Auburn’s Tanner to make NASCAR Truck Series premiere Oct. 29
Published 3:55 pm Thursday, September 29, 2011
Auburn’s Tyler Tanner makes his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut at the legendary Martinsville Speedway in the Kroger 200 on Oct. 29, driving the No. 65 MB Motorsports Ford F-150 sponsored by EF-65 Hand Cleaner.
“This is literally a dream come true for me,” Tanner said. “I’ve been racing since I was 4½ years old, and competing in NASCAR is what I have always wanted to do.”
A rising star on regional stock car ovals, the 20-year-old Tanner is the son of former Northwest Tour standout racer Kelly Tanner. The younger Tanner, an Auburn High School graduate, is studying mechanical engineering at Arizona State University.
MB Motorsports owner Mike Mittler will mentor Tanner. Mittler has been instrumental in the careers of Carl Edwards, Jamie McMurray, Brad Keselowski, Regan Smith, Justin Allgaier, among others.
“I’ve known Tyler a long time,” Mittler said. “I have all the confidence in the world that he will do very well in the Camping World Truck Series and make EF-65 Hand Cleaner proud to be sponsoring our effort.”
Tanner, who enjoyed a breakthrough season in Western Washington late model racing, welcomes the chance to work with a NASCAR team.
“To be able to drive one of Mike Mittler’s trucks, knowing the amazing talent he has helped develop through the years is really great,” Tanner said. “I just want to do my best for the folks at EF-65 who are sponsoring us at Martinsville, earn the respect of the other drivers and bring the truck home in one piece.”
Tanner, driving the Tanner Motorsports Chevrolet, scored seven pole positions, three wins and eight top-three finishes on Rochester’s 3/8th-mile South Sound Speedway.
Martinsville’s “Paperclip” half-mile oval presents a new challenge for the young driver.
“Success at Martinsville comes down to three things – track position, pit strategy and taking care of your brakes,” Mittler said. “Tyler’s got a lot of short-track experience, and he knows how to take care of his equipment.”
Tanner is ready to get started.
“Martinsville is one of NASCAR’s original tracks and has a lot of history, so making my first series start there is amazing,” he said. “It’s real easy to get into trouble on short tracks, so I’m going to my best to stay focused and take care of the truck.”
The Oct. 29 Kroger 200 will be broadcast at 11 a.m. on the SPEED Channel.
Tanner is the latest phenomenon to come out of the Pacific Northwest, which has produced NASCAR superstars including two-time NASCAR Truck Series champion and NASCAR Nationwide Series champion Greg Biffle of Camas, 2004 Sprint Cup Rookie of the Year Kasey Kahne of Enumclaw and 1990 Daytona 500 winner Derrike Cope of Spanaway.
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Sponsorships and donations: Please contact Erin Dafoe erin.dafoe@hotmail.com or Leanne Tanner leanne@tylertanner.com
Informational links:
Visit www.mbracing.net
Visit www.ef-65.com
Visit www.tylertanner.com
