Bessey returns to ownership circle.

New Englander Joe Bessey will return to the ranks of a NASCAR team owner next year in the Busch North Series with defending Champion Andy Santerre.

The Bessey Motorsports name will return to racing in the NASCAR Busch North Series next year with Joe Bessey taking over the running of his fellow New Englander Andy Santerre's 2002 Championship winning squad. Bessey last ran a Winston Cup team in 2000 with the #60 PowerTeam Chevrolet squad driven by, amongst others, Geoffrey Bodine and Bessey himself.

Bessey and Santerre, who both hail from Maine in the far northeast corner of the United States, have been friends for many years and this new alliance will allow Bessey to maintain his New England roots.

Santerre won the 2002 Busch North Series Championship, but was unsure as to his 2003 plans until Bessey, called with an offer the 34-year old Santerre could not refuse.

"In essence, the structure I raced with in 2002 is not going to change much, just for the better," Santerre acknowledged. "Joe is going to own the equipment, but I am still going to run the shop just as if I was operating my own team. I will continue to work in the shop full time, make management decisions and prepare the race cars, but we will hire a full-time transport driver and fabricator so I won't have to work in the shop alone or drive the race car back and forth to New England every weekend."

"I am looking forward to getting back involved in NASCAR," Bessey confirmed. "My heart has always been in racing, but I am a Mainer and I love living in Maine. Logistics is the biggest reason I am not still involved with either a Winston Cup or Busch Series team. I have just not been able to break my roots with Maine; I call it home and don't want to leave it."

Bessey cultivated a relationship with 2003 primary sponsor, Aubuchon Hardware, this past season running two Busch Grand National Series events at New Hampshire International Speedway and Nazareth Speedway. He also ran the Oxford 250 and a PASS event under the Aubuchon banner.

"I am really looking forward to this season," Santerre admitted. "I feel I have the best deal in the Busch North Series bar none. I get to drive a top-notch competitive racecar with sponsorship from committed companies such as Aubuchon Hardware, Brickmill Marketing, Castle Chemical, EJP and Pottle's Transportation. I get to continue managing the daily operations of the race team and will continue to prepare the cars but do not have all the financial worries that come with owning the team.

"The addition of two employees and Joe as the owner will free up valuable time for me to focus on making the race cars run faster and better so I can defend my Championship."