Todd Souza of Aromas was in his element at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma this past weekend. Running in the Top 10, Souza was sandwiched between NASCAR Nextel Cup regular Dave Blaney, Cup up-and-comer Travis Kvapil and defending Nextel Cup champion Kurt Busch’s younger brother Kyle.

And while it wasn’t Sunday’s Nextel Cup main event – the Dodge/Save Mart 350, the Watsonville native who cut his racing teeth on the dirt tracks of Central California got the chance to trade paint with drivers from the top level of stock car racing in Saturday’s NASCAR Southwest Series race – the Blue Lizard Australian Suncream 200.

Sure, Blaney, Kvapil and Little Busch aren’t exactly Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson, but it was still a great testing ground for Souza. (One better-known driver, former Daytona 500 champion Michael Waltrip, bowed out of the exotically named Blue Lizard 200 despite qualifying for the event.)

It was a fine opportunity for Souza and 37 other Southwest Series drivers, mostly from California, in Saturday’s preamble to Sunday’s showcase event. Along with Souza, the Central Coast’s Stan Silva Jr. (Castroville), and Jim Pettit II and Doug McCoun (both of Prunedale) also got their shot at bending bumpers with the Nextel Cup drivers on Infineon’s twisting curves.

Before most Nextel Cup races, several Cup drivers get in some extra practice in a Busch Series race on Saturday. But the Busch Series doesn’t visit Infineon, so it was the Southwest Series drivers who had a little extra talent in their race. While Souza and his fellow Southwest Series drivers have raced against current and former Nextel Cuppers on occasion over the years, the rare road courses like Infineon tend to be an equalizing factor against the massively financed Nextel Cup drivers.

Souza, the 2001 Southwest Series Rookie of the Year, could get a chance to show his talent against more Nextel Cup competition this season if he can qualify for his first Busch Series event, probably at the Pikes Peak International Raceway next month or Watkins Glen in August. He just missed qualifying for a Busch Series event earlier this season at the inaugural Telcel Motorola 200 at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez racetrack near Mexico City. Souza’s business and main sponsor – Central Coast Cabinets – has a branch in Mexico.

The 40-year-old is considering joining the Busch Series full-time in the near future, according to Hollister’s Chuck Harrell, a Watsonville Speedway regular who pitted for Souza in Saturday’s race.

While two other Central Coast drivers had fine finishes in Saturday’s race – defending Southwest Series champion and current overall points leader Pettit II, and Silva Jr. both ended up in the Top 15 – Souza was waylaid by battery trouble and ended up several laps down in 25th place. (McCoun had a fuel pump go out on him and ended up just behind Souza in 26th.) However, Souza showed his driving ability by staying with eventual winner Tom Dyer of Corte Madera and runner-up Eric Holmes of Escalon at the front of the pack once he got back on the track.

Busch and Kvapil both took Top 15 finishes in Saturday’s race, but Blaney had transmission problems and ended up 36th.

The next race for the Southwest Series is Saturday, July 16 at Stockton 99 Speedway. For more information regarding the Southwest Series log onto www.nascarregionalracing.com.

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