Billy Ballew Motorsports NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Crew Chief, Doug George will be inducted into the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame Friday, July 3, 2009 at Irwindale Speedway in Southern California.

George is a native of Atwater, California and won the 1990 NASCAR Southwest Tour title, posting nine victories. He also won the 1995 NASCAR Camping World Series West Series title. George has two starts in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (Sonoma and Phoenix, 1995) and 56 starts in the Camping World Truck Series Career before moving into a crew chief position. 

Inductees into the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame include Parnelli Jones, Ivan Baldwin, Ernie Irvan and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Rick Carelli and former owner Wayne Spears.  (more…)

Aric Almirola in the No. 15 Phoenix Construction Billy Ballew Motorsports entry took to the track for the running of the MemphisTravel.com 200 presented by O’Reilly NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race posting a fourth place finish in the 200 lap event.

From the beginning of the event Almirola looked to be the class of the field moving into the third place position reporting in that the truck was tight in the middle of the corners. 

He continued to hold the spot driving defensively to maintain the position coming down pit road on lap 53 for four fresh Goodyear tires and fuel.  Almirola restarted in the fourth place position advancing to the second place position by lap 63 holding the spot as the laps clicked off in the 200-lap race. 

 Almirola came to pit road on lap 112 for tires, quick stop for the No. 15 team moved Almirola to the point position to return to pit road for fuel the following lap.  After the round of pit stops, Almirola restarted sixth on lap 117 and quickly advancing to the fourth place position running the fastest laps on the race track.

The field was shuffling around with the end of the race approaching with Almirola in the sixth place position for the green/white/checkered flag restart on lap 199.  Almirola using his instinct watched the two trucks in front of him battle for position and when they looked to get together Almirola drove around them picking up a fourth place finish for the Billy Ballew Motorsports team.

“The first time I ever came here to Memphis, it was just as hot,” Almirola said.  “At least it was under the lights, but it was just as hot.  It makes a lot better when you have a really good truck to drive.  I thank Billy Ballew (team owner) for the opportunity.  It has been a lot of fun to race this truck here with these truck guys.  They race hard every lap.  It’s been a lot of fun and I can’t wait to do some more.  This last set of tires was really up on top of the racetrack and I had no grip at all.  We missed our final adjustment there a little bit, but all in all, it was a great run.  I’m really proud of the guys.  We got snookered a little bit on strategy.  I didn’t realize we didn’t have to come back for gas. To come home fourth, though, was pretty good.”

The NASCAR Camping World takes two weeks off but will return to action at the Kentucky Speedway Saturday, July 18, 2009.

Brian Ickler in No. 51 Miccosukee Resort Toyota Tundra took to the ¾-mile Memphis Motorsports Park Saturday, June 27, 2009 for the running of the MemphisTravel.com 200 Presented by O’Reilly NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race in the 10th-place position finishing 12th in the 200 lap race.

Ickler struggled in the first practice Friday afternoon but the Miccosukee team led by Doug George made the right changes getting the No. 51 back on track for the 200 lap, 150 mile race at the Memphis, TN race track.

In oppressive Memphis heat, Ickler took the green flag moving into the seventh place position for the 200-lap race reporting in on the first caution that the truck rotated well in the corners but he was having trouble getting back to the gas. 

Ickler continued to battle in the top-10 when the caution came out on lap 52.  Ickler came down for four tires returning the following lap for fuel, track bar and wedge adjustments.  Ickler restarted in the 15^th-place position on lap 57.  Caution again returned to the track on lap 63.    After the restart running in the 15^th-place position Ickler came down low and got tapped by another competitor that was beneath him sending him into a spin bringing out the caution on lap 74.  Ickler received minimal damage coming down pit road for tires and fuel.

Despite the incident the No. 51 Miccosukee Resort team persevered finishing in the 12^th-place position while posting some top scores in NASCAR’s Loop Statistics.  Ickler  was the top closer in the race, improving the most positions in the last 20 laps of the event, fourth in the number of green flag passes, sixth fastest on restarts and ran two of the fastest laps of the race. 

The NASCAR Camping World takes a two week break after a five race stretch but will return to action at the Kentucky Speedway Saturday, July 18, 2009.

‘Driver returns to site of career first NASCAR start’

Aric Almirola will return to the site of his first start in a top-tier NASCAR Touring Series this week at Memphis Motorsports Park piloting the No. 15 Billy Ballew Motorsports NASCAR Camping World Truck Series truck.

Almirola made his career first start at the ¾-mile track in 2005; he has three total NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts at the ¾-mile racetrack, one in the No. 15 Billy Ballew Motorsports entry in 2007.  Billy Ballew Motorsports has 10 previous starts with a best finish of second in 2004.

The team will return with chassis No. 28 this weekend, the same truck that Almirola piloted in Milwaukee.

“I’m looking forward to taking this same truck to Memphis,” Almirola said.  “We had just a little body damage to be repaired and we’ll have a good start for practice in Memphis.”

“I can’t wait to get behind the wheel in Memphis. It was the track I made my first NASCAR start at and had a decent run going. We’re bringing the same truck we raced in Milwaukee, which was really good.

Short track racing at Memphis is intense, and it’ll be under the lights. It’s always a good race with lots of action.”

The O’Reilly 200 is slated to begin Saturday, June 27, 2009 at 6:00pm ET and will be broadcast live on SPEED.