11/02/02……… Sad to hear about the traffic accident that injured team owner George de Bidart. It’s always sad to hear of someone getting hurt in a wreck, and what is even sadder, is to learn that a Busch Grand National Series team owner was injured because he wasn’t wearing a seatbelt. What? A team owner of race cars who wasn’t wearing a seat belt? How dumb or vain can a person be?

The story is circulating the garage area about the wreck on the way to the Rockingham track in which Vicky be Bidart lost control of the Mercedes, jumped a ditch, and connected with a tree. De Bidart fields the No. 47 Mikes Hard Lemonade Chevy driven by rookie Shane Hmiel and the No. 48 Stacker II Chevy driven by Kenny Wallace.

Vicky de Bidart was uninjured, but her husband George suffered cuts and bruises and a minor concussion.

It was good to see Busch series veteran driver Elton Sawyer back in a race car at The Rock. Elton was driving the No. 37 Timber Wolf entry owned by Brewco Motorsports. It was Sawyers first appearance on the track this season. The race was the 19 year veteran’s 389th start, ranked second only to Tommy Houston who has the record of 417. Sawyer has won two pole positions, two races, 51 top five, and 131 top ten finishes with total winnings of over $4.6 million.

The ending of the Sam’s Town 200 was a regular hoot. The ending made the boring race worth the time to watch it. For the most part, the race was dominated by Winston Cup drivers Jeff Green in the No. 21 Rockwell Chevy with Michael Waltrip in the No. 99 Aaron’s Rent Chevy coming up through the pack. After a brief red flag period for a wreck near the end, the field started back to racing with just over a handful of laps remaining. Green and Waltrip were vying for the win when Waltrip got on the inside of Green. The greedy Winston Cup drivers ended up getting tangled up and spun out, leaving the win to third place driver Jamie McMurray, for the second week in a row.

The top ten starters and how they finished:

1. Jeff Green -- No. 21 Chevy – finished 6th
2. David Green -- No. 5 Chevy – finished 4th
3. Jamie McMurray -- No. 27 Chevy – finished 1st
4. Michael Waltrip -- No. 99 Chevy -- finished 8th
5. Tony Raines -- No. 33 Chevy – finished 24th
6. Jack Sprague-- No. 24 Chevy – finished 10th
7. *Shane Hmiel -- No. 47 Chevy – finished 7th
8. Stacy Compton -- No. 59 Chevy – finished 5th
9. Bobby Hamilton Jr. -- No. 25 Ford – finished 29th
10. Mark Green -- No. 38 Ford – finished 20th

Both of the Winston Cup drivers involved in the altercation at the end of the race feel that the other one is to blame. Green claims that Waltrip got loose, and Waltrip claims that Green failed to give him enough room. He feels that Green cut him off. All of that controversy doesn’t matter to race winner Jamie McMurray one bit. It doesn’t bother point’s leader Greg Biffle one bit either. Biffle finished second, and feels that he has the championship title clinched.

Biffle is now leading the standings by 212 points over Jason Keller with a total of 4579 points. Keller had vibration problems and had a poor finish. It doesn’t look like he will win the marbles away from Biffle at this point, but there are still two races left. The 212 point lead is not what one would call a definitive championship clinch at this point. I don’t feel that Keller is entirely out of the picture. Things can happen on a race track. If by some strange quirk of fate Biffle gets taken out of the next race early and Keller has a good finish, he still may be in the hunt for the championship. The next race will tell the story.

Next week the Busch series will be in Phoenix for its next to last race of the season. The Bashas’ 200 will be televised live by the NBC network on Saturday, November 9th at 2 P.M. Eastern.

Last season’s winner of the Phoenix race was rookie Greg Biffle. He was followed across the finish line by Jeff Green, Kevin Harvick, Ron Hornaday, Todd Bodine, Jason Keller, rookie Scott Wimmer, Hank Parker Jr. Jeff Burton, and Kenny Wallace.

11/09/02……… A very interesting development took place this week in the Busch Series. PPC Racing’s crew chief resigned his position effective immediately. Harold Holly, crew chief to the former Busch Series Champion Jeff Green, and of late, crew chief to rookie of the year candidate Scott Riggs on the No. 10 Nesquick Ford, is said to be seeking opportunities within the Winston Cup Series.

Lots of NASCAR insiders speculated that Holly would go along with Jeff Green when he moved up to Richard Childress Racing in Winston Cup. That didn’t happen though, Holly stayed with PPC Racing and has been guiding Scott Riggs this season.

It remains to be seen what Holly is going to do, but Keith Barnwell, co-owner of PPC Racing says that his phone has been ringing off of the wall with offers to fill the open crew chief position. They have a hot young driver with Scott Riggs, and their other team is the No. 57 Albertson’s Ford driven Jason Keller, who is currently second in Busch Series driver’s points.

The NASCAR powers that be need their heads examined when it comes to their approach to the coil springs that they are mandating and fining people for in both the Busch and Winston Cup Series.

I’ve heard people say that springs aren’t considered to be an enhancement to performance on the race track, but I can’t agree with that 100%. Yes, you think of horsepower and aerodynamics when you think of performance edges that one team can have over another one. Springs are indeed a very intricate part of the chassis, and the chassis does have a lot to do with the racecars performance, but NASCAR has gone way overboard this season with its waged war against springs.

Up and coming young rookie driver Brian Vickers was chastised by NASCAR this last weekend at Phoenix because they weren’t happy with his springs after he qualified 4th for Saturday’s Busch Series race. The No. 40 Victory Junction Gang Dodge was found to have unapproved front springs and was relegated back to start from the 39th position, and was also charged for use of a provisional. This was the fifth time this season that a Busch Series car was found to have bad springs during inspection.

The No. 40 car’s springs were found to be uneven in spacing after the qualifying run. NASCAR just don’t understand that things can happen to the coils of a spring when you put a 32 or 34 hundred pound car on it at speeds over 150 miles per hour. They inspect a car before competition and okay it for use, then fine the team for wear and tear on it during the competition. Something has to be done about NASCAR’s inability to understand the racecar and the parts that make up it’s construction. I’ve talked to race mechanics, car builders, and former racers about the situation. They all say that NASCAR has gone nuts, OR, that the sanctioning body is just using this to control the racing and the outcome of the races and championships. There is a lot of speculation about what NASCAR is doing to the teams that pay its way, and there is a lot of animosity out there against the sanctioning body that will come to a head one day soon.

Scott Wimmer won his third race of the season in the Bashas’ 200 at Phoenix International Raceway. Wimmer, driving the No. 23 un-sponsored Pontiac for Bill Davis Racing, led only the last few laps after taking the lead from Greg Biffle, who lead over 180 of the race’s laps. Wimmer’s other two wins this season came at Dover and Memphis.

The top ten starters, and how they finished:

1. Greg Biffle -- No. 60 Ford – finished 3rd
2. Randy LaJoie -- No. 7 Chevrolet – finished 16th
3. David Green -- No. 5 Chevrolet – finished 5th
4. *Brian Vickers -- No. 40 Dodge -- finished 11th
5. Jason Keller -- No. 57 Ford – finished 4th
6. Jeff Burton -- No. 9 Ford – finished 17th
7. *Casey Mears -- No. 66 Dodge – finished 15th
8. Jimmy Spencer -- No. 1 Chevrolet – finished 6th
9. *Johnny Sauter -- No. 2 Chevrolet – finished 7th
10. Kenny Wallace -- No. 48 Chevrolet – finished 30th

Greg Biffle is now the new Busch Series Champion for the 2002 season. Biffle led 186 laps of the Bashas’ 200 and finished the race 227 points ahead of second place driver Jason Keller. Biffle, driving the No. 60 Grainger sponsored Ford for Roush Racing drove a marvelous season and was happy to hoist the Busch Series Championship trophy over his head in celebrations held on pit road after the race.

That’s not to say that Jason Keller didn’t have a stellar season either driving the PPC Racing’s No. 57 Albertson’s Ford. Keller was biting at the heels of Biffle most of the season, but just couldn’t get the luck when he needed it to mount a solid campaign for the championship.

This makes the second NASCAR championship for Biffle, who won the Craftsman Truck Series Championship in 2000. He was rookie of the year last season in the Busch series and now will enter the Winston Cup Series in 2003 as one of the young drivers competing for Raybestos Rookie of the Year honors. Up to this point, Biffle is the only driver to have won championships in more than one of NASCAR’s top series. It should be noted that this was the first Busch Series Championship for Roush Racing.

The Busch Series will end its season at Miami/Homestead next weekend. The Ford 300 will be held on Saturday, November 16th at 1:30 P.M. Eastern and will be televised live by the NBC network. I’ll have the complete top ten driver’s point’s breakdown next week after the season’s final race.

11/17/02……… The Busch Series finale ended in the usual odd 2002 fashion. Race leader Jason Keller ran out of gas as he took the white flag, paving the way for second place driver Scott Wimmer’s fourth victory of the season.

The real oddity surrounding Wimmer, driver of the No. 23 un-sponsored Bill Davis Pontiac, is the fact that his car is un-sponsored. Bill Davis had planned to just run the un-sponsored team for a limited number of races until he could obtain sponsorship. When Wimmer started getting top five and ten finishes Davis decided to hang in there with the team. The season ended up with Wimmer winning four of the season’s last seven races.

I don’t know if there was any monetary relief for Bill Davis Racing from the wins, but I really doubt that there was a whole lot. The morning newspaper reported Wimmer winning over 88k for the Homestead race. The Busch Series is lacking badly in its fair treatment of team owners. The disparity between the Cup and Busch Series purses is unbelievable. It costs nearly as much to field the Busch car, which is almost identical to the Cup version. But The Busch purses are a joke compared to the Winston Cup race pay-offs.

The top ten starters and how they finished:

1. Jeff Green -- No. 21 Chevrolet—finished 10th
2. *Brian Vickers -- No. 40 Dodge – finished 34th
3. Bobby Hamilton Jr. -- No. 25 Ford – finished 5th
4. *Casey Mears -- No. 66 Dodge -- finished 12th
5. Joe Nemechek -- No. 87 Chevrolet – finished 3rd
6. Hank Parker Jr. -- No. 36 Dodge – finished 2nd
7. Stacy Compton -- No. 59 Chevrolet – finished 13th
8. *Johnny Sauter -- No. 2 Chevrolet – finished 19th
9. Jason Keller -- No. 57 Ford – finished 15th
10. Mike McLaughlin -- No. 18 Pontiac – finished 20th

The win enhanced the Busch series record at Homestead. It was reported that Winston Cup drivers had won six of the seven Busch Series races that has been held at the track since the series started racing there. Kevin Lepage had been the only Busch Series winner at Homestead in the 1996 Jiffy Lube Miami 300. Scott Wimmer now joins that distinction by winning the 2002 Ford 300 giving the Busch Series drivers two wins out of eight races.

The Busch Series banquet will be held on Friday, November 22 at the Portofino Bay Resort in Orlando, Florida. The banquet will be televised on Friday, December 6th at 3 P.M. Eastern on the TNT network.

The rumor about the new Crafts Truck Series Champion, Mike Bliss, moving to the Busch Series for 2003 may have some truth to them. It is scheduled to be announced Monday, November 18th, that Bliss will be driving the No. 20 Rockwell Automation Chevrolet in the Busch Series for Joe Gibbs Racing. Bliss will be a teammate for Coy Gibbs, the son of Joe Gibbs, who will also be leaving the truck series and will be driving the No. 18 MBNA Chevrolet formerly driven by Mike McLaughlin.

I’m happy to hear that Anheuser Busch has extended its contract to sponsor the NASCAR Busch Series through the 2007 season. It was also announced that the sponsor’s contribution to the driver’s championship point’s fund will increase by $400k per year to $4.5 million for the end of the 2007 season. The present 2002 point’s fund is $2.5 million. This will help boost the Busch Series and act as an initiative for new drivers to move up. Budweiser has also renewed its sponsorship of the Bud Pole Award for NASCAR’s top three series, plus the sponsorship of the Bud Shootout through the 2007 season.

Just because the season is over doesn’t mean that I won’t be keeping up with the Busch Series news and activities. Please check back here weekly to stay caught up on the news and happenings during the off-season. There will be a lot of sponsor and driver changes, plus testing going on, before the 2003 season opener at Daytona in February.