The headlines in the Menards Infiniti Pro Series this season have been dominated by points leader Wade Cunningham, the three-pronged attack by defending series champion team Sam Schmidt Motorsports and the exploits of rookie Jay Drake, the reigning USAC National Sprint Car champion. But running consistently well in the shadows has been rookie Nick Bussell.
The 22-year-old from Michigan has visited the podium just twice in eight races, but six top-five finishes have kept him within striking distance of the series championship. His second third-place finish of the season in the Milwaukee 100 moved Bussell into fourth in the points race, within 26 points of third-place Travis Gregg and 66 points of Cunningham.
"The first half of the season for us has been fairly good," Bussell said. "So far, we've pretty much challenged a little bit at every type of racetrack we've run on."
Bussell, who won national karting championships in three classes in 2002, formed a partnership with J.L. West Motorsports in December, pairing a driver with barely more than one year of experience in cars with a new team in the Menards Infiniti Pro Series.
Despite a lack of pre-season testing, the team gelled well enough for Bussell to record a sixth-place finish at the season opener at Homestead-Miami Speedway, a fifth place at Phoenix and a third place on the streets of St. Petersburg. A late-race incident on the oval at Indianapolis resulted in a 15th-place finish in the Futaba Freedom 100, but Bussell rebounded with two more top-five finishes at Texas and the road course at Indianapolis.
The results came without the benefit of a teammate.
"I know on a number of occasions, more than one occasion this year, it would have been nice to be able to compare data and compare information, not even so much looking for the extra help; but more of a confidence thing," Bussell said. "OK, this is right, this is right. OK, what I'm feeling here is right or it's wrong."
![Jeff Simmons (Kenn Hardley Racing) leads the MIPS pack [pic credit: IRL/Ron McQueeney]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/123874.jpg)
