BUSCH SERIES Despite bumps, Atwood keeping positive outlook

The former teenage sensation is trying to get back to NASCAR's top series.
By TERESA M. WALKER
ASSOCIATED PRESS
GLADEVILLE, Tenn. -- This time around, Casey Atwood is taking the slow, but steady approach.
Once the youngest driver in NASCAR's top series and touted as the next Jeff Gordon, Atwood is back competing in Busch races just trying to get wins for FitzBradshaw Racing. And he has no timetable for returning to the Cup circuit.
"I'm only 23. I've still got a long time," Atwood said. "I'm trying not to rush. I want to run now the way I was running the first time around. I think I'll get some more good opportunities to go to Cup and try to win there."
When Atwood first hit NASCAR, he was on the fast track to stardom.
He was a quiet teenager winning stock car races before getting a driver's license. At 17, he became the youngest driver ever to win a Busch Series pole -- and did it on his home track in Nashville (he finished second).
Atwood then became the youngest to win a Busch race when the 18-year-old took the Milwaukee Mile in 1999.
His future never seemed brighter than when Ray Evernham made him the youngest driver in the Cup series for 2000, seemingly the new protege for Gordon's former crew chief.
Rough spot
But this time, the success Atwood had enjoyed didn't follow.
Atwood won a pole in 2001 but had just three top-10 finishes in 79 career starts. Evernham dumped Atwood for Jeremy Mayfield, but then he became a partner in a single-car team in order to get another ride for Atwood.
That ended in late 2002, leaving Atwood without a team or even a ride for half a year. Evernham wouldn't comment on why Atwood didn't make it, instead praising current rookie Kasey Kahne's devotion and work ethic.
"Ray was big on the driver being in the shop all the time. I don't live there. I live here," Atwood said. "Maybe I just didn't realize how important that stuff was to him.
"If I had a chance to go back, I might do a few things different. I know when I got to the racetrack, I was doing all I could do and I thought we were doing pretty good."
Atwood started 2003 without a ride, so he just kept going to tracks, trying to keep people from forgetting him, hoping for another chance.
It wasn't easy.
"Just going to the racetrack and watching, not having a car to drive, it was disappointing. Luckily, I wasn't out too long," he said.
Taking a chance
Armando Fitz, also a Nashville native and a former Vanderbilt linebacker, had been tracking Atwood's career and thought the young phenom still had promise.
Fitz and partner Terry Bradshaw, the former NFL quarterback, had been talking with the Navy about a limited sponsorship for 12 races in 2003. The Navy wanted a young driver, and Fitz started talking with Atwood.
A meeting in Charlotte with the co-owners helped Atwood convince them that he wasn't looking for a straight ticket back to the top. That was important for a team focusing on the Busch Series before trying their own jump to the Nextel Cup.
They signed him to a 12-race package, and Atwood delivered four top-10s. Navy agreed to a full year, and FitzBradshaw brought Atwood back.
Atwood has battled through engine and handling problems this season with his best finish ninth at Darlington. He lost two laps when he pitted under green only to see a caution come out two laps later and finished 20th at the Pepsi 300 at Nashville Superspeedway on April 10.
He's now 21st in the points standings, but Fitz isn't disappointed.
"He's run up front. He's just had some bad luck ... nothing that he was doing wrong," Fitz said.
"I really look forward to the second go-around this year when we come back to a lot of these tracks. The first go-around we weren't sure really what he was looking for. I think we'll get up front and win a race or two."
That sounds good to Atwood who is working hard to get back to Victory Lane because he knows people forget past performances.
"All people worry about is what's happening now," he said. "I still have to prove myself and win races in this car, and I think it'll work out."
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