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Rivals Busch and Manion Team Up at Loudon
Written by: SPEED Staff
SPEEDtv.com   
06/25/2008 - 03:13 AM
Mooresville, N.C.
 
DEI Crew Chief Kevin Manion talks with driver Martin Truex Jr. (Todd Warshaw/Getty Images Photo) ยป More Photos

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Kyle Busch and Kevin Manion, crew chief for driver Martin Truex Jr. in the Cup Series, are fierce competitors on most Sundays. That will all change during this Saturday’s New England 100 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway when Busch pilots Manion’s No. 7 entry in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour event.

“I’m really excited to have Kyle driving our car,” said Manion. “As everyone knows, he can drive the wheels off of anything so I expect us to be competitive on Saturday. We’re not racing for points so Kyle can just go out there, have some fun and let it all hang out.”

Even though his job as a crew chief for a Chase-contending car occupies the majority of his time, Manion said his modified effort is about more than winning.

“This car is really a labor of love,” explained Manion. “A bunch of the guys on the No. 1 team got together to build this thing in our free time. Gary Putnam, our car chief; Russell
Simpson, our tire guy; and all the guys really put a ton of work into this deal. It made us closer as a team because we spent so much time together. We literally spent 10 hours at the Cup shop building Martin’s cars and then got together for a few more hours at night to build our modified.

“A lot of us grew up racing these cars in the Northeast, so doing this takes us back to our roots. Winning at Loudon would be a great homecoming for us.”

Busch is equally excited about the partnership.

“It’s going to be fun driving their car,” Busch said. “A lot of the guys on Martin’s team got their start in racing by building modifides, so they know them inside and out. There’s nothing better than getting in a car that you know has a chance to win. That will definitely be the case for us on Saturday.”

Saturday’s NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour event, the New England 100 begins at 1:00 p.m. Eastern.
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