Tony Raines clocked in at 49.149 seconds during Wednesday's morning test. Credit: Autostock

Raines making the most of second opportunity

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- It's hard enough to get your first shot at a full-time Nextel Cup ride when you're 39. It's even harder to get a second chance after the first one falls apart.

Lesser men might consider that an omen and concentrate on finding a new occupation. Tony Raines doesn't give up that easily.

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"At times, maybe you think maybe you're the odd man out," Raines said. "That happens to everybody at some point in time.

"I won't say it's the end of the world because there are worse things that happen in life. Having this opportunity makes you enjoy it and appreciate it a lot more than if you didn't have it."

"This opportunity" was the chance to run the No. 96 for legendary Dallas Cowboy quarterbacks Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman. Even so, there were questions whether Raines -- the 1996 ASA champion -- was the right fit at 41 for a first-year team.

After all, he wound up 33rd in the points in 2003 while driving for BACE Motorsports. Then for the next two seasons, Raines found himself helmet in hand, finding rides where he could.

"I love to race, whether it be Trucks, Busch or Cup," Raines said. "That's what I enjoy and I think I'm good enough to be doing it.

"Obviously, this is the more exciting of those choices. But no matter where you're at or what team you're with, it still takes a lot of effort and a lot of work to run well. Teams that are barely making races are working as hard as the guys who are winning races."

Terry Labonte started the first five races, including last year's Daytona 500. But once Raines got into the driver's seat, the LaPorte, Ind., native proved that he deserved that second chance.

"Some momentum built up as the year went along and I got more comfortable," Raines said. "Not running all the races can be a little bit of a disadvantage. I think we overcame that hurdle.

	Credit: Autostock
	"... once you're in the car, it doesn't matter how old you are or what you look like, if you can drive the wheels off the car and get the job done." - Tony Raines

"Then we had two or three bad races in a row there that kind of knocked the wind out of our sails at one point. Hopefully we can start the new year out, we can build the momentum early and keep it."

Certainly having a familiarity with the team and the equipment is a bonus.

"Having a year together under our belts and being familiar with everybody, we kind of know where we need to start at instead of just starting fresh," Raines said. "That helps and gives you a little time for team building. Hopefully we can just move our marks up a little bit and have as good or better finish as we did last year."

Raines has been near the top of the leaderboard all three days of Jackson Hewitt Preseason Thunder testing at Daytona International Speedway, although Wednesday's windy and cooler conditions created some difficulties.

"The first two days, we were pretty happy with the qualifying runs," Raines said. "But [Wednesday] the wind's picked up a lot and it's affected us a little bit more than some.

"Overall, we're in decent shape. If we can get a little work done between the test and the 500 when we come back, it looks like we'll be in good shape."

For Raines, the idea of walking away from racing was something he was unwilling to accept.

"I always thought, once you're in the car, it doesn't matter how old you are or what you look like, if you can drive the wheels off the car and get the job done, it's what ultimately what [owners] want," he said.

Raines, who will be 43 in April, may have had a long wait for his second chance, which is why he's enjoying every moment.

"I'm not worn out yet," he said. "I'll keep going until they won't let me play anymore."