By Dustin Dow
The Cincinnati Enquirer

To the untrained eye, they're just cars and racing organizations, and probably identical ones at that.

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But to the people who drive the cars and to the series they represent, there is plenty of difference between Nextel Cup and the Busch Series.

For starters, the average purse for a race in Nextel Cup, NASCAR's premier series, is $6.1 million after 14 races. That's $4.6 million more than the average for the Busch Series, the second-tier stock car circuit that includes several Nextel Cup drivers who compete for well-financed teams.

"If you look at the amount of money right now the Busch teams are spending, we're at the race track the same amount of time as the Cup guys," Busch driver Stacy Compton said. "But it pays more to just start a Cup race than it does to win a Busch race."

In some cases, Compton is right. On May 14, Kyle Busch collected a $54,380 paycheck for winning the Busch race at Richmond International Speedway. The next day, Randy LaJoie completed 36 laps in the Cup race at Richmond, finished last and took home $55,651.

The smaller payouts in the Busch Series are a reflection of the cheaper cost to advertisers, who might be more willing to sponsor a Busch car than a Cup car.

"Right now the sport needs the Busch series because Nextel Cup is so expensive," Compton said. "There's not a lot of $20 million sponsors laying around."

On the track, drivers who race in both series notice the minor variations between the two cars.

"The biggest difference is the Busch car doesn't have near as much power," said Greg Biffle who will race in both series this weekend, at Kentucky and Michigan. "The wheel base is shorter, so it handles a lot different, and there's some aerodynamic differences."

"The Busch cars actually corner a little bit better," said Michael Waltrip, who competes in both series full time. "The same setup that works in a Cup car sometimes works in a Busch car, but sometimes you have to depart from that. A lot of times we'll start with the same setup exactly."

	Busch	Nextel
Engine	cast iron 5.7L V8	cast iron 5.7L V8
Horsepower	660@7900 RPM	790@9400 RPM
Torque	540 ft/lb @6400 RPM	550 ft/lb @7500 RPM
Fuel	112 octane, 22 gallon	112 octane, 22 gallon
Top Speed	195 MPH	200 MPH
Body Length	203.5 in.	200.7 in.
Body Width	74.5 in.	72.5 in.
Height	50.5 in.	51 in.
Weight	3,400 lbs.	3,400 lbs.
Front Air Dam	4 in.	3.5 in.
Gear Ratio	2.91 to 5.29:1	2.90 to 6.33:1
Spoiler	55 in. wide x 5.5 in. high	57 in. wide x 5.5 in. high
Wheels	steel, 15 in. x 9.5 in.	steel, 15 in. x 9.5 in.
Wheel base	105 in.	110 in.
Races	34	36
Avg. purse 2004	$1.5 million	$6.1 million
Avg. race distance	236.8 miles	398.6 miles
Avg. age of winner	28.1	31.8
National network TV appearances	8	26

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E-mail ddow@enquirer.com