After adjusting his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) schedule slightly, Tyler Young returns to competition for Wednesday night’s Aspen Dental Eldora Dirt Derby looking to have a little fun and success.
By no means does Young consider himself a dirt expert, but the Midland, Texas native enjoys competing in the series’ lone dirt track of the year and seeks his first top-10 finish at Eldora Speedway in his third career start.
“I really love the Eldora dirt,” said Young. “For me, it’s an opportunity to go out there and do something different and have a lot of fun doing it. It’s one of the races I get most excited about during the season. As we’ve seen in the past, Eldora really can be a physical race, but it’s a wild card like Daytona and Talladega are – you just don’t know what to expect.”
Another reason the 26-year-old has fond memories of the dirt track is the Tony Stewart-owned track is the site of his career best qualifying effort in truck competition as Young lined up sixth last season.
“Qualifying is so crucial at Eldora, but it’s really handed down by the draw,” Young added. “Last year we had an early draw when the track was at its prime and we were able to take advantage of it and have a good start for the race. We really had a good night. We were sideways, racing three and four wide – it was an absolute blast. Plus, we ended up 13th at the end of the night, so last year was one of the highlights of our year.”
Armed with a similar setup and knowing his aggressive approach to the race paid off last year, Young says he hopes to find his Young’s Motorsports team in a similar position Wednesday night and with enough luck earn the team’s second top-10 finish of the season.
“Realistically, I don’t have a shot at the championship. Finishing inside the top-10 will be a stretch, so now it’s important for us to go out there rack up the points and see where we land. Finishing strong is important for us as we continue to build our program. We want to run good, because it helps us in so many angles. Not only from a performance standpoint, but a company perspective too.
“At Eldora, you really can’t control what’s going to happen. The track condition can change within a blink of an eye so you have to be ready for anything. The heat races can be intense too. It’s a night full of unknowns – but in the end, it’s a night you talk about for the rest of the year.”
Despite sitting out two races this season, Young is insistent that his small team will continue to work hard and bring a capable and competitive product to the track each and every week, including this week at Eldora.
“Our Young’s Motorsports team has never been stronger,” Young added. “They have seen the results we’ve put together so far in 2016 and they are adamant to continue to bring competitive trucks to the race tracks that will allow us to be in the hunt for top-10, top-15 finishes each week.”
Young aboard the No. 02 Young’s Building Systems / Randco. Chevrolet Silverado will make his 65th career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series start at Eldora Speedway. In 64 previous races, Young has earned a best finish of sixth at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway in February 2016.
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