SNELLVILLE, Ga. -- Ken Butler III and his brother, Brett, will be swapping rides this season in the USAR Hooters Pro Cup Series. Brett will run the No. 99 Aaron's Dream Machine in the Southern Division and KBIII will drive the No. 00 Dream Machine in the Northern Division.
The change comes about due to off-season orthoscopic surgery Ken had to repair his left shoulder, which he has battled with over the last couple of years. While Ken's surgery was a success, the recovery period is taking longer than anticipated, and everyone is more comfortable having KBIII run in the North. That move will allow four more weeks of healing before hopping back behind the wheel.
"I feel like I'm ready to go." Ken said, "But I don't want to risk re-injuring what the doctors have repaired. So, those four extra weeks will allow me to be 100% by the time the first Northern race rolls around."
Moving up from Late Models in 2005 and originally scheduled to run the North, Brett Butler is ready for his roll in the Southern Division.
"I have been looking forward to running USAR for over a year now, and it doesn't matter to me if it's the North or the South." Brett said, "I ran the Pro Cup race at Hickory race last year and really got a feel for those cars, so I want to prove that I can compete at that level. If I can help Ken out by running in the South, that's what I'm going to do. I'm just ready to go."
The Pro Cup cars are fielded by Michael Waltrip Racing of Sherrill's Ford, NC and will be managed by veteran crew chief, Danny Crafton.
"We've tested Brett in January and he was on it after a few laps." Crafton explained. "He communicated how the car was handling very well and found a nice line around the speedway. So I have a lot of confidence in Brett and expect him to have a solid shot at Rookie of the Year no matter which division he is competing in."
Brett's first race is this Saturday, February 25 at the USA International Speedway in Lakeland, FL. The green flag drops at 7:30 p.m. eastern.
You can catch all of the race action Wednesday, March 1 at 5:00 p.m. and again Friday, March 3 at noon. Both races will be broadcast on SPEED channel.
