Ballew upset about losing Dickies deal

CLERMONT, Ind. -- Imagine being a team owner and losing sponsorship just past the halfway point of the season, right in the middle of an upward curve in the standings.

After releasing the original driver and bringing in a new one for the past six races in the Craftsman Truck Series, Countryman-Ballew Motorsports brought in Rich Bickle to drive, and the team improved from 23rd to 14th in the owners standings.

Still, the team lost its sponsor.

Instead of finishing out the year, Williamson-Dickie Mfg. Company opted to sign with Bobby Hamilton Racing and the No. 18 Dodge of Robert Pressley for the rest of this year and all of 2003.

That leaves owner Billy Ballew searching for ways to keep his team going.

Preston Countryman, an accountant in California, was the team's co-owner earlier in the season. It was Countryman who signed the original agreement with Dickies with Trent Owens as the driver.

Ballew has operated the last five races out of his own pocket when the money ran out.

But a Dickies representative said there was no need for that to happen.

"We discouraged Billy from spending his own money to keep racing and using his own resources," said Jon Ragsdale, vice president of marketing for Williamson-Dickie. "Our choice to go with Bobby Hamilton Racing was based on the fact that Preston Countryman said he couldn't hold up his financial end of the deal.

"We visited Hamilton's shop, and his program is deep and wide. We are going to enjoy working with them and the people from Dodge, as well."

After it was realized that Dickies wasn't going to be part of the team anymore, Ballew and Countryman dissolved their partnership. Ballew is continuing to race under the name of Billy Ballew Motorsports.

"The bottom line is that Countryman Motorsports ran out of the Dickies sponsorship money five races ago and I have been funding this Dickies program out of my own pocket since that time," Ballew said. "Neither Billy Ballew Motorsports nor I have any agreement or obligation to Williamson-Dickie.

"We made a valiant effort to retain Dickies as our sponsor, but they elected to go in another direction. This is the third time I have assisted that sponsor and lost money doing it.

"I spend $250,000 of my own money under a gentleman's agreement while worked out the contract details. I feel like they led me on for two weeks while they were still dealing with Bobby Hamilton Racing.

For the Power Stroke Diesel 200 at Indianapolis Raceway Park on Friday, Mark Gibson is driving the No. 15 Ford. Gibson, an ARCA regular, had purchased two trucks from Ballew and Ballew is letting him use the number to gain the owner points.

Ballew is still in search of a sponsor to finish out the year with Bickle continuing on as the driver.

"If a sponsor called me tonight and we worked out a deal for the rest of the year, we're ready to go racing," Ballew said. "We started something real good here and I want to finish this out."