Sports Car standout Max Tullman (@MaxTullman) and his Tullman Walker Racing (TWR) team head to Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway, site of Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series season finale hoping to earn a career-best finish in the Ford EcoBoost 300.
While the 21-year-old Tullman has never been to the South Florida speedway, the avid racer will be surrounded by a strong circle of veterans that he hopes will allow him to end his inaugural stock car season on a high note.
“I’m excited about going to Homestead-Miami Speedway this weekend,” said Tullman.
“Homestead originally wasn’t on our schedule, but we had an opportunity to go there and race and we jumped at the chance.
“Everyone has told me that I’ll really enjoy competing at Homestead. It’s a racers track with a lot of speed, finesse and plenty of groves to race on. There’s a lot on the line this weekend – but we’ll run to our ability and just hope we can have a strong finish to propel us towards next year.”
2018 has seen Tullman diversify his resume competing in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards, the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and Xfinity Series respectively.
His highlights include back-to-back sixth-place finishes on the superspeedway races in ARCA at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway and Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway followed by a top-10 finish in his Truck Series restrictor plate debut last month at Talladega driving for Young’s Motorsports.
“It’s certainly been a learning year,” sounded Tullman. “I’ve learned so much and have been surrounded by a good group of people who want to see me succeed. We’ve had ups and downs, but there hasn’t been a weekend that we haven’t left being thankful to be at the race track.”
Tullman, a native of Chester Springs, Pa. also hopes that his experience on the intermediate tracks in ARCA and Xfinity will prove to be beneficial for his third career Xfinity Series start.
The 21-year-old has gained big track experience this year in ARCA at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway, Chicagoland Speedway, Pocono (Pa.) Raceway, Michigan International Speedway and most recently Las Vegas.
Adapting to the faster speeds and layouts, he showed resilience to earn a seventh at Michigan and noteworthy efforts at the others.
When the green flag falls, for his third Xfinity race, Tullman is hoping that his experience in 13stock car starts in 2018 will begin to pay off.
“The intensity and competition increase several notches from ARCA to Xfinity,” added Tullman. “The experience at the bigger tracks will allow me to get comfortable quickly on Friday during practice and then work hard with my crew chief Doug Richert to dial in our No. 26 Ford Mustang and get it fine-tuned for the race on Saturday
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“Doug is one of the best in the business and his composure with my learning curve has proven to pay off on the track.”
As for their outlook for the team’s Homestead debut, Tullman said it’s about seeing the checkered flag with the goal of a top-20 effort to close out their inaugural season.
“Las Vegas was immensely challenging because of the heat and a flat tire early in the race,” he said.
“As a team though, everyone stayed confident and we came out of there with a solid result. This weekend, we want to raise the notch just a little bit and see if we can end our first Xfinity season on a high note with a top-20 finish.”
Tullman and TWR will also use the 33rd race of the Xfinity Series season to raise funds for Tullman’s crew chief’s wife Robin Richert. She is the wife of longtime industry veteran Doug Richert. Robin was recently diagnosed with Stage 4 stomach cancer.
Members of the racing community and race fans can help contribute their financial support by visiting their Go Fund Me donation page.
“Robin is a very special and caring person,” sounded Tullman. Even through her challenges, she has been our number one supporter. We are all wishing her a successful and speedy recovery.”
The makers of Eskata® (hydrogen peroxide) topical solution, 40% (w/w) will support the team this weekend at Homestead. Longtime TWR partners Zoomi, Myota and Yurpal will serve as associate sponsors.
The Ford EcoBoost 300 (200 laps | 300 miles) is the 33rd of 33 NASCAR Xfinity Series races on the 2018 schedule. Practice begins on Fri., Nov. 16 from 2:35 p.m. – 3:25 p.m. A final practice session is set for 5:00 p.m. – 5:55 p.m. Qualifying is set for race day, Sat., Nov. 17 beginning at 12:35 p.m. The 40-car field will take the green flag shortly after 3:30 p.m. with live coverage on NBCSN, the Motor Racing Network (Radio) and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Satellite Radio, Channel 90). All times are local (Eastern).
Max Tullman Racing PR
