Peters has ample reason to be optimistic

Don’t blame Red Horse Racing driver Timothy Peters for getting excited about the Chase format in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

After all, Peters was the strongest driver in the series during the last eight races of the 2014 season, and the Chase for the Trucks is only seven races long.

The record speaks for itself. Peters finished no worse than sixth in any of the final eight races of 2015 and picked up victories at Talladega and Phoenix on the way to a fifth-place points finish.

If he puts together that sort of late-season surge this year, he’s likely to win his first series championship.

The Virginia native looks primed for a solid start, too. On Thursday at Daytona, he was fastest in opening Truck Series practice with a lap at 189.028 mph.

“I love coming to Daytona,” Peters said. “I love this style of racing. I think all the changes, from the points system — from the Chase — to the (caution) clock, it’s going to be great.

“I just hope we can bring that momentum — we won the last superspeedway race — to this one and start off 2016 in Victory Lane.”