Andy McMillin SURVIVES Parker 425 Crash

Parker, AZ (February 7, 2011) Driving the McMillin Realty #31 Trick Truck, Andy McMillin set the stage with an excellent qualifying run finishing first among the large field of BITD Trick Trucks. Ready to roll before the sun rose on Saturday morning, Andy climbed into the Geiser-built Kroyer Racing Engines powered truck for another day at the office.

Just as the sun rose over the barren Arizona desert, Andy shifted gears as the green flag dropped. In the first 142-mile lap, he set a blistering pace that saw him put time on Robby Gordon who started in the position right behind him on the start line. A lightening quick pit stop at Main Pit and Andy was right back at top speeds for the second of three laps.

He continued to roar through the desert and as he neared RM 137, only five miles out of the Main Pit, disaster struck when he got caught in a massive hole putting the #31 race truck out of shape careening into a 20 foot deep sand culvert.

The 90-mile an hour crash destroyed the left front wheel. BITD officials assisted the #31 out of their crashed situation, but the extensive damage to the race truck forced them from finishing the race.

“I’m disappointed we could not finish today. We suffered damage to the front end of the race truck and our day was ended with a big crash. We had a great run going, but we got caught up in a deep hole that I couldn’t drive out of. It’s part of racing these big races and from the attrition rate of all the Trick Trucks you can see it was a tough day. I’m happy for Jesse Jones to win today, he’s on fire and really had a perfect day.”

Andy and Brady drove the #31 race truck to the Main Pit, but the day was over as Crew Chief, Greg Williams, inspected the damage. “We’ve got some work to do this week, but the guys will have the truck back in top condition in only a couple weeks as we prepare for the next race in San Felipe.”

Andy and his co-driver, Brady Thompson, suffered no injuries in the 90-mile an hour crash and although they are a bit sore, they will recover from the soreness in a matter of days. “This was a big crash and I’m amazed by the ability to survive such a high-speed crash without a single injury,” said the smiling Andy.

The McMillin Realty #31 Race team heads to their next race along the beaches of San Felipe, Baja, California on March 12, 2011 for the 2011 SCORE San Felipe 250.