Greenwood’s Shelby Howard IV would like to have his birthday cake and eat up the competition Friday in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at O’Reilly Raceway Park in Clermont.
Howard, who lives on the far southside of Greenwood, observes his 23rd birthday Friday—the first of two nights he plans to race in NASCAR events on the five-eighths-mile paved oval.
He is entered in the FarmPaint.com Ford F-150 truck for the Power Stroke Diesel 200 race Friday and the Bobcat Ford in the NASCAR Nationwide Series Kroger 200 on Saturday. He races for team owner Duke Thorson, Sandusky, Ohio. His truck series teammate is veteran Matt Crafton.
Realistically, a top-10 finish in the truck race is within reach. He placed a career-best sixth at Mansfield, Ohio, this season and has led two races.
“A birthday win would be pretty neat. It’s a possibility,” Howard said. “I know the track, and we ran well at a similar track (Mansfield) earlier.”
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