All-star showdown set for November Santerre likely to lead Busch North team

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The Busch North series drivers will be in the spotlight on Nov. 6-8 for the inaugural Toyota All-Star Showdown at Irwindale (Calif.) Speedway.

The top 15 finishers in the Busch North series points standings will square off against the top 15 in the Winston West series.

Among the competitors will be Cherryfield’s Andy Santerre, who has all but sewn up his second straight Busch North points championship

Following twin 50-lap qualifying races on Friday, Nov. 7, there will be a 125-lap feature the following night.

There will be a 100-lap team segment in which the Busch North drivers will compete against the Winston West drivers for series bragging rights and an extra $1,000 per driver.

Points will be awarded based on each driver’s finish and the series with the best combined finishes among its 15 drivers will win the team segment.

The team segment will then be replaced by a 25-lap shootout that will earn the winner a $25,000 check.

Irwindale Speedway is a half-mile super speedway.

“It’s going to be real exciting,” said Scarborough’s Kelly Moore. “It’ll be all-out. It’s a go-for-broke type of thing. It’ll be a dogfight.”

Moore also said it is his understanding that they will invert the top 10 finishers from the 100-lapper for the 25-lapper.

There will be $500,000 in purse money and Moore pointed out that each driver is guaranteed a minimum of $6,000.

“And if our series wins [the team segment], each driver will be guaranteed at least $7,000,” explained Moore.

“It’s a big deal. It will be good for both series,” said Santerre.

“It’s a brand new facility and the facility is supposed to be great. It should be real good. It’s going to be a vacation for us,” added Santerre.

The race will be shown live on Speed Channel and that’s another plus, according to Moore and Santerre.

“It will be good exposure for the tour and for our sponsors and it gives us another venue to race at,” said Moore. “Our races are usually shown on tape delay and you don’t get as big an audience as you get for a live race because people already know who won.”

“Maybe people will follow us more [after seeing us race],” Santerre added.

Santerre said the only negative aspect is the Winston West drivers won’t have as far to travel and will be used to the track.

“A neutral site might have been better, like at a track in Florida,” said Santerre.

Santerre and Moore had slightly different views concerning the cancellation of Friday’s MBNA America 150 at Dover (Del.) due to Hurricane Isabel.

“I’m not as disappointed as the other guys because I’m in the catbird seat with the big point lead,” said Santerre, who has a 173-point lead over second-place Mike Stefanik.

Moore is third, only 25 points behind Stefanik.

“But, in a way, I’m disappointed. The season is coming to an end and Dover is one of the best tracks we get to race on. I had a car built just for Dover. I would have liked to see how it would have run,” said Santerre.

“I’m disappointed,” said Moore. “We need as many chances as we can to get back to the front. It is a one in a thousand shot [to catch Santerre]. The thing right now is we have a real strong chance to get second.”

Moore said he also had a new car as did his son, Ryan, who is eighth in points and will be the Busch North rookie of the year.

Moore said his son will run a Winston West race at California Speedway in Fontana, Calif., the weekend before the Toyota Showdown.

Evernham encouraged by Dodge

Ray Evernham was one of the premier crew chiefs in the Winston Cup series. Evernham and Jeff Gordon teamed up to win 47 races and claim the points championship in 1995, ’97, and ’98.

In 2000, he undertook the challenge of helping Dodge re-enter the Winston Cup series. He is the Evernham Motorsports team manager and car owner for Bill Elliott and Jeremy Mayfield, who are 15th and 25th in the points standings, respectively.

“We’re coming along well,” said Evernham. “Probably a lot better than our finishes have showed. Overall, the Dodge program is strong. We’re probably not getting the job done as much as we need to, but, in reality, what we’ve built for the future is very strong.

“Our organization is built. We’re starting to build our own cars. We build our own motors. We’ve got a lot of good things that we’ve laying a foundation for the past two or three years. It’s really starting to work for us.”

He said Dodge has been “great” in its support for the program.

“They’re committed to the sport. They’re helping not only here in Winston Cup but they’re working hard on the grass roots level with the weekly short track series. Dodge, in general, has been great for motorsports in America,” Evernham added.

He admitted he has missed being a crew chief, “but I’m sure other guys who have retired from being quarterbacks miss that, too. There comes a time in your life when you’ve just got to move on.”