Chevrolet Silverado on Outside Front Row at Atlanta
<http://www.gmracingnews.com/images/email/racing.jpg> Shane Hmiel Puts Chevrolet Silverado on Outside Front Row at Atlanta Team Silverado Driver David Starr Qualifies Tenth for NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series World Financial Group 200 HAMPTON, GA - Shane Hmiel watched 39 of the 41 entrants in the World Financial Group 200 make their qualifying attempts before he took to the track in his No. 15 Earl Small's Harley-Davidson Silverado for his two laps around Atlanta Motor Speedway. On his first lap, Hmiel came within four one hundredths of a second of sitting on the pole for tonight's NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race. The Mt. Pleasant, NC native headed into turn one with a full head of steam for his second lap and crossed under the checkered flag with a lap of 30.370 seconds, 182.549 mph - a mere three hundredths off the pole lap of 30.339 seconds, 182.735 mph set by Rick Crawford. Hmiel, who is competing in all three major NASCAR divisions this weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway, was hoping for a pole run. "When I walked out on pit road, I told Ritchie (Wauters, crew chief) and the guys I wanted to run a .2 and get the pole," said Hmiel. " I gave it all I had but we came up just a tick short but it is a good run for us. "I am glad to have a chance to run this Billy Ballew Motorsports Silverado this weekend. The guys have given me an awesome truck for tonight's race. Our Busch car is really good too. I would love to get a win for one of these great teams this weekend. "I have to qualify my way into the Cup race, but we were pretty good in practice so we will give it all we have in qualifying tonight and then hop in the truck and go racin." David Starr put the No. 75 Spears Manufacturing Silverado on the outside of the fifth row in the tenth starting spot. "We were hoping to have a little better lap than that," said Starr. "But I have the right truck in my Silverado for tonight's race." Dennis Setzer in the No. 46 Chevrolet Silverado qualified 14th and will start on the outside the seventh row. Ron Hornaday put the No. 6 GM Goodwrench Silverado in the 18th starting position on the outside of the ninth row. Bobby Labonte behind the wheel of the No. 47 Chevrolet 'Nashville" All Star Silverado qualified 19th to start on the inside of the 10th row. Jack Sprague will start the No. 16 Chevy Trucks Silverado in 23rd on the inside of the 12th row. Sprague is driving in a special Kevlar boot to protect a broken heel received in an accident at his home three weeks ago. The World Financial Group 200 is race the third event on the 25-race 2005 NCTS schedule. Racing for under the lights at Atlanta Motor Speedway for the first time, the 130-lap, 200-mile event will take the green flag at 9:15 p.m. EST on Friday, March 18, 2005 with live flag-to-flag television coverage provided by SPEED. The race can also be heard on MRN Radio as well as XM Satellite Radio. General Motors Corp. , the world's largest automaker, has been the global industry sales leader since 1931. Founded in 1908, GM today employs about 324,000 people around the world. It has manufacturing operations in 32 countries and its vehicles are sold in 200 countries. In 2004, GM sold nearly 9 million cars and trucks globally, up 4 percent and the second-highest total in the company's history. GM's global headquarters are at the GM Renaissance Center in Detroit. More information on GM can be found at www.gm.com. ### Contact: Judy Dominick (317) 408-1049 jkdracer@aol.com Sam Brown (910) 724-1148 szone@mindspring.com _____ Please do not reply to this e-mail as we are unable to respond to messages sent to this address. You can request additional information by e-mailing the contact listed above. You received this e-mail because you have expressed interest in GM Racing. If you would like to edit your GM Racing News e-mail preferences or unsubscribe, click here <http://www.gmracingnews.com/profile.aspx?email=251> . To read General Motors complete Privacy Policy, please click here <http://www.gm.com/privacy/> . If you cannot view this email, please click here <http://www.gmracingnews.com/emaildisplay.aspx?email=79&contact=251> to view it in a web browser.
