Saturday, March 20
Track: Atlanta Motor Speedway, 1.5-mile quad-oval
Race: 4 of 22
Event: Fr8Auctions 200 (130 laps, 200 miles)
Schedule
Saturday, March 20
Race: 2:30 p.m. ET (FOX Sports 1)
Bill Lester, No. 17 Camping World Ford F-150
Lester returns to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series with partner support from Camping World, Greater Atlanta Ford Dealers and Tommy’s Express Car Wash.
Lester has six Truck Series starts at Atlanta with a best finish of 15th earned in 2004. The Ford driver has an average starting position of 13.7 and an average finishing position of 22.7 at the intermediate track. Lester will start Saturday afternoon’s event from the 31st position.
Saturday marks Lester’s first Truck Series start since 2007 and will bring his series total to 143. He’s led 92 laps and has two top-five and seven top-10 finishes in the series.
Lester was the first African American pole award winner in the Truck Series. In total, he’s captured three series pole awards – May 2003 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway, July 2005 at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, and July 2005 at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta.
The Atlanta resident will guided by crew chief Seth Smith from atop the pit box and Joel Edmonds from the spotters stand.
In February, Lester released his memoir titled, Winning in Reverse: Defying the Odds and Achieving Dreams.
The No. 17 entry has been driven by team co-owner David Gilliland and Xfinity Series driver Riley Herbst. After Lester completes his Atlanta start, Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick will pilot the No. 17 F-150 in next Saturday’s Dirt Race at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.
Lester on Atlanta:
What made you want to return to the Truck Series and racing after a hiatus?
“It was time to practice what I preached in my memoir. In it, I wrote about the importance of getting out of one’s comfort zone and pursuing one’s passion. I’ve always loved racing, been a fan of racing, and that interest slowly began to build into a desire to race again. The release of my book became the perfect opportunity for my desire to race again to meet the desire to promote my book.”
How was your experience in the simulator? How much did you use a simulator when previously racing?
“I was fortunate enough to utilize a simulator to get some virtual time at Atlanta Motor Speedway. It was quite an experience and I believe it will be well worth while. It helped me to re-acclimate myself to the visual, physical, and audible environment I have been away from for so long. It’s no wonder that drivers spend all their time in them these days! I didn’t have this tool at my disposal when I was previously racing in NASCAR, but it sure would have been nice to.”
What are your goals for this weekend, or what would you consider a successful weekend?
“At a minimum, I expect to compete for the whole event and finish the race. It’s hard to realistically predict a result because I haven’t competed in the series in such a long time. I don’t completely know where I stand, where the competition stands, where my equipment stands, and there are always circumstances beyond your control, but I wouldn’t be out there if I didn’t think I would be competitive. We’ll just see where the chips fall.”
Do you think this weekend might give you the racing bug again and you’ll want to race more frequently?
“One of the reasons I’m so excited is because I don’t know how I’ll feel after this race. ‘Will I enjoy the experience? Will I want more of it?’ I just don’t know. As they say, ‘that’s why they run the race.’ I’ll be just as interested to discover how I feel afterword as everyone else will. Just the simple fact that I’ll be racing from the time I get to the track without practice or qualifying will be a completely different situation in itself. I’m sure it will just get crazier from there but I’m so looking forward to it!”
TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!
