Tag: Timmy Hill

Tag: Timmy Hill

Grading the Sprint Cup Rides – 2013 Third Term Report

Timmy Hill: Doing the Rookie of the Year His Own Way

Surprising and Not Surprising: AAA Texas 500

Grading the Sprint Cup Rides – 2013 Third Term Report

Surprising and Not Surprising: Pocono Go.Bowling.com 400

Defying the Odds: Timmy Hill Wins Nationwide Series Rookie of the Year

Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. and Timmy Hill Both Pursue Nationwide Dreams

Timmy Hill: Doing the Rookie of the Year His Own Way

While all of the attention for this season’s Rookie of the Year in the NASCAR Cup Series has focused on the battle between Danica Patrick and Ricky Stenhouse Jr., another rookie, Timmy Hill, has been quietly competing in his own way and on his terms.

“Going into this year, I’ve had two years of Nationwide experience and in those two years, I’ve been able to learn the race track multiple times,” Hill, driver of the No. 32 FAS Lane Racing Ford, said. “Starting the year off running for Rookie of the Year in the Cup Series, I knew it was going to be tough, as a driver and as an underdog race team with a lower budget.”

“I knew going in that my schedule was going to consist of 18 to 20 races, with Kenny Schrader and Terry Labonte and Boris Said at the wheel for some of the other races.” Hill continued. “Our goals were to finish all the races, run as many laps as we can and along the way try to beat Danica (Patrick) and Ricky (Stenhouse Jr.) for Rookie of the Year in the races I ran.”

“Knowing that I wasn’t going to run the full schedule, I was going to make the best of the races that I was going to run,” Hill said. “All season long, it’s been tough at some times but we feel like we’ve done a great job.”

Although Hill has been very proud of his performance to date, he did have a tough run in last weekend’s race at Phoenix International Raceway.

“I was kind of bragging about how we haven’t torn up any equipment and wouldn’t you know we tore one up at Phoenix, which I wasn’t very happy about,” Hill continued. “So, we’ve just had that one issue all year long and I’ve been happy with that and so has the race team.”

“But all in all, as a team and as a driver, I’m very happy,” Hill said. “It’s been a great learning experience and I’d say we have done a good job all year long.”

While Hill has been very pleased with his team’s performance in his rookie season, he has been a bit disappointed in not getting the recognition of the media, fans and the sport as far as running for ROTY honors.

“I do feel forgotten sometimes when the reporters do articles about the Rookie of the Year battle without mentioning me,” Hill said. “We knew it would be a long shot for us to have a shot at it but we ran every bit of the races that would qualify us for the Rookie of the Year.”

“It’s kind of a letdown, to myself, the race team and the sponsors just because a smaller team like us could have used the attention, press and publicity to try to build our program,” Hill continued. “To not be mentioned and forgotten about is kind of a letdown.”

While Hill may have been disappointed as far as the ROTY mention, he has felt completely fortunate and blessed to have learned many lessons in his rookie season, on the track and from his fellow competitors.

“I’ve learned so much,” Hill said. “Running in the lower divisions and then the Nationwide Series, I’ve learned how long these races are and how you really have to be there at the end of the race.”

“Those extra laps really teach you patience.”

“You have to gain the respect of the other drivers on the race track,” Hill continued. “You have to run around them for 400 to 500 laps every weekend and when you are racing that close you really have to trust because any small movement can lead to ultimately changing someone’s race.”

“I was the new kid on the block,” Hill said. “Running with these guys, I’ve learned that they are all really great drivers and there is a lot of talent there.”

“It made it a heck of a lot tougher racing-wise because they are all at the Cup level for a reason,” Hill continued. “You just have to realize that you are among some great drivers and you really have to be on it each weekend.”

“You always have to keep working on your race car because they are very smart and always pick up the pace,” Hill said. “It’s almost like a big chess match and you just have to keep after it.”

Hill has also had to learn how to compete in his own way through effective communication with his crew chief, as well as how to best relate what was happening on the track to his team.

“I have a rare situation where my crew chief is actually the owner of the race team,” Hill said. “Frankie Stoddard has been around the sport for years and has had a lot of success.”

“I’ve had to talk about the car and he’s been able to change the way I’ve been saying thing,” Hill continued. “The first race is always tough with the crew chief/driver relationship in just defining how we talk about the car.”

“As soon as we got on the same page as far as the adjustment levels, it is easy after that,” Hill said. “We learned that pretty quick and we worked well this whole season.”

Hill has also learned a great deal from the drivers off track, especially those veterans that he has looked up to his whole racing life. And he also credits his family for teaching him the life lessons that he has found so important as he competed for the Rookie of the Year honors for his sponsors and his team.

“Being young, I didn’t know a lot, but there are veterans I can lean on,” Hill said. “Being at this level, you have to make appearances and conduct yourself well all the time.”

“I like to base my actions off some of the veteran drivers like Carl Edwards and Mark Martin,” Hill continued. “I like the path that they have taken themselves on and use them as a role model.”

“I’d also like to thank my family for raising me the right way.”

Unfortunately, Hill’s last race in his rookie season was at Phoenix as Kenny Schrader will be taking the wheel of the No. 32 for the Homestead Cup finale. Hill will, however, be competing in the Nationwide race for one last time in 2013.

“I got an opportunity to drive the No. 23 car for Rick Ware Racing, who used to be the team owner for me in Nationwide,” Hill said. “He’s given me a lot of chances which I cannot thank him enough for.”

“So, I’m very happy and very blessed to run the final race of the year, even if it is Nationwide and not Cup, on a track I really like.”

So, after completing his rookie season in the Cup Series, what does Hill have planned for 2014?

“As far as my 2014 plans, we’re working up to that,” Hill said. “It is only a few months away but it seems like awhile before the plans will come together.”

“It’s a lengthy process but I have plans to hopefully be able to achieve even more.”

While Hill finalizes his plans for the next season, he also has interesting plans for his off season.

“Last off season I went to flight school,” Hill said.” I got my pilot’s license last year.”

“There are different types of pilot certificates and right now I have what’s called a visual flight certificate, meaning I can fly based off of visual,” Hill continued. “I want to go for IFR, or instrument rating, so I can fly into weather and into clouds.”

“So, I’ll be able to fly more often and not be as limited,” Hill said. “That’s what I want to look into for this off season.”

For more information about Timmy Hill’s rookie season and his future plans, follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @timmyhillracer.

November 12, 2013
Surprising and Not Surprising: AAA Texas 500

As the race for the six shooters and black cowboy hat moved from afternoon into evening, here is what was surprising and not surprising in the ninth annual AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.

Surprising: Although no one could argue about the strength of Jimmie Johnson’s performance and victory at Texas, when it came time to discuss the Chase and the battle with Matt Kenseth, now seven points behind Johnson, there were some fighting words involved.

“I have been watching a lot of MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) fighting lately, and you’ll fall into a rhythm and think that somebody has got the fight won, and it doesn’t end that way,” Johnson said. “That’s how this is going to be.”

“Matt didn’t have maybe the best day and still finished fourth,” Johnson continued. “This thing is going to go to the last lap at Homestead.”

“I think this is just going to be a dog fight there,” Rick Hendrick, Johnson’s team owner, said. “I think it’s going to be the last lap at Homestead because the teams are that close.”

“It’s going to be a war,” Coach Joe Gibbs, Kenseth’s team owner, said. “And I just hope we all survive.”

Not Surprising: Dale Earnhardt Jr. acknowledged Jimmie Johnson’s dominance best, telling his crew chief Steve Letarte that his car won even though he finished second for the third time to his five-time champion teammate.

“He (Johnson) was in a class of his own,” Dale Junior said. “We were joking that he won the DP but we were first in the GT class.”

“They were super-fast and I was super, super impressed with those guys’ car,” Earnhardt Jr. continued. “I’m happy to have a good effort and looking forward to the last couple of races.”

“Hopefully we will get us a win,” Junior said. “We keep getting close.”

Surprising: Carl Edwards, driver of the No. 99 Aflac Ford Fusion, went from hero, sitting on the pole, to zero, getting knocked out of the race at Texas due to engine failure. Yet even in his disappointment, Edwards surprisingly was still able to pull off a plug for his erstwhile sponsor.

“I think a valve spring broke,” Edwards said. “We don’t usually have a lot of engine trouble.”

“We had such a great weekend going,” Edwards continued. “Aflac has coverage for just about everything but I don’t think they cover sick engines which is too bad.”

Edwards was not the only one with a sick engine as Ford mate David Ragan also lost one, as did Timmy Hill and Bobby Labonte.

Not Surprising: While speeding penalties are costly enough to the average driver, they were especially costly to two of the Chase competitors, particularly Matt Kenseth, whose penalty no doubt cost him the point’s lead, and Kyle Busch, who battled not only the speeding penalty but also an early crash to finish 13^th.

“We were just being too aggressive,” Kenseth said. “That speeding penalty got us behind — we definitely didn’t need that.”

“If I wouldn’t have messed up, maybe we could have ran second.”

“Kyle (Busch) feels horrible because he sped on pit road late in the race,” Dave Rogers, crew chief of the No. 18 Snickers Toyota, said. “He was giving us all he had to give us the best possible finish and we took a little bit more that what was there.”

“This is a team and we’ve got his back.”

Surprising: While Texas provided a surprising venue to showcase the strength of Penske Racing, with two top-ten finishes, both drivers, however, acknowledged that neither of them had what it took to be stronger than team 48.

“From the start of the race, we moved our way forward,” Joey Logano, driver of the No. 22 AAA Ford said. “Overall we can’t be disappointed with a third place finish but the 48 car was just ridiculously fast.”

“I thought we had decent speed,” Brad Keselowski, driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford, said. “We were leading at one point and the yellow flag came and we pitted and came out ninth, which ended our shot of being able to derail Jimmie if there even was one.”

“His car was so much faster than the field,” Keselowski continued. “It was pretty embarrassing to be quite honest.”

Not Surprising: The pattern of inconsistency for team No. 24 and driver Jeff Gordon continued, with the win at Martinsville last weekend being negated by the hard hit into the wall after a tire went down at Texas.

“I hit the wall hard,” Gordon said “I just know the left front went down as I was going down the front straightaway.”

Gordon finished 38^th, close to 200 laps down, his worst finish since Watkins Glen.

Surprising: Parker Kligerman made a surprisingly good debut in the Sprint Cup Series for Swan Racing, finishing top-20.

“Although 18^th doesn’t sound that great, for a rookie and this team, it’s a great finish and it’s one of the best finishes for these guys,” Kligerman said. “It was a long tough race but the team persevered and everyone fought hard.”

Not Surprising: Since Greg Biffle never, ever forgets, his love tap of Jimmie Johnson in the waning laps of the Texas race was not the least bit surprising. It did not, however, help him to feel at all better even though he finished twelfth in the race when the checkered flag flew.

“That was a tough one,” Biffle, driver of the No. 16 3M Ford Fusion, said. “The car wasn’t very good in traffic.”

“We didn’t get it until it seemed like about 20 to go or whatever that last stop was,” Biffle continued. “We just weren’t where we wanted to be.”

Surprising: While most, if not all eyes were on the Chase race between Johnson and Kenseth, there were other drivers in the field who literally paid no heed as they were marching to the beat of their own drummers.

“We actually made a lot of gains throughout the weekend,” Danica Patrick, drive of the No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet said after finishing 25^th. “We never quite got it, but we certainly made progress.”

“I’m excited to get to Phoenix next week,” Patrick continued. “GoDaddy is based out there, so it’s a big race for us.”

With her 25^th place finish, Patrick also gained three spots in the point standings to 25^th as well.

Not Surprising: Problems continued on and off the track for Juan Pablo Montoya as he winds up his NASCAR career and prepares to return to the IndyCar Series.

Montoya brought out one of the few race cautions on track due to a tire issue, which was a shredded right front tire according to Crew Chief Chris ‘Shine’ Heroy. JPM was able to soldier on to finish in the 20th place at Texas Motor Speedway.

But off track, Montoya also has problems as Forbes reported that he is in trouble with the US taxman. The IRS is alleging that the driver owes $2.7 million in additional taxes and penalties due to some interesting and complicated deductions, many of which were made prior to his coming to NASCAR and to the United States to live with his family.

Montoya has just two more races in the NASCAR Series and then will return to IndyCar racing but this time to drive for Roger Penske and serve as teammate to Penske driver Helio Castroneves.

Surprising: After a challenging season of his own, Kasey Kahne actually surprised himself with a top-five finish at Texas Motor Speedway.

“We had a pretty good Time Warner Chevy today,” Kahne said. “We were seventh to tenth most of the race and we worked our way to fifth there at the end.”

“I’m glad we were able to have kind of a flawless race and race all day and make a little bit of ground up at the end.”

Not Surprising: Kurt Busch’s quest to finish off his season with Furniture Row Racing with outstanding performances is proving most difficult.

“Nothing good to say about this race,” Busch, driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Chevrolet said. “That’s all we had and it was a struggle all weekend.”

“We definitely need a turnaround in the final two races because it has been too good of a year to end on a struggling note.”

November 4, 2013

This grading system is pretty basic. Top 10’s, with extra consideration given for wins and Top 5’s, can help you earn an A+. Keep it in the Top 20 each race and that is worth a B. Just by finishing 30^th each time out and that would still get you a C-. Less than that is a failure; a failure to compete, a failure to get noticed.

Grade: A

The top students have been to joy to have in class, even though Jimmie did cost himself an A+ by playing hookey in the weeks leading to the Chase. We are hopeful Kyle continues his stellar work through the final part of the year, though he has had trouble in the past. Matt has really hit the books as of late, and could wind up class valedictorian if he continues his progress. Carl once again is near the head of the class, but time will tell if can charge to the front to finally be number one.

CAR	DRIVER	WINS	TOP 5	TOP 10	TOP 20	TOP 30
48	Jimmie JOHNSON	4	11	17	21	25
18	Kyle BUSCH	4	13	17	20	22
20	Matt KENSETH	7	8	15	21	24
99	Carl EDWARDS	2	8	14	24	26

Grade: A-

Kevin has been in the top half of the class pretty much the entire year and only twice has the dog eaten his homework. Clint is usually a very popular boy, but for some reason I detect that many of his classmates do not want him to wind up at the head of the class this year.

CAR	DRIVER	WINS	TOP 5	TOP 10	TOP 20	TOP 30
29	Kevin HARVICK	2	7	14	25	25
15	Clint BOWYER	0	8	14	24	26

Grade: B+

Kurt, who usually does not play well with others, has some cheering for him. It will be interesting how he works with his new friends when class resumes next year. Kasey had some trouble last week, as did little Joey a week earlier. Dale is once again a very popular boy while Ryan has had some issues to work through, but seems to have replaced former friends with some new ones for next year. Martin has had some problems as well due to the company he keeps, and I am not sure how that will work out. Greg remains a solid student, with Mark helping Tony since he hurt his leg. Meanwhile, Jeff needed some help near the end of the term, though I am not sure it will be enough for him to realize his dreams by the end of the school year.

CAR	DRIVER	WINS	TOP 5	TOP 10	TOP 20	TOP 30
78	Kurt BUSCH	0	9	14	20	23
5	Kasey KAHNE	2	8	11	18	20
22	Joey LOGANO	1	8	14	19	23
88	Dale EARNHARDT, Jr	0	5	15	21	24
39	Ryan NEWMAN	1	6	13	21	22
56	Martin TRUEX, Jr	1	6	12	21	23
16	Greg BIFFLE	1	4	11	23	24
14	Tony STEWART	1	5	10	19	27
24	Jeff GORDON	0	5	13	21	22

Grade: B

It has been a disappointing year for some students. Brad has stumbled a bit since being last year’s valedictorian. Juan Pablo plans to transfer out of our school next year, returning to where he had previously enjoyed very good grades. His friend Jamie will remain with us, and has hopes of improving his status next year. Mark has been busy, first helping Brian earlier this year and now Tony. I am expecting good things when Brian returns full-time next year. Along with Paul, they might not make the honor roll this year, but these boys have done enough work to show they belong here.

Grade: B-

Aric has shown signs that we might expect better things ahead for him. Jeff, as always, was expecting more. As he leaves us a year early, we will miss this well spoken young man.

CAR	DRIVER	WINS	TOP 5	TOP 10	TOP 20	TOP 30
43	Aric ALMIROLA	0	1	5	22	24
31	Jeff BURTON	0	2	6	17	23

Grade: C+

Marcos and Ricky have been okay, though not great. They both manage to get their work done, but I still would like to see better things from them before the year is out.

CAR	DRIVER	WINS	TOP 5	TOP 10	TOP 20	TOP 30
9	Marcos AMBROSE	0	0	5	19	23
17	Ricky STENHOUSE, Jr	0	0	2	20	25

Grade: C

I do not know what to say about Denny. I know he was hurt earlier in the year, but he has not been his old self since he returned. It appears he would just as soon end the year, go on vacation, and start afresh next year.

CAR	DRIVER	WINS	TOP 5	TOP 10	TOP 20	TOP 30
11	Denny HAMLIN	0	3	6	12	19

Grade: C-

Casey is not quite ready to compete with the big boys just yet, but I have been pleased with his progress. I am interested to see how he might do next year. I will miss Bobby, though he has had another disappointing year. Some seem happy with Danica’s progress, but I feel we should expect more by this time. She is blessed with so much more than a lot of the other students. David did succeed on the subject of Alabama geography, with some help from his close friend, the other David, but neither are quite there yet. As for A.J., who sometimes goes by Regan or Austin or, just last week, by Michael, might make some real progress once he figures out who he really is.

CAR	DRIVER	WINS	TOP 5	TOP 10	TOP 20	TOP 30
13	Casey MEARS	0	0	1	9	23
47	Bobby LABONTE	0	0	1	8	21
10	Danica PATRICK	0	0	1	6	23
34	David RAGAN	1	1	1	4	21
38	David GILLILAND	0	1	1	5	20
51	A.J. ALLMENDINGER	0	0	2	7	18

Grade: F

To be honest, I am not sure why these boys are even in my class. Both Dave and Travis, I am sure, would do so much better at Nationwide High. What can you say about J.J. (other than he enjoyed Daytona seven months ago), David S. (who just isn’t the same boy the past two weeks), David R. or Timmy? No, really. What can you say about them? Well, I’ve seen worse. I feel bad for Trevor, as I think if he would attend class more often he might be able to pull in a better grade than this. However, to be fair, of the nine assignments he has done, none have been much to write home about. As for Landon, things just don’t seem to work out. He and Tony R. have done most of the assignments for Austin, which is too bad as the young fellow has done so much better on the two he has written on his own. There are other students who drop in from time to time, but I have reserved my remarks for those who have tried to attend class at least nine times this year. God bless Scott, Michael, Joe, and Mike, but if the school board ever considers reducing class size, they make a good argument. To be honest, they usually do not stick around long enough to become a nuisance. The sad thing is, all four have ability but you never get to see it.

CAR	DRIVER	WINS	TOP 5	TOP 10	TOP 20	TOP 30
7	Dave BLANEY	0	0	0	2	18
93	Travis KVAPIL	0	0	0	4	15
36	J.J. YELEY	0	0	1	2	14
30	David STREMME	0	0	0	4	13
83	David REUTIMANN	0	0	0	1	14
32	Timmy HILL	0	0	0	2	12
21	Trevor BAYNE	0	0	0	4	8
40	Landon CASSILL	0	0	0	4	8
33	Austin DILLON	0	0	0	2	12
95	Scott SPEED	0	0	1	1	3
98	Michael MCDOWELL	0	0	1	1	2
87	Joe NEMECHEK	0	0	0	0	3
19	Mike BLISS	0	0	0	0	1

September 24, 2013

Surprising and Not Surprising: Pocono Go.Bowling.com 400

At a track known as tricky, with a bowling sponsor for its second race of the season, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 40^th annual GoBowling.com 400, at Pocono Raceway.

Surprising: Probably most surprising about the Pocono race weekend was what followed shortly thereafter, with top-ten finisher Tony Stewart flipping in a sprint car accident at Southern Iowa Speedway, which resulted in a fractured leg.

This was eerily and scarily ironic after joking with the media during his Pocono availability about his sprint car racing escapades, including a flip prior to the Pocono race.

Stewart had to undergo surgery and because of the break of both his tibia and fibula, Stewart Haas Racing announced that Max Papis will pilot Smoke’s Cup ride at the Glen.

Not Surprising: In a Pocono race weekend where the victors in both the ARCA and Truck Series were determined on restarts, it was not surprising that the winner of the Cup race Kasey Kahne also made it to the checkered flag thanks to a restart.

“I about gave it away,” the driver of the No. 5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet said after scoring his second win of the season, as well as his second victory at Pocono. “I spun the tires a little bit and Jeff (Gordon) got a great jump and Kurt (Busch) pushed me all the way to Turn 1, which really helped.”

“And then I had one opportunity,” Kahne continued. “It was either go for it and make it work or not.”

“It was a great race.”

Surprising: A pair of birthday boys, Jeff Gordon and Kurt Busch scored surprisingly good finishes on their special days. The driver of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet and the driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Chevrolet finished second and third respectively.

“It’s funny how our emotions go up and down in this sport,” Gordon said. “Before the race, if you told me that I’d finish second, I’d say that was a great birthday gift.”

“I’m disappointed that we didn’t get this win.”

“This was a phenomenal run today,” Busch said. “Right now, we’re getting the job done.”

“So, I’m happy for this finish and this team and just the job we’re doing.”

Not Surprising: The vibration plaguing Dale Earnhardt Jr. continued to be a hot topic, with the driver of the No. 88 National Guard Youth Foundation Chevrolet discussing it even after his top five finish.

“Well, we changed every part on the car but the engine,” Junior said. “We got it to the point where we could drive it.”

“I felt good coming in here and thought we might win the race, but we came up a little short.”

Surprising: Timmy Hill was the surprising Rookie of the Race after finishing 27^th in his No. 32 Oxy Water Ford. ROTY competitors Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Danica Patrick both had troubles on the track, with Stenhouse Jr. crashing on the very first lap and Patrick bringing out the seventh caution of the day in a tangle with Travis Kvapil, Paul Menard and Jeff Burton. Stenhouse Jr. finished 34^th and Patrick finished 35^th.

“It’s not the way we wanted to start the day,” Stenhouse Jr. said. “I was kind of hoping everyone would stay in line but it didn’t play out like that.”

“We were just having a steady race and a good race, and it was over,” Patrick said. “We were competitive and we were making good calls in the pits.”

“Everything was going; it just happens.”

Not Surprising: Even with a tire issue and a resulting crash that was so hard it knocked a spark plug wire off, Jimmie Johnson managed to finish the race, in which he had started on the pole with a new track record, in the 13^th position.

And even with all the challenges of the day, the driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Planes Chevrolet managed to increase his points lead to 77 over second place Clint Bowyer.

“My day kept needing to be re-calibrated,” Johnson said. “I really felt like we had a shot to win, unfortunately blew a tire off of Turn On and ended those hopes there.”

“We salvaged a very nice finish though.”

Surprising: Contrary to all the Bloomin’ Onion fans, driver Ryan Newman was surprisingly unhappy with his fourth place finish in his No. 39 Haas Automation 30^th Anniversary Chevrolet.

“It’s a good run but not as good as it could have been,” Newman said. “Just a horrible day in the pits for us.”

“We have to get that figured out.”

Not Surprising: Having come into the Pocono weekend with high hopes for not only a good finish but also making the Chase, there was no one, not surprisingly, more frustrated with being caught up in a wreck not of his doing than Jeff Burton.

The driver of the No. 31 FXI Gutterclear 365 Chevrolet was so upset that he put a nice sized dent in the roof of his car after pounding it royally after getting caught up in the Danica Patrick, Paul Menard and Travis Kvapil mess.

“By the time I got there, they were wrecked,” Burton said. “We had a good car but we just kept getting in trouble.”

“It’s just kind of how the year’s going.”

Surprising: Although teammates and the highest finishing Fords, Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano had surprisingly different views on the challenge of the restarts.

“We caught that one yellow at the worst possible time with 50 or 60 to go and pitted for four and we were going to be okay but then we caught another yellow which killed our strategy,” the driver of the No. 2 Redd’s Apple Ale proclaimed. “Damn, we were just a little bit short.”

“Those restarts helped us,” the driver of the No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford said. “The cautions at the end helped us make up what we lost.”

“It’s kind of funny how it worked out.”

Not Surprising: Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 M&Ms Peanut Butter Toyota, was the highest finishing Toyota, ending the race in the eighth position.

“We were just a little bit off today,” Busch said. “It seemed like we could get going good on restarts and it would drive well for a few laps, then we couldn’t keep up as well on the long run.”

“That’s about all we had with our M&M’s Peanut Butter Camry,” Busch continued. “We were able to get a top-10 out of a day where we were just a little behind.”

August 7, 2013
Defying the Odds: Timmy Hill Wins Nationwide Series Rookie of the Year

For much of the season, the focus was on the big teams – Roush-Fenway Racing, Kevin Harvick Incorporated, Turner Motorsports and others. Though at the other end, there were teams out there fighting to run strong week-in-and-week-out to accomplish their goals.

[media-credit name=”timmyhill15.com” align=”alignright” width=”237″][/media-credit]Rick Ware Racing was one of those teams and at the end of the year, they accomplished their main goal. They ended the season with Timmy Hill winning Nationwide Rookie of the Year.

“I can’t thank this team enough,” Hill said. “When it was crunch time, they pulled through. They have done it all year with our back against the wall!”

It was a season full of hurdles with lots of lessons being learned along the way.

“Previously before Nationwide, I’ve run short races at local half mile tracks,” the 18-year-old said in a phone interview. “In the NASCAR Nationwide Series, most of the races are about 300 miles long so I had to learn to pace myself throughout a race, knowing that the race was long and you got to be there at the finish to get those good finishes. So I’ve learned I’ve got to pace myself and be there at the end.”

The driver of the No. 15 Poynt Ford had his fair share of struggles, though also had times during the season that stood out. An 11^th place finish at Road American would mark Hill’s best finish of the season.

Competing against the veterans of the Nationwide Series would be enough to intimidate a new driver. Though on top of that, there are some Sprint Cup Series regulars who would come run some Nationwide Series races.

“I feel like with those guys, it gives you something to shoot for,” Hill said of the cup drivers. “At the same time, it makes it kind of tough because it’s hard for the new guys, like myself, to try and shine when these superstars come down to the Nationwide Series and take all the spotlight.”

One of those Sprint Cup regulars who run the Nationwide Series, Carl Edwards, is whom Hill considers his racing hero.

“One thing that stood out to me is he’s always a nice guy,” Hill said. “He always the guy that I wanted to attire myself after because he’s always clean on the race track, good driver, good with the fans; that’s the guy that I always try to patter myself after.”

Hill began racing at the age of nine in go-karts.

“Previously, my dad used to race through the 90s and the early 2000s,” he said. “I always wanted to do it growing up ever since I was a little kid. I kept bugging my dad over and over again. He finally let me drive a go-kart and I just got hooked right away.”

Racing in go-karts in 2005, Hill won over 80 races and multiple championships, including two World Karting Association (WKA) championships. Hill then began the moving his way up the ladder from the Bandoleros to Legends to Allison Legacy Series to the ARCA Racing Series, and lastly the K&N Pro Series in 2010.

The transition from the Allison Legacy Series to NASCAR Nationwide Series racing marked a big step for the young driver.

“The Allison Legacy Cars and the smaller cars, they race on the half-mile tracks, like Bristol,” he said. “You go to a mile-and-a-half and these faster tracks, it’s a whole different ball game and it’s like starting over, so to speak. You have to learn everything over. Basically what comes into play is all the aerodynamics and you got to pay attention to what’s going on as you see a lot of different things than the short tracks.”

To go with the races being longer as you move up, Hill stresses the element to drivers trying to get into the higher ranks.

“A lot of times you see the guys that they only have a couple races that they get to run,” he said. “They go out, try too hard and end up taking them self early so they don’t get time to learn or time to shine. “So the biggest thing is these races are long, pace yourself and be there at the end.”

Hill says for next year, he is looking to consistently get good finishes to finish top-10 in points.

“At the beginning of this year, I had to learn all the tracks and the ins-and-outs of the series and it took me awhile to get going,” he said. “Next season, our main goal is to go out and get good finishes; top-15 finishes are what we’re looking for every week and to be there. Our goal for the points is to finish in the top 10 in driver’s points and top 10 in owner’s points.”

December 9, 2011
Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. and Timmy Hill Both Pursue Nationwide Dreams

Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., driver of the No. 6 Blackwell Angus/Cargill Ford Mustang for Roush Fenway Racing, and Timmy Hill, behind the wheel of No. 15 Poynt.com Ford Mustang for Rick Ware Racing, have more than just driving for the same manufacturer in common.

[media-credit id=62 align=”alignright” width=”237″][/media-credit]Both young, up and coming drivers are pursuing their NASCAR dreams, one for a Nationwide championship and the other for the youngest ever Nationwide Rookie of the Year title.

Stenhouse Jr., who won the Nationwide ROTY honors last year, is 23 years old while Hill is just 18 years of age, with his highest achievement being the Allison Legacy Series Championship.

For Stenhouse, the achievement of the NASCAR Nationwide championship would be a dream come true.

“It would mean a lot,” Stenhouse said. “It would definitely be my biggest accomplishment ever in my racing career.”

“After the way last year went, struggling so bad the first part of the year and turning it around at the end of the year, it really makes you appreciate where we are right now as a race team,” Stenhouse continued.

“We came into the year thinking that we were gonna be able to run for it and now that we’ve got six races left and have a shot at it, it’s exactly where we need to be.”

Similarly for Hill, the Nationwide Rookie of the Year title would be just as good as the championship would be to Stenhouse, Jr. And if he won those coveted rookie honors, Hill would make history as the youngest ROTY at the tender age of 18 years.

“It would be awesome for me to be the youngest one to do it,” Hill said. “We just hoped at this time in the year to have a shot at the Rookie of the Year and everything has worked out.”

“We’re leading now by just two points.”

For both drivers, achieving their respective dreams will be tough, especially with the level of competition. Stenhouse, Jr. is battling veteran Elliott Sadler, driver of the No. 2 OneMain Financial Chevrolet, for the Nationwide title, while Hill is battling Blake Koch, driver of the No. 81 DayStar.com Dodge, for the ROTY honors.

“I think you have to be on your game,” Stenhouse, Jr. said. “You have to go out and try to win because Elliott Sadler is not gonna finish outside of the top 10.”

“So, you’ve got to do something better to beat him in this championship.”

“It’s close,” Hill echoed. “Blake has been right there and we’ve been right beside each other almost every race.”

“It’s a real tight battle, but hopefully we can hang on to it,” Hill continued. “We hope to finish that deal out.”

Both dream chasing drivers share a very similar background, having started in go-kart racing, as well as continuing through the ARCA ReMax Racing Series. Hill, in particular, has racing in his blood from watching his father, Jerry Hill, race in the Truck Series for many years.

“My dad ran Truck Series and the Busch Series back then, Nationwide Series now,” Hill said. “He ran a full season of Trucks in 2003 and that was his last season.”

“I kept bugging him when I was a kid that I wanted to race,” Hill continued. “Finally he said OK and he put me in a go kart and let me try it out.”

“The first race, I loved it and I was instantly hooked.”

One interesting thing that the two drivers on their dream quests share, however, is actually a person. Both have ties to Cup Chase contender Carl Edwards.

For Stenhouse, Jr. his tie to Carl is that of teammates both seeking a championship. As Stenhouse chases the Nationwide championship, he is also cognizant of getting Edwards, in the No. 60 Fastenal Ford, the owner championship for Jack Roush.

“Jamie Allison from Ford came in this week and we’ve got a lot of things going,” Stenhouse, Jr. said. “We’re obviously going for the driver’s championship.”

“We’ve got to get Carl the owner’s championship and then we’ve got to get Ford the manufacturer’s championship,” Stenhouse continued. “Ford is putting a lot of effort into it and we’ve got a lot of things to accomplish this year and I think we can do it as a race team.”

For Hill, Carl Edwards is not teammate but hero.

“A guy I like to pattern myself after is Carl Edwards,” Hill said. “He handles himself real well and I like the way he treats his fans.”

“Almost everything he does I like to pattern myself after.”

The two young up and comers also share one unfortunate aspect to their careers. They both are uncertain of what their future holds.

“Right now, my biggest focus is this Nationwide championship,” Stenhouse, Jr. said. “I think I’ve always said after running a couple of years in Nationwide I would like to run maybe a partial schedule or something just to kind of get my feet wet.”

“But I don’t want to jump into things too quick.”

“I may go to college next year,” Hill said, who just graduated high school. “I just want to focus on racing. I just want to keep my focus right now on the Rookie of the Year battle.”

So, for now, both Stenhouse, Jr. and Hill realize that the road to achieving their dreams runs straight through the Monster Mile at Dover this weekend. Not unexpectedly, both drivers are confident that they will conquer the concrete track.

“For us, every time I’ve come to Dover, we’ve had a better finish,” Stenhouse, Jr. said. “We finished fourth the last race here and had a really fast Mustang.”

“I think, obviously, we’ll have a good race here.”

“This is my second time here since the spring race,” Hill said. “So, we’ve got the experience and we’ve got the feel.”

“The banking and the way it drops off makes it a monster,” Hill continued. “It’s a wild ride.”

September 30, 2011

Brad KESELOWSKI

Juan Pablo MONTOYA

Jamie MCMURRAY

Brian VICKERS

Paul MENARD