Busch East drives in a new direction - Sean Caisse

Busch East drives in a new direction
The Buffalo News
By Keith McShea
June 22, 2006

When NASCAR's regional racing series makes its annual stop Saturday at Holland International Speedway, it will be in a different direction.

No, the drivers won't be making right turns rather than left ones around the paved 3/8-mile oval. The change is in the name of the series: known as Busch North for its 19 previous seasons, it has become the Busch East. It's just one change meant to ensure the survival of a circuit which was getting too expensive for its teams and tracks. The series also has some new tracks and new guidelines for equipment and racing.

"NASCAR took a good look at it and realized that it was in serious need of a makeover," said Andy Santerre, longtime Busch North driver and now team owner. "It worked for a lot of years, but the past couple of seasons things were dwindling, and that was attributed to cost."

Santerre has seen the expenses for running a Busch North team rise from $150,000 in 1993 - when Santerre was the Busch North's Rookie of the Year - to $500,000. Santerre, who had a stint in the NASCAR Busch series which included Rookie of the Year honors in 1998, returned to Busch North to win four straight titles from 2002 to 2005. This year his career has gone full-oval as he's become the team owner for Sean Caisse.

"We're running a Busch Series-type car, but we're only getting around $8,000 to win," said Santerre. "In a Busch Series race, you're getting $40,000-50,000 to win. And other than having different tires, the cars are just as expensive. NASCAR did listen to teams. We've been preaching that we need to find a cheaper way to run."

NASCAR instituted changes in the engines and body of the cars in an effort to keep costs down, introducing a spec engine (a uniform, low-cost engine for all drivers to use) and a less expensive composite fiberglass body as opposed to a sheet metal body. Those changes - which initially combine to save about $25,000 - will kick in for the entire series next season; Saturday night's field of cars will mostly be the same as previous years.

"Hopefully in the next year and a half you'll see a lot more cars," said Santerre. "This year not a lot has changed, but it's a step in right direction. It's a cost-effective deal. NASCAR has really made an effort to make this work, and this is the first rung on the ladder, a building year. Hopefully it will turn around."

The series, which averaged 18 races in the previous six seasons, is down to 11. Its debut was a race that certainly necessitated the series' name change - it was in Greenville, S.C. The racing action has also gotten a boost with Busch East's double-file restarts, a change that began midway through last season and gives pursuers a better chance to catch the leader. In two races, the series has had 15 lead changes; last year's Holland race had winner Mike Stefanik leading all 150 laps.

Caisse, who was the Busch North rookie of the year last season, recorded a series first by winning this season's first two events (at Greenville and Stafford, Conn.). The 20-year-old native of Pelham, N.H., is hopeful that of moving up the NASCAR ladder like other Busch North drivers have done in the past.

The Busch North's most famous alum is probably former Nextel Cup driver Ricky Craven. The track record at Holland is owned by current Cup driver and former Busch champion Martin Truex Jr. Ryan Moore, who won the series' top rookie honor in 2003, just moved into a full-time ride on the Craftsman Trucks series.

"Sean's goal is the Busch series, and ultimately the Cup series, and this is a stepping stone," said Santerre. "If he wins some more races and gets noticed by the right guys, that might mean getting a Busch Series ride. For the guys that want to make it, this is the only type of car at a local level that basically has the same chassis as a Cup car. If you have aspirations of racing in NASCAR, you have to learn how to work on them and race them. This series is very important."

Arcade native Troy Williams will participate in Saturday's race - he just doesn't yet know if it will be as a team owner or a driver. Williams has worked with NASCAR's diversity program to help field teams with top Mexican drivers in the Busch Grand National and Busch East series, and a sponsorship deal may bring in Mexican Carlos Pardo to drive the TW Motorsports entry.