Kerry Earnhardt stormed to an 11th place finish in the No. 13 Pork Racing Chevrolet Silverado in the Smith's Las Vegas 350 at reconfigured Las Vegas Speedway on Saturday evening, equaling his season-best finish and adding further momentum to the team's recent fortunes.

Earnhardt, making his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series start at Las Vegas, began the race in 31st position, but showed patience, avoided trouble and charged thru traffic at opportune times en route to another finish on the fringe of the top-ten. Earnhardt also finished 11th at Nashville last month.

"I wasn't happy with the way we qualified, but I still felt like we had a strong truck and I was glad to be able to show it during the race," Earnhardt said. "The race track was fantastic. They did a great job with it. You could race wide-open for the most part. The new groove will just keep getting better as the track ages, too. I was happy for the guys, because they've been working their tails off all season for me, and we're starting to show people what we're capable of. They're giving me great trucks to drive, and I'm trying to stay out of trouble and be there at the end with a chance for top-ten finishes. I feel like we're starting to hit our stride a little bit. I know we can keep getting better, and that makes it exciting."

Next up for Earnhardt and the No. 13 team is the first-ever NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at the 2.66mile Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday, October 7th. The Talladega 250 will be the first event at the famed track since the track was repaved. The race is Earnhardt's first in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series at Talladega, but he is no stranger to the track. Earnhardt has made a combined 7 career Cup and Busch Series starts at Talladega, including a 5th place finish last season.