Rising Star Stuart Kirby

Young talent is all over NASCAR lately.
Many drivers are starting younger, coming through the ranks of go-karts, ASA and
ARCA divisions. One driver grabbing attention while he pays his dues is 20 year
old Stuart Kirby.

Kirby, who grew up in Bowling Green,
Kentucky, began racing go-carts at the age of 11. Over time he moved up to race
legends and eventually to stocks. In 2001, Kirby made the move to the ARCA/ReMAX
series. At the season opener at Daytona he opened many eyes when he qualified
fourth and finished fifth.

The biggest surprise of all came at Lowe’s
Motor Speedway last October when Kirby qualified for the Winston Cup Series’
UAW-GM 500. He put himself solidly in the field in the 22nd starting position.
After the 43 car field was set many people who weren’t familiar with the ARCA
driver were uttering the words "Stuart who?"

After missing a shift at the start of the
race and falling to the back of the pack, Kirby regrouped and began moving his
car back up through the field. On lap 46 the second caution flag of the race
flew when Jason Leffler made contact with Dave Blaney in turn 4. Kirby, trying
to avoid Leffler went high and ended up skidding the wall and slamming into
Leffler. He ended the race 42nd. Although the finish wasn’t so great, Kirby says
he got the chance to talk to many of the drivers and none of them had a problem
with him racing with them. "Even Jeff Gordon didn’t, so that was pretty
neat."

Before qualifying for the Cup race, Kirby
had run only six ARCA races. At Pocono in June he broke the track record while
grabbing his first pole with a lap time of 169.329 mph.

With such little experience in the top
series, yet so much talent, what are his plans for the future? Talk over the
past several weeks has Kirby moving to the Busch Series to drive in the No. 31
Whelens Chevy. Kirby confirms the rumors. "I’ve talked with them and had a
few meetings with them, nothing confirmed yet. I haven’t signed anything. It’s a
pretty good team to work with; Steve Park drove it last year so I’m interested
in driving it. It would be up to like 8 to 12 races."

As for the future, Kirby is thinking much
farther than the 2002 season. "I just want to get some experience in Busch
and than work my way up to Winston Cup and hopefully be a contender there."

Getting experience. That’s something the
NASCAR officials like to hear from these young guys. With the recent age
limitations imposed in NASCAR’s top three divisions, Kirby agrees that the
younger drivers shouldn’t be in such a hurry to get to the big time. "It’s
kinda dangerous when you just throw somebody out there that only had a year or
so experience with these guys that have raced out there for a long time."

Kirby also agrees with the safety
precautions the sport has taken, stating he chose the Hutchens Device because,
as in Tony Stewart’s case, the HANS makes him feel "claustrophobic."
Like other drivers, he’s aware that the new head and neck restraints are no
guarantee. "Just because you put that on doesn’t mean you’re not gonna die
in a race car, it’s just there to help prevent that. Something can still happen
with all that stuff."

With racing as his main focus, Kirby is
hoping to find something in time for the quickly approaching 2002 season. The
limited schedule he ran last year was possible due in part to car owner Bob
Schacht. Although Schacht appears to have his schedule set, Kirby is still
uncertain. "The way it looks now, he’s got somebody else who’s going to
drive the car. I’m trying to work on something for the Busch Series, to run the
Busch race (at Daytona), but time’s running out."

In just eight ARCA starts in 2001, Kirby
won two poles and posted 5 top five finishes. He says he feels he is ready for
Busch, and he has the stats to back that up. Although he has yet to secure a
ride for ’02, get ready to hear a lot from Stuart Kirby in the future.