Thursday, June 13, 2002
Busch race draws crowd to Speedway
54 cars to vie for 43 spots
By Tom Groeschen tgroeschen@enquirer.com
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Foyt, Earnhardt and Mears are all entered in Saturday's NASCAR Busch race at Kentucky Speedway.
That's Larry Foyt, Kerry Earnhardt and Casey Mears.
The relatively famous relatives bring some star power to Kentucky, which is not exaggerating when it bills the race as Busch's biggest of 2002. The largest Busch entry list of the season — 54 cars — is headed to Sparta for Saturday's Kroger 300 (8 p.m.).
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AT A GLANCE
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Tickets: $45, $55, $65 and $75, but they could sell out before race day. For more information, call (888) 652-7223 or go to www.kentuckyspeedway.com.
Weekend schedule:
Friday
— NASCAR Busch series pole night, 7 p.m.
— NASCAR Hills Brothers All-Pro series Kentucky 150 (about 9 p.m.)
Saturday
— NASCAR Busch series Kroger 300, 8 p.m.
— NASCAR Goody's dash series, Kentucky 100 (following Busch race)
TV: FX.
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One reason for the big turnout is that the purse, just over $1.2 million, is the third-largest Busch payout, behind events at Daytona and Texas. The winner gets $83,650, with 43 cars scheduled to make the field via qualifying Friday night.
“That's a big statement, when we can draw the biggest field of the season,” Kentucky Speedway chairman Jerry Carroll said Wednesday. “I hear they can't even get enough cars for the Winston Cup.”
The major-league Winston Cup Series, with rising costs and tough economic times, is struggling to meet the 43-car minimum for Sunday's race at Michigan International Speedway.
The Busch circuit, with costs of about half of Winston Cup's, lacks the so-called big names but has its own celebrity cache. Larry Foyt (son of A.J.), Kerry Earnhardt (son of the late Dale Sr.), and Casey Mears (nephew of Rick) rank 16th, 20th and 22nd, respectively, in the Busch season points race.
Winston Cup regulars Joe Nemechek and Stacy Compton, and part-time Cup drivers Todd Bodine and Hermie Sadler also are entered.
Things were a little different at this time last year, with Winston Cup enjoying the fruits of a new $2.4 billion TV deal and Busch struggling to find entrants. Since then, the less-expensive Busch racing has become more lucrative to some. The top Winston Cup teams spend more than $10 million per season, but Busch costs maybe half that.
“People saw a good race here last year, and they know they will again,” Carroll said. “We've got four Winston Cup guys and all the top Busch drivers.”
Kevin Harvick, who won last year's Busch race at Kentucky, now drives in Winston Cup full time. He will be at Kentucky this year as grand marshal.
This year, the four drivers also racing Winston Cup must commute via jet between Kentucky and Michigan. The ground distance is about 315 miles.
A closer look at the Winston Cup/Busch entrants:
• Nemechek, 38th in the Winston Cup points race, has 264 career Winston Cup starts and two victories (1999, 2001). He has been a Winston regular since 1994.
• Compton, 36th in the Winston Cup points race, has been a Winston Cup regular since 2000. He has 80 career Winston Cup starts.
• Bodine, younger brother of Winston Cup drivers Geoffrey and Brett Bodine, has driven in five Winston Cup events this season. He has 150 career Winston Cup starts.
• Sadler, who has driven in five Winston Cup races this season, plans to make his first Busch start of the season. He has nine career Winston Cup starts.
All the top Busch regulars will be at Kentucky, including:
• Jack Sprague, the series points leader, comes off his first Busch victory at Nashville. Sprague is a three-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion.
• Jason Keller, No.2 in the Busch standings, leads the series with four victories this season.
• Scott Riggs, No.3 in the standings, is the top Busch rookie. Riggs won the Craftsman Truck race at Kentucky last summer.
Riggs, who visited the speedway for a media day last week, said Kentucky falls at a crucial point for the Busch season. The circuit is nearing its midway point for 2002.
“It's the center of the season, the turning point,” Riggs said. “We had a pretty emotional win in the trucks here last year, so I feel good about being back.”
Jeff Fultz, a 1987 Sycamore High School graduate, is also entered in the Busch race. Fultz, 33, will try to drive two races at Kentucky this weekend — the NASCAR Hills Brothers All-Pro race Friday night, then the Busch race Saturday night.
Former Winston Cup regulars Mike Wallace, Kenny Wallace, Kevin Lepage, Ron Hornaday and David Green also are entered for Saturday's Busch event.
Race fans camp it up
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Busch race draws crowd to Speedway
