2/16/04…….. The rainy weather in Florida on Valentines Day took the mystique out of the Busch Series opener. It would have been very fashionable for the Hershey’s Kisses 300 to have been run on that special day, but Mother Nature had other plans.

Not to be deterred, the race went on without a hitch Monday Morning, February 16th and turned out to be a better race than the 500. The dirty air package that NASCAR mandated for the Busch Series cars at Daytona gave them more stability in the draft due to slower speeds in the different air patterns created by the placement of the top fins on the race cars. All throughout the race, there were miraculous saves when cars were bumped out of the draft line. These saves wouldn’t have been possible if the Busch cars had the same aero package as the Cup cars did for the Daytona 500. As the drivers saw that they could control their cars better, they became more aggressive as the race wore on, giving race fans a real show of masterful driving.

Nary a soul in the stands or garage area was surprised when Dale Earnhardt Jr. took the checkered flag winning the Busch Series opener at Daytona for the third year in a row, and completing a “Daytona Sweep” by winning both major events. When asked about Junior’s win during a post race interview, fourth place finisher Kevin Harvick said, “Imagine that.”

Following Earnhardt across the finish line were Johnny Sauter, Robby Gordon, Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth. The top five, to no one’s surprise, were all Cup drivers. Busch Series drivers David Stremme, Ron Hornaday, Jason Leffler, Jason Keller, and David Green rounded out the top ten finishers. The top ten starters and how they finished:

1. Martin Truex Jr. -- No. 81 Chevy – finished 28th
2. Ron Hornaday -- No. 2 Chevy – finished 7th
3. Kevin Harvick -- No. 21 Chevrolet – finished 4th
4. David Stremme -- No. 32 Dodge -- finished 6th
5. Robby Gordon -- No. 55 Chevy – finished 3rd
6. Paul Wolfe -- No. 6 Dodge – finished 36th
7. Mike Bliss -- No. 20 Chevy – finished 30th
8. Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- No. 8 Chevy – finished 1st
9. Kasey Kahne -- No. 38 Dodge – finished 43rd
10. Joe Nemechek -- No. 87 Chevy – finished 40th

One thing for sure, Earnhardt’s wins this winter at the Daytona facility will certainly keep the speculation alive in the garage area concerning the possibility of different sized restrictor plates being handed out by NASCAR to different teams. There are those in the past who have complained that NASCAR must be giving the Dale Earnhardt Inc. teams plates with bigger holes in them in order for DEI to be developing more horsepower than other teams. Continued dominance at restrictor plate tracks was unheard of until after the death of Dale Earnhardt Sr. Restrictor plates are all supposed to have the same sized openings as mandated by NASCAR, but the sanctioning body passes them out to teams individually, the teams are not allowed to choose their plates at random. Some of the team owners, drivers, and crew chiefs claim that the process is unfair. It remains to be seen if DEI would still show the same dominance if the plates were distributed randomly instead of handed out specifically by NASCAR.

Next week the Busch Series travels to the North Carolina Speedway for the Goody’s Headache Powder 200. The event will be aired on the FX channel via Saturday, February 21st at 12:30 pm eastern. Qualifying for the event will be televised via the SPEED channel on Friday, February 20th at 1:30 pm eastern.

Last season’s winner of the spring Rockingham event was Jamie McMurray. He was followed across the finish line by David Green, Todd Bodine Randy LaJoie, Jason Keller, Mike Bliss, Kevin Grubb, Brian Vickers, Johnny Sauter, and Kevin Harvick to round out the top ten finishers.

David Green won the Bud Pole Award with a speed of 154.429 miles per hour in the No. 37 Timber Wolf sponsored Pontiac. There were nine caution periods for a total of 45 laps out of the 197 laps on the 1.017 mile tri-oval.

2/21/04…….. The Buschwhackers continued their dominance in the season’s second Busch Series event at the North Carolina Speedway at Rockingham. Jamie McMurray won the event and racked up four victories in a row at the so-called out of date track in the Southern North Carolina sand hill country. The only other driver to win four Busch series races in a row at The Rock was Mark Martin, who won two races in 1996 and two in 1997. McMurray may have a chance to beat Martin’s record if the Busch Series returns to the facility in 2005. For you history buffs, Mark Martin also holds other Busch Series records at the facility with 11 victories, six poles, three consecutive poles, and most competitive miles raced at 4,628. Martin has also led 60 times in 20 different Rockingham Busch Series races leading a total of 1,740 laps.

The win was McMurray’s fifth Busch Series victory, and his third since moving up to the Cup Series with Chip Ganassi Racing. Following McMurray across the finish line were Martin Truex Jr., Kevin Harvick, Michael Waltrip, David Green, Johnny Sauter, rookie Kyle Busch, Bobby Hamilton Jr., Johnny Benson, and Ron Hornaday.

The top ten starters and how they finished:

1. Johnny Benson -- No. 1 Dodge—finished 9th
2. David Stremme -- No. 332 Dodge – finished 36th
3. David Green -- No. 37 Pontiac – finished 5th
4. Kasey Kahne -- No. 38 Dodge -- finished 26th
5. Jason Keller -- No. 22 Ford – finished 11th
6. Johnny Sauter -- No. 27 Pontiac – finished 6th
7. Jamie McMurray -- No. 30 Dodge – finished 1st
8. Bobby Hamilton Jr. -- No. 25 Ford – finished 8th
9. Kevin Harvick -- No. 21 Chevy – finished 3rd
10. Robby Gordon -- No. 55 Chevy – finished 14th

Kyle Busch is starting the season out as the top rookie in the Busch series, his seventh place finish at The Rock and his 24th place finish at Daytona, where he was the highest finishing rookie, puts him on top of the heap for the time being, garnering rookie of the race awards for both events.

With Kevin Harvick’s fourth place finish at Daytona and his third place finish this week, he commands the driver’s points in the Busch Series. Johnny Sauter remains in second with a -5 point deficit, with David Green moving up eight positions to third with a -41. Cup Driver Robbie Gordon dropped down one position to fourth with a -44 while Ron Hornaday moved up one spot to fifth with a -50.

Cup driver Michael Waltrip moved up 12 spots to sixth with a -59 followed by Jason Keller moving up two spots with a -67. Bobby Hamilton Jr. is right on Keller’s heals moving up five spots with a -69. Second place finisher Martin Truex Jr. moved up 12 spots and is now listed in ninth with a -71. Kenny Wallace, who crashed on the last lap fighting for the 15th position, moved up two spots to round out the top ten with a -90.

When you take away the Cup drivers, Busch Series regulars David Green, Ron Hornaday, Jason Keller, Bobby Hamilton Jr. Martin Truex Jr., and Kenny Wallace are firmly planted within the top ten in Busch Series driver’s points. Rookie Kyle Busch is now listed in 11th place with a -98 as the highest listed rookie in the points, while Ashton Lewis is right on his tail in 12th place with a -99. Without the Cup drivers in the system, Casey Atwood and Tim Fedewa, listed 13th and 14th tied with -111 would also be considered top ten drivers in the series.

Next week the Busch Series has a weekend off and will join the Cup Series in Las Vegas on the first weekend of March.

2/29/04…….. When people think of Las Vegas they think of gambling and sunshine, it’s usually bright and sunny out in Nevada at the location of the gambling Mecca of the USA. Wouldn’t it be something if the upcoming Sam’s Town 300 Busch Series race was rained out? It isn’t likely, but it could happen….

With all of the talk about short fields for events in the 2004 season, it appears that there will be a full 43 car field for the Las Vegas event. At last tally, there were 51 cars on the entry list that will be vying for the 43 spots, so don’t be surprised to see one of your favorite drivers missing the race. As a point of fact, there were six driver’s who failed to qualify for last season’s Las Vegas event, but none were Busch or Cup Series regulars.

Cup drivers who are in the top 30 in Cup Championship driver’s points cannot get a provisional start in the Busch Series this year. That’s what happened to Kenny Wallace last week at Rockingham. He had mechanical problems during his qualifying run and wasn’t able to score a qualifying time that would get him in the race. As Kenny’s luck would have it, he finished 30th in last season’s Cup Series points so he wasn’t allowed to start with a provisional.

As the present season wears on, after four races have been run, the Busch Series provisionals for active Cup drivers will revert to the points standings for this 2004 season which could affect more than one Cup driver trying to enter a Busch Series race. Any current cup driver who is within the 30th position Cup driver’s point’s limit will be ineligible for a Busch Series provisional.

Adding to this possible dilemma will be a bunch of part time entries that are making the Las Vegas race their first attempt of the season. These include Fitz/Bradshaw Motorsports third entry, the No. 82 Jani-King sponsored Chevrolet which will be piloted by series veteran Randy LaJoie and the Holigan Racing’s No. 50 Enzyte sponsored Chevrolet to be piloted by Craftsman Truck Series regular David Starr.

Next week the Busch Series travels out to Las Vegas, Nevada for the Sam’s Town 300. The event will be televised live by the FX channel on Saturday, March 6th, at 3:30 pm eastern. Qualifying for the event will be televised by the SPEED channel on Friday, March 5th at 4:30 pm eastern.

Last season’s winner of the event was Cup driver Joe Nemechek. He was followed across the finish line by Kevin Harvick, Mike Bliss, Steve Park, Jason Keller, David Green, Michael Waltrip, Stanton Barrett, Ron Hornaday Jr., and Scott Wimmer.

There was no Bud Pole Award won due to inclement weather, teams were started via 2002 season owner’s points with Stanton Barrett on the pole in the No. 60 Ford. There were seven caution periods for a total of 43 laps out of the 200 lap event on the 1.5 mile oval.