Last season Lowell Bennett got a taste of what it would be like to race for a living. The second-generation driver from Neenah, who for four decades now has raced as a hobby will get to play pretender as he shines up his 2002 Chevrolet Monte Carlo to compete with the professional racers in the NASCAR Busch Series event at the Milwaukee Mile this weekend.

Last year Bennett took on the quite costly task of purchasing a BGN car. Having been a top runner on the Wisconsin asphalt late model circuit since the mid 1980's, Bennett raced last season in Busch series on three occasions. "Milwaukee was probably my worst race last year in the Busch car," said Bennett. "We had some mechanical problems and finished further on back in the field. We had real good runs at Memphis and finished 26th after qualifying 12th out of 56 cars. And the race we ran at Indianapolis we wound up 21st. Not bad for a team that's only running a handful of races."

The numbers involved in running even a part time Busch team can be staggering. Here are some of the costs involved. They include tires to the tune of $10,000 to $12,000 just for this weekend. "Those Goodyear Eagles they run cost between $450 and $500 per tire," said Bennett, who's also renting an engine for the weekend at the low, low price of $25,000. Figure a NASCAR license ($600 for a car owner, $525 for a driver and $450 per pit crew member) and you've got a small fortune spent before the car is unloaded off the trailer. "I just hired Matt Groeschl for the weekend to be my crew chief," said Bennett. "Matt's worked with Kenny Wallace's Winston Cup program and has also been employed with Roush Racing in the past. He's done some pretty good work and I met with him in Milwaukee on Monday when he flew in from North Carolina." Bennett's got eight of his short track pit crew guys helping him this weekend, in addition to hiring some over-the-wall help. "What a lot of part time teams like myself do is hire guys from the Busch or truck series when they're already there," said Bennett. "In fact, as of Wednesday I was still looking to fill a couple of vacancies. Hiring the crew guys alone is costing close to $3,500, including the crew chief and over-the-wall guys. This isn't cheap."

In addition to a full weekend at the state's largest racing oval, Bennett will still compete in what he terms "the best short track show in the Midwest" with his asphalt late model at Slinger Super Speedway north of Milwaukee Sunday night. "My tounge will be hanging out by Sunday but it'llbe worth it," joked Bennett. "Wayne Erickson and his staff really have their stuff together. It's a tight soupbowl of a track and it's got two grooves to race on. I absolutely love loading up the car and heading down there on Sunday nights. You get treated fairly, the pay is good and Wayne doesn't waste time. The shows are usually done within a reasonable hour because he knows everyone's gotta get up and go to work the next day."

Among Bennett's BGN sponsors include one local name in Prestige Realty, run by former local dirt track promoter-turned realtor Paul Kaczrowski. "Paul's been a great fit for us," said Bennett. "He started tagging along to some of the shows and we're proud to have him on board with us this year." Other sponsors for this huge financial undertaking include Metro Milwaukee Auto Auction and Valley Auto Transport.

LOCALS IN BEERTOWN, TOO - The Yellow Book MARS series late models will make their lone appearance of the season at the Milwaukee Mile in support of the NASCAR action this weekend. A 50 lap race at the Mile follows Busch Series qualifying, the GNC 200 for NASCAR Craftsman Trucks and the Port A John 20 for Mid-Am stock cars on Saturday. Who are some of the area drivers slated to take part? Green Bay's Brett Piontek will attempt to crack the starting field for Mid-Am portion of the event. Late model drivers heading to Milwaukee include Eugene Gregorich Jr. of Kewaunee, Mark Schroeder and Chris Grimes of Green Bay, Gordie Sannes Jr. of De Pere and Tom Hockers of Greenleaf.

FOX FUN IN LUXEMBURG - WLUK TV Fox 11 will be broadcasting it's "Fox Fun In the Cities" broadcast live from Luxemburg Speedway late Friday afternoon. Concrete Finishers is sponsoring the nights races, which will also include the street stock division in their third appearance of the year. IMCA modifieds, IMCA stock cars, IMCA hobby stocks and four cylinder sport fours are all on the card beginning at 7 p.m.

SHAWANO SPRINTS OFF - The planned Bumper To Bumper IRA Outlaw sprint car race slated for Saturday night, July 5 at Shawano Speedway has been cancelled. According to series president Steve Sinclair Shawano Speedway essentially doubled the amount of rent for the show. "It's just not feasible for us to run a race with the kind of things they were expecting financially," said Sinclair. "It's unfortunate that the individuals up at Shawano mailed me a contract that was more than twice the amount we had agreed to verbally. It's totally unfair and uncalled for on their part. It's sure not in good faith whatsoever. We've hosted some of the biggest races there in track history in the past." On an internet website a statement issued from Shawano Speedway personnel simply stated "the race has been cancelled due to a failure of the two parties to come to a mutually beneficial agreement."