MOORESVILLE, N.C. (July 13, 2010) - The uniqueness of Gateway International Raceway (GIR) has frustrated many NASCAR Camping World Truck Series drivers since its first race in 1998. With each end of the track having a different configuration of corners, it takes most competitors several races before grasping the rhythm to navigate the 1.25-mile speedway. Aric Almirola, however, showed little difficulty coming up to speed. He's posted 10th-place (2006) and fourth-place (2009) finishes in his only two races at GIR and is looking to add to that in Friday night's Camping World 200.
Almirola's No. 15 Graceway Pharmaceuticals/Zyclara Tundra blew a right-front tire in last week's race at Iowa Speedway. The damage forced an early withdraw from the event, which he finished in 28th-place. Despite the misfortune, Almirola remained second in the point standings and only trails points leader Todd Bodine by 88 points.
Almirola Comments on Camping World 200:
"At Gateway (International Speedway) it's a tradeoff between the different ends of the race track. It's really tough to get through Turns 1 and 2. It's so tight. Those corners have a lot of banking and it's really rough. Then you go down through 3 and 4 and it's really wide. It's really flat and it's really smooth. It's a balance to try and get your truck OK at both ends of the track. The sets of corners are so different that it's impossible to have a setup that's really good everywhere. It's never going to be perfect all the way around. I've got a 10th-place and fourth-place finish there. It's a track that I feel comfortable at and always look forward to racing there.
"We're going into the heart of the season. We're on our second week of a nine race stretch. After the month-long break, it's nice to get back into a rhythm again. We'll be hitting short tracks, big tracks and intermediate tracks. With the points battle being as close as it is, it's important for us to stay focused. The schedule's so tight. There won't be much time between races to make repairs or work on setups, so any mistakes will be extra-costly. The good news is that Billy Ballew Motorsports has performed really well at the tracks ahead and I'm expecting that we'll unload a pretty fast Graceway Pharmaceuticals/Zyclara truck each week. We had some really good test sessions during the break and I think these next few weeks will be a good chance for us to put some points on the board."
About Billy Ballew Motorsports:
BBM started competing full-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in 2002 and has had a variety of well known NASCAR drivers over the years. The list includes Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Aric Almirola, Brian Ickler, John Andretti, Kenny Wallace, Paul Menard, Bill Lester, Geoffrey Bodine, Joe Ruttman and a host of others. It was Shane Hmiel who piloted the No. 15 for the 2004 season that brought Billy Ballew his first win at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the team's 100th start in the NCWTS. Since then Billy Ballew Motorsports has taken 17 more trips to victory lane.
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