FOR SAUGUS DRIVER, SCHMIDTS HAPPENED.

Byline: TIM HADDOCK Motor Sports

Scott and Norm Schmidt got a little more than they bargained for when they bought the Team Walker Motor Sports cars and equipment.

The Colorado owners managed to get a seasoned driver along with a fleet of Winston West, Southwest and Craftsman Truck series cars.

Sean Woodside, the 1999 NASCAR Winston West champion from Saugus, will be racing his old Walker Motor Sports cars for the Schmidts on the Southwest Series this season.

He is coming off a 15th-place finish in the season opener at Phoenix International Raceway and is preparing for the next event at Mesa Marin Raceway in Bakersfield on March 22.

Woodside will be entered in the Southwest Series and Craftsman Truck Series races at Mesa Marin.

Meanwhile, Scott Schmidt, Norm's son and part-owner of the team, will be driving on the Winston West Series. Woodside said he is planning on entering a couple Winston West races in the Schmidts' cars as well, most likely the California Speedway and Mesa Marin races at the end of the season.

That Woodside is even racing at all at this point of the season is remarkable. He was sidelined the final few races of last year's Southwest Series season after he broke his leg in a garage accident.

Months of rehabilitation and therapy got Woodside back in the driver's seat earlier than expected. He also received plenty of encouragement from his current team owners.

``Scott and Norm helped me out a lot,'' Woodside said. ``I continued to go to the race track with them. It was nice for me. It was better than hanging out at home, lying on a sofa.''

Mike Harvick, father of NASCAR Winston Cup driver Kevin Harvick, is the primary builder for Woodside's Southwest Series cars, another asset as Woodside heads into the 2003 season.

``I was very fortunate to hook up with them,'' Woodside said.

--NASCAR Busch Grand National Division: Former Saugus Speedway champ Ron Hornaday Jr. qualified his Richard Childress Racing Chevy eighth for today's NASCAR Busch Series Koolerz 300 at Daytona International Speedway.

He turned a lap in his No. 2 AC Delco Chevy at 184.930 mph on the 2.5 mile tri-oval during qualifying Wednesday.

Joe Nemechek, driver and owner of the No. 87 Cellular One Pontiac, won his fourth consecutive NASCAR Busch Series pole at Daytona. He clocked the fastest lap in qualifying at 186.050 mph.

Nemechek won the poles for the past two Koolerz 300s in addition to winning the pole for last year's Busch Series summer race. He won the 1998 Koolerz 300 and last summer's Busch race at Daytona.

``We're very fortunate to have success on the superspeedway race tracks,'' Nemechek said. ``Here and in Talladega, I don't know how many poles we've had, but we have a bunch of them.''

TODAY'S RACENASCAR

Busch Grand National

Koolerz 300

Site: Daytona Beach, Fla.

Schedule: Today, race (Fox, 9:30 a.m.)

Track: Daytona International Speedway (tri-oval, 2.5 miles, 31 degrees banking in turns, 18 degrees in tri-oval)

Race distance: 300 miles, 120 laps

Last year: Dale Earnhardt Jr., making his return to the Busch Series, led the final 47 laps and held off Michael Waltrip and Matt Kenseth to win the rain-delayed EAS/GNC Live Well 300 at Daytona.

Fast facts: Randy LaJoie has won the Daytona event three times in the past six years, taking the checkered flag in 1997, 1999 and 2001. ... Eight drivers have won this race and the Daytona 500, with only three doing it in the same year (most recently Darrell Waltrip in 1989). ... The race has been delayed by rain in four of the past six years. ... Five Busch Series champions will be competing in the race, including Earnhardt, David Green, Kevin Harvick, LaJoie and Joe Nemechek.

Next race: Rockingham 200, Feb. 22, Rockingham, N.C.

On the Net: www.nascar.com

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TODAY'S RACE (see text)