 | |
| Owner(s) | Billy Ballew |
|---|---|
| Base | Mooresville, North Carolina |
| Series | Camping World Truck Series |
| Race drivers | Kurt Busch |
| Sponsors | Bill Holt Chevrolet |
| Manufacturer | Chevrolet |
| Career | |
| Debut | 1996 |
| Latest race | 2012 |
| Drivers' Championships | 0 |
| Race victories | 19 |
Billy Ballew Motorsports was a team that competed in theNASCARCamping World Truck Series. They were formed in 1996 byGeorgia businessman Billy Ballew. The team's car numbers are 09, 15, and 51.
In 2003, Ballew began running a second truck under the nameFasscore Motorsports with Christopher Beckington as the owner. Rich Bickle finished eighth in its first race, followed by Andy Houston in the next race. AfterLance Hooper started their next event,Kenny Hendrick drove for the rest of the season, providing a best finish of 31st. The team disbanded at the end of the season.
The 15 truck ofBilly Ballew Motorsports has been its original truck since the1996 season. Originally based in Georgia, the team debuted atBristol withMark Gibson driving theFord F-150 with sponsorship from Isaac Leasco. In their first race,Ballew Motorsports finished 12th and followed it up with a ninth-place run at their next race at TheMilwaukee Mile. After running the next five races with L.C. Smith Sales sponsorship, Gibson stepped out of the ride and was replaced byBobby Gill. Gill brought Nashville Auto Auction sponsorship and had two eleventh-place runs beforeRick Johnson finished out the season. His best finish was fifteenth atPhoenix. In1997,Mike Cope was hired to run a limited schedule with Penrose Meat Snacks sponsorship. They ran six races that year, with the best finish of 12th coming atLouisville.
After nearly a year off, the team returned toMilwaukee in1998.Scott Hansen qualified theOshkosh Trucks/Neihus entry eighth but finished twenty-fourth. Bickle would then drive in two races later that season with Turbine Solutions sponsorship, finishing in the top five in both races. The team's first start in1999 came atMartinsville, whereJoe Ruttman finished thirteenth in the Ortho truck. Their next start came late in the season atLas Vegas when Cope returned and finished thirtieth with sponsorship fromManheim Auctions.
The team gained notoriety in2000 when their truck, sponsored by Line-X and driven by formerDaytona 500 winnerGeoff Bodine, was involved in a fiery crash in the tri-oval atDaytona. Bodine survived, and for the next three weeks, his sonBarry drove the truck and had two top-twenty finishes.Bobby Gill then returned for two races, but he did not finish higher than 32nd. AtChicago Motor Speedway, they briefly switched to the No. 32 to accommodateAnthony Lazzaro, who finished 22nd in the race. For2001 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, the team had originally planned to work with African-American driver Preston Tutt, but the deal fell through.[1] Their first race of the year came atMartinsville, whereJon Wood made his first start in theMark Warner-sponsored truck and finished 31st. Derek Gilcrist then drove atDarlington and finished seventeenth, followed later by Rick Beebe finishing 30th atKansas in the Trailside RV entry.
Ballew's No. 15 underwent a name change toCountryman-Ballew Motorsports. The team notably improved its standings from 23rd to 14th and committed to running full-time in2002. DriverTrent Owens, alongside jeans manufacturerDickies, secured sponsorship for the truck. However, after Owens attempted seven races, he was replaced byRich Bickle, who had a promising sixth-place finish in his debut race. Just before thePower Stroke Diesel 200, Dickies signed a sponsorship deal withBobby Hamilton Racing's No. 18 truck, piloted by driverRobert Pressley, for the remainder of2002 and all of2003. This left the team without significant sponsorship.Mark Gibson returned for two races, followed byBrian Rose, beforeAndy Houston concluded the year.
Houston was signed in2003 withVokal Clothing as the sponsor. He achieved a top-five finish atDaytona but was released after five races. Bickle returned, securing a top-ten finish.Mike Skinner then drove for four races as the team transitioned toDodge for certain events. After separate three-race stints byRyan Hemphill andRobby Benton, Bickle returned to driveFords, resulting in two twelfth-place finishes. In2004, Ballew switched toChevrolet and hiredShane Hmiel for full-time driving duties, with sponsorship from Small'sHarley-Davidson, Whittaker Farms, and laterTrim Spa. Hmiel secured Ballew's first Truck Series win at theLas Vegas 350, overtakingTodd Bodine late in the race. Hmiel moved to theBusch Series in2005, initially replaced byKerry Earnhardt, who won the pole for the season-opening race in theKraft Foods truck but was substituted after two races for Hmiel.Kyle Busch then took over the truck with sponsorship fromditech, winning his first two races in the ride.Blake Feese,Martin Truex Jr.,Kenny Wallace,Johnny Sauter, andDavid Gilliland each ran one-race deals for the team, whileJohn Andretti secured two top-tens in four races. Busch concluded the season, adding another win atAtlanta.
In2006, Ballew signedARCA RE/MAX Series driverKyle Krisiloff with sponsorship fromditech. However, conflicts with Kyle's fatherSteve, a famousUSAC driver, led Ballew to release Krisiloff, returning to fielding multiple drivers. The rotation included recently reinstated driverKevin Grubb, Andretti,Mike Wallace, and Busch. The best finish came for Busch, who finished second atTexas. In2007, African-American driverBill Lester was tapped to drive the No. 15 truck. However, ongoing sponsorship difficulties midway through the season led Lester to step out of the truck, handing it over to driversDenny Hamlin, Andrew Myers, J. R. Norris, andShane Sieg.[2][3] RookieMarc Mitchell was signed to compete for Rookie of the Year in the 15, sponsored by Hyprene Ergon for 21 races in2008. He drove thirteen before being replaced by a variety of drivers, including Hamlin,David Stremme,Ryan Lawler,Kenny Wallace,John Andretti,James Buescher, andJason White. In2009, Sieg, Ickler,Aric Almirola, andBlake Feese shared the No. 15.Ted Musgrave,Steve Wallace,Johnny Benson Jr.,Nelson Piquet Jr., andJohanna Long shared the 15 in2010.
In2011, Ballew merged his organization with theK&N West Series team, Vision Aviation Racing. Their drivers,Dusty Davis andJustin Johnson, competed for Rookie of the Year. However, since neither driver was approved to race atDaytona, two-timeDaytona 500 winnerMichael Waltrip drove the No. 15 truck atDaytona in the2011 NextEra Energy Resources 250, sponsored by theWounded Warrior Project and NASCAR.com RaceView. Waltrip later won the race, marking the 10th anniversary of his firstCup Series win and the 10th anniversary ofDale Earnhardt's death in the2001 Daytona 500. Shortly after his victory, a broken rear spoiler was discovered on his truck. Despite the infraction, Waltrip retained the emotional victory, while his truck builder was fined $15,000 and placed on probation for the broken piece. The team fielded West Series driverDusty Davis for only three races before temporarily shutting down. VAR enlisted2007 Formula One World ChampionKimi Räikkönen for his NASCAR debut atCharlotte before ultimately ceasing operations and laying off many of its employees. The No. 15 was later used byKyle Busch Motorsports as a secondary entry for other drivers. Engine builderJoey Arrington purchased VAR's remaining equipment and fielded trucks forDavid Starr andDusty Davis.
The No. 51 truck debuted atLowe's Motor Speedway in2006 withKyle Busch behind the wheel. The use of the number and the moniker "Rowdy Busch" above the door paid homage to Rowdy Burns from the film "Days of Thunder." With sponsorship from National Land Liquidations, Busch secured his first win in the truck and finished eighth in the subsequent race atDover.[4]Johnny Sauter andMartin Truex Jr. each participated in one race in the No. 51 truck.[5] In2007, Busch competed in the majority of races with the Flanders Beef Patties truck, winning twice.[4]Kenny Wallace,Aric Almirola, andPaul Menard each had one race in the truck, whileKelly Sutton drove in four races with Copaxone sponsorship.
In2008, Busch andShane Sieg shared driving duties in the No. 51, racingToyota Tundras sponsored byNOS Energy Drink, Miccosukee Indian Resort & Gaming, and San Bernardino County. Busch drove the No. 51 part-time in2009 withNOS Energy Drink and Miccosukee returning as sponsors, whileBrian Ickler filled in for races when Busch was unavailable. Following 2009, Busch established his own team,Kyle Busch Motorsports, and enlisted Ickler as a driver.Aric Almirola competed in the full2010 season with sponsorship fromGraceway Pharmaceuticals. Almirola secured two wins and achieved 21 top-tens, finishing 2nd in points behindTodd Bodine. Subsequently, Almirola departed the team to driveJR Motorsports' No. 88 Chevrolet. AtDaytona, Almirola raced for VAR, although the No. 51 was initially planned for VAR development driverJustin Johnson. Financial difficulties led Vision Aviation owners to close down the Truck team.Chris Fontaine drove the truck atDover. The team was later acquired by Ballew once again and fielded aFord forColin Braun in two races. In2011,Kyle Busch Motorsports operated the No. 51 for various drivers, includingJosh Richards andGerman Quiroga for several races.
On August 31, 2012,Billy Ballew Motorsports returned to truck competition by entering the No. 51 Chevy forSprint Cup Series driverKurt Busch in theJeff Foxworthy's Grit Chips 200 atAtlanta. This marked the team's first race of 2012 after closing its doors at the end of the 2011 season. Busch qualified the truck in 19th out of 36 positions and finished 10th. The truck used for this race was chassis number 11, which had a significant history of wins for the team (12 in total). It was fielded with support fromPhoenix Racing.[6]