Robby Gordon says driving his No. 55 Chevrolet in the Busch Series helps his Nextel Cup team. Credit: Autostock
From Press Release
May 5, 2004
10:25 AM EDT (1425 GMT)
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Nextel Cup drivers who also enter Busch Series events are not always greeted universally with open arms. Occasionally, it's implied that drivers from NASCAR's premier series are virtual pirates of sorts, when they decide to compete at the second-highest level.
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It is a patently unfair implication, especially for six drivers competing full-time in both series this season.
Michael Waltrip, Robby Gordon, Johnny Sauter, Greg Biffle, Kasey Kahne and Derrike Cope -- and their race teams -- are enduring the rigors required for such demanding double-duty.
There is no piracy, only persistence.
The persistence continues Saturday night (FX, 7:30 p.m. ET), in the Charter 250 at Gateway International Raceway just outside St. Louis.
"Although it does involve more time on my part, I think that running both will help me develop more as a racer," said Gordon, owner/driver of the No. 55 Fruit of the Loom Chevrolet.
"Running both cars hasn't been a distraction," added Gordon, currently fifth in the Busch Series points. "In fact, I am able to carry things over that I learn from my Fruit of the Loom Busch car to the Cup side.
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| Johnny Sauter considers himself a full-time Busch Series competitor. Credit: Autostock |
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"I just really love to race and the more time I'm out there racing, the better. I look at the Busch Series as an opportunity for me to have fun as well as get additional lap time in a stock car. I realize that my ability to be a car owner in the NASCAR Busch Series is a direct result of my position with Richard Childress Racing and the Cingular Wireless Chevrolet [in Nextel Cup]."
Sauter is Gordon's RCR teammate in Nextel Cup. In the NASCAR Busch Series, Sauter – ninth in series points this week – wheels the No. 27 Kleenex/Vons Pontiac for Brewco Motorsports.
"I don't consider myself a 'Busch Whacker;' I'm a full-time Busch Series driver," Sauter said. "I drive a full Cup schedule too, but I'm in the hunt for the Busch championship ... it's a true Busch Series effort when I go out."
Kahne is the runaway frontrunner thus far in the Raybestos Rookie of the Year competition, in Nextel Cup. In the Busch Series he's 17th in points, with three top-five finishes in the No. 38 Dodge. Kahne sees double-duty as part of his "continuing education."
"It's been a lot of fun running in both series this season," said Kahne, who replaced legend Bill Elliott this year in Evernham Motorsports' UAW/Dodge Dealers No. 9 Dodge entry, in Nextel Cup.
"It's a lot more racing, which I like, but it also gets pretty tiring, especially if it's a hotter race. It has definitely helped me with both programs this season because we're able to transfer notes between the two teams. I'm enjoying it."
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| Greg Biffle, last week's winner at Fontana, says he doesn't mind all the extra track time. Credit: Autostock |
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Biffle won the Busch Series championship in 2002, then moved to NASCAR's premier series in 2003. This year he has a two-fold effort going for Roush Racing, driving the No. 60 Charter Communications Ford in the Busch Series, where he's 10th in points and coming off a win last week at California Speedway.
"It would be nice to have the weekend off, but I'm a racer so I don't mind," Biffle said. "The extra time I'm getting in the cars is really starting to pay off on both sides and it's showing. Both teams are running extremely well.
"We may not have all good finishes to show for it but the performance is there and that's all I can ask for.
"I'm enjoying running both series right now, but I'm sure by the end of the season I'll be worn out."
Cope -- the 1990 Daytona 500 champion -- undoubtedly smiles when he hears that sort of talk. At the age of 45, he's the oldest of the six drivers pulling double-duty.
"Nobody works harder than the guys on our team," said Cope, driver of the No. 49 Advil Ford. "(Car owner) Jay Robinson has two Busch teams sitting here, running every race. It's hard to fault a guy like Jay when he is bringing at least two cars to the track week-in and week-out."
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| Michael Watrip says he'll decide at the end of this month whether or not to run the full Busch Series schedule. Credit: Edward M. Pio Roda /Turner Sports Interactive |
And then there's Waltrip, who is struggling in Nextel Cup (30th in points) but looking like a potential championship in Busch Series competition. Waltrip, in the No. 99 Chevrolet, leads the points and is talking increasingly about his effort -- labeled as part-time at the season's outset, even though he has been in all nine races so far -- morphing into an official full-time commitment.
"We're going to run (all the races) until about Nazareth (May 23) or Charlotte (May 29) and see where we stand," Waltrip said. "If (my sponsors) want me to run (all the races) and race for the championship, we'll certainly consider doing that."
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