Memories abundant in 26 years of the Busch Series

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Nothing's the same as it was 26 years ago; not the price of coffee, beer, gasoline -- or certainly, race tickets.

The Busch Series ain't the same, either.

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And nothing hammered that point home more than when four-time Busch champion crew chief Steve Bird sauntered into a Thursday night throw-down at Universal City Walk celebrating Roush Fenway Racing's Carl Edwards' driver championship and Richard Childress Racing's car owner title.

Seeing Bird was akin to having a ghost walk into your 25th high school reunion -- though his recent history has been anything but celestial, as he's successfully racing in the Hooters Pro Cup.

But for old time's sake, seeing Bird -- who won Busch championships with drivers Rob Moroso, Johnny Benson and Randy LaJoie -- saunter into the crowded room clutching a dark brown longneck bottle of the sponsor's product was priceless; even if his observation wasn't.

"Not too many people here I recognize," said Bird, who was a Busch Series garage fixture for virtually two decades. Ain't it the truth?

Given what's bound to change in 26 years, I guess that's no surprise -- but it doesn't mean you shouldn't miss it.

As brewery giant Anheuser-Busch "realigns its marketing objectives" and its Busch beer brand heads down the road into history's cobwebs, the one obvious benefit is there are plenty of memories -- from the inaugural Budweiser Late Model Sportsman Series to the current day.

And that's a good thing.

Like with a lot of other things, in a lot of ways, the memories of what the Busch Series once was are better contained in a time capsule.

There was a time when it seemed like the Busch Series had icons, legends: Men like Jack Ingram and Sam Ard and Butch Lindley and Tommy Ellis and Tommy Houston -- and then guys who came in and seemed perfectly positioned to assume the role of torchbearers: Like Larry Pearson, Chuck Bown, Steve Grissom and Randy LaJoie.

The series in that era was a little raw, and that was perfect for its position in NASCAR. Ingram was a tough racer, but he could be even tougher afterward -- and what a memory that is.

In 1986, Ingram -- the "Iron Man, which is another treasured memory -- was leading the Busch standings when he had an, err, "altercation" with another competitor in a Late Model Stock Car race, I believe, at New Asheville Speedway.

Ingram's NASCAR license was suspended for several weeks and the hiatus allowed Pearson to take his first of two Busch titles.

The memories of watching Ard in that white-and-red No. 00 Thomas Brothers Country Ham Oldsmobile, or Ingram's crusty maroon No. 11 Skoal Nova, really stick in the memory.

As the cars transitioned from the Novas and Le Mans and Tempests and Cutlasses of the Late Model Sportsman days, to the Monte Carlos and Thunderbirds that were too similar to what was being raced in Winston Cup, it should have been a warning shot, but we were enjoying it too much. (Continued)