Lepage continues to ride along

DAYTONA BEACH -- Somewhere along the way, Kevin Lepage transformed himself from hungry young racer into a realistic veteran with a love of racing.

When exactly that happened Lepage isn't sure. But he does feel like joining with car owner Doug Taylor for a full season in the NASCAR Nationwide Series this year has given him a new lease on life -- his racing life, that is.

"There's things you've got to do in life, and I'm very excited to be in the Nationwide Series, especially with a new opportunity and a neat team," said Lepage, the 45-year-old native of Shelburne, Vt. "There's just so many new things right here that maybe it gives me a new outlook on life in racing."

Lepage got his start on New England's short tracks in the American-Canadian Tour and what is now the Camping World East Series, racing on his father's dime as he shaped a career that ultimately took him to a full-time ride for Cup Series owner Jack Roush in the 1990s. The last few years, however, Lepage has gone into virtually every offseason with no guarantee of having anywhere to race come spring.

Owner Doug Taylor called Lepage less than a month ago about driving for him this season, and the team worked furiously to get to Daytona for Saturday's season-opening Camping World 300 -- so furiously that number decals still had to be affixed to the No. 61 Ford as of Wednesday morning.

It's not the Sprint Cup Series, Lepage said, but as he learned last year, there are no guarantees at stock-car racing's highest level.

"I went to almost all the (Cup) races last year and only made 2 of them," Lepage said of his time in Bob Jenkins' No. 37. "It's so disappointing as a driver to go through all that. To get a good Craftsman Truck or Nationwide Series ride was what I was looking for, but to have this come together late, it's better than nothing. I think the relationship I had with Doug Taylor in the past, I think it's going to fulfill everything I want to do this year. To be back at the race track every week, it's a good thing.

"I'm at the point in my career where, hey, if I race I race, if I don't I don't. A lot of guys haven't been through what I'm going through. There's several guys out there right now that don't have a job, and they're probably saying, 'What am I going to do?' "

Lepage -- who made a start in the Oxford 250 last summer -- drove in the Nationwide Series for Taylor in 1998, earning 1 of his 2 career Series wins at Bristol Motor Speedway that season. In 25 races together, the team posted 10 top-10s.

He's excited about racing at Daytona, too -- where he has a career-best finish of 3rd in Nationwide competition in 2002 and ran 9th in an untested and unproven Cup car in 2005. Admittedly, part of him wishes he had a Cup ride for the 50th running of the Daytona 500 this Sunday.

"I came here when I was 10 or 12 years old with my dad," Lepage said. "It's disappointing today that we're talking about the Nationwide Series and not going for the 50th anniversary of the (Daytona 500), because I was here for the 40th and I really wanted to make it to the 50th."

But, more to the point, he's just happy to have gainful employment behind the wheel of a race car.

Lepage thinks his days racing with his father have made him a candidate for low-budget teams, despite the sport's trend to put young drivers with steep financial backing in available seats. He knows how to work on race cars himself, he's easy on equipment and he helps out wherever he can.

Taylor is buying cars from Roush Racing and powering them with Yates Racing engines. According to Lepage, there are a half-dozen sponsors interested in signing on with the team for the season, and the team is hopeful that several partial sponsorships will help foot the bill for the year.

He thinks he can start the season with a win in the Camping World 300.

"It's a Roush car with Yates motors, and I really think realistically we can get this thing done," said Lepage, one of 23 Nationwide Series drivers who must make the show on time in Friday's qualifying session. "If not, we'll just try to run all day long and finish in the top-10. ... I know what I have to do in the race car to finish one of these things. You've got to run all day long and get as many points as you can, and if you're there for the win you go for it.

"If not, you take what you can get and move on to next week."

Kind of like Lepage has been doing for a few years now.