CHINA GROVE, NC (June 22, 2009) - Ken Butler III and the No. 23 Aaron's Chevrolet team of R3 Motorsports made the best of what they were dealt at The Milwaukee Mile on Saturday night.

Starting 37th in the NASCAR Nationwide Series race, Butler (KB3) had a flat, one-mile oval to race on and 42 other cars looking to be just as successful as he was, too. Coming off two consecutive, top-20 finishes had the driver and team feeling good about their momentum.

Once the green flag waved, KB3 battled handling conditions through the flat turns and long, green-flag runs to achieve - and maintain - position. By lap 62, of 250, there were only 24 cars still on the lead lap. When half the field is already at least one lap down, that means drivers have to battle other drivers, the track and track position to succeed.

The Aaron's Chevrolet team made their first pit stop, under green, on lap 80 and was already two laps down to the leaders running in the top-25. Taking on four tires, fuel and making air pressure adjustments, KB3 and the R3 Motorsports team were hoping to take advantage of some timely cautions to regroup the field.

It wasn't until lap 125, the halfway point of the race, the first yellow flag waved for the field. Making another stop for adjustments, the team returned to action looking to move up through the field or utilize more cautions to keep their competition close.

However, the next caution didn't wave until lap 193. By this time, KB3 was already one of four cars three laps down to the leaders. Basically, he was reduced to a four-car battle for positions 24th through 27th.

Two more cautions in the final 50 laps kept KB3 close to his competitors and allowed for some side-by-side racing action with other cars. But, within two laps on a restart it quickly became apparent the field would get strung out again. With only 11 lead-lap cars racing for top-10s, the rest of the field fought for what they could achieve in the waning laps.

When the checkered flag fell over the historical oval basked in lights, KB3 and the Aaron's team registered a 26th-place finish. The good news from the event was they maintained their top-30 owner's status and are now 29th on the chart trailing 28th by only 28 markers.

KB3 and the No. 23 Aaron's Chevrolet team of R3 Motorsports return to action at New Hampshire Motor Speedway this Saturday afternoon, June 27 at 2:30 p.m.  TV coverage provided by ABC.

Ken Butler, III - "What a night. We started out real tight in the turns and then the track seemed to change as it got later in the night and more rubber was put down. We were hoping to take advantage of some cautions in the early going, but we didn't see the first yellow flag until the halfway point of the race. That was incredible.

"But, like this Aaron's team always does, we kept fighting and hanging in there doing the best we could as the laps ticked off the scoring pylon. The good news is we finished the race, which is always nice, and we were able to gain on the car in front of us in owner's points. We'll take what we learned here (Milwaukee) to New Hampshire next week that I know we can use because the tracks are kind of similar."