Spencer set to make 200th Busch Series start

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Jimmy Spencer may have utilized the NASCAR Busch Series as a steppingstone to a NASCAR Winston Cup Series career more than a decade ago, but he continues to annually return to those national series racing roots.

Spencer, a NASCAR Winston Cup driver since 1989, is set to make his 200th career NASCAR Busch Series start in Saturday's MBNA All-American Heroes 200 at Dover International Speedway.

Spencer's No. 1 Yellow Chevrolet will sport a special decal for the milestone. Decals of the Yellow "Yes We Can" man, the official mascot of Yellow Transportation, accompanied by the wording, "200 and going strong. Thanks Jimmy!" will be placed on the rear quarterpanels.

	Jimmy Spencer's No. 1 car will feature special decals this week at Dover. Credit: Autostock

"I know I've been in a lot of races in the Busch Series, but I didn't know I was at 200 already. I think you start to lose count after about 10," said Spencer, who also formed the NASCAR Busch Series team of Spencer Motor Ventures in 1995 and currently runs Steve Grissom in the No. 34 U.S. Air Force Chevrolet.

"That's kind of cool. I've got a lot of memories racing in the Busch Series. I've been through the highs and the lows, but all of it has culminated into learning experiences -- not just as a driver but as an owner as well."

Since his first NASCAR Busch Series start in October of 1985 at Rockingham -- where he started 30th and finished 19th -- Spencer has compiled 12 wins, 3 poles, 44 top-five finishes, 88 top-10 performances and nearly $2 million in prize money. He has competed every season with the exception of 1986 on a partial or full-time basis.

Spencer is currently in the midst of his most aggressive NASCAR Busch Series schedule since running 25 races in 1992. He has started 17 of 26 races with one win (Bristol) and six top-10 finishes for 28th in the points race.

JIMMY SPENCER Jimmy Spencer celebrates his win at Bristol. Play video  •  Busch Driver Page  •  Busch Season Stats

"The Busch Series has been good to me, and it's been really interesting to see how it's progressed over the years," said Spencer, who competed in 18 events last season. "You look at the competition in this series -- it's impressive. There are a lot of good drivers running Busch cars who are going to find themselves in good Winston Cup rides one day."

Spencer credits his success in the NASCAR Busch Series last season to boosting his confidence on the NASCAR Winston Cup level. He joined Yellow Racing and owner James Finch five races into last season, and enjoyed one of the most productive NASCAR Busch Series seasons of his career. In 18 starts, he posted three wins, two poles, 10 top-10 finishes and led nine events.

On the NASCAR Winston Cup side for Haas-Carter Motorsports in 2001, Spencer collected two of his three career poles, three top-five finishes and finished 16th in the championship. The performance caught the eye of NASCAR Winston Cup owner Chip Ganassi, who signed Spencer to team with Sterling Marlin beginning with the 2002 season.

"When you're a confident driver, you're a better driver," said Spencer, driver of the No. 41 Target Dodge for Ganassi. "We started winning races last season with James Finch and the Yellow Racing team, and it not only boosted my confidence, it also boosted the team's confidence.

"It proved to them they were still building cars capable of winning races, and it proved to me that I could win races as a driver. I think that enthusiasm carried over with me to my [NASCAR Winston] Cup team."

Of Spencer's dozen NASCAR Busch Series wins, one has come at Dover International Speedway. He won the spring event on "The Monster Mile" last season.

"It would be great to win there again, not so much because this is my 200th start but just because this team deserves to win, " Spencer said. "James Finch, (crew chief) Marc Reno, (car chief) Johnny Allen and the boys have been putting in a lot of time lately in trying to get their Cup program going.

"They don't have extra people set aside to handle the Cup car. That's what was so cool about our Bristol win (Aug. 23). We had been knocking at the door many times this year, but didn't have a win to show for it. Those guys needed it; I needed it; everyone with this race team needed it. Now we need another one."