Story and photos by Dwight Drum
Web work by Gary Larsen

Like all good organizations success is often a measure of team members. The NASCAR Busch Series is a training ground for NASCAR NEXTEL Cup as well as an exciting show of stock car prowess and competition. Within our "Quick Talk" focus Zoomster.com guides you through the select thoughts of many NBS drivers.

No one can better explain what it's like to be a part of this grand series than the veterans, sophomores and rookies who compete for points on 35 race days all across the U.S. Though some of their selected words may be brief, their meaning has great weight and shows in part why their work is so popular.

Time: Early 2006
Place: Daytona International Speedway
Event: Preseason Thunder

Veterans:
Dwight asked Jamie McMurray, Kenny Wallace, Johnny Sauter, Stacy Compton, Jay Sauter, and Kurtes Davis:

Jamie McMurray

"Racing is very frustrating at times. You have a lot to lose. I compare it to golf. You can have a bad day of golf and make one good putt or have one good drive and it brings you back. Racing is the same way. If you have a couple bad races and then have that one good one and it just makes it all worthwhile."

"You get asked that a lot. It's different now. I'm not very old, but it's different now than it was when I came along. I was very fortunate. I grew up in an average family with parents that didn't have the money, the income to buy me a ride. I was very fortunate that I just kept finding the right deal. It seems now all the guys have independently wealthy families or they get picked up at age 12 by a wealthy individual to bring them along. I think what Roush has done with this "Gong Show" has been one of coolest things. We have guys who don't get other opportunities that finally get a chance. When I was coming up, I would have given anything to be able to be a part of the Gong Show."

Kenny Wallace with family fans

"What's in a good race car driver that's not in like a normal person that just works somewhere? I think the ability to overcome disappointment, fear. You know when you want to be a good race car driver, you can't win them all. Most people who are backseat coaches chew their ball team out. 'Ahh them guys ain't no good.' I think we're just a little bit different. We understand competition. Knowing what you have to do to win - a lot of sacrifices. Most people that aren't with racing they can't go out because their wife might be mad at them. If you're a family of a race car driver, it's all about the race car. That's way different than a normal guy who holds a job. He has to do what his wife tells him. A wife has to go with us and do what we have to do. There's no give and take. It's all about the race car. That's way different."

"The toughest part of the job - running bad. It's competition. You might know why you ran bad, but you don't care. It's always next week. Just running bad."

Johnny Sauter

"It's probably as much fun as they think it probably is. It's fun yet it's demanding going almost 35 weekends in a row. Obviously if we keep putting on a show for them, they're going to keep us doing what we're doing. All in all that's a pretty good tradeoff."

"I'd say about 80 percent of it is the stuff they're sitting in. They can make heroes out of guys that maybe wouldn't be heroes otherwise. It's just equipment. You've got to have good equipment."

Stacy Compton

"Probably just the travel. The racing part is fun. That's what we're all here for. The travel gets a little old sometimes. It's not bad. In all honesty we don't have a bad part time job. It's a lot better than a regular job any day of the week."

"I think all of grew up on the short tracks wanting to race. Undoubtedly the best part of the day for us, the best part of the week is when the green flag falls. We do the sponsor appearances. We do all of the things that go along with being involved with the NASCAR Busch Series. The best part of it is when you go out and they drop the green flag and you've 200 miles, 300 miles to have a little fun."

Jason Keller

"You hear about communication, but a race team is no different than a marriage, than a friendship. You have to communicate. It's not a science. It's not brain surgery. You just have to communicate. Just like a relationship or a marriage, if you start finger pointing or blaming the other person it doesn't work. The race team is no different. Successful teams take a lot of the responsibility on themselves and work together. I think the biggest thing for me is once people on the race team realize that everybody is working for the same common goal. It's not a conspiracy against each other. It seems to be a successful combination."

"We're very blessed people to be able to do what we do for a living. Most people in the stands that race for fun and for a hobby because they can't the opportunity to race for a living. I just want all the fans to know how appreciate I am of their support. Not only for myself, but for racing in general. So we can race for a living and put on a really good show for them."

Kurtes Davis

"A lot of people don't know what it's like being a race car driver. Some of them think it's like playing basketball or football or something, but I think it's a lot more intense than that. It's a lot more physical. You're using every part of your body, your mind, your eyes, your ears, your hands and feet. It's real physical. It's pretty tough."

"I guess a lot of it is fear. A lot of people can't get in these cars and get out there and do what we do. A lot of people have a lot of fear in them. People like us, we can get in there and have no fear and strap in like superman and go."