Convo: Shane Huffman

Shane Huffman is in a unique position as driver of the No. 88 Chevrolet in NASCAR's Busch Series.

That's because his boss is Nextel Cup driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., owner of the JR Motorsports team that employs Huffman. Huffman is running 15th in the Busch Series standings -- but fourth among those who make running in that series their primary and sole interest.

Having Junior as boss is 'awesome'

Sometimes Shane Huffman flicks through his cell-phone contacts for the entry "Dale Earnhardt Jr." -- to convince himself he's not dreaming.

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Q: What's Dale Jr. like as a boss?

Huffman: He's real hands-on. He's very involved in the day-to-day operations as well as involved with me as his driver. He's very hands-on with me. He's been a great teacher and a great friend, too, so it's really been a lot of fun.

Q: How long have you known each other?

Huffman: I've both been around racing a long time. But we kind of missed each other on the whole Late Model thing just a little bit there. He was getting out of it just as I was getting started in it. I ran into him a time or two, but never really had the chance to talk too much or anything. Until I came to work for him, I didn't really know him well at all.

Q: How did that transpire, you coming to work for him?

Huffman: We were running the Hooters Pro Cup series in '05 and so were they with Mark McFarland driving. Then they announced that Mark and Navy were going to do this Busch deal this year, and they were looking for someone to replace Mark in the Hooters Pro Cup car because they had a good sponsor, and they were looking to continue on. They knew they had a lot of growing pains with the Busch team, so they were looking for someone to come in with the Pro Cup deal who wouldn't really need a lot of attention. I think that played into my hands a lot as far as getting the deal. ... We sat down and talked and it was pretty much a done deal soon after.

(Note: Huffman then went on to replace McFarland in the Busch car this past August, running nine races in that series in 2006). (Continued)