Toledo: Shelby Howard race notes

Persistence pays off for Howard
Teenager captures third top five in last four races

Toledo, OH (May 5, 2003) -- Shelby Howard was tracking down race leader Ken Schrader when he felt a bump from behind. Running second at the time, he fought to keep the #64 Mack Trucks-Beck Dodge off the wall and out of trouble. Succeeding, the seventeen-year-old ARCA RE/MAX driver clawed his way back through the field before finishing 3rd in Sunday's 200-lapper at Toledo Speedway.

It was Howard's second straight top-three finish and his third in the last four races. The Greenwood, Indiana youngster has 6 career top fives and 14 top tens in 31 ARCA starts.

Overall, Howard was pleased with the day's outcome but knows it could've been better.

"We had a pretty good day. I was gaining on Schrader and would've had something for him," Howard said. "We started off good, but then got spun out. We spent the rest of the day working our way to the front. That's definitely not the easiest way to get a top five, but we gained some points and feel good about where we're headed. The whole Mack Trucks-Beck Dodge team is working hard and things are coming together. We're looking for another good run at Kentucky. We are getting more consistent, but third doesn't feel as good as it used to," laughed Howard, who won at Salem on April 27.

The Channel 5-205 at Kentucky Speedway takes the green Saturday at 8 p.m. EDT. SPEED Channel and Cincinnati's WLWT Channel 5 will have live coverage.

-www.shelbyhoward.com