Eddie Sharp Racing (ESR) announced a new partnership today at the National Hardware Show (NHS) in Las Vegas with NLKUSLLC that will showcase Trimmer Assist on the No. 8 Chevrolet for Max Gresham in two NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) races.

The agreement will feature Trimmer Assist, a revolutionary new string trimmer and blower suspension system, and will be the first venture into NASCAR sponsorship for the Georgia-based company.

"We are so proud to partner with Max Gresham in the No. 8 Chevrolet for Eddie Sharp Racing," said Tony Hanes, inventor of Trimmer Assist. "Gresham represents the same fundamental principles of our Trimmer Assist brand - cleverness, strong work ethics, and commitment to success."

The Trimmer Assist features a bungee suspension system that can be used effectively on string trimmers, edgers or hand held blowers. Trimmer Assist also incorporates a proprietary connection system that allows quick and easy connections to all models. It also features a soft shoulder pad. Every Trimmer Assist has an additional quick release buckle for convenience. It is the best ergonomic solution to ease string trimmer and blower pain and fatigue.

The Trimmer Assist suspension delivers on the following elements:

· Replaces pain for comfort

· Replaces inefficiency for optimal efficiency

· Installs universally with multiple products

The partnership program will include two events in May along with the unveiling of Trimmer Assist at the National Hardware Show May 7-9, where Trimmer Assist will be showcased in the "Inventors Spotlight" area and booth IS202. Gresham will kick off the partnership by competing in the May 17 North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the No. 8 Chevrolet. Later, Trimmer Assist will adorn the No. 8 Eddie Sharp Racing Chevrolet as the primary sponsor with a full paint scheme at Dover Speedway on May 31, where it will feature the only grass in the infield.

Max Gresham, 20, has driven in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series since 2011 with 20 career starts. He was the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East champion earning two victories, four pole positions, nine top-five finishes and 11 top-10s in 12 starts.

"We cannot wait for Gresham to carry us past the checkered flag as we are very excited to ride with him," said Hanes.

Max Gresham PR

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series' championship leader Matt Crafton has some serious work to do between now and May 16, the opening day of practice for the next series race, at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Crafton and his wife, Ashley, need to ease their newborn daugher, Elladee Ann, off her first favorite habit -- catching a few winks on her father's chest.

"She's already so spoiled," Crafton said of his daughter's birth 10 days ago, on April 26. "The only place she really likes to sleep is on my chest, so we're trying to wean her off that."

The birth of the Craftons' first child had them overflowing with anticipation. But for the driver who assumed the Truck Series' points lead less than two weeks ago after a combination of Crafton's win in the series' last race, at Kansas Speedway and a penalty to his ThorSport Racing teammate Johnny Sauter that reversed their first and second positions in the standings, the reality of having a child is mind-boggling.

"Everybody tells you how it feels, how you're going to feel and how much you'll love having a child of your own," Crafton said. "But it's way, way more than I ever, ever thought it could possibly be. It's indescribable, really..."

Crafton laughed when he described his current state of mind as "good, though maybe a little sleep-deprived -- but it's all good." He said he and Ashley have the exchanges between feeding (her) and changing (him) down to a smooth routine.

And he laughed again when he was asked how he thought things would level-off when the Truck Series gets back to racing. Including the Charlotte event on May 17 the series has four races in the space of seven weeks.

"I wish I could tell you when (the routine) might level off," Crafton said. "I gotta go with business as usual as much as I can, and I honestly can't tell you how much we're enjoying this."

Back at the ThorSport Racing shops in Sandusky, Crafton's crew chief "Junior" Joiner grinned even wider than normal, recently, when he thought about the circumstances of Elladee's birth. The Craftons' child's birth came six days after Crafton's win in Kansas -- which was shades of Sauter's victory two years ago at Martinsville, which preceded the birth of he and wife Cortney's daugher, Paige, by just days.

At Kansas, an emotional Joiner had told of how important the number "26" was in his family's racing history, as Crafton's win came in Joiner's 26^th race as his crew chief. Elladee's birth on April 26^th was icing on the cake for Joiner.

"Is that cool or what?" Joiner said last week, shaking his head and smiling -- coincidentally even as his wife walked around the corner of the finish fabrication area carrying their infant son. "I told you that was a magic number. When Matt called and told me it was 'go time,' I told him it was the 26^th -- what else did he expect?

"The only thing that would've been cooler would have been if my son was born on December 26^th, but that's all right. Grandpa's looking out for us this year, (26) was his number, it was the day I was born and my dad's number when he drove, so it was all pretty neat."

And the whipped cream on that cake for Joiner was Crafton's picture with Elladee, which was widely circulated among his teammates shortly after the child's birth.

"I'm proud of Matt and Ashley, and I know they'll raise her to be a good little girl," Joiner said. "But I never thought I'd see the day that Matt could look that angelic... Never -- but I can see he's already in trouble -- days old and she's already got him worked."

Thorsport PR

Sean Corr and Empire Racing will start today’s International Motorsports Hall of Fame 250 from 13th, and on the #82 Warriors In The Workplace Ford Fusion, they carry a message for Team Manager, John Bellesfield. “We are all wishing JB a speedy recovery and are looking forward to having him back at the track with us” said team owner, John Corr.

“JB is such a huge part of our team, we are really missing him here at Talladega. We just wanted to do something that would let him know he was in our thoughts here at the track” explained Corr, pointing out the message “Get well soon J.B.!” that is now on the rear bumper of the #82 Ford Fusion.

Bellesfield underwent emergency back surgery two weeks ago and is currently undergoing rehabilitation. While down, but not out, Bellesfield has been keeping in touch with the team through phone calls, emails and texts leading up to the race. The Empire hauler has been frequented by members of the ARCA Racing Series sending well wishes to John.

Talladega marks Empire Racing’s first race with Jamie Jones as crew chief and a return to the track with the Daytona superspeedway car that Sean Corr earned an ARCA career high 5th place finish in this February. “Really looking forward to today’s race. At these superspeedways races it is important to keep your nose clean, so that’s what we are going to try to do today. We worked really well with Frank Kimmel during the Daytona race and plan on doing the same today in the draft” said Corr as he prepares for today’s 5pm (ET) race, to be televised live on SPEED.

Empire Racing PR

Just because there’s a brief break in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) schedule, it doesn’t mean that driver Bryan Silas has been soaking it up in the sun.

In fact, the Stuart, Florida native has barely had time to relax.

This past Monday and Tuesday, the full-time NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver participated in a private test at Virginia International Raceway (VIR) with the BMW Performance Driving School.

Silas utilized the advanced two-day road racing course as early preparation for the upcoming NCWTS road-course event this fall from Canadian Tire Motorsports Park.

“Testing at VIR was a lot of fun,” explained Silas. “Not only did I learn a lot about road racing, I also got to experience for myself what to expect and how to handle a car with elevation changes and extremely tight corners. I’ll be doing some more testing before the actual truck race arrives, but this is a great first step to prepare me for Canadian Tire Motorsports Park.”

The testing though doesn’t stop there.

This weekend, Silas will head to New York to get down and dirty to ready himself for the upcoming Inaugural Mudsummer Classic set for July 24 from Eldora (Oh.) Speedway.

The 25-year old will be a guest of four-time dirt champion Bryan Holland. Silas will experience the races hands-on by working with the crew, learning the racing format of old fashioned dirt car racing before taking to Canandaigua Speedway himself on Sunday for a private test session.

Despite previous dirt-track experience in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards, visiting both Blackrock Speedway and Canandaigua Speedway this weekend will give the Floridian a better perspective on what to expect at Eldora in two months.

“I loved competing on the dirt in ARCA, but NASCAR is trying to make their inaugural truck race as close to the “real thing” as possible, so I have to get myself ready for what lies ahead,” sounded Silas. “I am very appreciative to Bryan (Holland), his team and fellow friends who are really eager to show me the ropes this weekend in New York. I know I still have a lot to learn, but I’m eager to learn. I can’t wait to get there and get down to business.”

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