Sponsor-backed Peters joins Red Horse Racing

Red Horse Racing's Tom DeLoach finally has Timothy Peters in one of his Camping World Truck Series Toyota Tundras, but unlike his pre-season plan, it's a second truck rather than a third.

Red Horse had an optimistic start Friday at Michigan International Speedway as Peters was 23rd in the first practice for Saturday's Michigan 200, but improved to fourth in Happy Hour.

Peters

"I had been talking with Timothy since Daytona," DeLoach said. "And at some point we'd hoped to put him into a third truck on our team, but economics just didn't allow it."

In qualifying Saturday morning at Michigan, Peters' No. 17 Red Horse truck will have the benefit of the eighth place owners' championship points earned by Johnny Benson, with whom the team parted ways. DeLoach said the No. 1 that Benson drove "is parked."

On Thursday afternoon, Premier Racing's entry of its No. 17 Toyota with a driver "To Be Named" was withdrawn from the Michigan 200, leaving a full field of 36 trucks.

Last Monday DeLoach shut down Red Horse's team that fielded a No. 1 Toyota for defending series champion Benson, releasing him and 2008 champion crew chief Trip Bruce due to no sponsorship.

A day later, Red Horse announced it had signed Peters and Chad Kendrick, his crew chief at Premier Motorsports, to drive one of its Tundras beginning at Michigan. The key to the deal was Peters' season sponsorship with Strutmasters, an aftermarket suspension systems manufacturer. Most personnel weren't affected in that move, DeLoach said.

"It was a tough day on Monday, admitting defeat after trying all season to find sponsorship to keep running the defending series champion, and I was convinced we could make it happen," DeLoach said. "We had a lot of people working on our behalf, and I was making a lot of calls myself, so [shutting down the team] was a tough call to make.

"We had NASCAR's limit of 12 people per team at Texas, and we'll have 12 per team at Michigan, also. We did have to cut a few people back at the shop, though."

Red Horse has fielded a No. 11 Toyota all season for T.J. Bell, which carried outside sponsorship for only a couple races at the beginning of the season. Benson's truck had a primary sponsor, K&N Filters, in only the Daytona season opener.

Bell's truck is 20th in the owners' standings while Premier's truck is 19th. Bell has one top-five finish so far this year while Peters, who started the season with three consecutive top-15 finishes, has two top-10s.

DeLoach, who had a 30-year business career with Mobil Oil Corporation, including the last quarter of that in motorsports marketing, said he's still a firm believer in the Truck Series.

"I frankly think that the Camping World Truck Series is the best racing in the country -- we've really got a positive product that we can sell," DeLoach said. "I feel like the number of races we have, 25, allows for a more competitive series at a more reasonable cost to both a team and a sponsor, and if someone wanted to look at creating a program in motorsports at a more cost-effective level, the Truck Series is the place to do it."

Strutmasters owner Chip Lofton echoed his chosen driver in praising the move.

"We're excited Timothy and Chad have this opportunity to show their true talents," Lofton said. "We all appreciate the efforts of Premier Racing, who kept Timothy out there in a very tough economy."

"I'm thankful for the opportunity to come over to Red Horse Racing," Peters said. "I really appreciate my opportunity at Premier Racing and all the support Strutmasters.com has given me. Obviously all our hard work paid off because we were able to get Tom DeLoach's attention. I'm thankful that he's taking a chance on me."

DeLoach said the team is focused on what's ahead.

"We're really looking forward to this chapter," DeLoach said. "I've watched Timothy on the track and it's evident that he's a talented driver with impeccable attention to detail and a deep-seated passion to perform and we are pleased to have him join the Red Horse Racing family."

Bell said he was looking forward to working with his new teammate.

"I'm excited that Timothy is joining the team," Bell said. "He's a talented driver and he's a cool guy. I hope we can learn something from each other and really bounce ideas off one another that will help both of our teams."

Peters has raced twice previously at Michigan, finishing 25th and 35th in 2005 and 2006, respectively, when he drove trucks for Bobby Hamilton Racing.

• Tickets: Michigan 200 at Michigan Int'l Speedway