Townley Turns Season-Best Starting Position into Career-Best Finish at Pocono Raceway

John Wes Townley was able to turn a season-best 11th-place starting position into an eighth-place finish in Saturday’s Pocono Mountains 125, marking his career-best finish in NASCAR competition.

After Friday’s successful practice session, posting speeds fast enough for 14th position, Townley drove his ToyotaCare Tundra to an 11th-place starting position in Saturday morning’s qualifying session.

From the drop of the green flag, Townley wasted no time advancing position, breaking into the top 10 by Lap 10. Though the first half of Saturday’s Pocono Mountains 125 was smooth, the second half was riddled with cautions. Townley expertly navigated a series of multi-truck incidents to become one of only 15 trucks remaining on the lead lap by the time the final caution flag flew on Lap 40.

Following the final restart, Townley was able to pull away from the trucks behind him as the last 10 laps wound down. Townley aggressively held his line to take the checkered flag in the eighth position.

Townley’s first top-10 finish of the 2012 season helped RAB Racing advance one position, to 17th, in the owner points standings.

“We had a great day,” said Townley. “I think we had an opportunity for a top five at the end of the race, but I got a little held up following the final restart. Regardless, I can’t express the feeling of taking this Toyota Tundra to the track and continuing to improve each week; it’s really something. My RAB Racing team has put so much into this truck and I’m really grateful for their effort and sincerely appreciate what they do. I have to thank Toyota for giving me this opportunity. This eighth-place finish is just an amazing way to end the weekend.”

RAB Racing PR