Ballew making inroads toward two-truck team

NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. -- Camping World Truck Series owner Billy Ballew hopes to run Michael Waltrip and Aric Almirola for the series championship he's chased since 2002.

Ballew hopes it starts with the Truck Series season opener on Feb. 12. But two ancient racing principles -- competitiveness and funding -- may get in the way.

By the Numbers

Billy Ballew Motorsports

Races	W	T-5	T-10
306	17	53	90

"Our goal there is to run two trucks, with Michael Waltrip and Aric Almirola," Ballew said. "We still have some sponsorship stuff that we need to try to get put in place for that all to happen, but that's the direction that we're heading.

"We're digging every day trying to get some sponsorship help for both trucks and I think that's what we're doing. I can't 100 percent guarantee it, but that's the plan we're on right now.

"I've been against all odds since I started doing this in 1996, so I have no intention of doing anything but running both [trucks] the full year," he added. "That's just my mindset. Can I guarantee that? No. But that's what I'm working toward every morning when I get up."

The Georgia owner has been in a full-court press for sponsorship since Kyle Busch announced plans to operate his own Truck Series team and took the full-season sponsorship from the Miccosukee that was on Ballew's trucks for at least part of the past four seasons.

Ballew said he and Waltrip have talked at length about their options.

"Basically we were talking about the first five [races] to see if we were successful and how it worked -- that was the goal," Ballew said. "If we're really successful in those first five, I feel very confident that [Waltrip] will run 'em all, if we have the funding in place.

"That's my goal, and [Waltrip] hasn't committed to that, but we're going to walk here, before we run."

An apparent attraction to running Waltrip is he's a race-winning Sprint Cup driver, a well-known multi-team owner and a widely-exposed media personality, which Ballew acknowledged.

"I think it'll be a big help but for whatever reason we haven't been able to really capitalize on it," Ballew said. "Cal Wells [Michael Waltrip Racing executive vice president/chief operating officer] and his marketing people are doing everything they can because they want Michael to be successful. Those guys have really opened their arms and tried to help us with anything on the competition side.

"But they're in the same situation because they're trying to sell sponsorship for Trevor Bayne's [Nationwide Series] car even though it's funded and they're trying to sell sponsorship on David Reutimann's Cup car for x-amount of races that aren't covered, so in that area we're kinda fighting the same battle.

"They need to get their stuff covered and hopefully they'll be able to do that. Then I feel confident they'll be able to help us in doing the same thing for Michael [to run a truck]." (Continued)