May 18, 2007
Matthews, NC

Another Top Five Run Keeps Josh in Points Hunt

The Allison Legacy Series did some Friday night racing this week as they visited Friendship Motor Speedway in Elkin, NC. The 4/10 mile track has had some highs and lows for Josh Butler and the Butler Motorsports Team in the two visits last year and Friday was more of the same. Friendship was the place where one year ago Josh got his first pole in the Legacy Series…but that race saw Josh make a trip to the rear of the field after contact in turn one and a rough driving call, finally finishing just out of the top ten. This year the team wasn’t sure what to expect as they headed to the track, after having motor troubles the week before at Florence Motor Speedway. A long week of work seemed to pay off early for the team as Josh was one of the fastest cars in the hour long practice in his Horizon Technologies/Summitt Communications/Conterra Ultra Broadband #11. With a long wait until qualifying and a cooling track, Josh took the track second of the 23 cars that would take time. Josh’s Monte Carlo got very loose coming off of turn two and the team had to settle for a 10th place starting position in the field.

The team knew that there would be plenty of cautions over the 50 lap feature, meaning there would be plenty of opportunity for Josh to patiently work his way to the front of the field. The plan was working well as Josh had worked his way into the 5th position when the caution flew on lap 27 and Josh said that the car was feeling good and he felt he could continue his charge. On the ensuing restart Josh took the 4th position, but one lap later pushed up coming off of turn two and began a painful trip backwards while he struggled to find a hole on the bottom on the tight racetrack. When the caution flew again on lap 35 Josh would find himself back where he started…in the 10th position and facing a second tough points day in a row (after the 9th place finish in Florence). When the green flag flew again, Josh started his second march to the front, this time with much less patience and a lot more aggressiveness…including a three-wide pass going into turn three that moved him up to 6th with about seven laps remaining. A continued push over the last few laps…and some good fortune…saw Josh cross the finish line in 4th, his fifth top five run in six races this season. Josh received the “Bell Helmet 4 Safety” award for his finish (a $100 Bell gift certificate) and unofficially moved back into 3rd in the chase for the Allison Legacy Championship…pulling within striking distance of the 2nd place car.

Josh on Friday’s run: “Friendship is one of the toughest tracks for me to get a grasp on, so I guess to come out of there feeling disappointed with a solid top five run is a good thing. I certainly didn’t make anything easy during that race and I probably aged both dad and Blake a few years over those 50 laps. I made one mistake just after half way and that killed us…the car was good enough to run up front all night but I got stuck behind some cars that I never should have been around and on that track it’s way too hard to pass to put yourself in that position. Blake put another great car under me and to gain so many points on the two guys in front of me made it a good night, but by no means an easy one.

After the race I got to spend about fifteen minutes talking with NASCAR legend Donnie Allison and talking with him about the race. I was surprised how much he was able to watch me during the race and the feedback that he gave me was great and something I can take and use throughout my career, I look forward to talking with him more. He said some nice things about me and my driving…that’s nice coming from someone who has done so much in this sport.”

The Legacy Series takes Memorial Day Weekend off and gets back into action on June 2nd at Peach State Speedway in Jefferson, GA as a companion race with the Hooters Pro Cup Series.