Salem, IN (January 8, 2004) – Former Sunoco Super Series competitor Shelby Howard will be the driver of one of the new Toyota NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series trucks in 2004 for veteran NASCAR Nextel Cup car owner Bill Davis. The 18 year old Greenwood, Indiana native will be part of a two truck Bill Davis team, Howard will drive the #23 Toyota Truck with Crew Chief Dave Fuge Jr. turning the wrenches, veteran truck series driver Bill Lester in the second #22 Toyota Truck. Davis has a reputation for developing young talented drivers that move on to bigger and better things. Jeff Gordan began his stock car racing career driving a NASCAR Busch Series car for Bill Davis. Davis was also involved with legendary NASCAR driver Mark Martin early in his career. Another young and up and coming driver Scott Wimmer will driver Davis’s Caterpillar sponsored NASCAR Nextel Cup car in 2004.

Howard raced his first Sunoco Super Series event on Saturday, August 28^th, 1999 at Anderson Speedway at age fourteen years old, when the series was then known as the Kendall Indiana Late Model Series. Howard scored a ninth place finish that evening, the start of what would become his quick rise to the top in stock car racing. Howard finished 15^th in season points running 14 of 15 series events in the 2000 season, turning fifteen years old in July that season, a season that was filled with a lot of bad luck. Howard ran 14 series races again in 2001 with the Sunoco Super Series before retiring from the series after becoming the youngest driver to ever start an ARCA RE/Max Series race on September 9^th at Salem Speedway at 16 years old and 46 days. Howard started 4^th in that event and went on to finish 6^th. Howard ran four more ARCA RE/Max Series events in 2001 getting his CIMCO Racing Team ready for a full-time move to the ARCA RE/Max Series in 2002.

Howard finished 5^th in points in his rookie season with the ARCA RE/Max Series in 2002 getting eight top ten finishes including a season high finish of second at Winchester Speedway. Howard came on strong in 2003 becoming the youngest driver to ever win an ARCA RE/Max Series event by winning the spring ARCA RE/Max Series event on April 27^th at Salem Speedway. Howard went on to get two more wins with the ARCA RE/Max Series in 2003. He became the youngest speedway winner in series history with his win at Kansas Motor Speedway on June 5^th. Howard came back to get his third win of the season by winning the fall ARCA RE/Max Series event on September 13^th at Salem Speedway. With his three wins, Howard finished third in the 2003 ARCA RE/Max Series points getting the attention of Bill Davis and several others!

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