Hills Bros gives grassroots driver 'big break'.

NASCAR sponsor Hills Bros Coffee has revealed the winner of its unique programme to offer an aspiring race driver the 'Coffee Break of a Lifetime' with a seat in the Busch National series.

The programme will provide the selected driver with a five-race deal to drive a Busch car this season and, in addition, also provide the opportunity to earn a one-race Winston Cup ride in 2004 based upon their performance in the five races.

"The company's goal is to continue the excitement fans have enjoyed by watching unknown drivers make their mark in auto racing's big leagues," explained Hills Bros senior marketing director Philippe Schaillee, "This past year, we saw many 'young guns' get their big break and, as we all know, these young drivers ended up thrilling fans with exciting runs and race wins.

"We feel that there are too many drivers who race weekly on short tracks all across America and never get their break because sponsors are always looking for known drivers.

To make the programme a reality, Hills Bros Coffee commissioned a team of experts, led by two-time Busch champion Randy LaJoie, to look for a driver, and focused on candidates from the many touring and weekly racing series that are held across the United States. After an extensive search, the panel selected David Reutimann step up to the Busch Series for 2003.

"David was selected because he best represented what this programme is intended to do - give someone a big break," stated LaJoie, "We quickly determined that David has a lot of talent when we looked at the fact that he finished second in the Hills Bros All-Pro Series with an unbelievably low budget operation. He is really a throw-back to the old days when you built the car, towed the car, fixed the car and raced the car,"

A programme like this is seen as especially important as the weak economy makes it more difficult for drivers to find new sponsors. To catch a break in today's competitive racing environment rookie drivers are often required to knock on the door of hundreds of companies in an attempt to convince them to take a chance on an unknown. Hills Bros Coffee wants to change all of that with a programme designed to reach out into grassroots racing series to find the sports' next superstar and provide them with their big break.

Reutimann has selected to race Chevrolets out the NEMCO Race Shop. The car will bear the number 88 and Brian Pattie will be the crew chief. To earn his one-race ride in the Winston Cup in 2004, Reutimann must score more points in his five races than LaJoie does in the same events. In addition, the rookie must achieve at least three top-five finishes. The five-race schedule will consist events at Texas (29 March), California (26 April), Milwaukee (29 June), Chicago (12 July) and Michigan (16 August).

NEMCO Motorsports began in 1990 with Nemechek capturing Busch Series Rookie of the Year honours. From there, the team took the series championship in 1992. Following Nemechek's move to Winston Cup in 1994, the operation scaled back to running a limited schedule until the addition of LaJoie's team in 2001. In two seasons, the drivers share five wins between them and look for great things from their new team-mate.

To thank Winston Cup veteran Joe Nemechek for supplying the cars and LaJoie for leading the selection process, Hills Bros will also provide associate sponsorship funding on both drivers' Busch Series Cars this season.