Andy Santerre - Wiser Than They Think
Last Tuesday, I was able to participate in something that I thought was pretty neat. It was the AT&T NASCAR Media Teleconference, with four drivers participating: Jimmy Hensley (Craftsman Truck Series), Steadman Marlin, Jeff Green, and Andy Santerre (all Busch drivers). The drivers talked, then there was a question/answer session. Each media person that had a question entered a queue, and when it was their turn, they had the drivers' exclusive attention. I was mainly interested in hearing what Andy Santerre had to say, but there were several other interesting tidbits thrown in by the other drivers.
Here's why I'm interested in Andy.
First of all, he's a driver from a really tiny town in Maine called Cherryfield. Despite the isolation, he moved up through the local and regional ranks to become a success in the Busch North Series, as you can see from his record:
| 1998 - Finished 20th in the overall Busch Grand National point standings 1998 - Busch Grand National Raybestos "Rookie of the Year" |
| 1997 - Finished 4th overall in Busch North point standings |
| 1996 - Finished 2nd overall in Busch North Series point standings 1996 - Busch Pole Award Champion 1996 - Won the most races, led the most laps, and won the most money |
| 1995 - Finished 3rd overall in Busch North point standings |
| 1994 - Busch North "Most Popular Driver" 1994 - Finished 3rd overall in Busch North point standings |
| 1993 - Busch North Raybestos "Rookie of the Year" 1993 - Finished 10th overall in Busch North point standings. |
In 1999, he was involved in a crash at the season opening NAPA Auto Parts at Daytona, breaking his right leg in six places. I think this would be one of the things that a racer, at least the ones that I know, would be most afraid of. Break a collarbone? You can still go out there and race. Break a shoulder? Get in the car. (I don't think I'll ever forget seeing Bobby Labonte cry.) Have a bad back? So what, race the full season. (I think Mark Martin has an inhuman ability to withstand pain.) But to break your GAS leg? Say goodbye to your season.
If you hear racers talk, it's very important to finesse the gas pedal, like there's an egg underneath it. How can you do that, especially after having your leg atrophy in a cast for six months or so? However, Andy managed to bounce back, and in the same season. In only his third race back after recovering from his injury, he took his #47 car to Victory Lane at Pikes Peak. However, he went to IMI (Innovative Motorsports, his team owner) and expressed his desire to run a partial schedule for the 2000 season. Why? I've heard from several people that he preferred running on the short tracks. I wasn't a fly on the wall, so I can only guess at what might have been said. If I were to bet, thought, I would have to say that he said something to the effect of, "I like the short tracks, I think I can be successful on them. I'm a little gun shy of the big tracks after Daytona, but I'm willing to work up to it. Let's put a partial schedule together, and build from there." Well, IMI wasn't willing.
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