Catchfence

“51 Team Aims to Continue Narrowing Gap with Points Leader Todd Bodine”

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (August 2, 2010) – Aric Almirola and the No. 51 Zyclara by Graceway Pharmaceuticals Toyota team fielded by Billy Ballew Motorsports are ready to try something new at Nashville Superspeedway. Their previous setup at the 1.33-mile, concrete-surfaced track netted an eighth-place result, a strong finish, but not close enough to compete for the win. Almirola and crew chief Richie Wauters are applying a new philosophy to the No. 51 Tundra for this week’s race. The tandem hopes the new direction will take them straight to victory lane in Saturday’s Nashville 200 and closer to the top of the Camping World Truck Series championship chase.

Last week at Pocono Raceway, Almirola piloted the Zyclara by Graceway Tundra to a fourth-place finish in the Pocono Mountains 125. His performance narrowed the gap between himself and Bodine to 149 points. It was the team’s 10th top-10 finish and fourth top-five finish of the season.

Prior to Saturday night’s race, Almirola will be a special guest of the Bowling Green (Ky.) Hot Rods, a Class A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. Almirola, a native of Tampa, Florida will throw out the first pitch for their home game Thursday night against the South Bend Silver Hawks. The game is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. Almirola will sign autographs from 5:30-6:00 p.m. prior.

Almirola Comments on Nashville Superspeedway:

“Nashville hasn’t been great to us. We’ve run ‘OK’ there in the past, but it hasn’t been great. We’re going to go back there this time with a completely different setup in our Graceway Zyclara Tundra. It’s going to be a little bit experimental. We are just looking to make our program better.

“In our previous races, we’ve tried applying different setups, and things we’ve learned from other tracks to Nashville, but it just hasn’t worked. The concrete surface is just so much different than the tracks we’ve been going to. So, we’re going there and we’re going for broke. We’ll have a setup that’s new and completely different than anything we’ve done before. Hopefully that will pay off for us.

“Nashville is a quick track. The concrete surface doesn’t change much during the race, even as the sun sets and the temperature drops. It’s pretty consistent. It will take on more rubber, though. It usually makes the track tighter as the race goes on. That’s something to take into account when you’re making adjustments.”

“Since I’ve been racing, I’ve hoped to win a guitar at Nashville. It’s really unique, definitely one of the coolest trophies that you can take home. It’s decked out with a Sam Bass design. Of course our team wants to win every race we go to, but getting that guitar in victory lane is just another special incentive.”

About Billy Ballew Motorsports:

BBM started competing full-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in 2002 and has had a variety of well known NASCAR drivers over the years. The list includes Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Aric Almirola, Brian Ickler, John Andretti, Kenny Wallace, Paul Menard, Bill Lester, Geoffrey Bodine, Joe Ruttman and a host of others. It was Shane Hmiel who piloted the No. 15 for the 2004 season that brought Billy Ballew his first win at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the team’s 100th start in the NCWTS. Since then Billy Ballew Motorsports has taken 18 more trips to victory lane.

- Billy Ballew Motorsports Press Release