Ballew, Busch Trying To Overcome Fire

October 31, 2008 7:26 p.m. EST

Fort Worth, TX (AHN) - NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series owner Billy Ballew and driver Kurt Busch are trying to make the most out of a bad situation.

Busch qualified seventh for the Chevy Silverado 350K Thursday and his No. 51 Toyota was fastest in the second practice session, despite the team using equipment that was salvaged from a hauler fire en route to the track.

Billy Ballew Motorsports' two racing trucks, a toolbox, a pit box and a tractor-trailer car hauler were heavily damaged after the hauler caught fire on Interstate 20 on Tuesday, in Shreveport, La.

"The biggest thing on the truck is just the water damage from the fire department shooting water on it," said crew chief Richie Wauters said. "It just ran down into the motor and everything. The fire itself made everything just black. The primary truck, everything was just nasty black from the fire. The motor, we had to take it all apart last night, take the intake off, and get all the water out of the cylinders. We got oil put down on the cylinders and got it running last night."

"It appears it might be all right. We'll find out after we practice. This thing ain't bad. The rest, the backup truck was brand new and it got melted. That was junk. And all the contents in the trailer - the springs, the radios and all the equipment got junked. Other than that, I think this truck is all right. There's a lot of water damage and rust, but other than that, I think we'll be all right. Chassis 11 is his favorite truck. We've run 12 races in it. He doesn't want to give it up. We're going to try (to use the engine),'' he added.

Jeff Milburn a former NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series owner based in Texas, drove to Shreveport, La., to pick up what was salvageable and transported it to the Texas Motor Speedway.

The trailer arrived close to midnight and the crews of both the Nos. 15 and 51 Billy Ballew Motorsports teams worked into the early hours cleaning and evaluating the No. 51 Miccosukee Resort Toyota.

Investigators say overheated brakes may have caused the fire, no one was hurt in the blaze.