Denny Hamlin placed the No. 15 Miccosukee Resorts Toyota Tundra on the outside pole for the running of the Kroger 250 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race. Hamlin driving for Billy Ballew Motorsports posted a time of 19.818 seconds at a speed of 95.550 mph.

Joe Gibbs Racing teammate and current NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and Sprint Cup Series Championship points lead holder, Kyle Busch will start in the 11th place position. Busch in the No. 51 Miccosukee Resorts Toyota Tundra posted a time of 20.038 seconds with a time of 94.500 mph.

The Kroger 250 (250 laps, 131.5 miles) at the Martinsville Speedway is slated to begin at 3:00pm ET with FOX providing national televised coverage. MRN Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio begin their coverage at 2:30pm ET.

Billy Ballew Motorsports looks to have an All-Star Showdown this weekend as the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series teams head to the Martinsville Speedway for the running of the fourth race of the 25 race season on Saturday, March 29th.

Ballew will not only field NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and Sprint Cup Series Championship Points Leader Kyle Busch in the No. 51 truck in Saturday’s Kroger 250 but he will also put Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin in the No. 15 Toyota Tundra. Miccosukee Resorts will be the major primary sponsor on both Billy Ballew Motorsports entries.

"I’d like to thank James Finch and Miccosukee Resorts for coming on board to support both the No. 51 and the No. 15 Tundra’s this week in Martinsville," Team owner, Ballew said. "They have been a huge supporter of what we are trying to do and it is greatly appreciated. I hope we can bring home a decent finish if not a win for them Saturday."

Billy Ballew Motorsports has 15 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series starts between the No. 51 and No. 15 trucks at the Martinsville Speedway. The team has posted two top-five finishes (Kyle Busch 2005, Rich Bickle 1998) and four top-ten finishes at the .526-mile paperclip shaped short track in Martinsville, VA. 

Hamlin has eight starts at the track in his native state of Virginia including five starts in the Sprint Cup Series racking up one pole in the spring 2007 race, two top-5 finishes and four top-10 finishes. Hamlin also has one Nationwide Series start posting one top-5 and top-10 finish.

This will be Hamlin’s third start in the Craftsman Truck Series. In his first, he posted an eighth place finish in 2006. In his first start for Billy Ballew Motorsports in the fall 2007 race, a blown tire while racing three-wide forced him into traffic after having to pit. Martinsville is notorious for accidents on the track and Hamlin moving through the pack was the victim of one of them. After running upfront all day and working his way back through the traffic Hamlin looked to bring home a solid top-15 finish when aggressive driving again took its toll again catching Hamlin off turn-four headed for the checkered flag sending him home with a disappointing 19th place finish.

"We took tires on our stop losing position early on," Hamlin said. "Then we had to give up the track position after being blowing a left rear tire in three-wide racing. I had to use up a lot of the truck to move back up front. I just wished we could have had a better finish for Billy Ballew Motorsports."  continued (click on title).....

The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series heads to the Martinsville Speedway for the series first short track race of the 2008 Season. Billy Ballew Motorsports with NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship points leader Kyle Busch look to get through the weekend while maintaining their lead.

Martinsville Speedway is known for action packed racing on its .526-mile paperclip shaped race track. Billy Ballew Motorsports has 15 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series starts between the No. 51 and No. 15 trucks at the Martinsville Speedway. The team has posted two top-five finishes (Kyle Busch 2005, Rich Bickle 1998) and four top-ten finishes at the short track in Martinsville, Virginia.  Busch has ten previous starts at Martinsville posting three top-five and four top-ten finishes in six starts in the Sprint Cup Series, one top-five and two top-10 finishes in three starts in the Craftsman Truck Series and one start in the Nationwide Series with a finish of 20th in 2006.

Both Busch and Ballew are hoping for a better run on Saturday than they’ve had in the past. To help improve their Martinsville statistics, Busch attended the open truck series test in early March with the team to prepare for the Kroger 250 slated for March 29, 2008.

"It’s always work and its always work for these guys (testing) but it is still fun to come here," Busch said. "We don’t run very well here in Martinsville. This isn’t one of my best tracks in the truck series. We’ve come out of here with some good finishes but those were just luck, I guess. We want to make sure we have a better handling truck so we can come through the field in order to get to the front and make some passes. This race anyway is always a tough race because there is only like one stop and you have to have a good handling truck for a long, long period of time. So being able to work on that is going to be a big key to our success here when we come back."

"It (Martinsville Speedway) is a tough little particular racetrack. There is a certain way to run this place and there is a certain way to get into the corners, go thru the center of the corner and come off the corner. For me, I’ve been able to figure a little bit of that out but not exactly all of the keys that I need to win here. I haven’t had a win here yet but I’ve had some strong runs. It’s a good track for me, it’s just something I run well at, but you know don’t put me in your fantasy picks to win the thing." ...continued

Dreams can come true with hard work - one such Billy Ballew Motorsports Crew members is living that dream, at least on a part-time basis ... Reprinted with permission from writer, Rachel Davis   and the City of Jacksonville Employee News- He’s a city mechanical inspector by week, but come the weekend, Doug Schloss is living the dream of NASCAR fans everywhere. From tracks in Martinsville, Va., to Dover, Del., to At­lanta and Daytona, Schloss travels with the NASCAR’s Craftsman Truck Series team from Billy Ballew Motorsports.

On the track he’s a mechanic for the number 51 truck driven by Kyle Busch. During the race he catches tires, runs gas to and from the track and waves the sign when Busch drives into the pit. Schloss has worked for the City of Jacksonville for two years and during race season uses his vacation days for those Fridays before race day.   ...continued

A last minute decision to pit for four tires during a yellow flag rain delay sets up Kyle "Rowdy" Busch to bring home his third win in three starts at the Atlanta Motor Speedway Friday night in the running of the American Commercial Lines 200 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race for Billy Ballew Motorsports.

Photo Credit Chris McGrath Getty Images for NASCAR

Veteran NASCAR crew chief Richie Wauters brought Busch down for four tires and fuel on lap 112 giving up second place and sending the rest of the field into catch-up mode. This call set up the win for Busch in a six lap shootout in the No. 51 Miccosukee Resorts Toyota Tundra.

"The truck was real loose and we’ve been adjusting it to get a handle on it," Busch said. "We had to do what we needed to do to get tires on this thing ‘cause we won here that way two times in the past and knew tires were the deal. Being able to get those fresh skins on this baby and hopefully taking it to the front and that was going to be a chore but they (the leader and pack) came a lap later than us so luckily we got the track position a little easier."

Busch dominated from the start of the 130 lap, 200.2 mile race advancing from his third place position on the starting grid to taking the lead by the time lap one was counted. Although Busch was bottoming out in the No. 51 Miccosukee Resorts Toyota Tundra during qualifying and the beginning laps of the race, he was able to play cat and mouse with reigning NCTS Champion Ron Hornaday trading the lead back and forth. But on lap 20 when the caution flew, the team knew they’d have a lengthy pit stop in order to raise the truck. Busch came down pit lane on lap 21 to make the anticipated pit stop in order to raise the race truck. The Billy Ballew Motorsports crew opened the hood putting rounds in front springs to raise the body of the truck off the ground and took on four tires. Busch returned to pit road at the one to go signal for the restart to top off with fuel and for one further track bar adjustment. This stop gave the team a three lap advantage of Sonoco fuel over the other competitors. ..... continued (click on title)

The No. 15 Silverado finished 24th in the American Commercial Lines 200 after the Ergon team struggled to find the handling on Marc Mitchell’s truck.

Mitchell was forced to start at the rear-end of the field following an accident in practice. The Ergon Chevy ran through some moisture on the track and spun into the outside retaining wall. The damage forced the No. 15 team to roll out the backup truck for qualifying. Mitchell turned a qualifying lap good enough for 29th place, however, he started from the 31st position because the team switched to a another vehicle.

When the race got underway, Mitchell’s truck was too free for his liking. The team did their best to remedy the situation on their first pit stop. They gave Mitchell four fresh tires, fuel and lowered the track bar three rounds. Following the service, Mitchell rejoined the field in 20th place.

Mitchell hung strong in the top-20 until lap 93, when he entered pit lane for a green flag stop. The team topped off his fuel cell and changed his tires. Mitchell’s truck was still too loose, so the crew made a round of wedge and air pressure adjustments to tighten up the Ergon Silverado. Mitchell held down 20th place once the field cycled through the pit stops.  ...continued

Team looks for third win in three starts with Busch at AMS

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series team owner Billy Ballew heads home this week to the Atlanta Motor Speedway (AMS) for the first time in the team’s 13-year history as the point’s leader after Kyle Busch scored the team its first win of 2008 at the Auto Club Speedway (formerly known as the California Speedway).

Busch’s points lead over former Craftsman Series Champion Todd Bodine by 20 points marks the second time a current NASCAR Sprint Cup competitor has headed the points coming to Atlanta (Mark Martin 2006). Both Busch and Martin have won seven races a piece; a record for a current NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver.

Busch found victory lane at the Atlanta Motor Speedway in both his starts in the Craftsman Truck Series (2005, 2007) for Billy Ballew Motorsports. He also holds the widest margin of victory in the seven races the series has run at .971 seconds over Ron Hornaday Jr., (Oct. 27, 2007). The track’s total margin of victory is 3.165 seconds. Busch holds the best driver rating at AMS in the trucks at a rating of 141.2; just less than eight points shy of perfection. Ballew is the only owner to win more than one race at the 1.54-mile quad-oval .

Busch holds the current consecutive races led streak in the NCTS with six races beginning in Atlanta on Oct. 27, 2007. Busch failed to finish outside the top two only once, at Texas where engine failure left him 29th.

"My worst finish in the last seven truck races was second and we almost had three in a row there at the end of last year," Busch said. "(Johnny) Benson beat us there at Homestead and we finished second there.  Our worst finish before that was at Texas where we blew up and I think we finished fourth in the race before that.  We've had some great success in the truck series and the Nationwide series has been the same way."

The team will bring the No. 51 Miccosukee Resorts Toyota Tundra, chassis number 11, which has six prior visits to victory lane including at the Auto Club Speedway in February.   .....continued

Atlanta Motor Speedway Fast Facts:

"When I first started racing, I started out in Georgia.  Growing up in the panhandle of Florida (Tallahassee), there weren’t many race tracks close by that I could go to.  There were tracks in Pensacola and Orlando, but it was worth the trip to Georgia because the competition was much better there.  I did a lot of racing at Senoia Speedway and Cordele Motor Speedway.  I raced at Lanier Speedway too.  So when I get the chance to race in Georgia it feels like homecoming.  It’s great to be racing there again.

"I used to run Legends cars on the short track inside Atlanta (Motor Speedway).  I always dreamed of one day driving on the big track.  Some of the guys that I grew up racing with have made it to the big leagues, too.  I raced against guys like Reed Sorenson, David Ragan and Stephen Leicht.  It’s hard to believe that we’ve all made it.  It’s a dream come true to return to race at Atlanta in the Truck Series.                                                                                      ........ contiued

For Marc Mitchell, the combination of long green flag runs and a sub-par starting position made for a long day at the California Speedway.  Over the course of the San Bernardino 200, the field became too spread out on the two-mile oval for the Ergon Chevy hunt down the lead pack.  Still, Mitchell drove from the back to capture a 20th place finish.

Friday’s qualifying session was cancelled due to rain.  The field was set according to last season’s owners points, which put Mitchell 31st on the starting grid. 

When the race got underway, Mitchell quickly picked up four positions.  His progress was halted on lap four, when the caution flag waved for a spin on the track.  Mitchell relinquished his position and entered the pits to top off his fuel cell. 

Mitchell was sitting in 28th place for the restart on lap 9.  Once again, he shot up the chart.  This time he reached 25th place before the yellow flag waved again on lap 13.  Mitchell reported that the Ergon Chevy was "a little free off" so his crew serviced the truck with four scuff tires, fuel and a track bar adjustment. Several teams opted not to pit, which put Mitchell in 30th place for the restart.

The race went back to green on lap 18.  Mitchell cruised through traffic up to 19th place.  The third caution of the race ended his run on lap 44.  The Ergon Silverado was still "loose off" keeping Mitchell from carrying his momentum off the corners. Crew chief Doug George called for four tires, fuel and another track bar adjustment to remedy the handling of the No. 15 truck.

Green flag racing returned on lap 49 with Mitchell riding in 20th place.  Unfortunately, there weren’t any other caution periods to bunch up the field.  The long green flag runs allowed the field to separate.  Mitchell held strong to finish the race in 20th place.

"I wish we had the chance to qualify for the race," said Mitchell.  "This was a great truck the Ergon team prepared for me.  I was able to pick off a few trucks each time we had a restart, but we didn’t have very many cautions today.  California (Speedway) is two miles long and there’s not very much banking, so the cars just get so spread out.  I just ran out of time to catch them.  I feel like we could have finished in the top-15 if we had been able to start up front.

"I can’t wait for Atlanta. I’m sure my team will give me just as good a truck as we had today and we’ll be able to show what we’ve got."

Weather Waits for Win in Fontana for Billy Ballew after Kyle Busch posts the teams first victory in 2008.

 Photo:  Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR

After a long day of rain the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series qualifying was canceled placing the starting line-up by 2007 team owner points.

Marc Mitchell in the No. 15 Hyprene Ergon Chevrolet Silverado will start in the 29th place position with Kyle Busch in the No. 51 Opportunity California, San Bernardino County Toyota Tundra in the 20th place position on the starting grid.

National live televised broadcast to begin on Fox at 11:30am PT (2:30pm ET).

After a great start to the 2008 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season in Daytona, Billy Ballew Motorsports looks towards another successful weekend as the series moves to the California Speedway.

Ballew fields two entries in the Craftsman Truck Series with Marc Mitchell in the No. 15. Mitchell scored a 13th place finish in his first start at the Daytona International Speedway. Ballew also fields the No. 51 Toyota Tundra that posted a dramatic second place finish at the World Center of Sports last Friday evening.

Kyle Busch, who is the only driver slated to run in all three of NASCAR’s premier series at the California Speedway this weekend, will be making his first start in the Craftsman Truck Series at the 2-mile track. At age 16, Busch was deemed too young to compete in the truck series race due to sponsorship restrictions and was forced to give up the seat in his Jack Roush-owned Ford after logging the fastest practice speed. Busch has 13 prior starts in the NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide series. He posted one win and one pole at the intermediate size race track, both in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Billy Ballew Motorsports has six prior California Speedway starts with a best finish of 12th in 2002.

The team plans to use chassis 11 as the primary car. Chassis 11 has won five NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races including team owner Ballew’s his first win at Las Vegas in 2004.   continued....

 "This Isn’t Your Father’s Caddy We Are Racing"

"I’m slowly getting a feel for the handling of a Craftsman truck. The ARCA cars I’ve raced until now are like a Cadillac compared to the trucks. The trucks just move around a lot more. They sure aren’t like your fathers Caddy. They seem a lot more top-heavy and that makes them harder to roll through the corners. They do, however, have so much side force, you’re able to hang them out a lot more than you do an ARCA car. That’s one thing I’m going to have to get used to. Once I do, though, this Ergon team is going to be one to be reckoned with.

"The Ergon team is starting to gel. Doug (George, crew chief) and myself work real well together. We’re becoming friends. Working together at the shop has helped out a lot. Once we get some chemistry established, and have a chance to go to some race tracks where we have to make some more adjustments, we’ll do nothing but get better as the season goes on.                                                                                                           continued.......

'Busch Brings Home Best Finish for Ballew in his First NCTS Start at DIS'  

"I don’t know what to do to make it better," Busch said. "It bounces up and the front pitches sideways in the back."                                            .....continued, click on title above ....

Billy Ballew Motorsports announced today that NOS Energy Drink will be the primary sponsor of the No. 51 Toyota Tundra piloted by NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Kyle Busch in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season kickoff Friday, February 15, 2008 in the Chevy Silverado 250.

T his Rookie Knows What the Front Looks Like at Daytona

· The Chevrolet Silverado 250 will mark Mitchell’s second start in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, but first start with Ergon sponsorship.

· Mitchell, 24, finished second in the 2007 ARCA 200 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway – only his second appearance at the speedway.

· Mitchell, a native of Tallahassee, Florida, will be one of only two drivers from the state of Florida entered in Friday night’s race.

· Mitchell will be making his sixth Superspeedway start. He has three starts at Talladega in a combination of both NASCAR Craftsman Truck and ARCA competition. He has two previous starts at Daytona in ARCA.

· The #15 Ergon Hyprene Chevrolet will compete in 21 races in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 2008. Mitchell is competing for Rookie of The Year Honors.

" My first goal is to win rookie of the year. I definitely want to do that. Going into this year, a big springboard for me is going to be running well and being consistent. I think if I can do that, I’ll raise some eye brows and hopefully get an opportunity to keep moving up the ladder. Up to this point in my career, I’ve been moving up, up and up. Hopefully that trend will continue and I’ll get another shot in ’09 to move up to either Nationwide or Cup Series.                                  continued......

Billy Ballew Motorsports heads to the Daytona International Speedway way this week for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season kickoff Friday, February 15, 2008 in the Chevy Silverado 250. Piloting the No. 51 Toyota Tundra for Ballew at the 2.5-mile superspeedway will be Kyle "Rowdy" Busch.

Busch and the No. 51 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series team had a tremendous end to the 2007 season scoring two wins (Atlanta Motor Speedway (II), Phoenix International Raceway) and a close second in the final race at the Homestead-Miami Speedway. Busch made only 11 starts in the No. 51 in 2007 posting 2 wins, 4 top-five, 4 top-10 finishes. The team looks to carry forward the momentum into the 2008 season after a successful test at the Super Speedway in January.

The Chevy Silverado 250 will Busch’s first start in a Craftsman Truck at the historic motorsports venue in Daytona Beach, Florida. The young driver has the opportunity to create history of his own with a weekend sweep of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck, Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series races. Busch became just the second driver in NASCAR to sweep a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and NASCAR Nationwide Series race at a track in the same weekend in November at the Phoenix International Raceway.

"I am not saying we will. I am not saying we won't," Busch said. "I am just saying we hope to. It would be a great honor to have that."                                                                     continued......

Are you going to be running Nationwide and Craftsman Truck Series events this year? "It's going to be a busy year - we've got the whole cup schedule which is obviously priority with the M&M's Toyota - but we've also got the Nationwide Camry with Joe Gibbs Racing as well as Braun Racing. So it's a busy year there and then of course I'm racing in the Craftsman Truck Series as well. We're going to run races with Billy Ballew Motorsports and we're still looking for sponsorship for that deal there. I don't have anything but a Tundra on that one. It's going to be fun though I'm looking forward to it and it's going to be a busy year and a hard year, but the more track time you get the better is what I always say."

How did you begin racing for Billy Ballew Motorsports? "The connection is pretty much through Richie Wauters, he is the crew chief on that deal. A few years ago I raced in his late model cars, a short track program. Richie was at the Snowball Derby and we kind of built a relationship there and then he was crew chief for Blue's stuff in the truck series. I kept begging them to let me run a race and finally they offered me a race. We ended up winning the first one, and when we went to the second one, and we won the second one and so ever since then we've always been together."

What's it like racing with the NCTS veterans? "It's fun to race in the truck series anytime, but when you're racing against old Wile E. (Coyote) veterans like Skinner, Musgrave, Sprague, Hornaday and all those guys it's pretty cool. It's fun to race with them as well as the new guys that are coming up through the sport. There's a lot of competition over there so it's not real easy." Since you're not racing for points, does that give you freedom to race your heart out?                         continued......

Continuing a solid foundation built last season, Ergon, Inc. will raise their level of awareness in motorsports in 2008. Maintaining their partnership with the young and impressive Marc Mitchell, Ergon Inc. has formed a relationship with Billy Ballew Motorsports to sponsor Mitchell in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

Billy Ballew Motorsports will enter the No.15 Ergon Chevrolet Silverado for Marc Mitchell in 21 events this season beginning at the Chevy Silverado HD 250 at the Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.  Billy Ballew Motorsports also fields the No. 51 NASCAR Craftsman Truck which is driven by NASCAR Sprint Cup veterans Kyle Busch and David Stremme.

Ergon, Inc., a diverse brand with over 60 companies under their umbrella, continues their relationship with Mitchell that included 11 ARCA events in 2007 highlighted by a second place finish at the ARCA season kick-off at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.

"We were impressed by Marc’s ability last season, both behind the wheel and as a representative of our company," said Vice President for Ergon, Inc. Baxter Burns. "We are thrilled to be partnered with Billy Ballew this season as well. He has proved himself a winning owner and a dedicated individual to make this program a success."                                                                       ...continued....

Billy Ballew Motorsports officially announces the 2008 driver line up for the No. 51 Toyota Tundra. NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Driver Kyle Busch will run the majority of the companion races 2008 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races including the season opener February 15 at the Daytona International Speedway. Busch will be joined by another NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series driver, David Stremme who will pilot the No. 51 in several events. Another driver will be announced later for the events that are possible conflicts with both Busch and Stremme’s schedules.

Coming off a successful 2007 race season where Busch posted two wins and a close second after a green/white/checkered finish at the Homestead-Miami Speedway, the team heads into 2008 with high expectations for a Championship run.

"We are really excited to have Kyle Busch with us again," Ballew said. "Kyle has been a part of this team since 2005 and continues to be a major part of this team. We are looking forward to the addition of a new member to the Billy Ballew Motorsports family; David Stremme will also be driving the No. 51. With both drivers we know we will be a factor week in and week out. We had a sponsor contract that did not materialize, but we are even more committed to our goal which is to win the 2008 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Owner Championship. With the talent of the drivers we have slated behind the wheel, I am confident we will rebound and be able to lock in a sponsor."   .. continued...

After two full days of testing for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season opener February 15, 2008 at the Daytona International Speedway, Kyle Busch and the Billy Ballew Motorsports team have high expectations for the annual event.

Although times on single runs weren’t as strong on day one of the test, the team was able to gain momentum in the draft both Friday and Saturday at the famed 2.66-mile tri-oval. Crew chief Richie Wauters and Busch worked on the truck to gain speed on the track.

"We struggled at first," Busch said. "But we are doing pretty well in drafting. We’ll head back to the shop, look at the data and make the adjustments we need for the race."

Busch, who was fastest in the first round of testing in the Car of Tomorrow NASCAR Sprint Cup Series car in his new ride for Joe Gibbs Racing, noted some differences and similarities in the two machines.

"They’re quite a bit different, (NASCAR Sprint Cup car/ Craftsman Truck)," Busch said. "Yet they have some similarities, too. The grip level with the race track between here and Talladega is a lot different, and the Cup Series car and the truck both slide around here. You don’t want to be too loose, because you can get sucked around and spun out. You also want to have a good-handling truck, though."                                                                                                             ...continued....  

Billy Ballew Motorsports Crew Members ready the truck for another run during Friday's test session.

January 12, 2008 11:23 a.m. EST  Buddy Shacklette - AHN Motor Sports Reporter  Daytona Beach, FL (AHN) -

Ed Sutton, father of NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver, Kelly Sutton, passed away December 30 in Crownsville, MD at the age of 61.  Sutton followed in his father’s footsteps into the world of Motorsports, racing locally in Maryland.  Sutton began drag racing, but quickly moved into Figure 8 racing and eventually oval tracks in the early 1980s throughout the east.  Sutton passed his racing legacy on to his daughter, Kelly, in 1991, establishing Capitol City Motorsports and launching her racing career.  In 2003, Sutton built Sutton Motorsports and took his daughter’s career to one of the top levels of NASCAR – the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

 In addition to his years in motorsports, Sutton also served in Vietnam as a United States Marine in 1966 and 1967 and was a retired Anne Arundel County police officer in Maryland.  Sutton is survived by his wife, Carol, daughters Kelly, Tracey, Ewa and six grandchildren.  He will be remembered as a father, husband, coach, mentor and friend to everyone he touched in the garage area.

Viewing for Ed Sutton will be held on Thursday, January 3rd from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM and from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM at Hardesty Funeral Home at 851 Annapolis Road in Gambrills, Maryland.  Funeral services will be held at 11:00 AM on Friday, January 4th at South Shore Baptist Church at 725 Herald Harbor Road in Crownsville, Maryland.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Kelly Sutton Let it Shine Foundation for Multiple Sclerosis www.letitshinefoundation.com .

# # #

Billy Ballew Motorsports would like to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Kyle Busch made a banner effort to put the No. 51 Miccosukee Resort Billy Ballew Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado in victory lane Friday, November 16 at the Homestead-Miami Speedway for the final NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race.

Busch reported tight conditions right at the start of the 134 lap race, but as the temperatures cooled on the Homestead, Florida track, the truck improved.  When a long green flag run came during the race, the Billy Ballew Motorsports team had to make the decision on when to pit for service. Just as the team was about to pit, the second of just four caution periods occurred on the racetrack, putting Busch in position to win the Ford 200.  

“In the beginning of the race we were horrible, and absolutely couldn't even run 20th,” Busch said.  “Just a really bad beginning for us, but we were able to come in the pits and make some adjustments on it and caught that caution luckily when we had just about come down Pit Road with fuel, tires and everything and we got everybody a lap down being able to stay out like we did.  That was our saving grace.  We came in and made some more adjustments to the truck and all the adjustments really seemed to help and free it up.  We were just battling really tight.  Just being able to make those adjustments, got us out front and got us out in clean air and we were able to pull away from everybody.”

Busch held off the competition leading three times for a total of 69 laps.  On lap 134, the caution flag flew sending the last race of the season into overtime.  Busch was able hold off the second place competitor, Johnny Benson at the restart on lap 136 for the green/white/checkered finish.  Busch looked to have the win in the bag until another truck spun getting into the wall but the yellow flag was not thrown allowing Benson to work the bottom of the track taking the point position.  Busch battled fiercely but the No. 23 Craftsman Truck had too much steam sending the No. 51 Miccosukee Resort Billy Ballew Motorsports Silverado home with a second place finish. 

“There in that last restart I got a good jump,” Busch said.  “But Johnny was able to get his truck lower on the corner than mine, mine was just too tight, and was able to power past us, and there in that last lap going into 3 and 4 I just held it wide open, I didn't care if I ran through the wall and went out in the parking lot, I was just going to try to win the race.  Johnny had a better truck than we did and was able to prove it there at the end in those final two laps, he got by us, but we'll build some new ones for next year and try and get back after him again.” 

“I was just disappointed in NASCAR's decision there to throw a caution at the end of the race there with a truck that got real sideways.  I don't think it was any worse than what Greg Biffle or Kyle Busch ever do.  It's really sad that they threw a caution for a truck that didn't even spin out; all it did was make a little bit of a smoke show.  It cost us the race.  But I guess it's in the interest of safety and they wanted to check everything out and make sure it was all good.”

With the conclusion of the 2007 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, Billy Ballew Motorsports has made 205 starts and their 128th consecutive start in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.  The team fielded the No. 15 Silverado with seven drivers behind the wheel in the 25 race Series schedule. The No. 15 Billy Ballew Motorsports race truck posted two top-10 finishes.  The first came with Bill Lester at the Kentucky Speedway, posting an eighth place finish. Shane Sieg posted a tenth place finish in his first start for Billy Ballew at the New Hampshire International Speedway.  

Busch has made 113 starts in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, 29 with Billy Ballew Motorsports posting four wins, thirty top-5 and 51 top-10 finishes.  Busch made 11 starts for Ballew in the NO. 51 Chevrolet Silverado in 2007 posting two wins, four top-5 and four top-10 finishes.  The truck was raced in 18 total series events with five drivers; Kelly Sutton, Paul Menard, Aric Almirola, Kenny Wallace and Kyle Busch. 

For more information on Billy /Ballew Motorsports and Kyle Busch visit www.billyballewmotorsports.com and www.KyleBusch.com .

NASCAR West Series driver, Andrew Myers will be making his first start at the Homestead-Miami Speedway Friday, November 19, 2007 for the running of the Ford 200 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series finale.

Myers will be making his second career NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series start for Billy Ballew Motorsports driving the No. 15 NEO Synthetic Chevrolet Silverado.  The Newport Beach, CA driver made his debut in the series with the experienced team at the Phoenix International Raceway (PIR) last week. 

Seat time again is the goal of crew chief, Doug George and the No. 15 Billy Ballew Motorsports team for Myers in the 134 lap, 201.5 mile race on the 1.5-mile track in Homestead, Florida. Myers made big strides in the race at PIR last weekend moving from the 34th place starting position up to the 18th place when flat tires and an on track incident placed him in 30th at the end of the race.

“Phoenix was an experience for me that I loved,” Myers said.  “Driving these Craftsman Trucks is a lot of fun but I know I need to make laps in the series and that is what we look to do on Friday in Homestead.  I really enjoy working with Doug George (crew chief) who is a former West Series driver.  He knows his stuff and has taught me so much in a short period of time. This Billy Ballew Motorsports team really knows how to put some equipment underneath you.  I was really impressed with how Kyle (Busch) ran in the No. 51 and I hope to get a couple pointers this weekend in Homestead.”                                                                                               .....continued.....

Billy Ballew Motorsports with Kyle Busch behind the wheel of the No. 51 Miccosukee Resorts Chevrolet Silverado, head to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series finale at the Homestead-Miami Speedway Friday, November 18.  The team is just coming off a win at the Phoenix International Raceway Friday, November 9th.

“I was so happy to put this team in victory lane again last week in Phoenix and finally Flanders Beef Patties,” Busch said.  “The program is really starting to come-on late in the season.  I’d really like to run in Daytona or on a track like that and carry on the momentum from the end of this season.”

Busch posted his sixth career win in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series last week for Billy Ballew Motorsports.  The first win of 2007 for Busch and Ballew came at the Atlanta Motor Speedway three weeks ago and they looked to have the win at Texas that next week but an engine blew the team’s chances. Busch and veteran Craftsman Truck Series Crew Chief, Richie Wauters look to grab the last win of the season and will be bringing the same truck they won with in Atlanta and nearly won with in Texas, chassis No. 11. 

“I’m looking forward to being in the truck this weekend,” Busch said.  “I haven’t run one here since 2005 and I think the truck we are bringing this week will be a good piece for the race.  It is the Atlanta truck that we could have won the Texas race with but the engine blew.”  .......... continued....

Busch was the second fastest in the final practice for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series but was loose in qualifying posting a time of 27.578 seconds at a speed of 130.539 mph placing him in the eight place position for the 150 lap, 150 mile race.

In the young drivers’ style, Busch, 22 started to advance immediately through the field but didn’t gain much ground before numerous cautions on the racetrack occurred.  Busch radioed in to crew chief Richie Wauters that the truck had been loose and pitted for tires and fuel on the third of 13 caution periods on the track.  Busch restarted in the seventh place position.

When the red flag flew on lap 48, Busch was positioned in sixth place.  When the green flag fell on lap 50, Busch started moving back through the field, driving three-wide on the one-mile track.  The top six trucks all ran neck and neck with Busch moving to the 4th place position when the sixth caution flag was flown. 

NASCAR Grand National, West Series driver, Andrew Myers made his debut in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series at the Phoenix International Raceway Friday, November 9 for the running of the Casino Arizona 150.   Myers piloted the No. 15 NEO Synthetics Chevrolet Silverado Billy Ballew Motorsports entry for the 24th race of the 25 race series season.

Experience and seat time were the focus for Myers who placed the truck in the 34th place position for the event.  Myers made his way through the pack advancing to the 18th place position by lap 60.  But Myers had a tire go down and had to pit under the green flag losing positions. While getting up to speed, Myers felt a hard vibration and immediately returned to pit road for another set of tires on lap 114.

Again Myers took to the track in an attempt to gain as many positions as possible but he and another truck got together sending him into the outside wall on lap 127.  Although the truck had heavy right side damage, Myers was able to continue in the race finishing in the 30th place position in the Casino Arizona 150 at the Phoenix International Raceway.                                                 ...continued....

This may be Andrew Myers first start in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, but not his first time on the Phoenix International Raceway (PIR).  Myers brings NASCAR Grand National, West Series experience with him to the 1-mile track just outside Phoenix, Arizona.

Myers will pilot the No. 15 NEO Synthetics Billy Ballew Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado Friday, November 9 in the Casino Arizona 150 (150 lap, 150 mile race).  Billy Ballew Motorsports has eight previous NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series starts at the Phoenix International Raceway with a best finish of fourth in 2005.  Myers has four previous starts at PIR in the NASCAR Grand National, West Series with one win (April 2006), one top-5 and one top-10 finish.

Myers and Ballew are not the only ones with experience at PIR.  Billy Ballew Motorsports crew chief and veteran driver, Doug George has quite a history at the track as well.   George has one NASCAR NEXTEL Cup and six NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series starts at PIR with a best finish of ninth in 1996.  George is a NASCAR Grand National, West Series Champion and a NASCAR Southwest Series Champion clinching his title at the 1-mile dessert track in 1990.

“I’m really excited about making my first start in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series this weekend with Billy Ballew Motorsports,” Myers said. “I spent last week with the team where we went to Caraway to make a few laps and then to Texas for the race.  I am a hands-on person so it was a great way for me to get to know the truck and the guys on the team.          .... continued.....

Billy Ballew Motorsports and Kyle Busch bring experience to the Phoenix International Raceway (PIR) this week for the running of the Casino 150, (150 laps, 150 miles) NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race on the 1-mile tight cornered track just outside Phoenix, Arizona.

Billy Ballew Motorsports has eight previous NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series starts at the Phoenix International Raceway with a best finish of fourth in 2005.  Busch has eleven starts at the Phoenix International Raceway including five NASCAR NEXTEL Cup starts with one pole, one win, one top-5 and three top-10 finishes. In the Busch Series he has four starts, two poles, one top-5 and two top-10 finishes.  Busch has two starts for Billy Ballew Motorsports in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series where he posted a best finish of ninth in 2006.

After a blown engine made for a disappointing day in Texas last week, the team shook it off by doing a little short track racing..   Busch will bring crew chief, Richie Wauters and some of the other Billy Ballew Motorsports team to the Annual Fall Classic Presented By Bank Of America this weekend at the Bullring at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.  Busch will drive the No. 51 Super Late Model Saturday night.  The team has been practicing in Las Vegas and will be familiar with the route between there and Phoenix before Saturday night’s race at the Bullring.              .....continued........

JR Norris scores a top-20 finish in his debut at the Texas Motor Speedway piloting the No. 15 McKinney Pipe & Steel Billy Ballew Motorsports NASCAR Craftsman Truck.  Norris posted an impressive time of 29.584 seconds at a speed of 182.531 mph in qualifying placing the Silverado in the 12th place starting grid for the running of the Silverado 350k Friday, November 2.

Norris got off to a good start in the scheduled 147 lap event on the 1.5-mile race track in Fort Worth, Texas until an accident ahead of him forced him through the grass on lap ten taking off a part of the front valance of the truck.  Norris came into the pits under the caution to evaluate the minimal damage going back out for the restart in the 34th place position but quickly began moving up through the field finding confidence with each lap he took. 

By lap 44, Norris had advanced to the 23rd place position and had received the lucky dog award after being lapped by the leader and teammate Kyle Busch shortly before the caution.  Norris noted his truck was tight into the center of the corner and came down pit road for tires and fuel then dashing back into the pits before the green flag again waved on lap 45 to top off with fuel.

Again the young Billy Ballew Motorsports Developmental driver moved through the pack calling into crew chief, Doug George that the truck was still tight on lap 58.  Norris got into the grove of the race and advanced to his highest position of the day in 9th at the halfway mark of the race.

Norris, in the 14th place position, started to feel a vibration in the truck.  Not taking any chances, crew chief, Doug George called him into the pits.  The No. 15 McKinney Pipe & Steel truck came down for four Goodyear tires and fuel on lap 123 but was called back in due to all the lug nuts not being tight on the left front tire losing ten positions for the restart on lap 128.                 ...... continued.........

A blown motor breaks back to back wins for Billy Ballew Motorsports and Kyle Busch Friday night in the running of the Silverado 350k at the Texas Motor Speedway sending Busch home with a 29th place finish.

The NASCAR NEXTEL Cup driver and Craftsman Truck Series moonlighter  Busch and  Ballew Motorsports are fresh off of their first win of the 2007 NASCRAR Craftsman Truck Series season at the Atlanta Motor Speedway.  This is Busch’s fifth win for the team with Billy Ballew Motorsports having six wins in their tenure in the series.

Busch qualified the No 51 Flanders Beef Patties Chevrolet Silverado in the fifth place position with a time of 29.403 seconds and a speed of 183.655 mph and accelerated to the third place position within the first lap of the green flag dropping for the 146 lap, 219 mile race on the 1.5-mile Texas Motor Speedway.

The first of seven caution periods came quickly finding Busch in the second place position for the restart on lap eight.  Busch juggled positions and was in the third place on lap 14 with a run on the inside for the second position when he got loose going sideways making an incredible save.

Busch regained the two spots he had lost during the close call and was leading for the first time of the night on lap 38.  Busch lost the lead and called into his crew that the truck was tight/loose into and through the center of the corners and was both tight and loose off of the corner.

When the caution flag came out again, Busch came down pit road on lap 40 to tighten up the race truck.  Busch asked for air pressure the same but wanted tires, wedge and track bar adjustments.  The Goodyear tires couldn’t have come any sooner since the right rear that was changed was worn down to the cords of the tire.                                                                    ....continued.....

JR Norris scores a top-20 finish in his debut at the Texas Motor Speedway piloting the No. 15 McKinney Pipe & Steel Billy Ballew Motorsports NASCAR Craftsman Truck.  Norris posted an impressive time in qualifying placing the Silverado in the 12th place starting grid for the running of the Silverado 350k Friday, November 2.

Teammate Kyle Busch, in the No. 51 Flanders Beef Patties Chevrolet Silverado put the Billy Ballew Motorsports entry in the fifth place position for the 146-lap event and took the lead by lap 38.   Busch and Ballew coming off victory in the Craftsman Truck Series last week in Atlanta were looking for two in a row. Busch came close leading twice in the event for a total of 27 laps until the engine expired on lap 70 just as the caution was coming out for another incident on the track.        

                                                                                                          full reports to follow….. 

  JR Norris, developmental driver for Billy Ballew Motorsports, will make his career first start at the Texas Motor Speedway Friday, November 2, for the running of the Chevy Silverado 350K NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event.

Norris, the 2006 NASCAR Southeast Series Champion, made his career Craftsman Truck Series debut at the Gateway International Raceway September 1 starting in the 13 place position and posting a 16th place finish.  Friday, Norris will pilot the No. 15 Craftsman Truck in the 146 laps, 219 miles on the 1.5-mile race track in Fort Worth Texas. 

Primary sponsor for Norris will be Texas based McKinney Pipe & Steel.  McKinney Pipe and Steel is owned by a big supporter of Norris, Jan Richardson.  Her son Robert raced with him in the NASCAR AutoZone Elite Division and are still good friends. Robert Richardson, Sr. told Norris if he ever had the opportunity every racer hopes to get a shot at, he’d see what he could do to help.  Well, Norris had the opportunity with Ballew for Texas and Richardson kept his word.  The Richardson’s are no strangers to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series as they were 2006 team owners of the No. 1 Chevrolet Silverado team.  Robert Richardson, Jr., made his debut in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 2006 and in 2007, races the No. 28 Jay Robinson Racing NASCAR Busch Series car.   

“I have to thank the whole Richardson family for their support,” Norris said.  “I had this opportunity with Billy and they were right there to make it happen.........                               .... continued....

Youth was served Saturday, October 27, in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at the Atlanta Motor Speedway thanks to Kyle Busch. The 22-year-old became the season’s youngest winner in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and the youngest winner since May 2006 when, the then-21-year-old Busch last went to Victory Lane at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.

Busch’s experience is greater than his 22 years and is actually younger then both the sons of the 2007 Craftsman Truck Series Championship Points contenders, Ron Hornaday and Mike Skinner.  Ronnie Hornaday is 28 with Jamie Skinner 29 – both former NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series competitors.

Busch has won at least one race in all three elite series - the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup, Busch Series and Craftsman Trucks from 2005-2007 extending his existing record to three consecutive years.  Only two other drivers have accomplished the feat of wins in every series in the same season, Terry Labonte (1995) and Kevin Harvick (2003). Busch also has the second most series wins by a fulltime NEXTEL Cup competitor: five. Mark Martin is the leader with seven.

Billy Ballew Motorsports also had a record set last week with Busch’s Victory in Atlanta.  Crew chief Richie Wauters joined Germain Racing’s Mike Hillman Jr. as winners in four consecutive seasons.  Dennis Connor holds the series record of six consecutive winning seasons (1996-2001) with Jack Sprague.