TEAM NEWS: Chase Contenders Busch and Hamlin On Deck at Martinsville
Billy Ballew Motorsports will bring out the big guns this week when the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series teams head to the Martinsville Speedway for the running of the 21st race of the 25 race season Saturday, October 20.
Ballew will not only pilot Kyle Busch who frequents the series in the No. 51 Craftsman Truck in Saturday’s Kroger 200 but will put future teammate and current 2007 Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup contenders against one another by putting Virginia native Denny Hamlin in the No. 15 Chevrolet Silverado.
Flanders Beef Patties will serve as the primary sponsor for both Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin this weekend at the .526-mile paperclip shaped short track in Martinsville, VA.
“We are excited to have Flanders onboard this weekend for both Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin,” team owner Billy Ballew said. “Chris Huff and Flanders Provisions have been very supportive of the team this season and we’d like to take them to victory lane soon. I’m sure that Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin will put on one heck of a show out there Saturday afternoon. We also want to send our condolences to the Denny Hamlin Family with the passing of Denny’s grandfather, James “Junior” Hamlin a few weeks back. We’d like to see Denny go to victory lane Saturday in his honor.”
Billy Ballew Motorsports has 13 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series starts at the Martinsville Speedway posting two top-five finishes (Kyle Busch 2005, Rich Bickle 1998) and four top-ten finishes.
The current sixth place driver in the 2007 Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup, Kyle Busch has eight starts at the Virginia short track; five in the NEXTEL Cup Series with two top-5 finishes, three top-10 finishes and led 10 laps. Kyle Busch has only one start in the NASCAR Kyle Busch Series and two starts in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Kyle Busch posted one top-five finish and two top-10 finishes and lead 29 laps in the Billy Ballew Motorsports Craftsman Truck Series entry.
“It’s going to be cool to race against Denny Hamlin in the truck this weekend in Martinsville,” Kyle Busch said. “We’re going to be teammates next year but we’re great friends off the track so it will be kind of the first time that we will be comparing notes and actually on the same team. It’s going to be pretty cool.”
Denny Hamlin, who is currently in the ninth place position in the 2007 NEXTEL Cup Championship Chase, has six starts at the track in his native state of Virginia including four starts in the NEXTEL Cup Series racking up one pole in the spring 2007 race, two top-5 finishes and three top-10 finishes. Denny Hamlin has only one start in the NASCAR Busch Series finishing third in the 2006 event and one start in the Craftsman Truck Series where he posted an eighth place finish in 2006.
“I am very excited about running the truck race this week in Martinsville,” Denny Hamlin said. “I normally run at least one a year and this is my first opportunity to run Billy Ballew’s equipment which is some of the best out there. This is my first chance to work with Kyle Busch in a teammate capacity and we’ve already started trash talking about the race. Hopefully we’ll be able to race around each other out there and bring home a truck series victory for Billy Ballew.”
“I think the truck race will be valuable for us in the Cup race on Sunday. The COT (Car of Tomorrow) and the Craftsman Trucks are very similar in the draft. On the competition side, it will be valuable for both Kyle and me as we can learn a lot on pit strategy and the draft with a vehicle that doesn’t turn real well like the trucks because of the long wheel base. I know this race will be more of a learning experience for me from last year’s truck race because of the COT in the Cup Series. It should be a lot of fun mixing it up out there and I hope to walk away with a solid finish and valuable information for Sunday.”
Kyle Busch in the No. 51 and Denny Hamlin in the No. 15 Flanders Beef Patties Billy Ballew Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado’s will take to the track for the 200 lap, 105.2 mile Kroger 200 at the Martinsville Speedway Saturday, October 20th. The race is slated to begin at 3:00pm ET with televised coverage beginning at 2:30pm ET on SPEED. MRN Radio and their affiliate station coverage will also be live beginning at 2:45pm ET.
Qualifying for the event will also be televised live on SPEED beginning at 11:00am ET Saturday, October 20.
See more at www.truckseries.com
