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January 31, 2008
Craig Goess to Race for Eddie Sharp Racing in Camping World East Series
Because Steve Park is going to be racing in the Camping World East Series this season I've been trying to familiarize myself with the drivers that he'll be racing against which is no easy feat since there isn't much coverage of this series even online. But this morning I came across an article about Craig Goess, a talented Legends car driver who will be racing in the Camping World East Series this season and I think I have another driver besides Steve to cheer for in this series. Why? Craig will be racing a Toyota for Eddie Sharp Racing, an organization that Michael Waltrip Racing has an affiliation with. Although ESR also gets help from Chip Ganassi Racing on their Dodge program, I would assume that MWR assists with any of the Toyotas that ESR fields. So in a roundabout way, Craig also has a connection to MWR and I support anything or anyone that Michael and MWR is involved with. Craig won an astonishing 40 of the 48 Legends races that he entered the last three years so it appears he has some talent behind the wheel.
Eddie Sharp Racing will also be fielding Toyotas in the ARCA Series for Scott Speed and Ken Butler, III, the later of which I assume is still in the MWR driver development program. I'm a little disappointed that Josh Wise won't be racing for ESR at all like he did last season, but I would guess that the same problem that's MWR from getting him a Nationwide ride is the same issue in ARCA - a lack of sponsorship. Scott has sponsorship from Red Bull and Ken has sponsorship from Aaron's. I don't watch as many ARCA races as I do Cup, Truck and Nationwide races, but I do like to watch them when I can, and it's always fun to have some drivers to cheer for.
Many fans seem to resent young drivers, even those with a lot of talent, because they take rides that could be filled by veteran drivers. Personally, I find new talent very exciting - I really enjoy watching drivers progress and seeing which ones become successful and which ones don't. A driver that I cheer for when they start out as a nobody on a lower level could turn into a superstar who wins a lot of races in Cup - or not. Either way it's fun to watch them race and wonder at what their potential might be.
Joe Gibbs Racing will have Marc Davis in a Camping World East car, and Paul Andrews, Michael Waltrip's crew chief on the #55, said in an interview on XM that his son, Tim, might race some Camping World East races again if they have the funding to make it happen. So those are two other drivers that I will be paying attention to as well in the Camping World East Series.
I suppose that some of my fellow Steve Park fans would whip out that "bad fan" label at the mere thought of me cheering for another driver in a race that Steve's in. Make no mistake, I will be cheering for Steve and hoping that he has a lot of success this season. But that doesn't mean that I can't wish well for other drivers too. Steve isn't going to win every race he's in this season - it might not be easy to win even won race since the talent level in this series is probably greater than some people think - so if he's not going to win it would be good to see other drivers that I like or who have caught my eye in Victory Lane.
Posted by silverdsl at January 31, 2008 09:05 AM