Thrill of victory still sinking in, driver Stephen Leicht says

BUSCH SERIES NOTEBOOK

JIM UTTER

The Charlotte Observer

Wednesday, Jun. 20, 2007

Can “Leicht”-ning strike twice? It did last season.

Stephen Leicht, who drives Robert Yates Racing’s entry in the NASCAR Busch Series, won his first series race last weekend and became the first non-Nextel Cup regular to win a series race this season.

Ironically, the same scenario unfolded last season when then-Busch driver David Gilliland pulled off a surprise win at Kentucky and was followed by Paul Menard’s win at The Milwaukee Mile. Until Leicht’s victory, Cup drivers had won every series race since.

“It is starting to sink in. It sets in more when I am with my team," Leicht said.

"I don’t think the smiles have left their faces since we left victory lane,” said Leicht, who will look for his second consecutive win in Saturday‘s AT&T 250 at The Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wisc. (8 p.m. Eastern, ESPN2).

“It is hard to describe how excited everyone is. I had to replay the end of the race a few times just to see the actual win and make sure that it was real.”

Leicht said he did not was to squander the opportunity presented by the improved performance in recent weeks of his RYR team.

“This team has been knocking on the door of a win for a few weeks now. It will make it a lot easier going into Milwaukee knowing that we are capable of winning,” he said.

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