at all is wearing on us both.”

    “I hate watching the races on television,” Speed continued. “It is very hard.”

    “The thing I miss most about being at the track is just the racing,” Speed said. “I live for that competiveness, heck we both do.”

    The couple did take in the Daytona 500 this year and also plan to get to a few more races this season before Scott Speed gets behind the wheel of the KHI Nationwide car.

    “We both went to Daytona,” Speed said. “It was very different, very emotional being at a racetrack and not racing, but we talked with a lot of people, so it was good to be there.”

    The Speeds also recently announced their most special news, that they were expecting a baby together, due in September. The newest Speed will join big brother Rex, Amanda Speed’s child from a previous relationship.

    “The pregnancy was actually a BIG surprise,” Speed said. “I mean, we had been trying, but we thought it wasn’t possible, so it was definitely a surprise.”

    “We don’t know yet what we are having, but we will find out soon,” Speed continued. “Rex is very excited. He wants a girl and Scott wants a boy.”

    “I just want it to be healthy, so it is going to be very entertaining when he/she gets here.”

    Speed has also been very busy during this time with her marketing efforts, taking every opportunity to keep her husband’s name and his brand present in the racing marketplace.  She and Scott have also been active in the social media world, keeping up with fans via Facebook and Twitter.

    “I do as much as I can on contacting media reps and people from different areas of racing,” Speed said. “I try to do what I can to keep him out there.”

    “We have also got a guy redesigning his website, and other people that are out seeking sponsorship,” Speed continued. “We are all working very hard.”

    “The fan support has been overwhelmingly good,” Speed said. “Scott is so grateful for that.”

    “He has a great following on Twitter, and he is very glad to see his fans stick by him through this crazy period in his life,” Speed continued. “For all the haters, he will be glad to get back out on the track and say, “I told you so.”

    In spite of it all, Amanda Speed acknowledged that there have been many life lessons in this whole process, some positive and some more difficult.

    “I think there is always a life lesson in any step you go through in life,” Speed said. “The darkest moment through all of this was finding out Scott’s mom had cancer,” Speed said. “One minute she is as healthy as a horse, and the next minute, she is getting chemo and radiation.”

    “It was just very devastating to us all,” Speed said. “It’s like, how did this happen so quickly?”

    “Obviously finding out that I am expecting is very exciting and rewarding,” Speed said. “But I would have to say that the most triumphant moment has not come yet, but it will soon and we both can’t wait for that moment.”