Written by: Tom Jensen

After opening the season with a typically exciting race at Daytona International Speedway, the men and women of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series have had to cool their heels for a couple of weekends.

Not anymore.

This weekend, the Truck Series will march into the lightning-fast 1.54-mile Atlanta Motor Speedway for Saturday’s Atlanta 200, which will be televised live on SPEED Saturday at 2 p.m. ET.

And of all the teams in the Truck Series, there probably isn’t a single one happier to be in Atlanta than Billy Ballew Motorsports.

Team owner Ballew is a Georgia native, hailing from Blairsville, and the team has enjoyed tremendous success at AMS, where it has three Truck Series race victories.

On the other hand, much has changed for BBM in 2010. Kyle Busch, who won three Atlanta races in a BBM Toyota Tundra, left at the end of last year to form his own team. And longtime sponsor Miccosukee Resorts left, too, first to go with Busch and then deciding to pull out of the sport altogether.

Talented young Aric Almirola will pilot the No. 51 Toyota that Busch used to drive, and he thinks he can put it in victory lane at Atlanta. “It’s great to race in Billy Ballew’s hometown of Atlanta,” said Almirola. “Where better than here to bring home a victory for Billy? His teams have had a lot of success there. I know that we’ll be strong this weekend.”

This weekend, Almirola will carry sponsorship from Akawareness.com, with the “ak” referring to actinic keratosis, a potential early warning sign of skin cancer that an estimated 10 million or so Americans are affected by.

For Almirola, simply getting back in the truck will be a relief. He had a decent 12th-place finish at Daytona last month and has been itching to race again ever since. “Man, I wish the Truck Series schedule was like the other NASCAR series,” Almirola said. “I hate racing and then taking a few weeks off. I can’t wait to get behind the wheel again.”

In the cockpit of Ballew’s other Tundra will be a noob, Steve Wallace, who will make his Truck Series debut Saturday in the No. 15 BBM Toyota, sponsored by Red Top Auto Auction.

Wallace, a regular in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, said he, too, will be ready to get it on in Hot ‘Lanta.

“This is going to be awesome,” said Wallace. “I’m really excited about getting behind the wheel of a truck. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do. I can’t think of a better way to start things off than driving for Billy . His teams run so well at Atlanta, which gives me a lot of confidence going into the weekend.”

Wallace is looking forward to the new challenge.

“I know it will be an adjustment to hop in a truck,” he said. “It’s going to be a transition for sure. Thankfully I’ve got a great team to work with, which should help speed up my learning curve.”

And he knows what to expect.

“The guys in the Truck Series race hard,” he said. “They race every lap like it’s the last one. It’s 100 percent from the time the green flag drops. I know I’ve got to bring my A-game.”

Almirola is excited about racing at Atlanta.

“The track is one of a kind; you can race on the bottom or up against the wall,” he said. “It gives you an opportunity to find the line that suits the truck the best. It’s such a fast track. It’s definitely a ‘hold your breath’ track. There’s great side-by-side racing and it seems like the finishes always come down to the wire. It’s going to be exciting for sure.”

Aric Almirola: Driver of the No. 51 AKawareness.com Toyota

Fast Facts:

• The No. 51 team has three wins (March 2009, March 2008, October 2007) and one pole (March 2009) in NASCAR Camping World Truck Series competition at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
• Almirola will be racing BBM chassis No. 32. The chassis has two wins (Chicago 2009, Texas 2009) since its debut at Chicagoland Speedway last year. 
• The Atlanta 200 will mark Almirola’s fifth career start at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Almirola has one NSCS start, one NNS start and two NCWTS starts at the famed 1.5-mile oval prior to this weekend.
• Almirola’s best finish at AMS came in 2006. Driving for Wayne Spears’ NCWTS team, Almirola finished in 18^th-place.
• In his 30 NCWTS starts at tracks one to two miles in length, Almirola has earned three top-fives and nine top-10 finishes.

Aric Almirola Comments on Atlanta 200 at Atlanta Motor Speedway:

“Man, I wish the Truck Series schedule was like the other NASCAR Series. I hate racing and then taking a few weeks off.  I can’t wait to get behind the wheel again.  The AKawareness.com team has shown they’re competitive week-in and week-out.  I’ve got great equipment and great people to work with.”

“It’s great to race in Billy Ballew’s hometown of Atlanta. Where better than here to bring home a victory for Billy? His teams have had a lot of success there.  I know that we’ll be strong this weekend.  The AKawareness.com team has a winning tradition at Atlanta, and I hope to keep it up.
“The track is one of a kind; you can race on the bottom or up against the wall. It gives you an opportunity to find the line that suits the truck the best. It’s such a fast track.  It’s definitely a ‘hold your breath’ track. There’s great side-by-side racing and it seems like the finishes always come down to the wire. It’s going to be exciting for sure.”

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Contact Info:
Brookes Versaggi

Breaking Limits, LLC

403 Gilead Road, Suite A

Huntersville, NC 28078

(910) 315-3488 – Mobile

Steve Wallace: Driver No. 15 Red Top Auctions Toyota

Fast Facts:

• Steve Wallace will make his debut NASCAR Camping World Truck Series start this weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway (AMS).
• The Billy Ballew Motorsports No. 15 team has one win at AMS (Kyle Busch, October 2005).
• Wallace will be racing BBM chassis No. 24. Brian Ickler piloted this chassis to a pole and third-place finish at Michigan International Speedway in June, 2009. 
• In his 70 NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) starts at tracks one to two miles in length, Wallace has one top-five and six top-10 finishes.
• In his three NNS starts at AMS, Wallace carries a best start of 22^nd (March 2007) and a best finish of 18^th (March 2008).
• Wallace’s No. 15 Toyota will carry the Wallace Sanford / Red Top Auto Auction colors at AMS.

Steve Wallace Comments on Atlanta 200 at Atlanta Motor Speedway:

“This is going to be awesome.  I’m really excited about getting behind the wheel of a truck.  It’s something I’ve always wanted to do.  I can’t think of a better way to start things off than driving for Billy (Ballew).  His teams run so well at Atlanta (Motor Speedway), which gives me a lot of confidence going into the weekend.

“I know it will be an adjustment to hop in a truck.  It’s going to be a transition for sure.  Thankfully I’ve got a great team to work with, which should help speed up my learning curve.

“The guys in the Truck Series race hard. They race every lap like it’s the last one.  It’s 100% from the time the green flag drops.  I know I’ve got to bring my A-game.   Hopefully I’ll be able to stay out of trouble and take the Red Top Auction Toyota to the front.”

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MOORESVILLE, NC  (February 26, 2010)—Rusty Wallace Racing’s (RWR) Steve Wallace and officials of Billy Ballew Motorsports (BBM) announced today that Wallace will make his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut behind the wheel of BBM’s No. 15 Toyota Tundra in the March 6 Atlanta 200 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Wallace’s No. 15 Tundra will feature primary sponsorship from traditional BBM partner, Red Top Auto Auctions.  The venerable Kevin “Cowboy” Starland will serve as crew chief for Wallace in the event.

Wallace currently drives RWR’s No. 66 5-Hour Energy Toyota Camry in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.  He is riding a streak o

f four consecutive top-ten finishes in the Nationwide Series heading into his 125^th career series start this weekend in Las Vegas.  Wallace is currently ranked seventh overall in the Nationwide Series driver standings.

Noted Wallace, “I’m really excited about the opportunity to run my first truck race next weekend in Atlanta.  I’ve always enjoyed watch

ing that series; those guys race really, really hard.  Running one of those races is something that I’ve wanted to do for awhile, but the timing has never been right until now.  I’d like to thank Billy Ballew and everyone at Red Top Auto Auctions for this opportunity.

“While running the truck race is going to be fun, my main focus is 100% on putting the No. 66 5-Hour Energy Toyota Camry up front and in contention for the Nationwide Series championship.  Atlanta is a track where we traditionally haven’t run as well as we’d like in the Nationwide car, so getting some extra seat time at Atlanta will help on that side as well.”

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