LOUDON, N.H. – Any NASCAR Busch North Series race on Winston Cup weekend at New Hampshire International Speedway is supposed to be a place for drivers in the developmental series to get noticed.

Martin Truex Jr. is already recognized on the national scene. He occasionally steers a Busch Series car for a more famous owner/driver with Junior at the end of his name.

So you can consider Saturday’s triumph in the New England 125 padding for Truex’s resume.

The 23-year-old driver from Mayetta, N.J., won a race at NHIS on the eve of a Winston Cup race for the second time in four years, holding off two of the premier drivers in series history, Andy Santerre and Brad Leighton for the checkered flag.

In the process, Truex upheld family tradition. His father also won a high-profile Busch North event before a similar crowd of 50,000 at the Magic Mile in 1994.

Santerre, a native of Cherryfield now living in Harrisburg, N.C., finished second and padded his series point lead as Chevrolets ran 1-2. He is the defending Busch North champion.

The winningest Busch North driver in the history of NHIS, Leighton, ran third in a Ford in his first start at the track since announcing he would leave longtime employer Grizco Racing to run a limited schedule at the end of last season.

Ryan Moore of Scarborough, whom Truex edged for the pole in Thursday’s qualifying, continued his splendid rookie campaign in fourth, with Mike Johnson fifth.

Mike Olsen, Dale Quarterley, Dave Dion, Tom Carey Jr. and Brian Hoar completed the top 10.

Thirty-nine cars, the largest Busch North field of the season, took the green flag.

Truex won for the second time this season. He led from wire-to-wire at Stafford Motor Speedway in Connecticut on May 8.

This was his second triumph of 2003 and the fourth of his career. He failed to win a race last summer despite capturing six pole awards.

Four starts into his partial schedule this season, Truex has three poles and has finished in the top five in every race.

One reason for the sporadic slate is that Truex is dabbling in the southern Busch Series, making occasional appearances with his family-owned operation.

He also competed at Richmond and Dover in a car owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr. Truex led the Richmond event before the transmission failed, and he ran as high as fourth before spinning and limping home 18th at Dover.

Moore’s father, Kelly, led the list of other drivers of local interest, finishing 12th.

Tracy Gordon of Strong ran 18th in his first Busch North start of the season. Travis Benjamin of Morrill was 21st, Eliot’s Carey Heath 31st, and Center Conway, N.H., drivers Gary Shackford and Dale Shaw wound up 32nd and 36th, respectively.

Santerre leads Ryan Moore by a wide 161-point margin. Moore holds a 23-point margin over his father, a former series champion, for second.

koakes@sunjournal.com

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