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JOHN RAOUX KRT
Kasey Kahne gets some driving tips from longtime NASCAR driver Bill Elliott at Nextel Cup practice at Daytona International Speedway.
Learning the ropes
By Jeff Wilson
Knight Ridder Newspapers
Any 9-year-old moving to a different
school can relate to the plight of
NASCAR rookies: It’s not easy be-
■ mg the new kid.
"You don’t want to get any of these veterans
on your bad side right off the bat," said Casey
Mears, who is in his sophomore Nextel Cup sea
son.
"You want to come in gracefully but competi
tive. and that's hard to do."
But some veterans say it's not as hard as it
used to be. As the sport has grown, many drivers
make their upper-division debuts with more ex
perience. more talent and more support. The re
sult is fewer rookie-induced wrecks and more
top finishes by first-year racers.
"Probably racing experience-wise, he had a
heck of a lot more when he came in than I had
when I came in." the semi-retired Bill Elliott said
of today’s rookie. “You can't put that in as a true
rookie."
As evidence. Elliott pointed to his teammate
at Evemham Motorsports.
Kasey Kahne has won two poles and finished
second twice and third once in his first five Cup
races as Elliott's replacement in the No. 9
Dodge. Kahne spent two years in the Busch Se
ries before joining the Cup circuit and has a long
list of open-wheel accomplishments on a racing
resume he began building as a 14-year-old.
His other teammate. Jeremy Mayfield, has
nothing but praise for Kahne. who will turn 24
on April 10.
"He already knows how to race." Mayfield
said, driver of the No. 19 Dodge. "I'm not wor-
RANKINGS
THAT’S RACIN’STOP PICKS
1. Matt Kenseth (car No. 17): See
saws back to the top slot this week
with another perseverant top-five per
formance. Last week: 2.
2. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (car No. 8):
Admits to spinning himself to get the
caution he needed at Bristol. He is his
father’s son. Last week: 1.
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Rookies rely on
experience, team
in adapting to
Nextel Cup racing
ned or concerned when I'm running around him
in practice or in the race."
Kahne has also benefited from his team,
which finished the 2003 season with Elliott as
the hottest driver on the Cup circuit.
“Right now, he is in the right stuff." said Matt
Kenseth. the reigning Cup champion and 2(XX)
Rookie of the Year. “I knew he was good all
along, and. if you put him in good stuff, he's go
ing to run good."
But a fast start won't promote a rookie to the
veteran ranks, nor strip the NASCAR-mandated
yellow stripe from the back bumper of a rookie’s
ride. And Kahne knows that.
"I try to respect those guys and what they're
doing." Kahne said. "I don't want jump in here
as a rookie and act like I know what I'm doing.
So I just try to go in there and be myself and try
to learn from those guys."
But even the best rookies are prone to mis
takes. Brian Vickers, the 2003 Busch Series
champ, and Johnny Sauter triggered this year's
version of "the Big One" during the Daytona
500. and Brendan Gaughan, winner of the past
four Craftsman Truck races at Texas Motor
Speedway, was involved in a wreck at the Sub
way 400.
3. Kurt Busch (car No. 97): Knew
he messed up by skipping pit stop at
Bristol, but stepped up to win the race
Last week: 7.
4. Jimmie Johnson (car No. 48):
Had a so-so day at Bristol. He’s here
because he's one of four drivers with a
win this year. Last week: 3.
5. Ryan Newman (car No. 12):
Team didn't get its first race win until
Texas last year either. Then it won sev
en more, Last week: 6.
6. Kevin Harvick (car No. 29): An
other team that seems to be getting its
competitive feet under it after a wiggly
start. Last week: 8.
7. Kasey Kahne (car No. 9): Poor
finish at Bristol not totally his fault,
but bad things happen to good teams,
too. Last week. 4.
B.Tony Stewart (car No. 20): At
some point somebody needs to calm
down the driver so the team can go to
work. Last week: 5.
"There are cars out there that cut down on
you." Mayfield said. “They don't understand
we're racing the leader, not each other The rook
ie who doesn't figure that out. he doesn't make it
in this sport."
NASCAR tries to help ease a rookie's devel
opment. conducting prerace meetings at each
event.
"Basically, they get a veter
an driver in there and talk to
you about the line and things
about tiie track that might jump
out and bite you." said Martin
Truex Jr, a Busch Series rookie
who drives the Dale Earnhardt
Jr.-owned No. 81 Chevrolet
Monte Carlo.
Strong teammates can also
help a rookie from sliding
down the learning curve.
"I have Rusty Wallace and
Ryan Newman as teammates,
and that takes a little more of
that curve out." said Gaughan,
who drives the No. 77 Dodge*
for Penske South Racing and
also has coaching help from
NASCAR great Buddy Baker.
"He’s supposed to be my coach all year."
Gaughan said of Baker, who also helped nurture
Newman during his ascent to Cup racing. "I lis
ten to every thing he says, and he does a great job
telling me what he wants and where he wants me
to be.... With any luck, he'll stay more than just a
year."
With the right combination of experience, tal
ent and support, rookie drivers hope they’ll last
more than a year. too.
9. Jamie McMurray (car No. 42):
Showed some spunk at Bristol race.
That was OK. but he doesn't want to
make a habit of it. Last week: 11.
10. Sterling Marlin (car No. 40):
Quietly putting together a good start to
this season. Nothing flashy, but very
solid. Last week: 15.
H"B| For the rest of the top-40
M M rankings, go online and visit
J www.thatsracin.com.
FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS Frld»y, April 2,2004
SAMSUNG/RADIO SHACK 500 .
Where: Texas Motor Speedway, a 1,5-mile
paved banked tri-oval located in Fort Worth,
Texas.
When: Sunday at 1 p.m.
(all times ET). Qualifying is
4:10 p.m. Friday. I 4
TV: Fox.
Radio: Performance Rac- I
ing Network.
Purse: $6,812,841. » x ' kJ
Last year's winner: Ryan Mx
Newman.
Also this week: Nextel Newman >* '
Cup driver Kevin Harvick '
leads the Busch Series standings but is not run- •
ning in Saturday’s race at Texas. That will leave
second- place David Green as the series de facto,
points leader. Martin Truex Jr., who earned his <
first series win last weekend, is 11 points behind ,
Green. ?
THIS WEEK’S QUESTION .
Should Dale Earnhardt Jr. be penalized
for admittedly spinning out to bring the . „• ,
yellow flag in the 2004 Food City 500? - z t
Cast your vote at:
H'ww. thatsracin.com
LAST WEEK’S QUESTION
A potential lawsuit settlement in Texas
could mean two fewer races in the
Carolinas. Darlington and Rockingham
would share one race, with each track . •
running every other year.
What’s the right thing to do?
Number of votes : 7,686 , ~
Go back to two races 5,345 70% ,
every season at each.
That rotation would work. 1,013 13%
Drop Rockingham race. 838 11%
Drop races at both tracks. 3*4 4%
Drop Darlington race 146 2%
■"JI HLiX!aJmJKXJHHLi"b
RANDOMTHOUGHTS
A list of who's hot and who’s not in Winston.
Cup racing.
WHO’S HOT
■ Matt Kenseth is the only driver with five
top-10 finishes in 2004.
■ Sterling Marfin has climbed from 37th to .
10th in points since Daytona.
WHO’S NOT
■ Four of the six rookies Johnny
Sauter. Brendan Gaughan. Brian Vickers and
Scott Riggs are 25th or lower in points.
■ Casey Mears has dropped from 1 Oth to •J*
23rd in points over the past three races.
■ Elliott Sadler is the only driver in the top.*?
10 in points w ho has not led at least one lap this**
season.
Jim Utter
The top-40 drivers as of March 28:
Rank/Drtver Point* Rank/Drtver Points
1. M. Kenseth (17).. 898 21. T Labonte (5).... 638
2. K. Busch (97) ...877 22. D. Jarrett (88)... .612
3. D. Earnhardt Jr. (8). 857 23. C. Mears (41)... 606
4. T. Stewart (20)... 804 24. R. Gordon (31)... 579.
5. R. Newman (12). . 788 25. J. Sauter (30).... 578
6. J. Johnson (48). . 785 26. B. Gaughan (77). . 555- »
7. K. Harvick (29).... 773 27. K. Schrader (49). 524
8. J. Mayfield (19) .. 764 28. B. Vickers (25).... 507
9. E. Sadler (38).... 757 29. K. Petty (45) 506
10.S.Marlin(40) . ..727 30.J.8urt0n(99) 500
11. K.Kahne(9) ... 722 31.R.Craven(32) ...494
12. J. Gordon (24)... 721 32.R.Rudd(21) .... 480
13. B.Labonte(lß). .708 33.J.Green(43)....477
14. J. McMurray (42) .684 34.M.Waltrip(15).. . 456
15. M. Martin (6) 677 35.5. Riggs(lo).... 434
16. G Biffle (16) 675 36. D. Cope (50) 432
17. R. Wallace (2) .. . 665 37. K. Lepage (4).... 426
18. S. Wimmer (22) .655 38. D. Blaney (23).... 248
19. J. Nemechek (01) 650 39. J. Andretti (1) 205
20. W. Burton (22). . 647 40. K. Shelmerdne (72)200
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