Stacker 200 presented by YJ Stinger - Blake Feese Notes

FEESE MAKING THIRD NASCAR START: Driving the No. 87 ditech.com Chevrolet, Blake Feese will enter his third career Busch Series event on Saturday at Dover. The Saybrook, Ill., native joined Hendrick's driver development program in April, earning three top-10 finishes in three ARCA Series events, including a win at Nashville, Tenn. Dover will mark Feese's last scheduled Busch Series race of 2004 after running at Kentucky Speedway and Indianapolis Raceway Park earlier in the season.

GETTING EXPERIENCE: Feese will be making just his ninth-ever start on pavement at Dover this weekend. The 22-year-old driver has raced in two Busch Series events, four ARCA races, one ProCup show and a single 30-lap Late Model shootout. Feese, who started driving quarter midgets at age 10, is a veteran of World of Outlaws, USAC and All-Star sprint-car competition.

BENSON SHARES KNOWLEDGE: The No. 87 ditech.com team had a successful one-day test Sept. 14 at Dover, where NASCAR veteran Johnny Benson was on-hand to help Feese learn the nuances of "The Monster Mile."

HMS & NEMCO: Hendrick Motorsports has formed a developmental alliance with NEMCO Motorsports that will allow Feese to drive the organization's No. 87 Busch Series entry at Dover. In 2003, NEMCO assisted with the progression of current Busch Series championship contender Kyle Busch, who posted two runner-up results, three top-10 finishes and five top-10 qualifying efforts in seven races driving the No. 87 Chevrolets.

BLAKE FEESE, DRIVER OF THE NO. 87 DITECH.COM CHEVROLETS: (ON THE TEAM'S DOVER TEST.) "It went well, but you never know how the track will be when we go back. With the Cup and Busch cars there, rubber will get laid down (on the track) and, as that happens, we'll have to keep making adjustments to the car. Hopefully, at the end of the first practice, we'll have kept up with the track in order to get a good qualifying run because track position is vital at Dover."

FEESE: (DOVER IS A TRICKY PLACE, ESPECIALLY FOR SOMEONE WHO HAS NEVER RACED THERE. IS IT AN INTIMIDATING TRACK?) "It's not so much the race track. For me, being new to the Busch Series, it's more about getting used to the competition and learning how to race these cars. It's intense, but once they drop the green flag, it doesn't really matter where I am or who I'm racing against. It's just like any other race. Intimidation doesn't really factor in, but there is more pressure and more intensity."

FEESE: (THIS WILL BE YOUR THIRD CAREER BUSCH SERIES RACE. HAVE YOUR EXPECTATIONS CHANGED NOW THAT YOU HAVE A LITTLE EXPERIENCE?) "They haven't really changed yet. Each time I race in a Busch car, I learn a lot more. Right now, the seat time is what I need, so getting in all 200 laps on Saturday is the most obvious goal. If I don't make too many mistakes, qualify well and just keep up with the race track, I think a top-15 is realistic. I have awesome equipment and a great team behind me, so I think running near the front is a reasonable expectation."

FEESE: (ON WORKING WITH JOHNNY BENSON DURING THE TEAM'S DOVER TEST.) "I'll tell you what, if you don't get along with Johnny Benson, there's something wrong with you. The test was the first time we'd ever met, but we clicked right away and he was a huge asset to us. Johnny made a couple runs in the car and really allowed the team to cover more ground in a shorter period of time. For me personally, he shared a ton of knowledge and helped cut my down learning curve."