Two years ago, Busch East was struggling. The expense of running a Busch East car and the paltry payouts were keeping car counts in the low 20s.

The life support system that kept the auto racing series alive was NASCAR. It was a NASCAR-sanctioned series and the most powerful body in racing wasn’t going to let it die.

The payouts still aren’t great but Busch East is in the midst of a dramatic comeback.

Thanks to the advent of cheaper spec engines and composite fiberglass bodies, drivers can save significant chunks of money: $2,000-$9,000 on the body and $15,000-$25,000 on the engines.

Lee Roy, director of the series, said 35 of the 43 cars entered in last Friday’s New England 125 at New Hampshire International Speedway were using the spec engines.

They have had an average of 40 cars on their entry lists over the first six races.

Equally important in the turnaround is the fact Nextel Cup and Busch Series teams are using the series to groom their developmental drivers.

Points leader and three-time race winner Joey Logano drives for Joe Gibbs Racing. This will be the perfect proving ground for him until he can legally (NASCAR rules) step foot in a Busch car when he turns 18.

“The real exciting part is to see the young kids and the talent that is there. And we’re seeing a great deal of knowledge coming out of the Charlotte (N.C.) area. I didn’t expect the number of [developmental] drivers. It’s exciting and, from what I’m hearing, it’s going to be even more exciting next year,” said Roy.

The series has expanded dramatically from a northeast tour to an east-southeast-midwest series.

They’ve eliminated several of the small tracks in the northeast due to a lack of seating.

They had first-time races in Minnesota and Iowa this season and will have also have races in Tennessee and Ohio. There have already been races in South Carolina and Virginia.

“They’re getting a chance to run at some great old tracks and some beautiful tracks,” said Roy.

The series has also offered culturals diversity. There are three Mexican drivers, a couple of black drivers, a Belgian and a female driver.

The Busch East and West series are crucial links in the NASCAR chain and NASCAR has been very supportive, according to Roy.

The Busch East and West series are the equivalent of Double A baseball. It is where the top young prospects receive their first significant challenges against their peers.

The Busch series is like Triple A baseball in that there are a lot of major leaguers involved.

In NASCAR, they are called Buschwackers and it refers to Nextel Cup regulars. That makes it tough on young drivers.

Cup regular Kevin Harvick easily won the 2006 Busch points championship and another Cup regular, Carl Edwards, is cruising to the title this year.

Roy said the Busch East series has a “great TV package” between HDNet and the Speed Network that gives them a lot of valuable exposure.

They don’t receive TV revenue but Roy said “hopefully, that will change.”

Roy said the only difficult part is that “what we knew as Busch North is gone. The flavor is gone and we’re going to lose some mom and pop teams. I’m going to miss that.

“But, at the same time, what’s coming and what is here is exciting,” said Roy.

Larry Mahoney can be reached at 990-8231, 1-800-310-8600 or by email at lmahoney@bangordailynews.net.