Countdown for Montreal Busch race is on for drivers

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- With a month to go before the Busch Series makes its Canadian debut at Montreal's Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, you can add Kevin Harvick to the list of drivers expected to attend.

Harvick will join Cup regulars Jeff Burton and Robby Gordon, along with road-course expert Max Papis in the NAPA Auto Parts 200 on Aug. 4. Several other drivers, including Canadians Ron Fellows and Patrick Carpentier, have expressed interest as well.

"It's going to be a great opportunity for me," said Papis, who made his Busch Series debut last season at Watkins Glen, finishing 14th. "Montreal is a fantastic event. I was there for the Champ Car race and the enthusiasm the race fans have there -- they are very knowledgeable and it's going to be a great, great event."

Papis said if there's an advantage he might have, it could be his experience on the tricky 15-turn, 2.71-mile road course on a man-made island in the middle of the St. Lawrence River.

"The course is going to be very good," Papis said. "It's a very smooth racetrack, very challenging. There are a couple of walls right at corner exit. It's going to make life a little more difficult because the room for error on this track is basically zero."

Still, Papis knows it won't take long before the Busch regulars catch on.

"Every time I'm around the NASCAR race, I'm humbled by the way these guys downplay their road-racing skills," he said. "They say, 'Yeah, I've got a lot to learn' and then you go out on the track with them, and boom, they're out in front of you."

Papis said the Montreal track is tough on brakes, which may leave drivers having to make a tough decision as the day wears on.

"I think this is going to be a very challenging course in terms of, if you want to go fast, you need to be able to brake really deep into the corner, but you've got to take care of your brakes at the same time," he said. "I believe that it's going to make for a great show."

If there's a concern for Papis, it would be trying to get the most out of his car in one lap of qualifying, knowing it's "go or go home."

"I've been trying to prepare myself mentally for what it's going to take to do that one lap of qualifying," Papis said. "I've been trying to train myself to go out there and bite the bullet, as they say.

"That's going to be the most challenging part and I'm trying to make sure I'm not going to be in the Grand Am car right before qualifying. I want to be in the Busch car two times in a row."

While Burton said he would forego qualifying at Montreal to concentrate on his Cup effort at Pocono, Gordon's taking the opposite approach. Because he doesn't have a guaranteed spot in the Busch race, Gordon will stay in Canada on Saturday to qualify his car.

In any case, Papis had a suggestion for his fellow drivers: "If you guys want to show up five minutes before the start, that would be great for me."