Sean Monroe, continuing his comeback as a top driver on NASCAR's Southwest Tour, will be car owner Clarence Broussard's secret weapon as the 2002 series resumes Saturday (March 18) at Cajon Speedway.
Monroe recently tested the CBA Racing Chevrolet on the three-eights-mile oval at El Cajon and worked his lap times down to a competitive 15.88 seconds during the best session late in the day when worn tires on the race car could have slowed him down. The Venice, Calif., veteran, who returned to the sport late last season after a two-and-a-half-year layoff, brought smiles to his crew and car owner with his consistent performance on an unforgiving track.
"Sean is still a little rusty after his time off from racing." Broussard said, "but you can see his talent on the track. We weren't trying to put up big numbers or we would have given him fresh tires to see what he could do. In the first 60 laps he was starting to get it on. He could run anywhere on the track, high or low, and that's what you have to do at El Cajon, where it is very tough to pass."
The partnership between the one-time "most popular driver" on the Southwest circuit (1997) and the new car owner has been a happy experience since Monroe first sat in a CBA car last fall at Irwindale Speedway. Starting 21st, he finished 8th. He had two more top-20 finishes to complete the season at Las Vega and Tucson. Then in a nationally televised race at Phoenix a month ago Monroe started 26th and was running third late in the race before running over debris from an accident he avoided and limped home to finish 22nd.
The two men got together at Irwindale as Monroe was competing in a local race driving his own home-built stock car. Broussard, the only African American car owner in the Southwest Tour, liked Monroe's driving style and offered him some financial help. Before he knew it, Broussard was offering Monroe a ride in his Southwest Tour car.
As soon as other car owners heard Monroe was back in the series, several offered him rides in their stock cars, but Monroe turned them down. "As long as Clarence wants me," he said, "I'll drive for him."
With Monroe in the driver's seat, the CBA team also acquired an all-time Pacific Coast stock car racing star in its retinue. Monroe's mentor, Jimmy Insolo, who used to race out of Granada Hills, Calif., serves as his spotter during races. The sight of Insolo lying on the pavement making adjustments to Monroe's car was a chock the first time Broussard beheld it.
"I never thought I'd see a hall of famer under one of my cars," Broussard said.
