NASCAR Camping World Trucks Series
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TRUCKS: Moss Lands Sponsor
Randy Moss was cut by the Minnesota Vikings this week...
Tom Jensen  |  Posted November 03, 2010   Charlotte, NC
Teammates Mike Skinner (Left) and Tayler Malsam (Right) have high hopes for Friday night's race at Texas Motor Speedway. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
In a week filled with bad news, Randy Moss finally found a reason to smile.

Moss, who is a wide receiver in the National Football League and co-owner of Randy Moss Motorsports in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, will have a new sponsor this week for the No. 25 RMM Toyota Tundra driven by Tayler Malsam.

Coinstar, described in a team release as “a leading provider of self-service coin counting kiosks,” will sponsor Malsam’s truck in the Longhorn 350K at Texas Motor Speedway Friday night. SPEED will televise the race live. Coverage starts Friday at 8:30 p.m. ET with “NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Setup.”

Earlier this week, Moss was put on waivers by the Minnesota Vikings, who just four weeks earlier had traded a third-round draft choice for the former All-Pro wide receiver.

But the sponsor deal should cheer Moss, along with knowing that Malsam and fellow RMM driver Mike Skinner ought to be good at the lightning-fast 1.5-mile TMS oval. Skinner, in particular, has a strong track record here. Although the former Truck Series champion has never won at TMS in 13 starts, he’s finished second three times, and has seven top-five finishes. His worst results at Texas were a pair of 11th-place runs in 2004.

“Texas is an extremely challenging track,” said Skinner, who was fourth here in June. “I’ve always run well there, but haven’t been able to make it to victory lane yet.”

Skinner has an average finish at TMS of 5.923, best of any driver with more than one start here. He’s looking for more again on Friday night.

“We recorded our best finish of the season there in June with the ... team, and we hope to improve on that this weekend,” he said. “Over the last few races, all of our trucks have been extremely competitive — we’ve been able to lead laps and run up front and I’m sure this weekend will not be any different. I think we have the truck exactly where I need it to run a solid race on Friday night, and if we can get a little luck on our side I think you’ll see us racing for the win.”
NFL star Randy Moss is co-owner of Randy Moss Motorsports. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

“We were extremely competitive there earlier this season and we’re looking forward to having the opportunity to improve that finish,” added Skinner’s crew chief, Stacy Johnson. “We’ve done a lot of work on our Toyota Tundra and have done a few different things to test our setup. With Mike’s skill-level and driving record at Texas, we hope to have a great race this weekend.”

As for Malsam, he’s finished ninth and 18th in his two TMS starts. He began the season with Kyle Busch Motorsports, but his truck was parked over lack of sponsorship, which led to his return to RMM. Friday’s night’s race will be just his second start since Charlotte in mid-May, so he’s itching to go racing again.

“I’ve spent the last few weeks promoting our sponsors at appearances across the country, but I’m ready to put my focus back on the competition on the track,” said Malsam. “I’m really looking forward to working with Dan (Stillman, crew chief) again. I like his leadership and style a lot. I think he’ll bring a lot to the team, and I’m confident that we’ll have a great run together this weekend at Texas.”

Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief of SPEED.com, Senior NASCAR Editor at RACER and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. You can follow him online at twitter.com/tomjensen100 and e-mail him at Jensen is the author of “Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of Speed,” and has appeared on numerous television and radio shows. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association and an NMPA Writer of the Year.

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