Texas II: Miguel Pauldo race report

AN EARLY RACE ACCIDENT TOOK MIGUEL PAULDO OUT OF THE RACE EARLY AND RELEGATED THE #11 STEMCO DUROLINE TEAM TO A 33RD PLACE FINISH AT TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
Fighting a loose condition, Paludo lost control of his #11 Tundra on lap 52; contact with the wall was so severe he could not return to the event.

FT. WORTH, TX. (Nov 5)- Making his first start for Red Horse Racing, Miguel Paludo had but one goal in mind; finish all the laps and earn a solid finish. In just his third career Camping World Truck Series race, Paludo was off to a great start. Earning an eighth place qualifying spot, he started the race from the top-10 and maintained his position there for the first 20 laps. Paludo headed to pit road on lap 43 for four fresh tires, fuel and adjustments. Lining up 19th for the restart, he moved up to the 17th spot in just one lap. Fighting a loose condition, Paludo lost control of his #11 Stemco Duroline Toyota Tundra on lap 52. A hard hit to the outside retaining wall caused severe damage to the chassis. Paludo limped the truck back to pit road and then to the garage to assess the damage. The team was unable to fix the extensive damage and was forced to sit out the remainder of the event. Paludo was relegated to a 33rd place finish in his first race at Texas Motor Speedway.

Paludo and the #11 Red Horse Racing team started the weekend very strong. In two practice sessions on Thursday afternoon the team worked on getting the chassis just right for the race and Paludo worked on learning the fastest line around the track. Having never raced at Texas Motor Speedway before, he knew the learning curve would be steep but he was up for the challenge. Later that evening, Paludo prepared to qualify his Toyota Tundra. Going out midway through the session, he jumped to second quick on his first lap. After making his final lap, he took over the provisional pole position. Eventually he was knocked off the pole but maintained his starting position up front by earning the eighth spot for the start of the WinStar World Casino 350.

When the green flag waved under the lights at Texas Motor Speedway on Friday night, Paludo was ready to see if his truck still felt as good as it had in practice. Starting eighth, he moved up a spot on lap seven. His spotter, David Green was telling him that the high line around the track was better so he kept using it to his advantage. Caught in a couple three-wide situations, Paludo held his composure, not ruffled by the veterans he was racing against.

Opting to be patiently aggressive, Paludo slipped back to the 10th spot on lap 18. He radioed the crew that his truck felt a little tight in the center and off of the corners. Slipping back to 15th, he was happy to see the caution flag wave on lap 40. Crew chief Rick Gay called his driver to pit road on lap 43 for four fresh tires, fuel and adjustments.

Pauldo lined up 19th for the restart on lap 48. With momentum on his side, he made the pass for the 17th spot just one lap later. Still riding a full head of steam, Paludo lost control of his #11 Stemco Duroline Toyota Tundra on lap 52. He slid up the track and slammed the outside wall causing severe damage to the truck. Able to limp it back to pit road, Paludo radioed the crew that his truck had gotten loose and he wasn't able to control it in traffic. Eventually having the #11 Tundra towed to the garage, the team surveyed the damage and determined they would not be able to repair it. Forced out of the race early, Paludo was relegated to a 33rd place finish at Texas Motor Speedway.

Miguel Paludo will be back in action at the season finale event at Homestead-Miami Speedway in two weeks. He will again pilot the #11 Stemco Duroline Toyota Tundra in the Ford 200.

-source: rhr