Former Indy 500 winner, IRL champ Buddy Lazier pumped about Truck series plans

JIM UTTER

The Charlotte Observer

Saturday, Sep. 15, 2007

LOUDON, N.H. - Here comes another one.

Former Indianapolis 500 and Indy Racing League champion Buddy Lazier will make his NASCAR debut in the Sept. 22 Craftsman Truck Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway driving for Billy Ballew Motorsports.

Lazier has some experience in Trucks, having taken part in a test session with Ballew at Charlotte in 2005, and also competed four times at the track in the IndyCar Series with a best finish of third in 2000.

“The opportunity arose for us to race in Las Vegas and I am extremely excited. They are racers on that team and to me it’s a perfect fit, and I feel right at home with the whole team,” Lazier said.

“I’ve driven at the track in Las Vegas, but with the old configuration so I’ll be studying up on last year’s race and be looking forward to a lot of seat time during practice. Obviously, I’d love to continue racing in a top-tier NASCAR series.”

Lazier joins open wheel drivers Sam Hornish Jr., Jacques Villeneuve and Patrick Carpentier, who have started to explore NASCAR careers this season.

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