Brent Sherman was 45th fastest of the 53 drivers who participated in this month's test sessions at Daytona. Credit: Autostock

Sherman plans to be a household name

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- When BAM Racing announced its new driver for the 2006 season, there were two basic questions:

"Who is Brent Sherman?"

"Is this a joke?"

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It wasn't a joke, and Sherman is the first person to admit that he isn't exactly a household name.

Older than Dale Earnhardt Jr. but younger than Matt Kenseth, Sherman is one of seven rookies in the Nextel Cup Series this year. He's the only one who doesn't have a teammate, and he's the only one who has never made a Nextel Cup start.

He's also the only Air Force veteran. He joined up when fellow Nextel Cup rookie Reed Sorenson was 6.

For his part, Sherman doesn't seem very nervous about his lack of experience, probably because he spent six years riding in the back of Airborne Warning and Control System planes. That job took him to places like Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

	Sherman's Busch Series stats Year Starts Wins T5 T10 2004 3 0 0 0 2005 24 0 0 1

"I didn't see any serious wartime action, but it was a good opportunity and I grew up a lot in the Air Force," Sherman said. "Basically it was one big surveillance team and we tracked friendly and enemy aircraft all over the world."

The experience kept Sherman off racetracks until his mid-20s. While he was wrapping up his stint in the service, he saw a commercial for the Russell Racing School at Sonoma.

Sherman went to the school and performed well enough to know that he would have to make a career change. He entered the Barber Dodge Pro Series with the intention of trying to break into the CART or IRL ranks, but he soon found himself in ARCA.

Sherman finished second in ARCA points in 2004 and then made the jump to the Busch Series, but that foray was marred by frustration. Sherman went through three different teams and nine different crew chiefs.

He ended the season with one top-10 finish in 25 starts, which was part of the reason why so many were shocked when BAM hired him. Sherman expects the learning curve will be steep, but in his opinion, the Busch Series had a Nextel Cup-like feel to it anyway.

"It was to the point of, you're running against 22 Cup drivers anyhow," Sherman said. "Obviously, people wonder if [I'm] ready for Cup. I had to think about it, too. Do I want to take that step? I didn't have a lot on my table as far as options for teams and whatnot."

Sherman continued to have the backing of the Serta Mattress Company, and when BAM Racing needed funding for 2006, they contacted Serta.

"They said, 'We have a driver.' The next question was, 'Is he ready for Cup?' That was a couple of months ago," Sherman said. "[BAM owners] Beth Ann and Tony [Morgenthau] started watching me and fortunately for me, I had a couple of strong runs."

"I don't want to make myself look stupid. I would not have done this if I wasn't ready for it."

The move comes at a critical time for BAM Racing, which finished 31st last year with Ken Schrader. The team's single-car status means it will probably spend the season fighting to remain in the top 35 in points, but Sherman steps into a ride that has a guaranteed spot, at least for the first five races of the year.

Whether he can remain there depends largely on his ability to finish races.

"My goal is to finish races. Am I going to win the Daytona 500? Probably not," Sherman said. " But I am going to run every single lap and I am going to finish the race.

"I am not going out there to ride around, I am telling you now. I am going to fight for every position. If there is nothing you can do about it, I am not going to take stupid chances."

Sherman's learning curve extends to his team. After Schrader took crew chief David Hyder with him to the Wood Brothers, BAM simply promoted car chief Ron Otto.

Otto is also a rookie, but he's been around the sport for nearly 20 years. He had lengthy stints as a car chief with Richard Childress Racing and Hendrick Motorsports before coming to BAM in 2004.

Otto faces a tremendous challenge in preparing for the Daytona 500. As a single-car team, Sherman is admittedly at a disadvantage when it comes to drafting partners, and he knows very few drivers will want to work with someone making their Nextel Cup debut.

"Even if I am the last car in the draft, that means I am still in the draft," Sherman said. "As long as I don't lose the draft, I am fine.

"We just need to prove to everyone else that I belong here."