Homestead-Miami, Fla. (November 19, 2010) – The 2010 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season came to a close Friday night at the 1.5-mile Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway.  Aric Almirola led the No. 51 Riverside Cafe Toyota to a fifth-place finish in the Ford 200 securing the second spot in the series championship.  The rank is the highest driver rank for Billy Ballew Motorsports in its 15 year history.  Billy Ballew Motorsports also finished the season third in the team championship only behind Kyle Busch Motorsports and Germain Racing.

Aric Almirola and the No. 51 team capped off a historic season for the organization Friday night.  Their fifth-place finish was the 11^th top-five and 21^st top-10 finish of the season for the team led by crew chief Richie Wauters.  The team also ended the season with 13 consecutive top-10 finishes, a record for Billy Ballew Motorsports.  Almirola came close to winning his third race of the year Friday night, having one of the strongest trucks on the long runs, but a late race red flag and another caution with only a handful of laps left didn’t allow for the team to capture another win.

The team started the night in fifth and immediately knew the truck was fast.  Almirola was a little tight in the center and off the corner, but he still raced in the top-five.  A caution on Lap 30 allowed the team to come down pit road for an air pressure adjustment, four tires and fuel. The pit crew made one of their best stops of the season and Almirola came out first.  Almirola led laps 33 to 36 before losing the lead to eventual winner Kyle Busch.  Again, the truck became tight in the center, but Almirola kept the No. 51 Riverside Café in third. 

The second caution came out on Lap 75 for debris.  Wauters called Almirola down pit road for more air pressure adjustments, four sticker tires and fuel.  Again, the pit crew put Almirola out as the leader of the race.  Almirola then led from laps 78 to 81 before giving away to Busch again.  Almirola never dropped out of the top-five the remaining of the race.  Almirola raced back to second on Lap 102 when the fourth caution came out on Lap 104. 

The leaders came down pit road for tires and fuel, and again Almirola was the first of the leaders back on the track.  This time, however, several trucks elected not to pit and Almirola lined up seventh on the restart.  The race went back green on Lap 108, but the red flag was displayed on Lap 113 for a major accident off Turn 4.  The red flag period lasted over 18 minutes for clean up at the beginning of pit road when a truck impacted and thus exploded the sand-filled barriers protecting the entrance to pit road.  Almirola had moved up to fifth and was in a good position to race for the win.

The race went back to green on Lap 114 and Almirola was in second on Lap 117 with only 17 laps left.  The race was then slowed one final time on Lap 127 with Almirola sitting in third.  He restarted on the inside and was unable to get the momentum he needed to pass the leaders.  Almirola was shuffled to fifth where he finished the race.

“We had another good finish tonight,” said Almirola.  “I wish we could have ended the year with a win, but I’ve got to thank Billy, Richie and everyone on this team for a great year.  We won races, competed for the championship, and that was in our first full year together.  I think that says a lot for us.  Hopefully I can come back next season and race a few races with Billy and the guys, and get a few more wins.”

Billy Ballew Motorsports finished the 2010 season third in the owner’s championship, the No. 51 team with Almirola finished second in the driver’s championship and Almirola and the N0. 51 earned two wins.  Billy Ballew Motorsports fielded the No. 51 Toyota for all 25 events and the No. 15 Toyota for a total of 17 events in 2010. Besides Almirola, Steven Wallace, Nelson Piquet Jr., Johnny Benson, Johanna Long, Jason Bowles, Denny Hamlin and Ted Musgrave made starts for Billy Ballew Motorsports. The final tally for the organization in 2010 includes two wins, 14 top-five and 28 top-10 finishes.

Billy Ballew Motorsports Has Another Winning Season

Almirola Looks to Secure Second in Championship

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (November 15, 2010) – The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) will conclude its 2010 campaign this Friday night at the 1.5-mile Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway. It’s been a banner season for Aric Almirola and the No. 51 Billy Ballew Motorsports team. Almirola collected two NCWTS wins (Dover and Michigan) and is poised to conclude the year second in the final point standings. Almirola aims to seal his season with another win in this week’s Ford 200.

The No. 51 team has competed at Homestead-Miami Speedway three times. With Kyle Busch at the wheel, they have achieved two top-five finishes. Their best showing came in 2007, when Busch crossed the finish line in second-place.

Almirola has four starts under his belt at Homestead – one Sprint Cup Series start, one Nationwide Series start and two NCWTS starts.  His best finish came in last season’s Truck Series race, which he finished in 14^th-place.

Almirola will be riding with a new sponsor on his Toyota for the Ford 200. The Riverside Cafe will be supporting the BBM No. 51 team. Riverside Cafe is located in Vero Beach, Florida. They have Live Entertainment 7 nights a week. Happy Hour everyday from 4-7. They also have 20 big screen TVs with ALL of the sports packages. They are located underneath the route 60 bridge right on the beautiful Indian River. For more info please visit our website at www.riversidecafe.com.

Almirola Comments on His Accomplishments This Season and Homestead-Miami Speedway:

“It’s been a great year for everyone on the 51 team. We’ve won races and contended for the championship. That’s what every driver hopes for. Every time we showed up for a race, I knew we had a chance to win.  I want to thank all of the guys on my team for all of their hard work and dedication. They’ve given me awesome trucks all year long.  We aren’t going to win the championship, but hopefully we can go out with a win.

“Congratulations to Todd Bodine and his team. Those guys have done a tremendous job this year. Todd’s a great driver and I really enjoyed competing against him. He’s a hard racer and is one of the guys to beat at nearly every track we go to; that’s what made this championship battle so much fun.

“We’re going to make sure we get second wrapped up this weekend.  That will end a good season for us and Billy Ballew.  We had a lot of good races, a couple of wins and to finish second in the championship isn’t bad at all.  I want to do that for the team this weekend. Another good run will do that, and we’re aiming for the win.

“I think you’re going to see everyone going for it this weekend. There’s no reason for anyone to really play it safe or to go into conservation mode. It should be a really exciting race. This is everyone’s last chance to win in 2010 in the trucks.

Avondale, Ariz. (November 12, 2010) – Aric Almirola and the No. 51 Floors by Design Toyota Tundra team finished fifth in Friday night’s Lucas Oil 150. For Billy Ballew Motorsports, the finish marked their 13th top-five finish in 2010. The strong season has been marked by Almirola and the No.51 Ballew team led by Richie Wauters. The fifth-place finish on Friday night extended their top-10 streak to 12 consecutive races. It also helped solidify their second position in driver points, as they now lead Johnny Sauter by 64 points heading into the season finale at Homestead-Miami. Todd Bodine finished 12th in the event and locked up the driver’s championship.

Early in Friday’s 150-lap event at the flat, one-mile Phoenix oval, it looked as if Almirola and the No. 51 Floors by Design Toyota might find victory lane. Starting ninth, Almirola had moved up to fifth by Lap 40. The truck was a “little loose”, but Almirola was running some of the fastest times of any driver on the track. A caution on Lap 53 allowed the team to come down to make air pressure and track bar adjustments, four tires and fuel. A quick pit stop allowed Almirola to restart in third on Lap 59.

The changes made the truck a bit “tight” for Almirola through the center as the track began to take rubber. The team still remained in the top five and was racing with the leaders. But, Almirola needed another stop for adjustments. The fourth caution of the night, on Lap 88, allowed the team to come back down pit road. The team made another track bar and air pressure adjustment, returning the pressures and track bar to their original settings. They also took four tires and fuel. It was their last stop of the night. Almirola returned to the track in sixth position, but quickly raced back to fourth. The final caution of the night happened on Lap 115 and involved the trucks of Ron Hornaday and Austin Dillion, both spinning in front of Almirola. Almirola masterfully drove around the wreck and moved into fourth.

The final 30 laps, the truck just did not grip the track, but the team finished a strong fifth. Clint Bowyer won the race followed by Kyle Busch, Sauter and Matt Crafton.

“First, congratulations to Todd Bodine and Germain Racing,” said Almirola. “They had a great season and deserve the championship. Todd and that team worked hard all season.

“It was a good night for us,” continued Almirola. “We fought really loose all night. We couldn’t find a good balance for our truck. To have the truck not handle the way we wanted it to, and come home with a fifth, I’m proud of that. I wanted to be better than that tonight. We’ve run really well here before, and I’m just disappointed we didn’t run any better than that.”

Almirola and the No. 51 Billy Ballew Motorsports team now heads to the Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway for the season finale Friday night. The race will be televised live on SPEED beginning at 7:30 p.m. (ET).

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (November 9, 2010) – The No. 51 Billy Ballew Motorsports (BBM) team has been a picture of consistency this season. With driver Aric Almirola at the helm, the team has scored 11 consecutive top-10 finishes that date back to Pocono Raceway in July. Throughout the streak, Almirola has scored six top-fives and finished in the runner-up spot twice. He aims to add an exclamation point to the streak in this week’s Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix International Raceway (PIR).

Based on BBM and Almirola’s past at the “Desert Jewel,” PIR seems to be a perfect venue for the team to capture its third win of 2010. The No. 51 team has a near-perfect record at PIR. In its three previous events at the one-mile oval, the BBM squad has one win and two second-place finishes.

Almirola has two NASCAR Camping World Truck Series events under his belt at PIR. He finished third last season driving the No. 15 BBM truck.

Almirola Comments on PIR and the No. 51 Team’s Top-10 Streak

“Phoenix is a tricky race track. It has elements that make it seem like a short track, a road course and an intermediate track all wrapped into one configuration. There are cookie cutter tracks, then there’s Phoenix.  It’s tight and cramped, almost like Martinsville. There’ are five left turns and somehow it’s still an oval track. It keeps you sawing on the wheel for the entire race.  It can be really tough on your brakes, so you’ve got to keep that in mind and make sure that you’re saving your equipment to be its best at the end.

“There’s no such thing as the perfect setup for Phoenix. Its corners are so different that you’ll never have a perfect balance on both sides of the track.  As a driver, you have to approach each set of turns differently and adapt to the setup underneath you.  It’s a challenge and that’s what makes it a lot of fun.

“We’ve had a streak of top-10 finishes dating back to Pocono. It’s a testament to our team’s hard work. The Truck Series is so competitive. On any given week, there are several teams capable of finishing inside the top-10. That’s how stacked this series is. The streak is certainly something we should be proud of. We’ve been to short tracks, intermediate tracks and superspeedways during that streak.  That says a lot about our consistency and our depth.

“The only thing we’re missing in our streak is a win and hopefully we’ll take care of that this weekend at Phoenix. This team has an awesome record there and has proven they can get the job done. We’ve knocked on the door a few times recently.  We were close at Bristol and Talladega. This could definitely be the race that we pick up our third ‘W’ of 2010.”