HEY BUSCH TEAMS! LOOKING FOR A DRIVER??

WHAT ABOUT MIKE???

By Dawn Starek

       As a longtime race fan, I have questioned many a decision by NASCAR or race team management.  We all do – race fans become emotionally involved in their sport and we take it seriously.  While this season has given the race fan many things to question (rule changes, safety issues, penalties, etc.), I have spent most of the season pondering why my favorite Busch driver has spent the entire season without a solid ride, and seems to be overlooked for driving opportunities that become available.  He certainly does not lack talent; after all he finished 4^th in the points standing last year.  He is not arrogant or hotheaded; in fact, he is highly respected by his competitors and fans as evidenced by being selected Most Popular Driver in the Busch series several times.  Most importantly, he is a seasoned veteran who has gone through the ranks to prove himself, yet there has been many driving opportunities being given to drivers who seem to go from ride to ride without obtaining stability, or the so-called young gun who may not have proven himself yet in the racing world.  It doesn’t seem right that there is a driver out there who has the experience and talent to race the wheels off a car and he does not have a ride.  That driver is Mike “Magic Shoes” McLaughlin.

     By now, I am sure that most fans know Mike’s story.  Towards the end of last season, he signed on to drive for a new race team in 2003, but things fell apart right before the beginning of this season after the owners of the race team allegedly forgot the meaning of “business ethics”.  He did race in Daytona after his fans and fellow competitors rallied together in support of his Hopes and Dreams 2003 campaign.  That in itself demonstrated the magnitude of his fan base.  His fans stepped forward to do whatever it took to support Mike so that he could chase his dream of winning at Daytona.  Several months into the season, things started to look promising when he signed to race for Frank Cicci and Jim Kelly on a limited schedule.  Even though it was not full-time racing, it gave his fans something to look forward to when we knew he was racing.  But it was announced a couple of months ago that their season was over due to sponsorship problems.  What’s that old saying?  If it weren’t for bad luck there wouldn’t be any luck at all!  Well that is truly applicable to Mike’s season this year.  As an active member of Dirt Daze, Mike’s official message forum, I have met a lot of fans that have followed Mike since his days of racing modifieds.  I think I can speak for all of us when I say how disheartening this season has been.  With very few highs and way too many lows, I think that none of us will be disappointed in seeing this season end with the hope that something good will happen for Mike in the off-season.  The one thing we still have that nobody can deny us is hope, as well as our unconditional support of our driver.

     If we lived in the perfect dream world and I could sit in on a meeting with every Busch team who is looking for a driver next season, I would say “What about Mike?  Let’s give him the opportunity to get in that car to race and win!”  But then again, if we lived in a perfect dream world, a driver of Mike’s caliber – someone with talent, drive and heart - would not go this long without a solid ride.  Let’s hope that changes in 2004.

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