Petty Enterprises announced recently Chad McCumbee and John Andretti will drive the No.45 Marathon/Wells Fargo/Tire Kingdom Dodge for five races this summer for Kyle Petty as he steps out the car to commentate five NASCAR races for TNT.

"I'm very grateful to Chad and John for lending their talents behind the wheel," said Kyle Petty. "We are fortunate to have Chad and John available to make that happen."

"Chad is a talented, young driver that we are keeping our eye on," said Executive Vice President of Race Operations Robbie Loomis. "Pocono will be his first race for us, but Chad isn't going to be a stranger to our cars. He will be testing for us and helping us get better. We feel that he has shown a lot of promise in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. We are looking forward to help him learn and continue his move up the NASCAR ranks."

Chad McCumbee, 22, started his quest at age 10 go-carting, excelled at Late Model racing and at 19 driver/actor McCumbee assumed the role of a young Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the 2004 ESPN movie "3". The Supply, N.C., resident will now race Dale Earnhardt Jr. at Pocono in the No. 45 Dodge.

McCumbee is currently in his second season behind the wheel for Green Light Racing in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

McCumbee learned from and drove for ARCA veterans Andy Hillenburg of Fast Track Racing School and long-time standout Andy Belmont. He has been paying attention and in the process he may have paid his dues early in his career.

McCumbee may look like a choir boy, talk like a promoter and act humbly like a savvy veteran, but when young McCumbee puts on a helmet, steps into a cockpit and straps into a race seat - the innocent look blinks to steely focus.

Get to know McCumbee much like most people get to know anyone - through repeated encounters. Zoomster.com presents portions of three McCumbee interview venues garnered over two seasons from the most recent in Spring 2007 to oldest moment during the 2005 season. If you don't know McCumbee, we're proud to introduce a rising talent. If you know of McCumbee please enjoy his fresh and sincere words.

INTERVIEW THREE
McCumbee and Belmont simultaneous Interview
Time: March 2007
Track: Lakeland International Speedway
Interviewer: Dwight Drum

Andy Belmont

Can you identify the common hurdles you must overcome routinely as a driver at the ARCA level?
"I think the biggest thing is the level of competition, modern day, the bar is getting raised so high that I think the best way to explain it is we're on 'kill' now more. It used to be in a modified that you had 20 laps to get from the back to the front and here you had a longer race. Well, now the race is qualifying. You've got to be on your game from the time you come off the truck. I think the intensity level have stepped up a whole bunch over when my dad and uncle raced in the 40's. The intensity level is much higher than it's ever been. Of course that raises the bar."

Chad McCumbee

What common hurdles do you have during a routine week of racing?
"When you unload these things you've got to be right. It used to be if you were off a little bit take a mediocre car and still salvage a top five or a top ten. I'm not saying you can't still do that but it would make it a lot tougher this year. I just see it getting worse. Not worse, I guess it's better for the fans but it get a little frustrating in the seat sometimes, but it just makes you better. It kind of goes back to running with the veterans when you surround yourself with better drivers and better equipment, it only makes you better. And in time that makes everybody better so. I think in the next couple years, especially in the ARCA RE/MAX Series with the way the Cup guys stepping up to the new car, I think there's going to be a lot of competition in this series. This series will probably get a lot more attention than it's had in years past."

Andy Belmont

Do you think drivers have changed any in the decades you have raced?
"I don't think so. They're a little bit younger but you still got to have your foot in the radiator and you still got to do all the right things with the pedals, you know. They're just getting a much younger start than we all did. Used to be the kids that made it started in the go-carts and they were the exception to the rule. Now, everybody's kids are in carting, everybody's kids are in quarter midgets. All three of my little ones are in it. You get brought up in it. It's a different thing now. As far as a basic driver, I don't think so. I think they're just as tough now."

Chad McCumbee

Is age a factor in racing these days?
"You look at guys like Frank Kimmel is still winning races. These people know how to drive race cars and that's where I learned from. I'm not just jumping in my truck and go racing. I had the fortunate opportunity a couple times in a couple different tracks last year to follow Ron Hornaday for the first 20 laps. I learned more in those 20 laps than I learned running three races not around him. Them guys can definitely get it done and it doesn't matter how old you are. You'll see trends in the sport where one guy will go after a young guy and will have success and then everybody will go after a young people. Then a guy will come back and say, 'We need to get a veteran' and get a veteran and the next thing you know they're successful and everybody else wants a veteran. It's just a vicious cycle sometimes and a little bit too political I guess."

Andy Belmont

INTERVIEW TWO
Time: Early Season 2007
Track: Daytona International Speedway
Interviewer: Dwight Drum

Chad McCumbee

What do you think is the best way to handle success?
"You just can't change. No matter how successful you are, you need to just keep doing what you're doing. If you change what has made you successful you're not going to continue to be successful. I guess the thing to say there is you just got to be yourself and not be somebody different once you are successful and just striving for more. You can never do good enough in my eyes. You just got to keep after it and want more and more."

Speaking of achievement hunger, can you describe the drive that racers have inside? Do you acquire it or bring it here?
"Oh yeah, I think you bring it with you. The sport is something you love and you just have to a strong passion for it. You're going to go harder. You can never settle for second. You've always got to do the best you can and always want more when you win. You want to win the next week. You win that week, you want to win the following. You can never be good enough in my eyes. I'd rather be the best you can be. In the short time I've been in the big cars and trucks we've always been with the under-funded stuff. We've got a lot of attention for it lately because we've been competing with these guys with the big bucks. I think the reason we're doing that is everybody involved wants it. We put in long hours at the shop and we put in a lot of effort and it shows. Here in Daytona I didn't qualify all that well, but I think we'll race half way decent just because we all want it. If the guys get that thing driving good and if I have determination to drive up through there, that's what it takes. If you put together a bunch of solid finishes then you win championships."

Is there any way to carry momentum season to season, race to race?
"It's important to try to keep one group of guys together. In this sport the turnover rate a lot of times with teams, especially in the ARCA Series and even in the truck series. Most crew members want to move up also. If you can keep a group of guys together that everybody knows what everybody does. It keeps momentum going. A lot of times it helps to keep momentum going at the end of the season. All guys are pumped up for the next year. Everybody is better. Every body is learning more. It really helps the whole program."

INTERVIEW ONE
Time: Early Season 2005
Track: Daytona International Speedway
Interviewer: Dwight Drum

Chad McCumbee

What impressed you most about being cast as Dale Junior in the ESPN movie "3"?
"It was just a cool experience to see something like that from behind-the-scenes. There's so much going on, tons of people out there and all of them do something. All are key parts. You got cameramen, people running everywhere. When they are filming, all of them are such an important part. The coolest thing was just the experience."

Do you feel you look like Junior as a young guy?
"Not really. People would say something to me about that before I did the movie but I guess there were enough similarities compared to not being able to find anybody else. Mainly the accent and along with the racing background and I guess that's perfect."

What do you like best about your job?
"Right now. It's just the thrill. This is what I want to do. How can you beat this job? If you have a job that you have fun and enjoy doing, it's just awesome. This what I want to do and if I can make a career out of it and make money doing it and live off of having fun then that's awesome."

Do you get your confidence from other people or do you get confidence out on the track?
"I'm a humble guy and I'm going to be. You never can think that somebody can't go faster because they will. I'd say Andy has more confidence in me than anybody. He's shown that by giving me this opportunity and just showing his faith in me. I think I can do the job for him and if I can't we'll fix it, figure it out and make it happen. I'm confident about this year and I'm really looking forward to it. I know we've got good equipment here and a great bunch of guys. If I do my job and everybody does theirs, we're going to have a really good year."

You have at least two parts to your job, one is driving another is talking. I think you're doing well at the talking part already.
"In the movie they rehearse. Probably not. I'm actually a super shy guy. I really am. Before I did that movie, I would sit back and watch a movie and see that's not something I would do. How do these people do that? There's a reason for everything, in my opinion. There's a reason for that movie and there's a reason we're talking right now."