UltraMotorsports is expected to shift [back to] to Fords next year in the Craftsman Truck series, though owner Jim Smith said he’s still talking with other manufacturers, including Dodge. Smith currently fields two Dodges [#1 Champion Musgrave and #2-Spencer], but Daimler Chrysler is reducing its support in the truck series next series.(NASCAR Scene), Smith said during the Truck Series race ASE would sponsor the #1 Dodge and Jimmy Spencer said he probably would not be back in the Truck Series in 2006, so no word on the #2 team.(11-19-2005)
UPDATE: It’s already the #1 truck in the marketplace. Now, the #1 truck in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a Ford F-150. Ultra Motorsports, which fields the #1 truck that was driven to the 2005 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship by Ted Musgrave, signed a multi-year contract with Ford Racing, starting with the 2006 season. Ultra Motorsports owner Jim Smith – one of the founding members of the truck series, campaigning Ford F-150s from 1995-2000 – said he is pleased about reuniting with the manufacturer. “I’m excited to be reunited with Ford Racing,” said Smith. “We started in this series running a Ford, and the F-150 with the Roush-Yates engine package looks to be the ticket for 2006. Team ASE/Ultra Wheel looks forward to defending the Craftsman Truck Series Championship in a Ford.” Musgrave, who has competed in all three of NASCAR’s top-tier series, won his first-ever championship at any level in 2005, clinching the title with a 19th-place finish in the season-ending Ford 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November. The addition of Ultra Motorsports also gives Ford the most successful 1-2 lineup in the truck series in 2006. Ultra Motorsports’ 36 victories are the second-most in series history, trailing only Roush Racing (37), another Ford Racing-backed organization.(PCGCampbell PR), no word on the #2 team, but ASE sponsorship moves over to the #1.(12-8-2005)
