Ft. Worth, Texas. (November 5, 2010) – Aric Almirola and the No. 51 Phoenix Construction Toyota team finished seventh during Friday night’s WinStar Casino 350K NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event at the Texas Motor Speedway.  Almirola claimed the 11^th consecutive top-10 finish for Billy Ballew Motorsports this season and remained second in championship points.  Kyle Busch won his seventh race of the season defeating Johnny Sauter and Matt Crafton.

Almirola and the No. 51 team started the night in the 12^th spot after qualifying Thursday evening.  A caution on Lap Three shuffled the field and Almirola was already in the top 10.  Once the race resumed the team battled with point’s leader Todd Bodine for the sixth spot.  Almirola raced in the seventh position needing “more grip” to battle with the top five.  That seemed to remain the team’s struggle throughout the cold night in Texas.

Crew Chief Richie Wauters went to battle to make the truck handle better for Almirola.  Their first opportunity came on Lap 40 during the second caution period. The Phoenix Construction truck came down pit road for fuel, four tires and an air pressure adjustment.  A quick stop, Almirola came back out in the fourth position.  But, due to the quick work by the tire changers, the fuel tank didn’t get completely full.  A caution on Lap 51 allowed the team to cap it off, however, the team was forced to restart in 19^th.

The race then went green from laps 60 to 120.  During that time, Almirola advanced all the way to the top of leader board and led laps 99 and 100 before pitting for four tires, fuel and another air pressure adjustment. Almirola was fast, but the truck still did not have the grip it needed.

The team, again, came from the back.  This time from 14^th back to ninth before the final caution waved on Lap 120.  Wauters put sticker tires on the truck and made a chassis adjustment to help Almirola race with the leaders.  He restarted ninth and advanced to sixth.  The team ended the night crossing the line in seventh.

““We were just too loose tonight,” said Almirola.  “We didn’t have the grip we needed in the truck.  Our first stop we didn’t get enough fuel in it and had to come back in to top it off.  We came back up through the field and eventually led some laps when everyone else had to pit. We made some more adjustments, but never could run with the top five.

“It’s another top 10 for the team, but we’re looking for wins.  We’ll take this tonight and move onto Phoenix and see if we can’t get a better run there.”

Billy Ballew Motorsports now heads to the Phoenix International Raceway for next Friday night’s Lucas Oil 150.  The race will be televised live on SPEED beginning at 7:30 p.m. (ET).

Almirola Brings Streak to Texas

10 Consecutive Races, 10 Top-10 Finishes

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (November 1, 2010) – Aric Almirola and the 2010 edition of the No. 51 Billy Ballew Motorsports team have stamped their legacy on the storied Billy Ballew Motorsports organization.  Almirola and the No. 51 team’s streak of 10 consecutive top-10 finishes in consecutive races, which dates back to July, is a record for the Toyota team.  Although Kyle Busch has more top-10’s in the No. 51 truck, Almirola’s consecutive streak is equally impressive as the team sits second in championship points.

This weekend, Almirola and the No. 51 Billy Ballew Motorsports Toyota team head to the fast, 1.5-mile Texas Motor Speedway for Friday night’s WinStar World Casino 350K.  Almirola comes to the track after earning his ninth top-five of the season last weekend at the Talladega Superspeedway. 

Comments from Aric Almirola Heading into Texas:

“We have had a good season so far, and right now, we just want to go out and win races.  That was our goal at the start of the season.  We knew we wanted to go out and race for the championship and to win races. We’ve done all that so far.  We have two wins, a lot of top-five finishes and we’ve got a good streak going right now.  So, this weekend our game plan is pretty much the same.

“Richie (Wauters) and the guys on this team have worked really hard and have put together fast trucks for me all season.  Our trucks at the mile-and-a-half tracks have been pretty good.  We’ve unloaded and been fast all year, and the times we haven’t, we’ve worked on them and have been good during the race.  I feel confident about this weekend.

“Texas is a fast track, and with this being a night race, the track always has a lot of grip.  I’m going to have a lot of laps on the track before the race between the truck, Nationwide car and the Cup car this weekend.  That’s going to help because I’ll be able to keep up with the track as the day goes along on Friday.”

“Our goal is to go win the race and gain as many points as possible. We took a bunch of points last weekend from Todd (Bodine), and hopefully we’re in position to do that again this weekend.  It’s going to be a busy weekend, but chasing this truck championship is something we came in to do at the start of the season.  I’m going to keep fighting.”

Talladega, Ala. (October 30, 2010) – Aric Almirola and the No. 51 Red Top Auto Auction Toyota team finished a disappointing second in Saturday’s Mountain Dew 250 at the Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.  Almirola led the final five laps of the scheduled 94-lap distance, including nearly every inch of the last lap.  But as the trucks of Almirola, Kyle Busch and Johnny Sauter came across the tri-oval to the flag stand they fanned out three wide.  The truck of Busch got out of control and sideways, dipping below the yellow line.  Almirola went past the finish line with Busch below him.  Busch crossed the line first, but with his truck below the yellow stripe indicating “out of bounds” at Talladega.  After review, NASCAR officials declared that Busch did not advance his position below the yellow line and awarded him the win.  Almiriola and the No. 51 crew had to settle for second after having the best truck in the field.

Almirola and crew chief Richie Wauters immediately went to discuss the finish with NASCAR, including Camping World Truck Series competition director Wayne Auton.  Auton spent time with both the Billy Ballew Motorsports crew chief and driver explaining the ruling.  The officials remained with their finish on the track as Busch kept his victory. 

Almirola, now a proven veteran of the truck series, knew what it was going to take a win in Saturday’s race at the draft-dependent speedway. A 94-lap race, Almirola spent the majority of the race “riding” near the back of the lead pack to stay clear of any trouble.  After a restart on Lap 89, Almirola knew it was time to make his move. He pushed Sauter up to the front and then moved down to the bottom to take the lead. The strategy proved correct after a Lap 93 accident involved six trucks ending with Ron Hornaday on his lid- all happening with Almirola in the lead.

That caution set up a green-white-checkered finish with Almirola leading the field.  He took the green and took the point.  The team continued to lead and took the white flag.  The field came around to the checkered and Almirola made a move to protect his lead.  Busch went below the yellow line to collect his truck.  NASCAR declared Busch the winner.

“”My perspective is that I won the race,” said Almirola. “NASCAR’s perspective is that we ran second. I guess today we lose. I’m disappointed in that because I felt like we had a truck capable of winning. I knew we did all day. I rode around in the back and tried to be smart and take care of my stuff. When it was time to go – I went. I pushed Johnny Sauter up there to the lead and I took the lead myself. I felt like we had the truck to win the race. I feel like I let my guys down, but I really don’t know what else I could have done.

“He (Kyle Busch) had shown signs of going high so I attempted to block high and as I was turning back low, he was back under me and it say’s, plain as day in the rule book, that you can’t advance your position by going below the yellow line. Now, I guess I have not seen the proper replay, but the one that I saw, I felt like he went below the yellow line to advance his position and he ran a shorter distance and he beat me by two one-thousandths of a second. Call it what you will – we finished second.”

The team, although disappointed, can still take away many positives from Saturday’s race.  Almirola and the No. 51 team captured their 10^th consecutive top-10 finish.  It is their ninth top-five finish this season.  They also closed ground in the championship points, trailing leader Todd Bodine now by 216 points with three races remaining.

The team now heads to the Texas Motor Speedway for Friday’s WinStar World Casino 350K.  The race will be televised live on SPEED Channel at 8:30 p.m. (ET).

Almirola Hopes to Better Runner-Up Finish at Talladega

Finished Second Last Year After Pushing Teammate to Win

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (October 25, 2010) – The Talladega Superspeedway is a track where you can’t win alone, and nobody knows that more than Aric Almirola and the No. 51 Billy Ballew Motorsports Toyota team.  Last year the organization finished first and second with Almirola “pushing” Kyle Busch to the victory.  At that time, Busch was piloting the No. 51 truck, but this season Almirola occupies that seat where he currently sits second in Camping World Truck Series points with two wins.

Almirola and the No. 51 team head back to the 2.66-mile superspeedway this weekend for Saturday’s Mountain Dew 250.  The team will be the only entry for Billy Ballew Motorsports, meaning finding a drafting partner will become critical for Saturday’s race.  

Saturday’s race will be Almirola’s third Camping World Truck Series event at the track.  Almirola and the team carry a streak of nine consecutive top-10 finishes into the race.

Comments from Aric Almirola Heading into Talladega:

“At the end of the day, if you have a fast truck, I don’t think it will matter that we won’t have a teammate out there.  Guys will always go with the others who have fast trucks.  They are the ones who can either push or draft with you to the front.  I’m pretty confident in the fact that Richie (crew chief Richie Wauters) and the guys have prepared another great truck for this weekend.  This team is the defending winner of this race and our goal is to win again.

“I feel that I’ve always raced everyone fairly and clean.  I looked at our truck after Martinsville, and it barely had a scratch on it.  That means we didn’t make any enemies.  That’s the type of stuff that helps when you come to a track where you need partners to get and stay up front.  I don’t have a problem with the guys I’ve been racing up front with all season.  Guys like Todd (Bodine), Johnny (Sauter), Ron (Hornaday) and everyone like that.  We all respect each other and trust each other.  That’s important going into a place like Talladega.

“It’s going to be another typical Talladega race.  The first half you just want to make sure the truck is as comfortable as possible. The last half you’re getting yourself into position.  The last lap you race for the win.  You can’t predict what’s going to happen, but if you’re up front than the odds are usually better for staying out the mess.  Our goal is to be right there and hopefully we can get another win for this team.”