Smith Coming Onboard With RBR For Daytona, 2017 NCWTS Season

by February 9, 2017 0 comments

CERRO GORDO, N.C. – Ricky Benton Racing (RBR) Enterprises announced today that Regan Smith will be behind the wheel of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) No. 92 BTS Tire and Wheel Distributors/Goodyear Commercial Tire & Service Network/Advance Auto Parts/Valvoline Ford F-150 for the NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona International Speedway and 11 other series events in 2017.

“Regan is a talented driver who I have gotten to know over the years in the garage,” said RBR owner Ricky Benton. “The last couple of years we have grown our program and are ready to take the next step. (Crew chief) Mike (Hester) has done a great job leading this team, building good trucks and making great calls at the track, and having a racer like Regan behind the wheel is going to put us where we want to be in 2017.”

For Smith, Benton’s enthusiasm for, and commitment to, his race team is part of what attracted him to the ride.

“Ricky has invested a lot in his team because he loves to go racing,” Smith said. “We have had discussions in the past about me coming to run a race or two with them, but it has never worked out in our schedules.

“When we got together this off season, we agreed to go racing and have some fun.”

The plan is for Smith to run 12 races with RBR this year, including the first six starting at Daytona.

“The draft is a great equalizer, so Daytona is a good place for us to work together for the first time,” Smith said. “It’s always a bit of a crap shoot, but I think with my experience in the draft will lead to a strong finish.”

Smith was also impressed with the start of RBR’s season in 2016, finishing in the top 10 in the first three races of the year. “The challenge this year,” he said, “is to keep it going through those first six races and assess where we are and work to be stronger in all the races we run.”

Even with a new driver this year, there is a great deal of continuity at RBR this year. Long-time crew chief Hester will again be again calling the shots on race day. The team is running Ford F-150s with Roush-Yates engines for the fourth year.

Also returning are sponsors Goodyear Commercial Tire & Service Network, Valvoline and Advance Auto Parts.

“We are proud to continue our support of Ricky Benton Racing in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series,” said Advance Auto Parts Marketing and Sponsorships Manager Matt Davis. “Ricky and the Black’s Tire team run a first class operation and we look forward to joining them in the winner’s circle in 2017.”
“I really appreciate the support of Black’s Tire and BTS, Goodyear Commercial, Valvoline and Advance to help us go racing this year,” said Smith. “And I can’t thank Ricky enough for the opportunity to drive his trucks.”

About BTS Tire and Wheel Distributors:
BTS Tire & Wheel Distributors offers wholesale distribution services to tire and automotive dealers across the Southeast, operating out of locations in North and South Carolina. For more information, visit bts.tireweb.com. There are 43 Black’s Tire and Auto Service retail locations throughout North and South Carolina. To learn more about Black’s Tire or to find a location, visit www.blackstire.com.

About Goodyear Commercial Tire and Service Network:
Goodyear Commercial Tire & Service Network is a business solutions provider for commercial trucking fleets and service tire dealers all across North America. Goodyear Commercial Tire & Service Network provides 24-hour support, and helps fleets reduce operating cost while making it easier to do business. For more information, visit www.goodyeartrucktires.com.

About Advance Auto Parts:
Advance Auto Parts, Inc., a leading automotive aftermarket parts provider in North America, serves both professional installer and do-it-yourself customers. As of October 8, 2016, Advance operated 5,058 stores and 127 Worldpac branches and served approximately 1,250 independently owned Carquest branded stores in the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Canada. Advance employs approximately 74,000 Team Members. Additional information about the Company, employment opportunities, customer services, and on-line shopping for parts, accessories and other offerings can be found on the Company’s website at www.advanceautoparts.com.

About Valvoline:
Valvoline was founded in 1866 by Dr. John Ellis when he discovered the lubricating properties of distilled crude oil, thus the world’s first petroleum based lubricant. Over the past 150 years Valvoline has reach many milestones such as, its first car race in 1895, the first all-purpose gear oil in 1939, used in Allied vehicles in World War II, introduced Valvoline Racing Motor Oil to the world in the mid-60’s, led innovation with Durablend, the first synthetic-blend motor oil in 1996, and in the early 2000’s Valvoline launched Maxlife High Mileage Motor Oil. Today it remains the best-selling racing oil of all time. Valvoline is very proud of its association with NASCAR. Valvoline is owned by Ashland Oil Inc. of Kentucky. The Valvoline product line is blended and packaged in 60 plants worldwide. As Valvoline celebrates 150 years of success they are busy planning for the next 150 years that will keep the world moving.

Source: Ricky Benton Racing (RBR) Enterprises

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