5/4/02…… Another Qualifying Rain-Out Mother Nature once again aided the Busch Series competitors. Qualifying was rained out and the starting grid was set by the owner's point's standings, which prevented the main Winston Cup "Buschwhackers" from spoiling the Busch race.

Last season for the Busch Series spring race at Richmond, Matt Kenseth had the pole and half of the top ten starters were Winston Cup drivers. Johnny Benson has the fastest practice speed for the race with the No. 31 Whelen Eng. Chevrolet, which beat Kenseth's qualifying speed last year, but he had to take a 43rd provisional starting position because of the rain-out. Some of you may remember that the No. 31 Whelen Eng. car was Steve Park's old ride that he was in when he was injured last September at Darlington.

This year, there were no regular Winston Cup drivers starting in the top ten other than former Busch Series Champion Jeff Green with the No. 21 Rockwell Automation Chevrolet, which is third in Busch Series owner's points. Winston Cup driver Michael Waltrip started 22nd with the No. 99 Aaron's Chevrolet and Jimmy Spencer started 27th in the No. 1 Yellow Freight Chevrolet. With Benson starting last, there were only four Winston Cup drivers out of the 43 entries in the Busch Series race!

Hardee's 250…… Jason Keller roared past an out of gas Bobby Hamilton Jr. with just 12 laps remaining to take his third checkered flag of the 2002 season with the No. 57 Albertson's Ford. This added up to Keller's eighth win in his 12th year in Busch Series competition. This year will enter the statistic books as being his best season. In 1999, Keller had two wins and won three pole positions.

Ashton Lewis Jr. crossed the finish line in a career best second position with the No. 16 Lewis Motorsports Chevrolet, followed by Greg Biffle with the No. 60 Grainger Ford. Winston Cup regular Michael Waltrip was fourth in the No. 99 Aaron's Rent Chevrolet with Kevin Grubb finishing fifth in the No. 54 Toys-R-Us Chevrolet. Positions six thru ten were: Hank Parker Jr., No 36 Dodge; rookie Brian Vickers, No. 40 Dodge; Scott Wimmer, No. 23 Pontiac; Jamie McMurray, No. 27 Chevrolet; Tim Sauter, No. 19 Chevrolet.

A track sealer had been applied to the Richmond International Raceway racing surface. It was a major concern for drivers prior to the event, and as it unfolded, it proved to be a detriment to several drivers involved in the usual Busch Series crash-fest. Nineteen cars were out of the race due to various wrecks on the slippery surface until the second groove came in nearly half way through the race. An amusing afterthought, Waltrip was the only Buschwhacker to finish the race. The other Winston Cup drivers all bit the dust early, including Johnny Benson who ended up hospitalized with a broken rib and a concussion. It is doubtful at this point if he will be able to compete in the upcoming Winston Cup event. When will they ever learn where their bread is buttered at? Benson gives up Winston Cup money for a Busch race that pays a fraction of the purse? Go figure.

The Busch Series driver's point's standings have changed with Keller's third win. He has taken the top spot away from Jack Sprague, who has fallen to second place with 1448 points, -34 down from the new leader Keller. Randy LaJoie moves up one spot to third with a -141 deficit. Rookie Scott Riggs drops down to fourth at -152. Greg Biffle moves up one position to fifth at -172. Kenny Wallace drops down to sixth at -180 while Stacy Compton and Mike McLaughlin remain at seventh and eighth with -214 and -247. Scott Wimmer gains a spot to ninth with a -294 and Bobby Hamilton Jr. gains a spot to tenth with a -349 deficit at 1133 points.

Next Week…… Race No. 11 on the Busch Series schedule is the Busch 200 at the New Hampshire International Speedway at Loudon, New Hampshire. The race is scheduled to be broadcast live by the FX network on Saturday, May 11th at 1 P.M. Eastern.

Last year's winner of the New Hampshire spring race was Jason Keller. He was followed across the finish line by Kevin Harvick, Mike Skinner, Jeff Green, Kenny Wallace, Steve Park, Bobby Hamilton Jr., Randy LaJoie, Elton Sawyer, and Mike McLaughlin. The Winston Cup teams do not run next weekend, so there won't be any "Buschwhackers" taking the glory away from the Busch Series teams.

5/12/02……… Hornaday Replaces Amick……… Ron Hornaday Jr. has ended up with a full time ride in the Busch Grand National Series. Carroll Racing has released Lyndon Amick and has hired Hornaday to drive the No. 26 Dr. Pepper sponsored Chevrolet. The change takes effect immediately and Hornaday will be in the No. 26 at New Hampshire.

Hornaday, the former two-time Craftsman Truck Series Champion, was a regular in the Busch Series driving the No. 3 Dale Earnhardt Inc. Chevrolet. In 58 Busch Series starts Hornaday has two wins, seven top five, and 18 top ten finishes. He was dropped from DEI when Dale Earnhardt Sr. moved his Busch Series operation to the Winston Cup Series and hired Michael Waltrip as his driver. Hornaday then went to A.J. Foyt Racing driving the No. 14 Conceco Pontiac. He was released by Foyt near the end of last season.

Amick's performance driving the Dr. Pepper car has been less than stellar. His best start in this season's ten races was 12th and his best finish was 14th. He was currently 26th in the driver's point's standings. In the sixth year of his Busch Series career he has 81 starts, with no wins, two top five, and nine top ten finishes. His Busch Series career best was a fourth place finish at Myrtle Beach in 1998. His best championship point's finish was 28th in 2000.

Is Wider Better? We've all heard the Pontiac advertisement about wider being better, promoting the wide track wheel base on some of their models. Some drivers think the same thought process is viable for a race track, and others don't. You can't keep everyone satisfied, that's for sure!

Rookie Shane Hmiel, who won the pole starting position for the Busch 200 in the No. 47 Thomas Pacconi Classics Chevrolet at New Hampshire International Speedway, thinks the widening work that has been done to the racetrack is a definite improvement. Hmiel gave a thumbs up to the 12 foot widening that was done to the inside of the turns, which gives drivers more room to cut down into the corner.

The problem with this improvement for some of the more experienced drivers is that it changes their line getting into the corner, and now they have to learn the track all over again. Unless, they race it with their lines the same as they always have in the past. If they do this, they will be giving the advantage to the drivers who are learning to change their corner entry lines to a lower position. It stands to reason, that the lower that you can get into a corner the better. This will give drivers the opportunity to accelerate out of the corner quicker than they did with the old configuration. As the race car tends to drift up toward the wall coming out of the corner, drivers will find that there is a lot more room. It won't take some of them long to learn different lines and be successful at the track.

Although Hmiel won the pole position with a speed of 129.406 miles per hour on the new configuration, he didn't set a record, and didn't really get close to tying last year's pole speed. Kevin Harvick won the pole position last season on May 12th with a speed of 130.716 miles per hour. Hmiel was more than one full mile per hour off of the mark set by Harvick in last year's race. With the hundredth of a second closeness in pole qualifying these days, one full mile per hour is a lot of difference.

Benson Sitting Out………. The No 31 Whelen Engineering Chevrolet seems to be a bad omen for Winston Cup drivers. That's the car that Steve Park was driving at Darlington when he was T-boned by Larry Foyt while veering to the right after his steering wheel came off. Last week at Richmond Johnny Benson whacked the wall with the No. 31 and broke and bruised his ribs on his right side.

Not only is Benson out of the car for the all-star Winston Cup race next weekend, but he is also out for the Busch races for a spell. David Green substituted for Benson at New Hampshire, starting the No. 31 Chevrolet from the 24th position.

Busch 200………. Victory circle at New Hampshire was all aglow with the jubilation of a first time winner on his 96th start, Bobby Hamilton Jr. Hamilton and his crew redeemed themselves for running out of gas last week at Richmond, when it was evident that they had the winning combination.

The new track configuration didn't seem to bother the 24 year old driver, who is in his third full year in the Busch series. He started second and was a major contender throughout the event with the No. 25 Marines sponsored Ford. Hamilton made a liar out of Winston Cup "Buschwhacker" and run of the mill "Know-it-all" Jeff Burton, who said that it was impossible to keep a car on the bottom of the track with the new configuration. Burton succumbed to engine problems at lap five and wasn't a contender in the race, which was a great turn of events for the Busch regulars. Hamilton stayed on the bottom of the track during the whole event and did all of his passing on the inside.

A hard charging Todd Bodine finished second with the No. 92 Excedrin Chevrolet followed by former Truck Series Champion Jack Sprague in the No. 24 NetZero Chevrolet. Rookie pole sitter Shane Hmiel was fourth followed by "Magic Shoes" Mike McLaughlin in the No. 18 MBNA sponsored Pontiac. Positions six thru ten were: Randy LaJoie, No. 7 Kleenex Chevrolet; rookie Scott Riggs, No. 10 Nestles Ford; Hank Parker Jr., No. 36 GNC Dodge; Jamie McMurray, No. 27 Williams Travel Chevrolet; Kevin Grubb, No. 54 Toys R Us Chevrolet.

The driver's point's standings changed some this week with Jack Sprague moving up one position to the top spot with 1613. Jason Keller's problems in the race caused him to drop back to second, -64 to the new leader. Randy LaJoie remains at third with a -122 and rookie Scott Riggs remains a solid fourth with -132. Mike McLaughlin moved up three positions to fifth and is at a -223 down from the leader. Positions six thru ten are: Kenny Wallace, -226; -2 Greg Biffle, -228; -1 Stacey Compton, -263; +1 Bobby Hamilton Jr., -295; -1 Scott Wimmer, -295 with 1318 points. Although Hamilton and Wimmer are tied, Hamilton has a better finishing record, so he gets the top position of the two.

Next Week…… Race No. 12 on the Busch Series circuit is the Nazareth 200 fro the Nazareth Speedway at Nazareth, Pennsylvania. The race is scheduled to be run on Sunday, May 19th at 1 P.M. Eastern and will be televised live on the FX network.

Last year's winner of the Nazareth event was rookie Greg Biffle. He was followed across the finish line by Kevin Harvick, Jeff Green, Jason Keller, Tim Fedewa, Tony Raines, Bobby Hamilton Jr., Rich Bickle, Jimmy Johnson, and rookie Jamie McMurray.

5/20/02……… Mother Nature has played havoc with the Busch Grand National Series now for three out of four weeks. Qualifying was rained out at Nazareth requiring another race lineup stemming from points standings.

Of course, that's always good for those who are at the top of the point's heap, but for some of the others who can only get a good starting spot by running a hot lap for it, it tends to stink!

With the Winston Cup all-star race taking place this weekend, most of the Buschwhackers were absent. The only two notable Cup Winston drivers who made a stab at the Busch race were Stacy Compton, starting ninth in the No. 59 Kingsford Chevrolet, and Ron Hornaday who started the No. 26 Dr, Pepper Chevrolet in the 26th position. The two Winston Cup drivers had to leave Nazareth Saturday afternoon for the Winston Cup event at Charlotte and didn't get a chance to practice. Andy Santerre practiced and fine tuned Hornaday's car and Tim Fedewa shook down Compton's car in his absence.

The humorous part of this situation is that points leader Jack Sprague has started the No. 24 Net Zero Chevrolet from the pole position three times this season and has yet to win a pole position on the track. The top 35 spots were set by 2002 owner's points, while the remainder of the field was set according to the race entry blanks and the Busch Series rule book.

Stacker2 200………. The one mile Nazareth flat track is one of the most difficult tracks on the Busch Grand National circuit. The up and down hill D configuration road racing type track caused the usual amount high attrition with over a dozen cars off of the track for repairs before the 200 lap race was half over.

Jason Keller, this season's early star of the Busch Series, took the checkered flag of the maligned race. It was Keller's fourth win of the season and the ninth of his Busch series career. NASCAR found themselves in a scoring snafu toward the end of the event. A caution period came out during the last green flag pit stop cycle and they somehow lost track of who was where and who stopped when. Randy LaJoie, who finished fifth at the end of the race, ended up being the goat of circumstances. They scored him as being a lap down when he actually wasn't, he should have been the leader of the race at the restart. At any rate, what's done is done, and we have to remember that NASCAR's always right, it's the rest of the world that's wrong.

A bad wreck occurred with just a little over 20 laps remaining. Jeff Purvis, driving the No. 37 Timber Wolf Chevrolet, blew and engine causing his wheels to seize up. The racecar hit the wall hard leaving lots of fluids on the track. Greg Biffle came up on him with the No. 60 Grainger Ford, and was unable to control his racecar in the fluids that had been deposited on the track. Biffle hit Purvis hard on the driver's side, causing the safety crews to have to use the jaws of live to extricate Purvis from the car. The time it took to tend to Purvis caused NASCAR to throw the red flag, stopping the race for over 20 minutes. Both drivers were transported to the local hospitals after a brief stay in the track's infield care center. Purvis was airlifted and Biffle went by ambulance. Both drivers were reported to be awake, and somewhat alert, but disoriented. They had both been briefly knocked unconscious. It is believed at the time of this publication that neither driver suffers from life threatening injuries.

Keller's teammate Scott Riggs crossed the finish line in the second position with the No. 10 Nestles Ford to give the team owner his first one two finish. Ron Hornaday drove a great race and brought the No. 26 Dr. Pepper Chevrolet across the line in the third position. Jamie McMurray was fourth in the No. 27 Williams Travel Chevrolet with Randy LaJoie coming in fifth with the No. 7 Kleenex Chevrolet.

Keller's win and Jack Sprague's bad luck put Keller back at the top of the point's standings. Sprague got involved in a mishap that took out his radiator and ended up nearly 20 laps down due to the time spent getting repairs behind the wall. Jason Keller now has a 31 point lead over Sprague with 1734 points. Scott Riggs moved up a position with his third place finish to third in driver's points, -78 points down from the leader. Randy LaJoie dropped down a position to fourth with a -83. Things change considerably at the fifth position with Mike McLaughlin remaining there with a whopping -206 point deficit. Positions six thru ten are: Kenny Wallace, -220; +1 Stacy Compton, -260; -1 Greg Biffle, -262; Bobby Hamilton, -266; +1 Jamie McMurray, -300 points down from the leader.

Update 5/20/02………… It has been reposted that Jeff Purvis has suffered a contusion to the left base of the brain and fractures to the first and second vertebrae in his neck. He is listed as being in serious but stable condition. It stands to reason that if it hadn't been for the mandatory head and neck restraint, Purvis wouldn't be alive today. It appears that it will be several weeks before Purvis is able to drive a race car.

Next Week……… Race No. 13 on the Busch Series Schedule is the CARQUEST Auto Parts 300 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. The event is scheduled to be broadcast live by the FOX network on Saturday, May 25th at 1 P.M. eastern.

Last season's winner of the Charlotte spring race was Jeff Green. He was followed across the finish line by Matt Kenseth, Jason Keller, Todd Bodine, Mike Skinner, rookie Greg Biffle, Jeff Burton, Jimmy Spencer, David Green, and Jeff Purvis.

5/26/02……… Kevin Lepage ……. With Jeff Purvis sidelined for who knows how long, Kevin Lepage has been asked to take over the driving duties in the No. 37 Timber Wolf Chevrolet. Lepage is no stranger to the Busch Series, by fielding his own Matrix Motorsports entry until his funds ran out. He's a good friend of Purvis, who has now been moved from a Pennsylvania hospital to an undisclosed location closer to his Clarksville, Tennessee home. Cards and well wishes can be sent to: Jeff Purvis, PO Box 30637, Clarksville, TN 37040.

Lepage drove the No. 16 PrimeStar Ford for Roush Racing until he was released at the end of the 2000 season when Roush dropped the Winston Cup entry. Last season he did a long 21 race stint in the No. 4 Morgan McClure Chevrolet in the Winston Cup Series, and then finished out the season with eight races in the No. 7 Ford.

Lepage qualified the No. 37 Chevrolet in the ninth position for Saturday's Carquest Auto Parts 300 at Charlotte. The Timber Wolf team has won a race this season and tends to get their car set up in competitive trim for the Busch Series races. Lepage worked with crew chief Terry Shirley to get the car where he needed it to qualify in the top ten.

Hornaday's Hot……… In just his third outing for Carroll Racing in the No. 26 Dr. Pepper Chevrolet, Ron Hornaday captured the pole position for Saturday's Carquest Auto Parts 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Last week, in his second outing, he finished the Nazareth race in the third position after starting 26th. His first outing was in the New Hampshire race where he finished a respectable 14th after starting from 16th. This was Hornaday's first career pole in the Busch Series.

The Race…………. First of all, there were a whole slew of rookies in the race. As a result, there were 8 cautions in the first 112 laps of the 200 lap race. Once the rookies were parked in the garage with wrecked cars, the regular Busch Series entries were able to race.

Some of the rookie wrecks took out some of the veterans. One of them was Dale Earnhardt Jr., who was making his second appearance this season in the No. 3 Chevrolet Monte Carlo with Richard Childress Racing. Junior was taken out of the race on lap 83, ending his dream of another Busch win this season with his dad's famous number three.

Another Richard Childress Racing entry won the race. The No. 21 Rockwell Automation Chevrolet driven by Winston Cup regular Jeff Green crossed the finish line first. If there had been a few more laps left, Greg Biffle may have gotten by Green for the win. He was right on his rear bumper when he crossed the line in second place with the No. 60 Roush Racing's Ford. Rookie Scott Riggs was third followed by Mike McLaughlin and Todd Bodine.

Strangely enough, the first five positions in the championship point's standings remain the same as last week. Jason Keller is still sitting atop of the heap with 1858 points. Jack Sprague is second with -21 down from Sprague. Rookie Scott Riggs is third with a -37. The top three are very close and anything can happen with the trio in the coming events. Randy LaJoie in fourth position is -140 points while Mike McLaughlin in fifth place is down -165. Positions six thru ten are as follows: +2 Greg Biffle, -206; -1 Kenny Wallace, -217; +1 Bobby Hamilton Jr., -239; -2 Stacy Compton, -272; Jamie McMurray, -309.

Next Week…… Race No. 14 on the Busch Series schedule is the MBNA Platinum 200 from Dover Downs International Raceway, Dover, Delaware. The race will be telecast live on the FX network on Saturday, June 1st at 1 P.M. Eastern.

Last year's winner of the MBNA 200 was Jimmy Spencer. He was followed across the finish line by Matt Kenseth, Kevin Harvick, Mike Skinner, Steve Park, Elton Sawyer, rookie Scott Wimmer, David Green, rookie Greg Biffle, and Tony Raines.