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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DAYTONA BEACH, FL (February 13, 2010) – In only his second NASCAR Camping World Truck Series start at Daytona International Speedway, Aric Almirola cruised to a 12^th-place finish in the NextEra Energy Resources 250.  Piloting the No. 51 AKAwareness.com Graceway Pharmaceuticals ®, LLC Toyota Tundra fielded by Billy Ballew Motorsports, Almirola and crew overcame a damaged vehicle to score a top-15 in the season opener.

Almirola qualified his No. 51 Tundra in seventh-place.  When the action got underway, it didn’t take long for the unpredictability of restrictor plate racing to kick in.  On lap 1, the No. 3 truck bounced off of Almirola’s machine and triggered a multi-vehicle wreck.  Fortunately, the AKAwareness.com Toyota wasn’t damaged in the incident and lined up in seventh-place for the restart.

The yellow flag waved on lap 19, giving Almirola a chance to bring his truck to the attention of his crew.  Almirola assured his team, “This truck is awesome! Really good; I don’t need any changes, just looking for someone to draft with.” Following service, Almirola returned to the track in 11^th-place.

On lap 24, another “big one” took place when the No. 33 truck spun in front of the field. This time Almirola wasn’t as lucky.  The No. 51 truck received damage to the left-front fender and needed repairs. The Richie Wauters-led crew reshaped the fenders and front bumper of Almirola’s truck and sent him back on the track.  The repairs sent Almirola one lap down to the leaders.

The damaged fender was causing the No. 51 truck to handle more tightly than it had beforehand.  The crew took advantage of the ensuing cautions to continue restoring his truck to its original shape.  Their hard work finally paid off when Almirola raced his way into the “Lucky Dog” position, lap 61, and a fortuitous caution flag allowed him to return to the lead lap. The No. 51 Toyota lined up in 14^th-place for the restart.

 With nowhere to go but up, Almirola did just that.  When green flag action resumed, Almirola tactfully negotiated the draft and avoided trouble to improve his position.  Although his truck was still fighting a tight condition, Almirola managed to pick up two additional spots to take the checkers in 12^th-place.

The No. 51 AKAwareness.com Graceway Pharmaceuticals ®, LLC Toyota Tundra will return to competition at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Saturday, March 6 at 2:00 PM. MRN and SPEED TV will cover the event.

For more information on actinic keratosis (AK) please visit www.AKAwareness.com; ‘Is it AK or OK’ is sponsored by Graceway Pharmaceuticals®.   Graceway’s sponsorship is part of a national public education campaign to raise awareness of actinic keratosis (AK) — a potential early warning sign of skin cancer — as well as the long-term consequences of sun damage over a lifetime.  It is estimated that about 10 million Americans have AK, a common pre-cancer that often develops on skin frequently exposed to the sun. 

Graceway Pharmaceuticals®, LLC, headquartered in Bristol, Tennessee, is dermatology focused pharmaceutical company which focuses on acquiring, in-licensing, and developing branded prescription pharmaceutical products.   Current prescription products marketed by Graceway include Aldara®, Maxair® Autohaler®, and Atopiclair®.

Aldara®, Maxair® Autohaler®, Maxair and Design™, Atopiclair, and the Leaf Design® are trademarks owned by or licensed to Graceway Pharmaceuticals, LLC.