Sieg to replace Busch in Ballew's 51 truck at Kansas

KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- Shane Sieg is slated to step in for Craftsman Truck Series points leader Kyle Busch to pilot the No. 51 Miccosukee Resorts Billy Ballew Motorsports Toyota Tundra at Kansas Speedway. Busch, a full-time Sprint Cup Series driver who will be in Talladeda, has piloted the No. 51 in the first four races of the season with wins at Fontana and Atlanta.

Sieg

"With Kyle's schedule at JGR [Joe Gibbs Racing] this weekend there was no way he could make the race in Kansas," Billy Ballew said. "Shane has driven for us before and is familiar with the equipment, giving us a top-10 in Loudon last year.

"We hope to leave Kansas still leading the owners' points and know Kyle can make up some ground in the drivers' points when we race at Lowe's. I would like to thank James Finch and the Miccosukee Resorts for staying onboard with Shane and the No. 51 Tundra this weekend and I hope we can give them a good finish."

Although Busch will miss the Kansas event and likely lose the points lead it is mathematically feasible for him to win the championship. Previous Truck Series champions have come from nearly 200 points out of the lead.

Sieg comes to Billy Ballew Motorsports with three starts for the team in 2007, posting a 10th-place finish at New Hampshire. Sieg has 29 starts in four years and has two top-10 finishes. Sieg, who piloted the No. 07 truck in two of the four 2008 races, finished 16th in his lone start at Kansas, in 2004.

"It is a great opportunity for me to get back behind the wheel of Billy Ballew Motorsports equipment," Sieg said. "I know I have big shoes to fill but I just want to bring a good finish home to keep Billy Ballew as the team owners' point leader."

Billy Ballew Motorsports has eight previous starts at the Kansas Speedway with a best finish of ninth in 2005 with John Andretti behind the wheel.

Ballew will field two teams at Kansas with Marc Mitchell making his return after Denny Hamlin piloted the No. 15 at the Martinsville Speedway. Mitchell will be making his first start with Toyota as the manufacturer. The truck was run as a Chevrolet in the first three races of the 2008 season.