Short Track King Greg Pursley

Winning the NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series national championship can makeyou an instant celebrity. Greg Pursley will end up traveling coast tocoast in the aftermath of his hard-fought title. Charlotte fortelevision appearances, Nashville for the series banquet, and New YorkCity for the Nextel Cup banquet<\m>it's all on Pursley's agenda and he'sloving every minute of it.

"It's been pretty unbelievable," said the new champ after taking centerstage in Nashville. "That banquet was the best one I've ever been to. Wewere treated like royalty. I was glad that everybody came. My dad wonthis with me, and he was there. It was great to have him with me. Thisis the biggest thing I've ever done."

In a nutshell, Pursley's racing season can be summed up by thenumbers: 13 wins in 18 starts at California's IrwindaleSpeedway. He needed every win to edge out Andy Bozell of Kalamazoo (MI)Speedway for the title.

Flashback to the start of the '04 season. Pursley, driving for car ownerDavid Hays, had simple goals. "We wanted to win more than we did lastyear," Pursley stated. "Last year, we won four races and the Miller Big10 Championship Series. We had the support of King Taco, and we wantedto win the championship. About halfway through the season, we felt likewe could win the region. I was taking it race to race. I don't pointsrace, and I kept the points out of my mind while I was racing. It gotdown to be a nail-biter."

Two of the 13 wins came on the night of double features. The formatcalled for the cars to take two laps of qualifying. The first lap woulddetermine the starting spot in the first race. The second lap positionedthe driver for the second race. Pursley put up the fast lap for each,but it was no day at the park. As it turned out, those wins made thedifference, and there were 37 cars on the premises that night.

Pursley started his racing in motocross and moved on to road racingmotorcycles. When he became involved with cars, his father, Russ, wantedto make sure he got the most out of the experience. "My dad had meworking on cars since I was 12," Greg stated. "Dad made me do all thework. It has helped me tremendously. With that experience, it makesthings much easier these days."

The same holds true with having quality competition. Last year'sregional champion was Rip Michels, who moved on to the NASCAR touringseries from the weekly tracks. "We raced Rip hard last year," recalledPursley. "That made us better, and I think it made him better, too. Thisyear, we had great competition with the Bruncati brothers. I think theyfinished Second to me 8 or 10 times. There were times when I won it fromTony (Bruncati) on the green-white checkered finish. There were usuallyfive cars that would qualify in the 17-second bracket. The competitionwas good."

Pursley became the first NASCAR national champion from the West Coastsince Doug McCoun in 1985.

Pursley is quick to credit Hays for the opportunity to drive and hisfather, Russ, for being there every step of the way. The crewmembers,recognized by Russ at the banquet, included Carey Brewer, Kevin Fox,Mike Teeman, and Dusty Fox. Also integral to the operation is thesupport of his family. Greg is married to Heidi, whom he met at the ageof 8. They have two children, Taylor and Tyler.

The 36-year-old resident of Santa Clarita, California, has decided tolet someone else enjoy the thrill of the national championship in 2005."I'd like to move on to a Truck or Busch ride next year," Pursley said."What I have done this year would be hard to top, and I've been doingthis awhile, so it's time to go elsewhere."

Pursley has had experience with the Southwest Tour and the West Series,but his sights are set on the national scene. He'll be a regular sightat many locations, looking for a chance. "A lot of the teams are lookingat the guys who are 15 to 24 years old," admitted Pursley. "I need toget hooked up with a team that wants an experienced driver."

He added that NASCAR has been gracious in helping getting word out thathe is available for duty.

Greg Pursley's time in the spotlight is the result of hard work anddedication to purpose that runs through the entire organization. Hedidn't even flinch when he found out the car number was 13. "It's just anumber," he said. "It's funny how we didn't think about it until we weretrying to win 13 races. I drew transponder number 13 and was 13th toqualify."

He's faced down any jinx and came out on top. Greg Pursley can get thejob done, and he's looking forward to his next opportunity, taking astep up the racing ladder.