Stephen Leicht has 11 Busch Series starts -- with one top-10 finish. Credit: Autostock

At NASCAR's highest level, patience is a virtue

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. -- Stephen Leicht walked along the pit lane last weekend at Indianapolis, virtually unnoticed, strolling in world that he is not ready to enter.

A fan here or there called out to him, and he smiled back. Because it was Indianapolis -- because fans there take their racing so seriously -- some of them knew who he was.

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But most didn't, for obvious reasons. He is just 19 years old with just a handful of Busch Series starts under his belt. And yet, his name is on the short list of men available to drive for Robert Yates Racing next year.

Leicht may not drive in the Nextel Cup Series next year, but the mere notion that he might is disturbing.

If the NASCAR driver shortage is this big a problem, then NASCAR has to come up with a solution. Drivers like Ward Burton are obviously unwanted by some sponsors, so teams are forced to try to find lightning in an inexperienced bottle.

Last weekend is a good preview for what Leicht can expect in 2007 if he is promoted to Nextel Cup. RYR brought a third car for him at Indianapolis, but with 15 cars vying for eight spots, his competition was tough. He didn't drive the car hard enough in qualifying, and his speed didn't come close to making the show.

Making the show will be that much tougher next year, too. With Toyota's entry, there will be at least 50 cars trying to make every race in 2007, and if Leicht can't keep that car in the top 35 in points, he is in for a long season.

It's Russian Roulette, except the chamber has more than one bullet in it.

Despite what you may have read or heard, Robert Yates Racing hasn't become the bottom-of-the-barrel organization without hope for the future. The team's two cars are still a very viable entity as long as that team has its Ford support.

Greg Biffle put together one of the most dominating summers in recent memory in the Craftsman Truck Series in 1999. And yet, he didn't make it to Cup for three more seasons. If he had enjoyed his truck success in 2006, owners would be lining up to steal him. He waited until 2003 to run a full Cup season, and by the time he got there, he was ready.

That is what makes Liecht's rush to Nextel Cup so alarming. He simply isn't ready to go out every Sunday and tackle the Tony Stewarts and the Jimmie Johnsons of the world. They will spit rookies like Leicht up and then promptly put him another lap down.

	Stephen Leicht finished 33rd at Pocono in his only Nextel Cup Series start. Credit: Autostock
	Inside the Numbers Stephen Leicht in the 2006 Busch Series Race Start Finish Las Vegas 7 18 Fort Worth 17 20 Talladega 8 31 Darlington 25 25 Kentucky 28 10 Milwaukee 21 13 Daytona 4 26 Loudon 27 33 Gateway 28 38 Average 18.3 23.8

That is assuming that Leicht is even ready to make Nextel Cup events.

Brent Sherman's experience in 2006 should serve as a warning to the sponsors that want the next Denny Hamlin. Just an opinion, but I strongly doubt that Robert Yates would put an inexperienced 19-year-old in the car unless a sponsor dictated it.

Hamlin was clearly ready for the demands of Nextel Cup, and that is how his situation is different. He had already helped turn around Joe Gibbs Racing's Busch program and had excelled in Late Models for years.

How is it fair to RYR -- and Leicht -- to risk damaging a career just because the sponsor wants a kid in the car? Having a kid in the car is fine, but only after they have shown that they can at least learn what it takes to win in the Craftsman Truck Series or the Busch Series.

Kyle Busch, seemingly an old man at 21, wasn't promoted to Nextel Cup until he had proved his mettle racing against Nextel Cup regulars in the Busch Series. Reed Sorenson was moved up a season too early, but he at least earned the respect of Nextel Cup regulars with a solitary two-win Busch season in 2005.

How can Leicht be cut any favors when Nextel Cup has 35 veterans who will happily use him to bring out a caution?

Back to Brent Sherman for a second. Terribly inexperienced, even for the Busch Series, where he made just 27 starts. His sponsor brought him to Nextel Cup, where a ride with BAM Racing awaited. Sherman even had a guaranteed spot in the first five races.

Sherman was banking on learning on the job, which is exactly the wrong thing to assume. As a result, his inexperience had BAM Racing out of the top 35 in points after his five races were up. All because his sponsor brought him to Nextel Cup too soon. BAM is now left without solid sponsorship and without a top-35 spot, and because of that, its entire existence is in jeopardy.

Had Sherman stayed in the Busch Series, he may have been able to take his sponsor to a Nextel Cup-backed Busch team, where he could have learned how to win without all the pressure. His chances for a successful Nextel Cup career would have been a lot greater.

Leicht is an outstanding Nextel Cup prospect. He has already won at the ARCA level and has shown glimpses of running well in the Busch Series, but those glimpses are hardly evidence -- or reason -- to suddenly promote him to the most competitive racing in the world.

The opinions expressed are solely of the writer.