There’s plenty of fanfare surrounding the NASCAR Busch Series’ arrival at Kansas Speedway for Saturday’s race.
Emporia’s Clint Bowyer (No. 2 BB&T Chevrolet) is scheduled to compete in the Yellow Transportation 300 before resuming his attempt to capture the 2007 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup as one of the 12 drivers in the Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup.
Columbia, Mo., native Carl Edwards (No. 60 Scotts Winterguard Ford) returns to familiar territory as the NASCAR Busch Series points leader and also joins Bowyer as a Chase participant.
Then there’s the quiet thunder that accompanies series veteran Jason Keller (No. 11 InvestLinc Chevrolet). He’s not in the top 10 in points. He hasn’t run a full season. He drives for a start-up team.
But he can produce perhaps the biggest headline of the event.
If Keller qualifies – which he must do on time for his CJM Racing team as it is not in the top 30 in the owner point standings – he will be on the starting grid for the 417th time in his career, which will tie Tommy Houston’s all-time starts record.
The 37-year-old Keller is the only driver other than Houston to make more than 400 series starts. The man whose record he’s approaching is more than willing to have Keller as the new standard-bearer. “I was able to race against Jason as he was beginning in the series, ” Houston said. “He’s a good racer, races everybody clean and has kept his car in good shape. “He’s the kind of person who’s dedicated to the NASCAR Busch Series. He’s got a lot of racing ahead of him and of anybody who could break this record, I’m happy that it’s Jason. ”
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