DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Nov. 8, 2006) – When he was three years old, Stephen Leicht (No. 90 CitiFinancial Ford) was an Arizona resident, living in the city of Ahwatukee, a suburb of Phoenix.

Now 19, Leicht’s residence is in Huntersville, N.C., by way of his true hometown of Asheville, N.C., but his southwest roots were the force behind his racing career and his current place in the NASCAR Busch Series.

The Leicht family moved from Asheville to Ahwatukee in the early 1990s as Stephen’s father Russ took a new job.

During his short stay in Arizona, Leicht began racing, starting in go-karts by age five before his family moved back to Asheville.

Stints in quarter midgets, dirt karts, sprint karts, Mini-Cup cars, Bandeleros, the ARA and ASA led Leicht to his developmental opportunity with Robert Yates Racing.

He debuted in Memphis one year ago, starting eighth and finishing 13th. His second race came at Phoenix International Raceway where he had a solid homecoming with a 15th-place finish.

After splitting time with other drivers in nine of the first 22 races this season, Leicht has been the driver of the No. 90 Ford for eight of the last nine events and is entered at Phoenix once again this weekend.

In his last four races, Leicht has posted four top-15 starting positions, including a career-best third last Saturday at Texas Motor Speedway.

He was the Raybestos Rookie of the Race at Kansas (12th) and has registered top-20 finishes in his last four races. He looks for another strong finish as the season winds down, this one in his adopted home state.

"Traveling to Phoenix always brings back great memories for me, that is where I started racing,” Leicht said. “When I was five, my father got me involved in racing at South Mountain Raceway Park near Phoenix and I haven’t stopped racing since.”

In recognition of the 25th anniversary of the NASCAR Busch Series and its association with series sponsor Anheuser-Busch, 41 drivers have been listed among the nominees since voting began on Oct. 16.

Voters can select 25 drivers, including one write-in nominee. Drivers with at least one series championship were automatically included among the nominees. Other criteria utilized to create the list included:
- A minimum of 150 starts.
- Percentage of wins versus starts, top fives versus starts and top 10s versus starts.

“These polls are a great way for our fans and media members to express their opinions on who they feel the greatest NASCAR Busch Series drivers were and are,” said Jim Hunter, Vice President of Corporate Communications for NASCAR.

“The series has such a long and storied history and to select only 25 drivers will be a tough task. We look forward to the results.”

The polls will be available through Saturday’s Arizona.Travel 200 at Phoenix and will close on Sunday.

The results of each poll will be announced next week when Kevin Harvick (No. 21 U.S. Coast Guard Chevrolet) is officially crowned the 2006 series champion following the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Jason Leffler (No. 38 Great Clips Chevrolet) won the Busch Pole in April making him the only driver with more than one pole at Phoenix.

In his seven races at Phoenix, Biffle is the leader in top fives (five) and top 10s (seven).

Kenny Wallace (No. 22 AutoZone Ford) is set to become the leader in races run at Phoenix. His start there Saturday will be his ninth.

Carl Edwards is the only driver to win a race at Phoenix from the Busch Pole, accomplishing that feat last November.

Current Richard Childress Racing teammates and Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup drivers Jeff Burton (2000) and Kevin Harvick (2006) are the only drivers to sweep weekend events at Phoenix.

In second place in the manufacturer standings (six wins, 194 points) Ford has five wins at Phoenix and won this race last year with Carl Edwards (No. 60 Ameriquest Ford).

Kevin Harvick, however, won the spring race in April and is on a two-race winning streak, with four wins in the last six races.

Harvick’s win at Texas last week gives Chevy 22 on the year, now fourth all-time. Pontiac had a series-record 21 wins in the inaugural 1982 series season, a record that stood until Chevrolet registered 23 wins in 1998 and the record of 24 the following season.

Dodge is third in the standings with five wins and 179 points and has one win at Phoenix (2004).

Yeley has an Average Finish of 10.3 in his last three races at Phoenix, where his Average Running Position is ranked eighth. He is 10th in Driver Rating at 99.7, but that rating is fifth among drivers entered this week, improving Yeley by five positions.

He is second to Kevin Harvick in Laps in the Top 15 – 541 to Harvick’s 561 – for 89.3%, his best ranking in any Loop Data category in the last three races at Phoenix.

Yeley’s Straightaway speeds are top-10 caliber over the last three events, rating eighth on the Frontstretch (134.790 mph) and 10th on the Backstretch (138.576). His Backstretch Speed helped vault him to fourth among drivers in the Passes by Straightaway category on the Backstretch where he totaled 26 passes.

Yeley has shown equal consistancy in his Green Flag Passes, a category where he is tied for ninth with 86. He’s also 10th in Speed in Traffic (123.558) over the last three races at Phoenix.

Nine series races have been held at the one-mile facility since 1999 and the winner has come from the second row in five of those events. Jeff Gordon won the inaugural race from starting position No. 3, as did Jeff Burton in 2000. Greg Biffle took his Jack Roush Ford to Victory Lane in 2002 starting fourth and Bobby Hamilton Jr. also won from that positition in 2003.

Jamie McMurray is the most recent Row 2 victor with his 2004 win from the third starting spot.

Ryan Newman is the defending winner of the Ford 300; he won last year from the Busch Pole.

Joe Nemechek, the 1992 series champion and a Florida native, is the all-time win leader at Homestead-Miami with three victories. Eight other drivers have one win. Jeff Green, the 2000 series champion, is the only multiple pole winner (2) while nine other drivers have captured one pole.