USAR: Ken Butler III to run in 2005

Ken Butler III to pilot a "Dream Machine" in Pro Cup

Longs, SC--Everyone knows the car. Everyone knows the owner. But at the end of the Hooters Pro Cup season, Ken Butler III hopes that everybody will know his name.

Michael Waltrip Racing has announced that Ken Bulter III will drive the No. 99 Aaron's "Dream Machine" Chevrolet in the Southern Division of the Hooters Pro Cup Series and compete in the $90,000 Miller Lite Rookie of the Year program.

"I'm looking forward to this season," said Butler. "It's going to be very competitive and tough just to make races. I just want to learn as much as I can. The only thing I want to do this season is to learn, learn, and learn!"

However, Butler, who competed in the Pro Challenge Series for two seasons and made two ASA National Tour starts last year, will have some help in adjusting to the larger cars from team owner Michael Waltrip.

"Michael has been a great help," said Butler. "He's been to most of our tests, and he knows how to get around these places. He's really going to help my learning curve."

Butler has already tested at Hickory (N.C.) Motor Speedway and Concord (N.C.) Motorsport Park in preparation for his rookie season in the HPC Series. And he seems to be well on his way towards his goal of a speedy education.

"The Pro Cup cars drive different than the Pro Challenge car does," said Butler. "There's a lot of power in these cars. The Pro Challenge car was a momentum car. In the bigger cars, you get the car to set, get it pointed in the right direction and stand on the gas."

But even when Butler becomes more familiar with the Pro Cup cars, don't expect him to stick his nose into the wrong place, because he wants people to remember his name for the right reasons.

"I don't want to be overaggressive," said Butler. "I'm not going to force things and cause wrecks. A good season for us would be to make races and be consistent. If we do that, we could get a couple of top 10s."

And that would be a dream season for the driver of the "Dream Machine."

-usar-