KBIII Leaves Lonesome Pine with a Career-Best, Sixth-Place Finish

MOORESVILLE, NC (April 24, 2006) – A rainy weekend washed out many races across the Southeast, but it didn’t rain on Ken Butler III’s parade during the USAR Hooters Pro Cup Food City 250 Saturday night at Lonesome Pine Speedway. The 23-year-old posted his career-best finish, with a sixth at the beautiful Virginia racetrack.

“I didn’t think we would be able to make the dance, or that we would be able to have it because of the rain, but they got everything in and it was pretty exciting. We did a little celebrating after the race because it was sort of like an early birthday present,” said KBIII, who turns 24 next month.

In addition to finishing into the top-10, KB-III also earned the Aaron’s Hard Charger award, which is given to the driver who gains the most spots from his starting position to his finish.

“I barely made the show,” admitted KBIII. “I had to beat 11 people in order to make the show and a few cars had some mechanical problems and that helped to put me in. We started 24th and stayed clean and just ran our race. Nobody wrecked me this week, which was pretty cool.

“My crew chief, Danny Crafton, made a great call; we stayed out and got tires later than anybody else and because of that we had a great car and it was a great night”

It was a total team effort that allowed KBIII and the Aaron’s Dream Machine to work their way up through the field. The crew did what the crew does best and chose to leave the driver to do what he does best, which is simply to race.

“I don’t know when it was that I moved up into the top-10. My crew just wouldn’t tell me. I was always asking them where I was running at and they would say, ‘No, don’t worry about it. Just keep racing; you are doing great.’

“When I was catching up to the leaders, that’s when I knew we were running good. We restarted in the back after that late pit stop and I was just passing more and more people. The Aaron’s Dream Machine was awesome.”

While sixth place is an accomplishment in a challenging series such as the USAR Hooters Pro Cup, KBIII still sees how he could have driven differently to improve the team’s finish.

“The last lap, I saw the 55 and he was up in fourth position. At first I didn’t know where I was and all of a sudden the 55 got sideways and I gained on him. I probably could have had fourth or third if I had a couple more laps or reacted more quickly.

“I didn’t know how close I was until I could actually see the leaders in front of me. I was like, ‘Wow I am pretty close.’ The whole weekend was pretty cool.”

Ken Butler III will take to the track next Thursday, May 4th, 2006, at Shenandoah Speedway with the USAR Hooters Pro Cup Northern Division.

For more information on Brett or Ken Butler III, contact Amy Hayes at 704-455-2051 or visit www.butlerbrothersracing.com for more information.