Justin Milliken Partners With Nelson Motorsports For IceBreaker At Myrtle Beach
by Hunter Thomas January 31, 2019 0 commentsMYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – Defending Myrtle Beach Speedway Late Model track champion, Justin Milliken will pilot the No. 02 Nelson Motorsports car during the 4th annual IceBreaker on Saturday.
Milliken and his team weren’t able to get his race car ready for the season opening race at Myrtle Beach Speedway, so the Shallotte, North Carolina native will join forces and run a Nelson Motorsports race car. The car that Milliken runs on a weekly basis during the year was originally purchased from Nelson Motorsports back in 2016, so the relationship between the two teams has a history. Since Milliken has been tied up at work and raising kids, he had to find a alternate solution for hitting the track for the prestigious event.
“We couldn’t get our car done in time,” Milliken said. “I’ve had a relationship with Timothy (Peters, driver) and Marcus (Richmond, crew chief) for a long, long, long time. The car that I drive, I actually bought from (Barry) Nelson in 2016. So, we had a relationship, and I told those guys that it didn’t look like I was going to be able to make the IceBreaker. I’ve just been busy with work and babies and that kind of stuff. We just hadn’t had time to get it all together.”
Come Saturday, Milliken’s crew will still work on the car with assistance from Nelson Motorsports. Milliken will be running his own Jon West engine and drivetrain; however, all other aspects of the race car will be out of the Nelson Motorsports race shop.
“We’re teaming up, and we’re going to try and win the thing,” Milliken said.
Nelson Motorsports will already be at Myrtle Beach Speedway with Ty Gibbs, who is the grandson of Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series owner Joe Gibbs, so having two teams at the track will help from a technical aspect.
“They’re running that other car with Ty Gibbs, so their guys are there and it’s my guys too, so it’s kind of joined effort,” Milliken said.
Milliken’s car will still be black, and Bell & Bell will still adorn the hood, but the No. 02 will vary slightly with a different font and outlined in red. On Thursday, Milliken got behind the wheel of the car for the first time and got everything adjusted for the upcoming race weekend.
“I’m really excited,” Milliken said. “I visited the track on Thursday afternoon and sat in the car and actually made a few laps just to make sure that I could reach the pedals and get the seat right and that kind of stuff.”
Milliken, crew chief David Gooding and crew have years of experience performing well and winning race at Myrtle Beach Speedway, and Nelson Motorsports brings an impressive technical alliance to the table. Combine the two, and you can expect Milliken to be running up front throughout the IceBreaker.
“That team is very well run,” Milliken said. “Timothy Peters runs it for Barry (Nelson, team owner) and David Triplett has helped the team win. It’s just a really well run. Everything they have is second to none. That’s not to say that their stuff is better than what I’ve got because we’ve scrimped and ate beanie weenies and whatever to put the good stuff on our car, but it’s just their depth. They’re just such a deep team.”
Milliken continued and said, “It’s hard to beat that depth, because there’s nothing those guys haven’t seen, and then with me, there’s really nothing that I haven’t seen at Myrtle Beach. So, I feel like that it is a really good fit for both parties.”
The IceBreaker at Myrtle Beach Speedway is scheduled to get underway at 2:45 p.m. on Saturday afternoon.
Photo Credit: Justin Milliken
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