Saturday, May 13, 2006



by Al Robinson

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- The pack of contenders looking to succeed four-time title holder Andy Santerre in the newly-named NASCAR Grand National Division, Busch East Series are using the weeks leading up to the Saturday, June 10 opener at Greenville-Pickens Speedway in Greenville, S.C. to prepare for a demanding schedule which will see them race four times in 20 days covering three states on both sides of the Mason-Dixon Line to begin the campaign.

After the Greenville-Pickens opener, which debuts the new identity of the former Busch North Series, it's back to familiar ground at Stafford (Conn.) Motor Speedway just six days later. The following Saturday it's time to shuffle off to Buffalo, specifically to the Holland (N.Y.) International Speedway. The last week of the month gets no easier with a Thursday night race at Thompson (Conn.) International Speedway on June 29.

An extra motivation for