Today is a special day for NASCAR Nationwide Series driver Shelby Howard and ML Motorsports, as they will celebrate a birthday and a homecoming.
Howard, who took over driving duties for the Warsaw-based team in April, turns 24 today as he and the team compete at O'Reilly Raceway Park, located just outside of Indianapolis.For Howard, who grew up and still resides in Greenwood, and the team, tonight's race is as close as it gets to home.
"It's exciting to be racing at my home track, and this is the home track for the team, too," said Howard. "I'm gonna have a lot of family and friends there, and I'm sure the team is, too. I've got a lot of laps down there, and I hope we can represent ourselves well."
Howard competed in last year's Nationwide Series race at ORP, qualifying 18th and finishing 20th, one spot ahead of then-ML Motorsports driver Mark Green, who he replaced earlier this season.
"I've raced at ORP since I was 13," said Howard. "I've raced there in modifieds, late models, the Truck Series, Hooters Pro Cup, three Nationwide races. I'm very familiar with the track."
ML Motorsports crew chief Brian Ross is very familiar with the track, too. The local late model legend known as "Flyin Brian" has also turned a number of laps at ORP in various racing series.
"Racing in Indianapolis is always special for us, it's our home track, it's as close as we race to Warsaw," said team owner Mary Louise Miller, who owns the team with her daughter, Stephany Mullen. "It's even more special this year since we have Shelby in our car and we're an Indiana team with an Indiana driver. This is a very special weekend for us."
Howard has piloted the No. 70 Chevy in nine Nationwide Series races this season, with his best finish being a 12th-place result at Nashville Superspeedway.
In all, Howard has four top-15 finishes this season in the blue, orange and white ML Motorsports ride.
In another race at Nashville, Howard finished 14th, while he also finished 13th at both Richmond and Gateway.
All four of the team's top-15 finishes came on tracks shorter than a mile-and-a-half in length. ORP is just under three-quarters of a mile in length, and is well known for its epic short-track battles.
"We're really happy with Shelby," said Miller. "He's energetic, he's young, he's very dedicated to what he does, and he really enjoys being with our team. He's a very good fit for us."
Another solid run - this time in front of family and friends tonight - would be quite a birthday present for Howard.
Coverage of tonight's race begins at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN.
