Leicht gets 13 races for RCR in 09

Quote :

Richard Childress Racing's Stephen Leicht hopes 13 races is enough to prove himself.

In the world of aspiring Sprint Cup drivers looking to be in the right place at the right time, one needs to look no further than the last three winners of the Nationwide Series races at Kentucky Speedway.

In 2006, David Gilliland won the race there, and by the end of the year, he had a Cup ride with Robert Yates Racing.

In 2008, Joey Logano won the race there, and by the end of the season, he had a Cup ride with Joe Gibbs Racing.

What about 2007? Well, Stephen Leicht won that race in a Robert Yates Racing car. His team lost its sponsorship, Yates shut down the Nationwide program, and Leicht doesn’t have a Cup ride but a partial-schedule ride at Richard Childress Racing.

“It’s not that we didn’t do what we’re supposed to do – I’m pretty sure I proved myself that I can do this to everyone,” Leicht said. “It was just the way the economy started to shift at that time. I was in the right place at the wrong time.”

What’s even more ironic is that Gilliland currently doesn’t have a car to drive when the season starts in a few weeks.

“Isn’t that crazy?” the 22-year-old Leicht said. “It just shows you that you don’t know what to expect. There’s probably five things that have to be in place for things to run smoothly, and if one of those things is off, it messes everything else up.

“It’s tough. Racing is hard.”

Leicht thinks he will get enough seat time to prove to a sponsor that it should support him for a full season in Nationwide. Leicht ran 20 races in the series in 2006 and finished seventh in the standings in 2007 for RYR. He drove in only five races last year for RCR.

This year, he has 13 races in the No. 29 car, while defending series champion Clint Bowyer has 10 races and Jeff Burton has 12.

“I honestly think, as good as this team is and as strong as this team is and the drivers they have driving this car other than myself, I will be prepared,” Leicht said. “The tracks I am racing at, I am very comfortable with, I like and I run well at. I honestly think I can win a race or two.”

Leicht only has one race of the first 12 on the schedule, so it’s quite possible that Bowyer and/or Burton will have a win by the time Leicht can get comfortable in the car.

“Everyone’s going to compare me to them,” he said. “Even if it’s not fair and even though they have the seat time that I don’t and I am struggling to be in the car, it’s the way it is, and I have to suck it up and prove I can do it.”

~Scene Daily~

I know the sponsors like Burton and Bowyer, but I think Stephen should get a full-time seat.

This is at least a step up from last year when he only ran a handful of races.