Loudon: Kurt Busch preview

LOUDON, N.H. (June 24, 2008) - In order for Miller Lite Dodge driver Kurt Busch to compete in the 1,837.358 miles of racing scheduled this month along the NASCAR Sprint Cup tour, Bill and Cindy Lewis will drive a total of 10,604.440 miles. The Lewises, currently the lone husband-and-wife transport-driving team along the top stock car racing circuit, are among the most popular personalities in the Sprint Cup garage during race weekends. But it's what they do in between the races that puts the bread on the table.

"We have to drive all the miles - complete all possible laps - or Kurt and our Miller Lite Dodge team would be in a world of trouble," Cindy chuckled on Tuesday morning (June 24) as she and husband Bill ("Stump") rolled down Interstate 40 through Memphis, Tenn., charged with the responsibility of getting the No. 2 Penske Racing Dodge team transporter back to the race shop in Mooresville, N.C. "This has been a pretty smooth trip coming home from Sonoma with no problems along the way.

"When we get back to the shop, if everything goes as planned, we will have been on the road for 52 hours since we got everything loaded up and headed out of the track out there on Sunday night," Cindy said. "We've been doing this for 11 years and we always try to observe the speed limits and we do everything strictly by the books according to the DOT (Department of Transportation) guidelines. We always try to be as professional as possible and we're proud of the job we do."

Busch, the 2004 series champion and a 272-race veteran of the sport heading into this weekend's Lenox Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, certainly is pleased with the manner in which the Lewis couple handle their duties.

"Cindy and 'Stump' are the best in the business, no doubt about that," said Busch. "They do a tremendous job of getting our part of the 'rolling circus' from one stop to the next, but they always go the extra mile with all the additional responsibilities they take on.

"Not only do they handle all the parts inventory at the track, they do all the cooking and cleaning," said Busch. "They have become like sister and brother figures to me and all the guys on the team. No matter what you may need, they either have it or know where to get it.

"If that's not enough, Cindy scores our car during the race and 'Stump' is always busy helping them with running fuel and handling the tires," said Busch. "It's really amazing to see what all they do during a race weekend. When the checkered flag falls, we're all hurrying off to hop in planes to head back home. To know that they're left behind to help get everything loaded and transported back to our shop makes you realize what an incredible asset they are for our team. We just couldn't pull it off without them. We love Cindy and Stump and truly appreciate the great job they do."

This weekend's action at the track located in Loudon, N.H., gets under way on Friday morning. The chances are that the hard work Cindy and Bill Lewis put in this week in getting Busch's team transporter there will go mostly unnoticed.

"We were able to leave Sonoma around 10:15 p.m. on Sunday night," Cindy said late Tuesday morning. "We'll have the rig back at the shop tonight and should be home in bed by nine o'clock East Coast time. There's just something nice sounding right now about a bed that doesn't move.

"We'll be back up around 9 o'clock in the morning doing the normal family stuff like washing clothes and paying the bills," Cindy said. "We'll get a chance to see some of the family and get to spend a little time with our granddaughter, Kendall, before we head back over to the shop late tomorrow afternoon.

"We hope to be able to head out from the shop around 9 o'clock tomorrow night and, without any problems, we should be at the track in Loudon just after 3 o'clock on Thursday afternoon," Cindy said. "It'll be a situation of here we go again. We're just a big, happy travelling circus and we're still thrilled to be a part of it."

-credit: pr