After a NASCAR career-best 20th place finish last Friday at the Milwaukee Mile, Chris Wimmer and the MB Motorsports team are directing their efforts to the 1.5 mile Kansas Speedway and the O’Reilly Auto Parts 250 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race Saturday, July 3rd.

“We’re still pretty pumped about Milwaukee,” said Wimmer, taking a break from working on the truck he will pilot Saturday. “We did everything we could to the truck before the race, but it was still probably a 30th-place truck. My guys wouldn’t give up, though, and we worked our butts off to get that top-20 Friday.

“As good as that felt,” he continued, “we can’t dwell on the past. Kansas will be the biggest track I’ve ever raced and that second groove still hasn’t quite come in yet, so we’ll have to be very careful and very patient. MB Motorsports has always brought strong trucks to Kansas and I don’t think this weekend will be any different.”

Mike Mittler, owner and crew chief of the #63 MB Motorsports Ford F-150, said he’s looking forward to seeing what Wimmer will do Saturday. “It’s like I said last week, I truly believe we have one of the smartest drivers on the track in Chris and the Kansas Speedway will put that intelligence to the test,” he said. “He’s going to have to be very smart, but aggressive at the same time. As fast as the speedway is, it’s easy to go a lap down quickly, so Chris is going to have to move through the pack to maintain a good position.

“In three races (at Kansas), we’ve brought trucks that ran in the top-15 all day,” Mittler continued, “and in 2002, Carl (Edwards) came home with an eighth-place finish. We don’t think it’s too much to expect Chris to have similar results because he and Carl are similar drivers in a lot of ways. Both communicate well and both know how to save the truck and have enough left for the end of the race.”

One of MB Motorsports’ sponsors for the race is Dave Porter Truck Sales, “Your Star Connection,” located in Wright City, Mo. Dave Porter Truck Sales specializes in premium low-mileage semi trucks and trailers. The most popular lines include Western Star, Peterbilt, and Kenworth semi tractors. Nationwide sales (49 of 50 states) cater to the smaller owner/operator. A full-service facility is available for customer service, repairs, parts, and “The Chrome Connection,” all maintained by eight qualified service technicians with over 100 years combined experience. Dave Porter Truck Sales is located on I-70 (exit 199) in Wright City. Contact Dave Porter Truck Sales at 800-407-8008 or e-mail: Dptsllc@aol.com.

The O’Reilly Auto Parts 250 at the Kansas Speedway Satuday, July 3rd will be broadcast live by SPEED at 2 p.m. CST and MRN radio at 1:30 p.m. CST.