What Tire Size?

Myrtle Beach, S.C. – Drew Herring knows how to win, and so does Ricky Benton Racing. Now, in 2008, the duo will combine their winning ways in hopes of grabbing the coveted Miller Lite Rookie of the Year title-and more-in the Hooters Pro Cup Series.

“It’s always exciting when you get to move up in racing,” said Herring, who won the Late Model title at South Boston in 2006 and the Southern National title in 2007. “But it’s really good to move up with a good team.”

And RBR is just that.

In 2002, RBR and driver Jason Sarvis won the overall Hooters Pro Cup Series title. In 2004, RBR and Matt Carter won the overall Miller Lite Rookie of the Year title together.

“I’d love to win the Rookie of the Year and the overall title,” said Herring, who will pilot the No. 22s BTS Tire&Wheel Distributor Chevrolet. “Mike Hester’s a great crew chief and been around a long time. Once we get our communication down, we’ll be good. When I met with Mr. Benton and Mike, I knew this was the right place for me.”

Rick Benton Jr., team manager at RBR, agrees.

“Drew is a good racer and will fit in well with our group,” said Benton. “We’d really like to win the rookie title, but we’d also like to win a few races and compete for the overall Hooters Pro Cup title. With Mike Hester as crew chief and Drew driving, we feel like we can achieve those goals.”

While he’s yet to compete in Pro Cup competition, Herring isn’t coming in untested. Winning titles at South Boston and Southern National, two tracks that have stout LMS fields, is no easy task. But there have been Late Model standouts that have struggled in Pro Cup fields, and that fact hasn’t gone unnoticed by Herring.

“It’s a bigger car with a narrower tire, but I had the opportunity to test a Busch car last year and did pretty well,” said Herring, who was part of the GM driver test. “Hopefully when I jump in the car, I’ll be ready to go. But I know it’s going to be tough; nobody gives you an inch [in the Hooters Pro Cup Series].

“I think seat time is the most important thing [for a rookie]. Every time I get in the car I should get better,” added Herring. “I think being out there and watching guys like Bobby Gill to find out where the braking points are will help too. I’m really excited about this opportunity. I’ve always wanted to travel and race. I look forward to going to tracks like Iowa, Bristol and Milwaukee. I’m really looking forward to Rockingham. I just can’t wait for the season to get started.”

WHITEVILLE, NC – RBR Enterprises and Black’s Tire will host the race weekend activities on Friday and Saturday, June 22nd and 23rd. All these event will be centered around the Saturday, June 23rd USAR Hooters Pro Cup Series Event.

In business since 1929, Black’s Tire Service is located in Whiteville, NC, with 31 locations including a central distribution center, a wholesale center and 28 retail and commercial locations. They are located throughout Southeastern North Carolina and Northeastern South Carolina.

“We plan on this being a big promotion for us all,” said Rick Benton. “This year we are marketing with some strong partners and this should definitely be the largest promotion of the year surrounding a USAR Hooter’s Pro Cup Event. Our marketing partners and sponsors for the weekends events include: BB&T, Carquest, D&H Marketing, Dilmar Oil Company, Shell, Honeycutt Produce, LK Designs, Napa Auto Parts, BFGoodrich, Michelin, Next Media Outdoor, Interstate Battery, HB Spokes Saloon, BTS Tire Distributors, Federal Tire Corp., Gore Tire, Goodyear, Priority Home Care, Dean Tires, USAR, Hooters, WPDE 15, Quantum Communications of Myrtle Beach, Quantum Communications of Florence, Next Media of Myrtle Beach, That’s Racing Show and Eagle 92.9. Our BTS Hospitality Village will feature all of our top corporate marketing partners. We have hosted the hospitality village every year since 1995 and we have seen it grow into a very big event. The hospitality village is a great way to promote together with our customers, vendors, and business associates. This year we are catering to around 3,000 guests.” The hospitality event will feature a cookout, live band, giveaways to the first 500 guest, 2 live radio remotes, and a lot of fun for the entire family.”

In addition to hosting the hospitality event, Black’s Tire Service will host the 6th Annual Boys & Girls Home Charity Golf Tournament sponsored by BB&T and Car quest Auto Parts on Friday, June 24th. In 2006, BTS and its partners raised over $40,000 for the Boys & Girls Home Charity.

Black’s Tire will be presenting sponsor of the Greased Lightning 200 on Saturday, June 23rd. Race Time on Saturday will be at 7:30 with pre-race activities starting at 6:15pm. RBR Enterprises, with driver Shelby Howard, will be involved in over 15 show car appearances and live radio remotes leading up to this event. For more information on the BTS Charity Golf Tournament, BTS Hospitality Village.