Willie Allen Scores Dominating Win at Music City Motorplex Opener

Willie Allen made his return to the Music City Motorplex this past Saturday and found himself in a familiar spot at the legendary short track: victory lane. Driving the #26 Rascal Flatts Chevy, Allen dominated the season opening late model event by leading 93 of 113 laps before cruising to his 70th career win.

"It felt really good to get a victory again at the Music City Motorplex," said Allen. "This win was a big boost of confidence. There are so many great drivers that race in Nashville and the competition is always tough. Our crew worked so hard for this victory and I can't thank them enough for their dedication. I hope we can carry over some of this momentum to the future races we do in the Nationwide and ARCA Series with Sadler-Hamilton Racing."

The late model event, which was scheduled for 150 laps, was shortened due to a local noise ordinance. With time as a factor, Allen and crew knew that track position was key when contemplating a pit strategy.

"We knew that with the timeframe we were looking at that the race would probably be called early. We made the decision to stay out and not pit when other teams came in for tires and fuel. We had the lead and did not want to relinquish it. Our car was nearly perfect so I don't think that fresh tires would have made that much of a difference for us. It was the right call for us to stay out."

Prior to driving his way to the 2007 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Rookie of the Year title, Allen was a regular at Nashville's Music City Motorplex. In recent years at the track, Allen has been awarded Rookie of the Year titles in super trucks and late models and was also named the 2006 NASCAR Whelen All American Series Points Champion. Allen will return to the Music City Motorplex for the NASCAR Camping World Series 150 on July 19th, but also looks to run a few weekly late model races at the track along the way.

"My main goal for this year is to concentrate on our part time schedule with Sadler-Hamilton Racing. We are also looking for sponsorship to run some additional Nationwide and Craftsman Truck Series races. I think we will probably run 5 or 6 more late model races this year. The racing is great at the Music City Motorplex and it's always so much fun to return to your home track. I'm really looking forward to our next race there." (4/14/2008)(Sadler-Hamilton Racing PR)