Craftsman Truck Series Rookie of the Year Willie Allen will return with Thorsport next season and has already set his sights on improving on his inaugural truck season. “Definitely finish in the top-10 in points and compete for a win,” he said of his goals for 2008. “We’ve got to get more competitive. It’s not from lack of effort. Everyone is trying, just figure out what we’re lacking. I know the guys are already starting to work hard for next year and just continue to do that and take what we learned from this year and go to the winter testing and hopefully go and compete in the top-10 next year.”(RacingOne.com)(12-10-2007)
UPDATE: Being told that Willie Allen will not drive the #13 Chevy in 2008 but that Shelby Howard will get the #13 ride.(12-13-2007)
UPDATE 2: Willie Allen, the 2007 Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS) Rookie of the Year, will not return to the #13 ThorSport Racing truck for the 2008 NCTS season. ThorSport Racing has terminated their agreement with Allen for 2008. “We are currently looking for other opportunities for next season,” explains Allen. “We had a successful year with ThorSport Racing but I’m hearing another driver is bringing in a substantial amount of money. I have a letter exercising ThorSport’s option on my contract for 2008, so I don’t know how this could happen. I hope that we can put something together with a team in one of NASCAR’s top three divisions very soon.” For more information on Willie Allen, visit www.willieallen.com.(Modern Management PR)(12-14-2007)UPDATE 3: Hearing that Thorsport Racing, #13 and #88 in the Truck Series, will run some Nationwide Series races with Shelby Howard.(12-18-2007)
UPDATE 4: ThorSport Racing has named Shelby Howard as a driver for the team in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in ’08, the organization has announced. Howard, 22, hails from Greenwood, Indiana, a short-track lap from the hallowed ground of Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He came onto the big-time racing scene in ’02 as the youngest driver to lead laps in an ARCA Series race, and became the youngest winner of an ARCA superspeedway race when he triumphed at Kansas the following year. Howard has also tasted NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and Busch Series competition.(Thorsport Racing PR)(1-11-2008)
