Cherryfield’s Andy Santerre labeled it a “huge jump.”

But Santerre said he is “very happy” with the way things have gone in his first season on the NASCAR Grand National Busch South series.

He is coming off his best finish in the seven races to date, an 11th in the Moore’s Snacks 250 at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tenn. He qualified sixth, which was also a personal best.

The 29-year-old Santerre claimed his first Raybestos Rookie of the Race Award and leads Raybestos’ Rookie of the Year points standings. He is 19th in driver points.

“Things are going well. Everybody is doing good. The team is jelling. We’re doing our own pit stops now. We had hired Winston Cup crews for the first few races. But the crew has caught up and they can change four tires and put fuel in the car in 24 seconds now. That’s just five seconds or so slower than the Winston Cup crews,” explained Santerre. “I’ve learned a ton and I’m learning more every week.”

He gets more comfortable with every lap.

“It hasn’t been easy, that’s for sure,” added Santerre. “Qualifying is the hardest. Racing isn’t as bad. You have 50 cars trying to qualify and the cars are separated by hundredths of a second. It’s tough to make the field.”

Santerre has qualified for six of the seven races.

He is still adjusting to the tracks and prefers the small tracks like Bristol and the upcoming Hickory Motor Speedway in Hickory, N.C.

“I feel comfortable at the short tracks. That’s where I cut my teeth [in Maine]. I can be a contender at those tracks,” said Santerre.

He said the adjustment from Busch North to Busch South has been complicated by the fact “the corner speeds are a lot greater, the tracks have higher banks and the radial tires have a lot more side grip. The bias ply tires are a lot more forgiving. When you lose the grip on the radial tires, you’re going to stick or spin out.

“Tire wear is a big factor down here. In most races, you’re only allowed two [extra] sets of tires,” added Santerre, who blew a tire at Darlington [S.C.] two weeks ago and wound up hitting the wall.

“That wasn’t a lot of fun. I’m still sore after that deal,” said Santerre.

Santerre, who spent five years on the Busch North circuit, said Busch South is more competitive.

“In Busch North, there would be 10 cars that could win each week,” said Santerre. “Down here, there’s 40 cars that could win.”

Santerre said the primary goal is to finish in the top 15 in points.

“If you take out the Winston Cup drivers, we’re real close now,” said Santerre. “They only run selected races so once they start cutting back, we should crack the top 15.”

Santerre got a late start because it took time to finalize his deal with co-owners Mike Reece and George deBidart. He houses his Number 47 MONRO Muffler Brake and Service Chevy Monte Carlos in what used to be the Bobby Allison Motorsports Shop in Harrisburg, N.C.

“We’ve got five cars done and we’re building two more. We’ll have seven or eight cars within three weeks. You need four different types of cars to go to the different tracks,” said Santerre, who will next head to the Texas Motor Speedway for Saturday’s Coca Cola 300.