Santerre expecting Busch North win at Loudon

The NASCAR Busch Grand National and Busch North tours will be the guinea pigs this weekend.

New Hampshire International Speedway owner Bob Bahre has widened by 12 feet the areas between turns one and two and between turns three and four to create an additional racing groove, and the new surface will be showcased at the Busch 200 and Busch North 125 today.

Qualifying was held on Friday.

The Busch 200 will start at 1 p.m. today with the Busch North 125 to follow at approximately 3:30.

Cherryfield’s Andy Santerre will be one of three drivers involved in both races. Martin Truex Jr. of Mayetta, N.J., and Mike Johnson of Salisbury, Mass., will be the other two doing double duty.

Santerre will be driving a backup car belonging to Scarborough’s Joe Bessey. Bessey will also run the Busch 200.

Bessey qualified 26th on Friday and Santerre was 28th.

Two Winston Cup regulars will be running the Busch 200: Jeff Burton and Stacy Compton.

Burton is ninth in Winston Cup points and Compton is 36th. Kenny Wallace, who has run six Winston Cup races and is 42nd in points, will also be entered.

The Winston Cup series has the weekend off.

Shane Hmiel won the pole for the Busch 200.

Santerre should be one of the favorites in the Busch North races and he expects to have a good race.

He won the first Busch North race at Lee USA Speedway on April 21.

“I expect to do real well. I’m hoping to qualify in the top five, and I expect to win the race,” said Santerre, who will be driving a Chevy Monte Carlo.

Santerre was a regular on the Busch Grand National circuit two years ago and was part owner of the Santerre-Reece Motorsports team last year. But he wasn’t able to attract a primary sponsor and the team folded in October.

Santerre did run 11 races between Santerre-Reece and fill-in rides and the 1998 BGN Rookie of the Year had four top-20 finishes.

He is running the entire Busch North series this year and is looking forward to his New England return.

“I like the track. You’ve got to be smooth handling the car. It fits my driving style,” said Santerre, who is also excited about racing in front of New England fans.

He said he has won twice at Loudon.

There will be several other Maine drivers in the Busch North race, including Morrill’s Travis Benjamin, who will be driving a Ford Taurus given to him by Newburgh native and Winston Cup regular Ricky Craven.

“It’s fun to run at Loudon. With the changes to the track, it will be tricky for me. But it will be tricky for everyone else, too,” said Benjamin. “So we’ll all be in the same boat. I think I can finish in the top 15.”

Among other prominent Mainers who could be contenders in the Busch 125 are Scarborough’s Kelly Moore and Strong’s Tracy Gordon.

Jason Keller is the points leader on the Busch Grand National circuit followed by Jack Sprague and Randy LaJoie.

Keller qualified fourth, LaJoie sixth, and Sprague 12th.

Compton will go off seventh and Burton will start 17th.