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Howard headed to Lowe’s on a roll 17-year-old has four Top Fives in six starts Concord, NC (May 20, 2003) – Three starts, three less than desirable finishes; things must change and change quickly. That is definitely the task at hand for Shelby Howard at Lowe’s Motor Speedway this week. If prior results were any indicator, Howard would have to settle for a top twenty finish. Fortunately, the seventeen-year-old driver tosses that sort of nonsense out the window. Howard’s first start at Lowe’s came in October 2001 in only his fourth ARCA RE/MAX start of his career. Considering it was also his first superspeedway start ever, he did rather well, finishing 21st. In May 2002, Howard finished 19th in an event plagued by cautions. Coming back in October 2002, a definite top ten run was eliminated when his engine went down a cylinder, but he still hung on for another 19th place finish. Another disappointment came last month when Howard’s lap times at a Lowe’s test session left a lot to be desired. Despite previous showings, the unflappable, Indiana teen remains confident he and his Mack Trucks-Beck Dodge team will show drastic improvement for the ADG 100. “I won’t say it won’t be tough, but we’ve learned a lot about this track since the first time we were here,” said Howard. “We were horrible in our recent test, so we are going to go back to what we know. I have total confidence we can get our Dodge as close to perfect as it can possibly be come race time.” While showing poise and a measured plan of attack is pretty standard for Howard, it may become extremely useful this week due to the rather strong dose of competition. NASCAR teams Chip Ganassi Racing, Hendrick Motorsports, Andy Petree Racing, and BelCar Racing, looking for more seat time for their drivers, have filed ARCA entries, so the battle for track position will be fierce. It’s time to get up on the wheel and keep digging. Stay focused and zero in on your marks. Drive it like you stole it. “Those teams will be extremely strong so we’ll have to kick it up a notch or two…or three,” Howard said. Howard is currently riding 6th in the ARCA RE/MAX point standings. He has 1 win and 4 Top 5 finishes in 6 starts this year. The ADG 100 presented by EasyCare will be broadcast live Thursday, May 22 at 9 p.m. Eastern on SPEED Channel. PRN (Performance Radio Network) will also carry the event from Lowe’s Motor Speedway. A Mack truck is different from the rest. At Mack, they manufacture as much truck as it takes to get the job done right. To learn more about the Mack difference, visit http://www.macktrucks.com. For more information on Beck Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep and each of their locations, visit http://www.beckchrysler.com. To learn more about Shelby Howard and his Mack Trucks–Beck Dodge Racing
team, check out http://www.shelbyhoward.com. Back to the top
Career Best at Kentucky by Howard Sparta, KY - 5/12 - Shelby Howard has made some pretty significant strides
this season. The seventeen-year-old, ARCA RE/MAX driver stepped up once again
and delivered a 4th place finish in the Channel 5-205 on Saturday night at
Kentucky Speedway. The performance tops Howard’s previous best of 8th place on
the 1.5-mile oval. Another stop under caution, this time on lap 92, called for one round in the right rear. Howard then tucked his Ernie Elliott-powered Dodge in the 4th position on the restart after picking up a position on pit road. Running in the top five the rest of the way, Howard held off a hard-charging Jason Jarrett over the last 17 laps to come home 4th. Kyle Busch, Frank Kimmel, and Matt Hagans held down the top 3 spots. “We had a pretty good night tonight,” said Howard. “The rain held off, we got another top five and we don’t have a scratch on the Dodge. I have nothing to complain about. The Mack Trucks-Beck Dodge crew did an excellent job getting me off of pit road and we gained a spot in the points. Things are going well for us right now so we want that to continue at Charlotte.” A pattern is starting to take shape each time Howard takes the track. For the past 3 races and 4 of the last 5, the Greenwood, Indiana teenager has achieved a new track best. Howard has not only out-qualified his prior efforts at each track, but he has also finished higher than he previously has. In each of these 4 races, Howard has finished higher than he started. That’s no easy task when the average starting position is 4.25. Howard moves up a notch to 6th in the ARCA RE/MAX point standings. He trails the twosome of Ron Cox and Mark Gibson who are tied for 4th by only 60 points. Howard and the Mack Trucks-Beck Dodge crew next head to Charlotte for the ADG 100 presented by EasyCare. The race is scheduled for Thursday, May 22 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway and will be broadcast live on SPEED Channel at 9:00 pm ET. A Mack truck is different from the rest. At Mack, they manufacture as much truck as it takes to get the job done right. To learn more about the Mack difference, visit http://www.macktrucks.com. For more information on Beck Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep and each of their locations, visit http://www.beckchrysler.com. To learn more about Shelby Howard and his Mack Trucks-Beck Dodge team, check
out http://www.shelbyhoward.com. Back to the top
Howard Aims High at Kentucky Sparta, KY - 5/6 - Headed to Kentucky for his third race at the four-year-old speedway, Shelby Howard will be carrying a considerable amount of expectation with him. It isn’t something that is heaped on by others, though; it is all self-generated. Why the pressure? After all, he has proven he can be a force on something other than the short tracks. A career-best superspeedway finish of 2nd at Atlanta in March in addition to top 10s at Pocono, Kentucky, Kansas, Nashville and Atlanta last season stand as proof. Showing himself to be a quick study, Howard has also shown marked improvement in his 2003 qualifying efforts as he returns to tracks of all sizes in only his second full ARCA RE/MAX season. Those are some pretty major accomplishments for someone only 17 years old. Despite those results, the Greenwood, Indiana driver isn’t resting on past performance. The talented Howard knows there’s plenty of room for improvement. With that in mind, Howard isn’t about to ease up. An invite to the media interview room (top 3 finishers) would be a fantastic way to conclude events for the Mack Trucks-Beck Dodge team on the opening weekend at Kentucky Speedway. It would also make for a nice Mother’s Day gift to his mom. Howard and his crew are bringing a new Dodge with them to Kentucky. Add an Ernie Elliott engine to the mix and it makes for a wicked fast hot rod. Never mind that he’s never sat in the car before this week. “After we tested here last month we decided to come back with a different car,” said Howard. “We weren’t quite where we needed to be, so we made the change. Without a doubt, this is a strong, top-5 car. Our best finish here at Kentucky last year was 8th, so we want to improve on that by several positions. Racing twice here before is definitely helpful, so it shouldn’t take long to get our Mack Trucks-Beck Dodge dialed in. We should be good to go.” The Channel 5-205 is Saturday, May 10 at 8:00 p.m. EDT. The race will be broadcast live on SPEED Channel and Cincinnati’s WLWT Channel 5 NBC affiliate. CAREER STATS AT KENTUCKY: A Mack truck is different from the rest. At Mack, they manufacture as much truck as it takes to get the job done right. To learn more about the Mack difference, visit http://www.macktrucks.com. For more information on Beck Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep and each of their locations, visit http://www.beckchrysler.com. To learn more about Shelby Howard and his Mack Trucks-Beck Dodge team, check out http://www.shelbyhoward.com. Back to the top
Persistence pays off for
Howard Toledo, OH - 5/5 - Shelby Howard was tracking down race leader Ken Schrader when he felt a bump from behind. Running second at the time, he fought to keep the #64 Mack Trucks-Beck Dodge off the wall and out of trouble. Succeeding, the seventeen-year-old ARCA RE/MAX driver clawed his way back through the field before finishing 3rd in Sunday’s 200-lapper at Toledo Speedway. It was Howard’s second straight top-three finish and his third in the last four races. The Greenwood, Indiana youngster has 6 career top fives and 14 top tens in 31 ARCA starts. Overall, Howard was pleased with the day’s outcome but knows it could’ve been better. “We had a pretty good day. I was gaining on Schrader and would’ve had something for him,” Howard said. “We started off good, but then got spun out. We spent the rest of the day working our way to the front. That’s definitely not the easiest way to get a top five, but we gained some points and feel good about where we’re headed. The whole Mack Trucks-Beck Dodge team is working hard and things are coming together. We’re looking for another good run at Kentucky. We are getting more consistent, but third doesn’t feel as good as it used to,” laughed Howard, who won at Salem on April 27. The Channel 5-205 at Kentucky Speedway takes the green Saturday at 8 p.m. EDT. SPEED Channel and Cincinnati’s WLWT Channel 5 will have live coverage. A Mack truck is different from the rest. At Mack, they manufacture as much truck as it takes to get the job done right. To learn more about the Mack difference, visit http://www.macktrucks.com. For more information on Beck Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep and each of their locations, visit http://www.beckchrysler.com. To learn more about Shelby Howard and his CIMCO Racing team, check out
http://www.shelbyhoward.com.
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