Santerre
Goes It Alone
In Busch North
Driver
travels 700 miles to race here
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Associated
Press
Andy Santerre's lone Grand National victory came at Pikes Peak (Colo.)
International Raceway in July 1999. By LARRY OTT - 6/27/2002
When
someone makes a living driving a race car, he must travel to each
race with a mind-set of putting food on the table. In the case of
Andy Santerre, it's true even if it means driving a racing hauler
about 700 miles from Charlotte, N.C., to Holland Speedway for Saturday's
NASCAR Busch North Series (BNS) Gernatt 150.
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Santerre, a native of Cherryfield, Maine, who resides in Charlotte,
has raced the last few seasons in both NASCAR's BNS and Busch Grand
National (BGN) divisions. With no BGN sponsor in sight, and with
solid backing in the BNS, Santerre is competing this year in the
regional series rather than the Busch Grand National, which is just
a step below the Winston Cup.
"It takes about $4 million to run the Busch Grand National
series, and you can do the whole 19-race Busch North schedule for
$250,000," he said. "I tried all last year to get a sponsor
for the Busch Grand National season, but between the economy and
especially after 9-11, it became impossible. So when Les Care and
Castle stepped up to offer sponsorship for the Busch North, I took
the sure thing.
"I could be a 30th-place car in the Busch Grand National division,
but that's not what interests me."
To keep costs down, Santerre runs a skeleton operation.
"I have been making a full-time living in racing since 1993
and I do whatever I have to do to make that living. I just have
to make sure that I'm racing in a series every weekend somewhere
to make ends meet. I'm the only employee I have, and I work at the
shop on the car myself," said Santerre. "I drive the hauler
myself and have an all-volunteer pit crew based in the North that
helps me at the races. We'll all gather at Holland Saturday and
see how we do."
Santerre has a reputation as a talented and competitive driver.
"My wife, Sue, has a job here in Charlotte, and we've got a
lot of friends here so this is now home for us," said Santerre,
who drives a Chevrolet Monte Carlo. "By staying here I am also
staying close to the Busch Grand National teams, although I'm not
going to say that getting back into that series is a goal of mine."
Santerre has had a good run in the BNS this season. He won the season
opener at Lee, N.H., and followed that with a razor-close second-place
finish at Loudon, N.H. The veteran just missed another victory Friday,
when he was beaten to the checkered flag in the Carquest 150 at
Stafford, Conn., losing to Kelly Moore of Scarborough, Maine, by
.22 seconds.
In between he has had finishes of 22nd at Nazareth, Pa., 19th at
Seekonk, Mass., and third at Beech Ridge, Maine. He is third in
Busch North points with 888, trailing Matt Kobyluck (924) of Uncasville,
Conn., and Brad Leighton (902) of Center Harbor, N.H.
Santerre has 11 career Busch North triumphs and a single Grand National
victory, at Pikes Peak, Colo. Santerre began his racing career in
the Super Street class at Speedway 95 in 1989 in Bangor, Maine.
He was Super Street champion there the next season.
He raced in two Busch North races in 1992 for owner Mike O'Connor,
and the pair raced the entire 1993 campaign with Santerre finishing
10th in points and securing Rookie of the Year honors.
Santerre won his first Busch North event in 1994 at Apple Valley
(now Spencer Speedway) near Rochester. Finishes of fourth at Holland
and ninth at Watkins Glen that same season propelled him to win
the New York State Challenge Series and place third in series points.
He began his own Busch North team in 1995. His best season was 1996,
when he won four races, including Watkins Glen, and was second in
points.
In 1998, he got a shot at the Busch Grand National, driving for
Innovative Motorsports, earning Rookie of the Year. Things looked
promising for 1999, but fate got in the way at the season-opening
race at Daytona.
"I got into a crash just 18 laps into the race and broke my
right leg in six places," Santerre said. "I was out of
driving for four months. It could have been a lot longer if I was
in a cast, but they put me in a special device, and with a lot of
physical therapy the doctors got me back out as soon as was possible.
"I came back in July and won the Busch North race at Loudon,
and two weeks later I won my first and only Busch Grand National
race at Pikes Peak. In September of that year, I got released from
Innovative Motorsports. I ran a limited Busch Series schedule in
2000, teaming with Kenny Wallace. I also ran four Busch North races
that year, winning two."
Santerre likes racing at Holland and knows that he will be depending
on many friends.
"I've always found Holland an exciting track to race, and I've
done reasonably well there. This will be my first race there in
five years, but I still hold the Busch North track qualifying record
there," he said.
At Holland, Santerre has BNS finishes of fifth in 1994, third in
1995 and second in 1996.
Also gathering at Holland to challenge the Busch North stars will
be local drivers Vern Bliss and Troy Williams. Time trials begin
at 4 p.m. Holland's NASCAR Weekly Racing Series by Dodge classes
also will compete. The Gernatt 150 will cap the evening at about
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Click
HERE to view this article at buffalonews.com
Click HERE to view the post-race article
from the Buffalo News, July 1
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by Castle Products, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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