Keller looks at what was, is and can be in NASCAR (cont'd)

Even now, Keller doesn't have a firm grasp on what he'll be doing in 2008. CJM Racing and Brewco Motorsports are both definite possibilities, but nothing is locked in place. Not having any commitments is frustrating for a driver who is so certainly capable.

Here's what life is like for Jason Keller these days. During an interview, he called one deal a "bleak possibility" because he hadn't heard from the team in a while. Within an hour or two, said outfit called to see if he was still interested. It's an up-and-down roller-coaster, where it seems almost as if he's had to prove himself all over again to teams and sponsors. It's just like the early '90s, when he was a Young Gun before Young Guns were cool.

At just 37, Keller has never seriously considered retirement. He won't use that term, at any rate. There was a point, however, when he felt like he might not get the kind of competitive ride that he wanted, and he wasn't going to just ride around at the back of the pack in order to pile up enough starts to top Houston.

He wasn't going to retire, but he wasn't going to be a field-filler, either.

"I don't want to say I took it for granted, but when you start as many races as I did and consecutive races, you just think [opportunities are] always going to be there," Keller said. "When the opportunities don't happen, the quiet moments are tough.

"Retirement, for me, is for someone later in their career and further down the road, age-wise. But there was a couple of moments I had to look at myself and say, 'You may not get another opportunity that you're willing to take.' ... The idle time is what's the hardest to deal with, as I sat in my office with nothing going on and not a lot happening."

When asked what it takes to be competitive in today's Busch Series, Keller responds by saying, "I'm not so sure this interview can be that long." Then, he continues by saying it's all about the people a team has. CJM Racing has 12 or 13 full-time employees, and while they don't have luxuries such as time in a wind tunnel or on a seven-post rig, they have people who want to be there.

Keller talks for a few minutes, and the more time passes, the more it seems that he's trying very hard not to say that it takes a connection to a Nextel Cup organization in order to be competitive in today's Busch Series. When somebody points that out, Keller laughs.

"Well ... the most successful teams are linked with the Cup teams right now," Keller admitted. "But that doesn't mean the ways can't change. I'm not going to get into whether that's the way it's always going to be. Right now, the Busch Series has a tremendous presence of Cup teams. ... But you never know where the evolution of the Busch Series is going."

With nearly $11.2 million to his credit, Keller is already the Busch Series' all-time leading money winner. Between 1994 and 2005, his most recent full-time season, Keller finished in the top 10 in points nine times and five times in the top five. Twice, he's come up second in the championship.

When it comes down to it, Keller wants another shot at the title that has eluded him.

"You have to be realistic," Keller concluded. "You can't run for a championship until you get with a full-time team, and then you have to build the full-time team. Only God knows what the master plan for me is. But I'd like to give it another shot. ... I still feel like with the right situation, right amount of time and sponsorship dollars, I could be able to compete for the championship."