Photo – Rusty Jarrett/HHP
Joey Coulter is our next guest on Fan4Racing Fan2Fan NASCAR & Race Talk on Monday, August 4th, 2014 at 9:30 pm ET. Call 347-996-5176 during the LIVE broadcast with any questions/comments for Joey Coulter.
Joey Coulter comes home with a third place finish in the Pocono Mountains 150, and looks to carry that momentum on to Michigan later this month.
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver, Joey Coulter, looks forward to his races at Pocono Raceway as one of his favorite tracks on the circuit.
“Pocono Raceway is one of the most technical and challenging tracks we go to all year, which is exactly why it is one of my favorite tracks. Also, I think having a win there helps too.”
Joey Coulter has found success at the “Tricky Triangle,” where he captured his first career victory at Pocono Raceway on August 4, 2012. Although this weekend was Coulter’s first Pocono Raceway appearance with GMS Racing – formerly Gallagher Motorsports – the Miami Springs, Fla., driver has made three other Camping World Truck Series starts at the 2.5-mile track. Coulter has now earned one victory, three top-five finishes and four top-ten finishes. He also has four ARCA Racing Series starts at the track, where he finished a career best fourth place in June 2009.
Driving Chassis No. 022 in Saturday’s race, is special for Joey Coulter. This particular Chevrolet Silverado was the Richard Childress Racing Chassis which Coulter drove to victory lane for his first series win at Pocono in 2012. The Jeff Stankiewicz-led team has unloaded this chassis three times this season, at Kansas Speedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway and at Texas Motor Speedway.
Starting in the 11th race of the Camping World Truck Series season from the 11th place, Coulter worked his way into the top-ten during the early laps. Under the first caution of the day at the 2.5-mile triangle, crew chief Jeff Stankiewicz attempted to remedy Coulter’s handling woes with a two right-side tire stop along with fuel. Coulter was a mainstay at the front of the field throughout the first half of the race and by the halfway maker he was in ninth place, despite struggles with a tight-handling condition during the 60-lap affair.
Due to varying pit strategies, Coulter found himself running fourth as scheduled green-flag pit stops began on lap 35. Stankiewicz called his driver to pit road one last time, on lap 36 under green-flag conditions for left-side tires, a variety of adjustments and fuel, putting Coulter strategically in between varying pit strategies among other teams.
By lap 50, Coulter was running eighth, but he wouldn’t stay there for long, as he was able to drive his GMS Racing machine toward the front of the field each time he found himself mired in race traffic.
After a series of late-race caution flags, Coulter rallied from sixth on the last restart to finish third, posting his fourth top-ten finish in four races at the “Tricky Triangle.” After the event at Pocono Raceway, Coulter remains ninth in the series driver point standings.
“It was a great day for us,” said Coulter post-race. “I can’t thank Chevrolet enough for all the support they have given us. I’m really pumped about our GMS Racing team and what we’ve accomplished.”
Up next, in a couple of weeks, for the Camping World Truck Series and Coulter is Michigan International Speedway. Despite doing everything right, his outing there last year – with a different team – was not what he anticipated at the track.
This year Coulter is looking for redemption at Michigan with his momentum from Pocono riding with him and his GMS Racing team!
Watch the Camping World Truck Series at Michigan International Speedway on August 16th on FOX Sports 1 at 12:00 pm ET.