Racing For Fun

The rookies start out their season, same old Buschwhacker problem, and the Las Vegas race.

Rookie Beginnings ................

The 2003 rookie class is off and racing in fine fettle. Before the season began it was assumed that Greg Biffle and Jamie McMurray would be the top drivers in the rookie race. This is only the beginning, there are well over 30 races left to go yet and the rookie crown could end up with any of them per say.

Greg Biffle took a big hit at Las Vegas by scoring a DNQ (did not qualify) in the third race of the season. The same thing happened to Larry Foyt at Daytona, when he failed to start the season by making the so-called Great American Race.......

After the first two races, Jamie McMurray was on top of the rookie heap with 25 points. Biffle was next with 20 points followed by Jack Sprague with 19 and Casey Mears with 18. Tony Raines was fifth with 13 points and Larry Foyt brought up the rear with 8.

Missing the Las Vegas event will drop Roush Racing's star entry Greg Biffle down to fifth, as all of the other rookies made the race. Biffle turned in a speed of 169.697 which wasn't good enough to get him into the race without a provisional starting position that he didn't have. The number 16 entry that Biffle drives didn't race last season and it has no provisional starts built up from the prior season to fall back on. Whereas, rookie Jack Sprague did have a provisional to fall back on and started the race with the No. 0 Pontiac in the 41st position with a qualifying speed of 165.863. That's racin'.

Jamie McMurray in the No. 42 Havoline/Ganassi Dodge will undoubtedly take command of the rookie race. He started in the 12th position, which was the top starting rookie in the race. Casey Mears was the next highest starter from the 18th position in the No. 41 Target/Ganassi Dodge. Larry Foyt started the race with the No. 14 Harrah's Dodge in the 31st position with Tony Raines right on his heels at the 32nd position in the No. 74 Staff America Chevrolet.

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