Tuesday
Aric Almirola Looks To Put Exclamation Point on Streak
Press Release“Aims for ‘W’ at Phoenix Among 12 Straight Top-10s”
Based on BBM and Almirola’s past at the “Desert Jewel,” PIR seems to be a perfect venue for the team to capture its third win of 2010. The No. 51 team has a near-perfect record at PIR. In its three previous events at the one-mile oval, the BBM squad has one win and two second-place finishes.
Almirola has two NASCAR Camping World Truck Series events under his belt at PIR. He finished third last season driving the No. 15 BBM truck.
Almirola Comments on PIR and the No. 51 Team’s Top-10 Streak
“Phoenix is a tricky race track. It has elements that make it seem like a short track, a road course and an intermediate track all wrapped into one configuration. There are cookie cutter tracks, then there’s Phoenix. It’s tight and cramped, almost like Martinsville. There’ are five left turns and somehow it’s still an oval track. It keeps you sawing on the wheel for the entire race. It can be really tough on your brakes, so you’ve got to keep that in mind and make sure that you’re saving your equipment to be its best at the end.
“There’s no such thing as the perfect setup for Phoenix. Its corners are so different that you’ll never have a perfect balance on both sides of the track. As a driver, you have to approach each set of turns differently and adapt to the setup underneath you. It’s a challenge and that’s what makes it a lot of fun.
“We’ve had a streak of top-10 finishes dating back to Pocono. It’s a testament to our team’s hard work. The Truck Series is so competitive. On any given week, there are several teams capable of finishing inside the top-10. That’s how stacked this series is. The streak is certainly something we should be proud of. We’ve been to short tracks, intermediate tracks and superspeedways during that streak. That says a lot about our consistency and our depth.
“The only thing we’re missing in our streak is a win and hopefully we’ll take care of that this weekend at Phoenix. This team has an awesome record there and has proven they can get the job done. We’ve knocked on the door a few times recently. We were close at Bristol and Talladega. This could definitely be the race that we pick up our third ‘W’ of 2010.”
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
Article Tags: Aric Almirola, BBM, Bill Lester, Billy Ballew, Billy Ballew Motorsports, Brian Ickler, Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, Denny Hamlin, Geoffrey Bodine, Joe Ruttman, John Andretti, Kenny Wallace, Kyle Busch, Lucas Oil 150, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, NCWTS, Paul Menard, Phoenix (Ariz.) International Raceway, Pocono (Pa.) Raceway, Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway
