After a short delay for track inspection on Saturday morning, track officials allowed the third of four practice sessions for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) to commence at Rockingham Speedway and it was Johnny Sauter in the No. 13 Hot Honey / Curb Records Toyota Tundra who posted the quickest lap of the morning and of the weekend thus far in his ThorSport Racing entry. Sauter, who’s had a dismal start to his 2012 season, circled his Tundra around the one-mile oval in 24.511 seconds at 146.873 miles per hour. Sauter’s lap occurred on his first of seven laps.
Parker Kligerman in his No. 29 Draw-Tite / MOPAR RAM was second fastest putting him back into the top-10 since the first practice session on Saturday morning. Turner Motorsports driver James Buescher was fourth he was followed by Red Horse Racing’s Timothy Peters who opted out of practice session number two yesterday afternoon.
Ty Dillon, Ron Hornaday Jr., Matt Crafton, Jason Leffler and Todd Bodine rounded out the top-10.
Dakoda Armstrong, a third entry for Ohio-based ThorSport Racing was a nice surprise in 12th in his No. 98 EverFi.com Toyota Tundra. Armstrong, the former ARCA winner has raced at The Rock but has struggled thus far this weekend.
Jeb Burton, another rookie whose been struggling to find the groove at Rockingham also picked up the pace considerably Saturday morning after hustling his No. 27 State Water Heaters Chevrolet Silverado for Hillman Racing to the 18th quickest lap. Yesterday, you could see the frustration in the young drivers’ eye as he is eager to please at a track where his father and former Daytona 500 champion Ward Burton has had much success at.
Tyler Young, vying to make his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut tomorrow continues to impress with solid numbers on the board and put his No. 02 Young’s Building Systems Chevrolet Silverado 19th in the overall rundown.
At this point, it’s clear that some teams are in tire conservation mode as teams were only allowed three sets of tires leading up to tomorrow’s Good Sam Roadside Assistance 200 presented by Cheerwine. One of those sets includes stickers for qualifying which is set for later today.
Right now, the teams of Chris Fontaine (33rd), Chad McCumbee (35th), Clay Greenfield (36th), Jennifer Jo Cobb (39th) and Brian Weber (41st) will be searching for speed in final practice and qualifying as they are currently the five trucks on the out to sit on the sidelines for the third race of the season.
Former Rockingham Speedway Bryan Silas, who captured the most recent trophy here in November 2011 stepped it up on Saturday morning and produced the 29th quickest lap. The team has justified throughout the weekend that Silas is playing it safe but hopes to be a contender tomorrow.
Norm Benning who skipped both sessions yesterday was last on the sheet in 41st, over four seconds behind Sauter’s quickest lap but will be guaranteed a spot in the event because of his owner’s points from 2011.
NASCAR confirmed that all 41 entries now have made at least one lap around Rockingham’s historic oval making each team eligible to participate in qualifying set to approximately begin at 3:35 p.m. following the UARA-STARS Late Model Stock Tour 75-lap race.
Tentatively, final practice for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is scheduled to begin at 11:00 a.m. and end at 12:00 p.m.
Click Here For Good Sam Roadside Assistance 200 presented by Cheerwine Third Practice Speeds
