As I have stated in other articles, racing is an evolution. NASCAR has, for years, hunted the perfect lead-in series for the Busch Series, and Cup. In the 70’s somebody had the idea of starting the Daytona Dash Series, basically an American Mini Sedan Series with Vegas, Pintos and that sort. The concept was appealing to the manufactures, but as many times in the history of NASCAR great ideas lack-luster execution. All Pro, Busch North, Winston West, Daytona Dash and even the Sportsman

Series all suffered the same fate; no TV, poor purses, it was like they wanted it, but they didn’t. For years young drivers have asked me what is the path of success, what do I do to prepare for Cup? It all happens in stages. Sonny Hawkins, a car builder/racer once explained that young racers should first learn to drive, second learn to race and third learn to win

Now my two cents: Start as young as you can, go-karts, ATV’s, motorcycles, BMX Bikes, anything to build confidence. All forms of competition can help, just understanding their surroundings is critical. How to pass, run close to other competitors, vehicle control, go-karts seem to be the first choice of many. There are a lot of tracks, equipment is available, is relatively inexpensive and is less intimidating than motorcycles. Most prefer to start on dirt, but it’s best not to dwell there. Go-karts on dirt, contrary to popular belief, don’t teach kid’s to drive loose cars. Dirt does help with confidence and is extremely forgiving; throttle control along with the art of driving a tight or pushing kart is all that comes from dirt. Once the driver gets his confidence and starts to run consistently upfront, get them on asphalt. The intensity level on asphalt is 10 times, speed, car control, handling, basic engineering, tire technology, engine tuning, etc… I once had a student that had multiple dirt championships and over 100 feature wins on dirt. His crew chief himself and team were sharp, well funded, best of equipment, their team had evolved to the engine tuning, tire management, even building libraries of information at each track throughout the east coast. When I suggested that asphalt was more intense, they all were insulted. “I can drive a loose car better than anybody.” I quickly stated that you can manhandle a tight kart; I challenged him to bring his best game and spank those boys at the asphalt track. Monday morning they walked into class like somebody stole their dog. The driver said, “We were out to lunch. Those boys forgot more than we know. We are going to have to step up our game to win on asphalt; I thought there was nothing left for me as a driver on karts! I was wrong.” In less than 10 weeks, they won their first race on the black top. It took new spindles for the kart, their championship dirt motors wouldn’t even keep up, their tire game became critical, the driver actually learned the difference between tight and loose. “I wasted 100 feature wins on dirt; if I had it to do over I would have made the change the minute we won races consistently” added the driver. People like to win, drivers like to dominate, team owners like the exposure, but you have a short time to get there. Once you learn to win at any level it’s time to challenge the senses again. Mini stocks on dirt are the same. Asphalt cars teach different traits, horsepower to tire contact, patch ratios, establish the progression. Legend cars, USAC Focus cars, Midgets, all teach drivers to manage traction and handling characteristics with high horsepower to tire ratios. Stock cars all have different combinations of horsepower, tires, aero packages and components. In the early days you would here the hot drivers come from ASA series, the truth was that the talent was entering into the series because of their backgrounds. Rusty Wallace, Mark Martin, Johnny Benson, Alan Kulwicki all ran Saturday night shows with late model cars in the mid west. The next step was a familiar touring series. In the South the Late Model Sportsman series regulars also ran Saturday night shows; Harry Gant, Dale Earnhardt, Morgan Shepherd, Tommy Ellis, Dale Jarrett, Darrell Waltrip.

In 1982 the NASCAR Busch Series started, this series would be the primary feeder series for Cup. Characteristics of the two series almost set the value of the talent. The Late Model Sportsman cars were basically clones of the Cup cars, big spring, truck arm, 3200 lb., steel bodied, Detroit Locker, 10 inch tired racecars give drivers direct and relative experience. The ASA driers were driving similar cars but the evolution of that series took the cars away from the Cup mold. Cars had fiberglass bodies, high down force, exotic chassis, 11-inch soft tires with spool differentials. Although the ASA drivers had experience and all were winners, the transition took longer because of the car they evolved from. In the end of 1984 I got the opportunity to work for Osterland Racing which sold out to Blue Max Racing, the team that Tim Richmond drove for from 1983 to 1985. Many of the team members felt that Richmond was a great driver but his inexperience explained 11 totaled cars stacked out back of the shop. Everybody felt that Richmond was going somewhere else at the end of 1985. Even though I joined another team, many of my friends that still worked for Blue Max said that they were debating hiring Rusty Wallace, that had been recently released form Cliff Stewart’s team. Word from in the team was the debate was over Rusty’s background, many felt that Rusty might end up being another Tim Richmond - tearing up cars fro a couple of years then jumping to another team. Team leader at the time, Harold Elliott set down with the team and basically decided to teach Rusty what he needed to know. Harold, Barry Dodson, Jimmy Makar and many other top profiled team members put a plan in motion. They headed to Atlanta to the last race of the year with tow trailers full of cars and parts. The plan was to shorten the learning process for driver along with the team. Harold explained later to me that they made a series of runs making changes every time making sure the change related in Rusty’s mind. Different gears, carburetors, tires, set-ups, exhaust systems, engine timing; the team put it all out there and like a sponge Rusty absorbed it all. The team won its first race in April of 198.6

The moral of the story is; you have to be willing to change to the environment that you plan to survive in. There is an explanation for the success of every driver, some just have God given talents, some have to learn that they have the talent; some even have to mature into it. Some racers even make the resolution that if they cannot make it to Cup the will stay were they are the most successful. In today’s motorsports industry, time and money are critical in the path of success. As a driver starts to mature it is critical that they reach their levels of success and move on. NASCAR Late Model Stockcars that took the place of the Late Model Sportsman cars that became Busch Cars have provided a learning ground for many Busch and Cup drivers. Dale Jr., Jeff and Ward Burton, Dennis Setzer, Elliot Sadler, Mike Skinner, Denny Hamlin, Danny O’Quinn, Jeff Green, Scott Riggs, Brain Vickers all came from the LMSC ranks. These cars mirror the Busch and Cup cars, the mechanics are the same. NASCAR started the Sportsman series with the purpose of giving experience on the 1 ½ mile tracks to the LMSC drivers. This also opened the door from many other drivers; Todd Bodine, Jack Sprague, Rob Huffman, Chad Chaffin all got experience from the Sportsman series. When NASCAR abandoned the Sportsman concept USAR stepped up with the Hooters ProCup series. This gave competitors, that couldn’t afford the Busch series, a car that would be a stepping-stone to the next level. Jon Wood, Ricky Hendricks, Brian Vickers, Regan Smith, Shane Huffman, Danny O’Quinn, Kertus Davis, Mark McFarland, Clay Rogers all ran the USAR series. Today many NASCAR teams use Hooters as a developmental proving ground for other series, Joe Gibbs, Tony Stewart, Dale Jr. have all put cars in the mix. Woody Howard, Shelby Howard, Shane Wallace, Joey Legano, Matt Carter, Ken Butler III, Brett Butler, Gabe DiCarlo , Cameron Dodson all have ties to Cup, Busch or Craftsman Truck teams. My choice in the evolution for your drivers is a stop along the way in ProCup. The 250 lap races are 1-day shows following closely the rules and format of the three premium NASCAR touring events. Each event has a mandatory pit stop, an inspection process that includes pre-race and post-race tear-downs, two lap qualifying, the cars are similar in down force, weight the same, run big springs, truck arms, similar shock configurations, radical tires, all the things that give drivers premium exposure. ProCup also will let drivers race at young ages, some at 14 years. It’s got my nod!!

If your son is the next Joe Earnhardt you need to put a plan in motion, be prepared to make your investment and it is an investment, if you follow the path. Don’t loose site of the end-result, if you get a chance to take a short cut to the next level take it. Remember most kids fall through the crack when parents look back at the stuff they own instead of the stuff they have to buy to move on. The more levels you create the more you will spend in time and money. Investment, investment, investment!!! Clyde Vickers once told the press that he spent millions getting Brian to the point of being hired by Ricky Hendricks but with one signature, Brian balanced out the account.