Although Kyle Busch is in the Chase for the NEXTEL Cup, he enjoys the time he is able to dabble in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series for Billy Ballew Motorsports. This past weekend at the New Hampshire International Speedway, Busch piloted the No. 15 Freedom Grill/Team Davis Dirt Racing Chevrolet to a third place finish after starting in the ninth position and leading 46 laps.

Each time Busch jumps behind the wheel of his Billy Ballew Motorsports-entry, the competition knows the No. 15 team will be a threat for the victory. This weekend was no different after Busch led the field atop the speed charts in the first practice session. The No. 15 Freedom Grill/Team Davis Dirt Racing Silverado was a bit loose during its qualifying effort producing a ninth place starting position for the 200-lap event on the "Magic Mile."

Cautions were aplenty with the first yellow flag waving on lap three for an incident. The second caution came out on lap 45 for debris and the leaders decided to make their first pit stop. The No. 15 had moved into the fourth position when Busch brought his machine down pit road for four tires with an air pressure adjustment on the left sides, fuel and two rounds up on the trackbar. He restarted in fourth position, shortly thereafter dropped to fifth place when the next caution flew on lap 53 for debris. Busch thought he might have run over that piece of debris, asking the crew to check out his tires. All the tires seemed to be fine the team assured Busch as he continued on his way.

Busch was complaining about being tight in the front end of the No. 15 Freedom Grill Chevy, especially behind others. He continued his pleas for some help during the next pit stop, calling for some changes, but when the seventh caution period came on lap 91, Busch radioed in, "The track's starting to loosen up. No changes." The following caution on lap 119 is when the No. 15 crew went to work as Busch entered in the third position and exited with the lead, taking on four tires with a slight tire pressure adjustment and fuel. Busch took over the lead on lap 121 and from there, the challenge was to remain out front ahead of the No. 23 which seemed to be the most threatening competitor.

The complaints Busch once had about the front end of the No. 15 Freedom Grill/Team Davis Dirt Racing Chevrolet being tight behind others quickly went away, as he paced the field for 46 laps. "Being in clean air is helping us out a lot," Busch radioed in during the 10th caution on lap 160. "Hopefully, we can keep it here and we'll be alright." It was the cautions that would hinder the Billy Ballew Motorsports team though, as the field was able to close back in on the rear bumper and on lap 167, Busch would lose the lead to his biggest threat, Johnny Benson. He also lost second position to Mike Skinner, but was able to remain in third place to become the highest-finishing Chevrolet at the conclusion of the New Hampshire 200.

"I got beat through the corner," Busch said following the race. "And I have to have the power down the straightaways. The Toyotas are killing us, but it was just a good day for our Chevy Silverado with the Freedom Grill on the hood. I had a lot of fun and it's always a pretty neat deal to come out here and run in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. We had a good truck, but only on long runs. We were able to pull away and if it could've stayed green, we might've been able to win, but that didn't work out. We were a tick too loose but it was a good race to the finish and a good effort for this Billy Ballew Motorsports team."

The third place effort moved Billy Ballew Motorsports up three spots in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Owners' Standings to 19th place as the series moves on to Las Vegas Motor Speedway this coming Saturday. NASCAR NEXTEL Cup veteran Jeremy Mayfield will take the reigns of the No. 15 for the Smith's Las Vegas 350.