Sieg Brings Ballew Second Top-Ten of 2007 |
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Topics: Shane Sieg, New Hampshire 200
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Sandra Vorse
Billy Ballew Motorsports
September 16, 2007
Contact: Sandra Vorse
(704) 264-9548 Mobile
SandraVorse@aol.com
For Immediate Release
Loudon, NH (September 16, 2007) Shane Sieg in only his second NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event since 2004 brought home a tenth place finish in his first run for Billy Ballew Motorsports at the New Hampshire International Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire Saturday, September 15, 2007.
Sieg piloted the No. 15 Swift Transportation Chevrolet Silverado and started in the 21st place for the New Hampshire 200 Craftsman Truck Series race after qualifying was canceled due to rain. NASCAR Rules state that the starting lineup will be determined by owner points in the event that the qualifying session is canceled due to inclement weather. Team owner Billy Ballew holds the 21st place in owners point’s therefore starting Sieg in that position for the 200 lap race.
Sieg worked his way through the field patiently running his own line passing one truck at a time and pitted under the first caution on lap 39 for four fresh tires and fuel. Sieg radioed in after the restart that it was taking awhile to build up the air pressures in the tires and that he wasn’t as happy with this set of tires but hoped they would improve once the race began a longer green flag run.
Another caution flag quickly flew on the 1.06-mile track with Sieg nearly missing the multi-truck pile-up that occurred on lap 58. Sieg, to avoid the accident, slid the tires and was feeling some vibrations in the corners under the caution. To be safe, crew chief Doug George brought Sieg down pit lane putting on tires on lap 62.
Sieg restarted at his lowest running position of the day in 25th spot but worked his way towards the front as the leaders began green flag pit stops. These stops paid big dividends for Sieg which moved him into the second position on lap 138.
Sieg ran impressive laps and was carrying an average speed of 120.084 mph on the restarts. Even with the consistent lap times, the leaders that pitted under the green flag had fresh tires and were able to get by. Misfortunate for his teammate helped Sieg when the caution flag flew on lap 141 when Kyle Busch spun in turn-3.
The caution allowed the Swift Transportation Billy Ballew Motorsports team to bring Sieg down pit road one last time for four fresh tires and fuel. The stop was flawless at 12.1 seconds sending him back out for the restart in the ninth place position. Sieg moved to the tenth place position where he remained for the rest of the race when John Wood in the No. 21 Craftsman Truck got a run off of the corner and passed him on lap 167.
"Boy it's really fun to get into equipment like what I ran tonight for Billy Ballew Motorsports,” Sieg said. “It makes my job as a driver so much easier. I slid the tires to avoid the crash in front of me and had a little vibration. We really used the pit strategy to stay out until the caution came while other trucks were pitting under the green. The truck was really good and I thought we could have had a top-five finish but I got together a little with the No. 36 truck and it hurt the splitter, so we were really tight at the end. I had a great time today and have to thank Billy Ballew, Doug George (crew chief) and the rest of the team for a great truck today and Swift Transportation for their support."
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series moves to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the running of the Smith’s Las Vegas 350 Saturday September 22, 2007. The 146-lap race is slated to begin at 9:00pm ET (6:00pm CT) and will be broadcast live on SPEED and MRN Radio.
For more information on Billy Ballew Motorsports and their drivers visit www.BillyBallewMotorsports.com.
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