Showing himself to be a quick study, Howard has also shown marked improvement in his 2003 qualifying efforts as he returns to tracks of all sizes in only his second full ARCA RE/MAX season.  Those are some pretty major accomplishments for someone only 17 years old. 

Despite those results, the Greenwood, Indiana driver isn't resting on past performance.  The talented Howard knows there's plenty of room for improvement.  With that in mind, Howard isn't about to ease up.  An invite to the media interview room (top 3 finishers) would be a fantastic way to conclude events for the Mack Trucks-Beck Dodge team on the opening weekend at Kentucky Speedway.  It would also make for a nice Mother's Day gift to his mom.

Howard and his crew are bringing a new Dodge with them to Kentucky.  Add an Ernie Elliott engine to the mix and it makes for a wicked fast hot rod.  Never mind that he's never sat in the car before this week.

"After we tested here last month we decided to come back with a different car," said Howard.  "We weren't quite where we needed to be, so we made the change.  Without a doubt, this is a strong, top-5 car.  Our best finish here at Kentucky last year was 8th, so we want to improve on that by several positions.  Racing twice here before is definitely helpful, so it shouldn't take long to get our Mack Trucks-Beck Dodge dialed in.  We should be good to go."

The Channel 5-205 is Saturday, May 10 at 8:00 p.m. EDT.  The race will be broadcast live on SPEED Channel and Cincinnati's WLWT Channel 5 NBC affiliate.

CAREER STATS AT KENTUCKY:
May 2002 Started 9th Finished 8th
July 2002 Started 24th Finished 9th      

A Mack truck is different from the rest. At Mack, they manufacture as much truck as it takes to get the job done right. To learn more about the Mack difference, visit www.macktrucks.com.

For more information on Beck Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep and each of their locations, visit www.beckchrysler.com.

To learn more about Shelby Howard and his Mack Trucks-Beck Dodge team, check out www.shelbyhoward.com.