Carey focuses on the future

He knows that he can't contend for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship -- at least this season anyway.

However, that hasn't stopped Tom Carey Jr. from aiming to achieve success in his No. 03 Team EJP Racing Chevrolet, which is running a limited NCTS schedule.

"It makes things harder to get in a rhythm because we are not racing every week," Carey said. "But, I am just glad that (owners) Peter and Steve Prescott are letting me drive for them and I know the races we do go to our truck will be prepared and ready to go."

The Gardiner, Maine-based team is running in seven events this year, with its next stop the Milwaukee Mile on Saturday for the GNC Live Well 200.

"Milwaukee's track is a lot like Loudon and I like it," Carey said. "We just need to get the balance of the truck right and hangout during the race. Then, if we can be in the top 10 in the last 50 laps I think we will be in good shape to get a solid finish."

Carey has reason to be upbeat.

In the team's first race in 2002 at Dover International Speedway May 31, he started 26th and placed eighth.

"We had a real good run there, and there was no doubt it was a very gratifying finish for our team," Carey said. "We actually had a fourth or fifth-place truck at Dover, but we had to make an unscheduled pit stop. But, I was still very happy with the effort we had and we are taking that same truck with us to Milwaukee."

That eighth-place performance is noteworthy for Team EJP Racing, since Tom Pearl and Adam Ross are the only two full-time crew members on the truck.

"We don't get a chance to go to the open tests in the Craftsman Truck Series," Carey said. "We test, qualify and race all in the same weekend, so to get a top 10 finish is really big deal for us."

Following Milwaukee, Team EJP is going to Loudon (July 20), Indianapolis Raceway Park (Aug. 2), Richmond (Sept. 5), Phoenix (Nov. 8) and Miami (Nov. 15).

"Our ultimate goal is to put a sponsorship deal together so we can run all the races in 2003," said Carey, a veteran competitor in NASCAR's Busch North Series. "But the economy has been real tight, which has made things difficult not only for us, but for a lot of teams, so we are just taking one race at a time."

Still, Carey has ambitious goals for his team for the rest of the 2002 slate.

"In these final six races that we have scheduled, I would like to see us leave with a top five finish and get a pole," Carey said. "And, who knows, if we can hang around the top five, we can put ourselves in great position to get a win."