McCumbee hopes he is part of Petty's summer plans
By Bob Pockrass - Associate Editor
Friday, March 21, 2008
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ROCKINGHAM, N.C. – Chad McCumbee had never been to Rockingham Speedway (formerly known as North Carolina Speedway) so he figured it would be a good experience to turn some laps on the track Friday.
The more experience, the better for McCumbee, who has two career NASCAR Cup starts and likely will add to that resume later this year.
McCumbee has been a somewhat busy man these days, driving a truck for MRD Motorsports, an affiliate to Haas CNC Racing. The 23-year-old McCumbee also has tested a Sprint Cup car for Haas CNC Racing and has plans to test for Petty Enterprises.
Having driven in the Cup races at Pocono and Michigan last year for Petty, McCumbee could again return to the No. 45 car when Kyle Petty gets out to go into the TNT broadcast booth. A test scheduled with the Pettys earlier this week at Gateway International Raceway was canceled because of bad weather conditions.
The No. 45 car needs a driver for the six races Petty will miss during the summer.
“It being so early, it’s hard to pinpoint [where] the 45 Cup car is going to be in points, and [where] my schedule in the trucks is going to
be and [where] I’m at in the truck points – there’s a bunch of different things that are factors,” McCumbee said Friday as he prepared for the May ARCA race at Rockingham. “The No. 1 goal is to do definitely something, though. We’re working real hard. Whether it be one race, two races, four races or six races, we don’t know yet. Who knows? Maybe it could be more than that.”
McCumbee said, though, that his first priority is the truck, where he is currently fourth in points and has two top-10 finishes in three
races.
“We’re working on it – we need some sponsors to make [a full season] secure,” McCumbee said about his truck deal. “I’ve been really
trying to concentrate hard on the truck program. That team a year and a half ago wasn’t even a full-time program. They’ve come a long ways and that is the best truck I’ve ever had in the truck series.”
Even though Haas CNC Racing and the Pettys are competitors and use different manufacturers, McCumbee said he has had the blessing of both teams to get as many laps as possible.
“The main thing is I want to get in the [car of tomorrow] cars as much as I can so I can learn them,” McCumbee said. “For me, it’s laps no matter where I’m at. Everybody has been really great about [it]. They all understand that for me to develop, the more laps I can get, the better.
“Everybody has been great about that. I’ve been learning a lot of different stuff on what those COT cars need and what I need to do
different.”
- Mentioned Drivers:
- Chad McCumbee
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