By Bob PockrassSaturday, March 06, 2010
HAMPTON, Ga. – Aric Almirola and Steve Wallace, two drivers still looking to make names for themselves in NASCAR, did their best Saturday to ensure that Billy Ballew Motorsports continues to be a top team in the Truck Series.

Almirola finished third and Wallace finished fourth in the E-Z-Go 200 at Atlanta Motor Speedway for team owner Billy Ballew, whose organization won seven races last year with Kyle Busch. They followed two Sprint Cup drivers who double as truck owners – Kevin Harvick and Busch – across the finish line.

“Kyle’s just one guy,” Almirola said. “Our truck program is very strong. [Crew chief] Richie Wauters, all the guys back at the shop work their guts out and it shows. We had an awesome truck. We missed it just a little bit, and that little bit was the difference between third and winning.”

For Almirola, his third-place finish on Saturday helped ease the pain of failing to qualify Friday for the Sprint Cup race at AMS. Almirola is driving full time for Ballew in the Truck Series, while his Cup program faces an uncertain future after Miccosukee dropped its sponsorship of Phoenix Racing.

“That’s really frustrating [in Cup],” Almirola said. “It is what it is. At the end of the day, I get to be in a race car and that’s what I want to do. It’s more than a job for me. It’s something I’m very passionate about.”

Almirola technically has one victory in 110 starts in NASCAR’s three national touring series, but that was a Nationwide Series race where a late-arriving Denny Hamlin replaced Almirola at the Milwaukee in 2007 and went on to win.

He didn’t get that first real win Saturday, but he was still happy. He has eight top-five finishes in 19 career starts for Ballew.

“We didn’t have what it took to roll around the bottom as long as we needed to; our truck got real tight the longer we ran and got tight in traffic,” Almirola said. “We still have our homework to do to catch up to Harvick. I’m looking forward to the rest of the year.”

Another driver looking for his first NASCAR national touring series victory is Wallace, who was making his Truck Series debut Saturday. Wallace, the son of former Cup champion Rusty Wallace, is sixth in the Nationwide Series standings.

“These things draft really, really hard,” Wallace said. “When you get a car [and not a truck] in your right rear corner, you tend to get really, really loose there. Some of those things I learned today. The things are definitely a blast to drive.”

Wallace said he would like to compete in upcoming truck races at Martinsville and Nashville.

“I’ve got no money to bring so hopefully Billy will find some,” Wallace said. “It was a lot different, that’s for sure. … All in all, it was a good day.”