Catchfence

“Finished Second Last Year After Pushing Teammate to Win”

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (October 26, 2010) – The Talladega Superspeedway is a track where you can’t win alone, and nobody knows that more than Aric Almirola and the No. 51 Billy Ballew Motorsports Toyota team. Last year the organization finished first and second with Almirola “pushing” Kyle Busch to the victory. At that time, Busch was piloting the No. 51 truck, but this season Almirola occupies that seat where he currently sits second in Camping World Truck Series points with two wins.

Almirola and the No. 51 team head back to the 2.66-mile superspeedway this weekend for Saturday’s Mountain Dew 250. The team will be the only entry for Billy Ballew Motorsports, meaning finding a drafting partner will become critical for Saturday’s race.

Saturday’s race will be Almirola’s third Camping World Truck Series event at the track. Almirola and the team carry a streak of nine consecutive top-10 finishes into the race.

Comments from Aric Almirola Heading into Talladega:

“At the end of the day, if you have a fast truck, I don’t think it will matter that we won’t have a teammate out there. Guys will always go with the others who have fast trucks. They are the ones who can either push or draft with you to the front. I’m pretty confident in the fact that Richie (crew chief Richie Wauters) and the guys have prepared another great truck for this weekend. This team is the defending winner of this race and our goal is to win again.

“I feel that I’ve always raced everyone fairly and clean. I looked at our truck after Martinsville, and it barely had a scratch on it. That means we didn’t make any enemies. That’s the type of stuff that helps when you come to a track where you need partners to get and stay up front. I don’t have a problem with the guys I’ve been racing up front with all season. Guys like Todd (Bodine), Johnny (Sauter), Ron (Hornaday) and everyone like that. We all respect each other and trust each other. That’s important going into a place like Talladega.

“It’s going to be another typical Talladega race. The first half you just want to make sure the truck is as comfortable as possible. The last half you’re getting yourself into position. The last lap you race for the win. You can’t predict what’s going to happen, but if you’re up front than the odds are usually better for staying out the mess. Our goal is to be right there and hopefully we can get another win for this team.”

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.

- Breaking Limits Press Release