The Premier racing team entered its second NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at the Kentucky Speedway with high hopes and a special paint scheme for the weekend. Carrying decals honoring the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, the team and its driver Timothy Peters were focused on raising awareness for this special organization and continuing its growth as a new team in the Series. Entering the Kentucky race as a new team, they were required to qualify on time for the event and were anxious to see how they would stack up to the other teams competing on a regular basis. After waiting for more than 30 race teams to qualify, the #17 Leukemia & Lymphoma Society team took its turn on the track and qualified an impressive 23rd place on the grid, out-placing many of the full-time teams. "We were a little conservative in our setup, but we just wanted to make sure that we would have a decent starting position for the race, and Timothy did a great job on his qualifying run," commented Crew chief Chad Kendrick.

After greeting some special guests of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in pre-race activities, driver Timothy Peters took some time to reflect on the importance of the organization the team was honoring this weekend. "I had a great time visiting with a young boy named Cody, his family and some guests from the organization. I know that children like Cody have had such huge obstacles to overcome, and it makes me appreciate all the blessings I have in my life. I also really want to thank the folks at The Speed Channel for helping us promote the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society during the pre-race broadcast," said Peters before climbing into his race truck.

At the start of the race, Peters fought a very loose condition and tried several racing lines to get a feel for the handing of the truck.  The driver radioed in for his team to make some significant adjustments to the handling of the truck during their first pit stop, and little did Peters realize how soon the pit stop would actually occur. On lap 13 of the race, Peters used a bold move to narrowly miss the spinning truck #22 at the exit of turn 2, causing Peters to spin and flat spot the tires of his race vehicle.  This forced him to make a pit stop for a four-tire change. This costly pit stop dropped the #17 team to the rear of the field for the re-start. However, sometimes strategy has a strange way of showing its hand, because the next caution flag was waved again on lap 22 for an expired motor on the #91 truck.  This enabled Peters to stay out on tires with limited tire wear and to re-start in the 6th position when the majority of the leaders decided to make pit stops. During an extended green flag run, the teams with newer tires began to overtake Peters and the front pack.  This caution-free segment eventually caused the #17 team to fall a lap down.

During the middle portion of the race the #17 team managed to avoid several of the accidents that would take out many race trucks in the field. With so many trucks becoming involved in accidents it became apparent that the team would likely be in a position to get back on the lead lap and challenge for a top-15 finish. During the last caution flag on lap 127 for a large crash involving several trucks, crew chief Chad Kendrick instructed the crew to make a significant adjustment to the truck, and then radioed to the driver that the changes would help Peters gain some more spots on the track. As the race restarted on lap 131, Peters raced his way into position to gain the "Lucky Dog," thereby putting the #17 truck back on the lead lap if another caution flag was waved.  However, the race remained caution-free which kept the team trapped one lap down until the conclusion of the race. At the checkered flag, the #17 Leukemia & Lymphoma Society team finished the race as the first truck one lap down in the 19th position.   
 
After the race the driver and team owner had a chance to sum up their impression of the second race as a team." During the long green flag run we just got too loose and got a lap behind the leaders, but I know that I had a truck capable of racing in the top-10 near the end of the race. As a team, we were real happy with the way the race went, and we were much better prepared for the race than we were at our first race at Charlotte. I know that we will be real strong at the Nashville race, and can't wait to get there, "added Peters in post race comments.

In the garage area after the race, team owner Philip Hudgins was very optimistic about the growth of the team.  

"We will continue to add resources to help build our Truck Series team, and I am confident the team is making the strides to become a competitive team in the very near future. We were also pleased to help the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society get their message out to all of the race fans in attendance and watching the race on the Speed Channel. This was a special night for all of us," added Hudgins.

The #17 team's next race will take place in Nashville, Tennessee on August 9th at the Nashville Super Speedway and will be broadcast live on The Speed Channel with pre-race festivities beginning at 7:00 pm.