Tell me about the Busch Series???

[Logger]

My all time hero driver (Marcos Ambrose) is going into the nascar Busch series this year after what seems a pretty good rookie year in the truck series. Can someone tell me about the Busch series,drivers- points-how many cars in a race? How do they qualify? How tough is this series? Juan PAblo Montoya is also in it this year fresh from being kicked out of formula 1. How will he go?

If Ambrose goes to form you will see flashes of brilliance this season and from nex season on he will be a major talking point. If there are any roadraces in the series he will have to be a major contender after being Australian V8 supercar Champion 2 years in a row all on road and street courses. The boy will feature in Qualifying frequently and might even manage a top 10 early in the season. He is that good!!

[Cripplecreek]

Go to nascar.com, it's a great site and covers Busch sereies and Craftsman trucks. With a lot of Nextel regulars running every week it's extremely tough: Kevin Harvick had the series wrapped up with about 5 races to go last year. IMO they should have 2 champions: 1 trophy for the Nextel/busch drivers and 1 for those that run busch only. To many former Nextel guys are dropping back and using Busch and the trucks to retire, look at Martin and Benson in trucks. I think it would be cool if Nascar did like golf and had a senior series for guys like martin and Shrader and let the Busch series and trucks be more what it used to be; a learning experience and a stepping stone to Nextel. The buzz around here is our local hero David Reutimann is full time Nextel this season...Go David!

[Mr. Ford95]

Logger, Ambrose did a fine job last year from the midpoint of the season on in the Truck Series.

Busch Series is no longer easy going. The Cup guys use it as an extra practice under race conditions to see what they will need for their race the following day. Everything is basically the same as what he had in the Truck Series as far as points and qualifying. About the only difference besides the vehicles, he will not be up against 36 trucks, but 43 cars instead. Little less real estate out there to work with with the extra 7 cars. The truck series is rather easy going and much like what the Busch Series used to be. Nowadays, the Busch Series is very rough and tumble with how close it is to having a good day or bad day with your chassis setup.

I wouldn't always look at what a driver does in the Busch Series though. 4 Time Cup Champ Jeff Gordon didn't blow the field away during his time there, nor did 2 Time Cup Champ Tony Stewart who struggled to do good. Current Cup Champ Jimmie Johnson didn't fare so well either and Kurt Busch never even raced in the Busch Series but he has won a Cup Title. Brian Vickers on the other hand did real well, won a few races and a Busch Title but has struggled in Cup with just 1 win over his couple of seasons in the series.

Any type of former road racer will always fair very well on the road courses and the Busch Series will go to 3 this year, ??Hermanez Rodriguez?? in Mexico City, ??Giles Villenueve?? in Canada and Watkins Glen in New York. The first 2 are a road racer's haven with how technical they are while Watkins Glen is not about being finesse, it's about being downright mean with the car there. The top Cup guys are supposed to be driving in the Canada race, meaning Jeff Gordon(the best road racer ever in NASCAR,) Tony Stewart may be given the call(2nd best) and Earnhardt Jr who has done well some but not always. Gordon and Stewart and destroyed some of the best who road raced every day. Ambrose will have a ball against them.

[Mack2]

How about Robby Gordon he is a heck of a road racer along with Menard.

Also just saw that Ward was going to run 20 Bush races this season.

[Mr. Ford95]

Robby is real good, the problem is, he either outdrives his equipment or he just has horrible luck. He had a race won at Infineon only to go driving over his head and trying to race a lapped car. Ended up nearly wrecking and at the same time allowed the 2nd place driver(Tony Stewart) slip by during his off track excursion. Had another one at Watkins Glen in the bag until the electrical system shorted out for the in-car video the TV guys were using. Caused a heck of a fire in the car. This past year in the Busch race at the Glen, he outdrove his equipment and nearly won the race but also nearly wrecked twice in the last 3 laps. Robby is not a finesse driver, he hammers the car into the corners, kinda like the old days of bootlegging. His way works though.

Haven't seen much of Menard, his career has been an on and off type deal. We will see this year though, he is running the #15 in Cup.

[heavenbound]

Very well said Mr. Ford, he is very good at the road courses, he is a great driver in that aspect, just don't see him going much farther in the series.

To me he has a temper, but dealing with running your own team and wanting better finishes, well, i'd be upset to not having the money to be supported like the top teams.

[Mr. Ford95]

Robby has the potential to make a big leap this year with his switch to Fords. He will see better factory support than what he was getting with Chevy. Ford will have just Yates/Roush who have a partnership with one another and RGM. They are committed to getting back on even par with Chevy so they will throw Robby as much help as he needs. At Chevy, he was behind Hendrick, DEI, Childress and Gibbs, so he got whatever was left over. Remember though, Robby has found a groove on the ovals, he won at Loudon, he nearly won at Richmond twice, once after falling 3 laps down and finishing in the Top 5. He won't have to worry about a DEI engine that has been de-tuned this year, he will see a strong Ford powerplant in there from Yates.

Watch out though, he may become a major theat very very soon. He is planning to expand to 3 cars within the next year, right now he has just 1, his car.

[Logger]

What about Marcos` team- Wood Brothers Racing. Where do they fit into the scheme of things?Are they capable of giving him a decent car and crew to assist with his driving and set up skills? Have they had decent results in the past or is it way past?

Marcos was driving for a couple of New Zealand Expats Stone Brothers Racing guys who eat breathe and drink racing. He knows the score when it comes to team work and family run business but are these guys Has beens,never beens or are they on their way to the top? I know I can look at the website for answers but I generally find that the PR guy has a way of either missing out important stuff or makes coming last in the championship for 25 years into a positive (y know what I mean?)

Cheers

Calum

[Mr. Ford95]

He is with a good group of guys in the Woods Brothers. They have been around since the inception of NASCAR and know what they are doing. Jon Wood, the grandson and future of that team has done decent in the Busch Series with their equipment. Ambrose could get them a win at the road courses with his experience. That would go a long ways to helping the team get back to the front. They have moved to the NASCAR hub of Charlotte, NC after being one of only 2 Cup teams NOT based there. They have slowly made some improvements after falling way behind the times due to not being around all the other teams. They used to be a powerhouse with drivers like David Pearson(2nd winningest driver is NASCAR history.) A number of Champs have driven for them over some period in their career. BUT, they quickly fell behind the times as the sport innovated during the 1990's while they kept plugging along doing what worked back in the 1970's. They will be patient with him and give him what he needs to succeed but do not expect him to go out and kick tail right away.