Michael Waltrip finished second in Saturday's "Little Trees" 300. Credit: Autostock
By Lee Montgomery, Turner Sports Interactive
October 12, 2003
12:31 AM EDT (0431 GMT)
CONCORD, N.C. -- Matt Kenseth decided to skip Saturday's "Little Trees" 400 NASCAR Busch Series race to he could concentrate on the Winston Cup race later in the evening.
Probably not a bad idea, for Kenseth is trying to hang on to the Winston Cup points race and the $4.25 million booty that goes with it. Running 300 miles in the morning, and then doing 500 more in the right could wear a guy out.
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But Kenseth was alone among the Cup drivers who were entered in the "Little Trees" 300. The nine others, plus Kenseth's replacement, Jeff Burton, climbed into their Busch cars and ran as scheduled.
Michael Waltrip, who finished a distant second to Greg Biffle, didn't think running both races would be a problem.
"I ran the Boston Marathon," Waltrip said. "That took four and a half hours on my feet. I can sit all day on my a** and drive a car."
Biffle wasn't quite as loquacious, but he never considered giving up his Evans Motorsports ride, either.
"You only get the chance every couple of years to drive a race car like I drove today," Biffle said. "That thing was unbelievable. That was an awesome piece, bad-a**. ... I knew the car could win, for sure, and I wasn't going to give that ride to somebody else."
Of course, Biffle said even if the car wasn't good, he would've raced both cars.
"If it wasn't a car that I didn't think I could win with, I still would've raced it," Biffle said. "I can handle 800 laps, or however many there will be. Doesn't matter."
Brian Vickers will be making his Winston Cup debut in the UAW-GM Quality 500, running more than 500 miles for the first time in his career. Like Waltrip and Biffle, he didn't sound concerned 300 extra miles.
"I think we'll be all right," Vickers said. "The biggest thing is I've just got to rest as much as I can and get all my energy back for the next race.
"I'm definitely going to get something to eat. Take a nap, do as much as I can to re-hydrate, drink as much as I can."
Jamie McMurray, who finished fifth, will prepare for the double by playing some Playstation golf in his coach. He'll eat a little bit, drink a little bit and get some rest. While he said he's a "little bit" worried about doing both races in one day, "I'll be fine tonight."
"I'll load up on something," McMurray said. "I'll probably go back and eat something healthy instead of junk food."
McMurray said he would've parked his No. 40 Braun Racing Dodge if it were running outside the top 15, "but we went from 29th to fourth or fifth by the first pit stop. It's kind of hard to pull in when the car's like that."
That's the real reason why these guys didn't give up their Busch Series seats. Driving is like a drug, and some guys can't get enough.
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