Keller looks at what was, is and can be in NASCAR

Want to get under Jason Keller's skin? Ask him some time when he's going to leave the Busch Series and finally make the move to NASCAR.

Gets him every time. Then, there was the time that a sign at a racetrack that directed motorhomes owned by Busch Series drivers one way and those of "NASCAR" competitors another.

Jason Keller

• By the Numbers
• Countdown to 418
• 10 Questions
• Career Busch Stats
• Where is ... T. Houston?

Let's get one thing straight right off the bat. Keller has in fact been a NASCAR driver for more than 16 years now, just not on the top-level, most recognized Nextel Cup circuit. In the NASCAR-sanctioned Busch Series, Keller is the last -- the very last -- of a dying breed. For a decade and a half, the Busch Series has been Keller's base of operations. His home.

And now, his kingdom. If he qualifies, Friday night's Dollar General 300 at Lowe's Motor Speedway will be Keller's 418th career Busch Series start, passing Tommy Houston for most in the division's history.

"The first 399 felt like they flew by," Keller said. "[The record] is something, as it's gotten closer, it seems like it's gotten a little bit bigger for me. I'm very proud that I'm getting real close. Hopefully, we'll get the start and put it behind us. There again, I don't want to just put it behind us, because I want to continue to build."

After being released by Phoenix Racing early last season, Keller made just two races the rest of the year. In 2007, Keller's 16 starts have been split between Brewco Motorsports and CJM Racing, the team with which he'll attempt to qualify at Charlotte.

Time on the sidelines has made the record that much more important to him personally.

"It's definitely a harder record to get to than I thought at the beginning of 2006," Keller said. "I felt like I was going to buzz right to the record and keep flying by it. It is more special, in the fact that it has been a little bit harder to get to. It should make it all the more sweeter when I do get there."

In the year and a half since Keller was let go, he's been in the mix for a number of rides. On at least one occasion in particular, he was passed over in favor of a driver with a number of Cup starts to his credit. Quality Cup starts? A pole or two? A win, maybe? Nope. Just Cup starts.

In a very real sense, it goes back to the question of when he's going to move up to NASCAR. It's a matter of the respect the Busch Series receives.

"It bothers me, because I feel like I've done the things that should lead me to those opportunities," Keller said. "Maybe if I'd taken one of those Cup opportunities in the late '90s, 2000, 2001, maybe I would've had 70 or 80 starts by now.

"But this is how I've done it. Does it make me happy? No, I'll be honest with you. I look and say, 'What does this next guy have over me?' He's got Cup starts. Does Cup starts constitute him being better than I am?" (Continued)