By JIM FENNELL
Staff Sports Writer

LOUDON - If Sean Caisse ever realizes his dream of driving in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, he’ll have Morgan Shepherd to thank.

Shepherd, the veteran NASCAR driver, spotted Caisse walking around the pits before a race here at New Hampshire International Speedway and asked him if he would be a spotter for him.

Caisse was a 15-year-old sophomore at Pelham High at the time and had snuck onto pit row without a pass, so what do you think he said?

Uh, yeah.

Yesterday, three years after that chance meeting with Shepherd, Caisse’s dream of reaching the major leagues of stock car racing got a little closer when he made the field for tomorrow’s Busch North Series Sylvania 125.

Running a rented car his family is helping finance, the freshman at Concord’s New Hampshire Technical College qualified 22nd during yesterday’s late afternoon run. It was the first time he had ever run a Busch North car.

“He just went out there and conquered it,” Buzz Chew said. “As far as I’m concerned, he’s flying.”

Chew is the New York car owner leasing the car to Caisse this weekend and thinks the former soccer player is a real race talent. Mike Calinoff, a spotter for defending Nextel champion Matt Kenseth and an advisor to Caisse, said his young protégée has the makings of a big league driver.

And what about Morgan Shepherd? Well, Caisse hasn’t talked to him after that race three years ago. It was just a one-time thing and two have never seen each other since.

But if not for that chance meeting, Caisse wouldn’t have met Calinoff in the spotter’s tower. And if he didn’t meet Calinoff, he wouldn’t have made contact with Chew. And if wasn’t for Chew, he wouldn’t be behind the wheel of a Busch car for the first time in the biggest race of his life tomorrow.

So, thanks Morgan.

All this seemed wholly unlikely a month ago when Caisse parted ways with modified owner Art Barry after an ill-fated run on the Featherlite Modified Series. He had made his first appearance at NHIS during July’s Featherlite race, qualifying 26th and working his way up to fourth until a broken bolt ended his day 64 laps into the race.

By then, Caisse said he felt more comfortable in the modifieds, which he was running regularly for the first time, and thought that race would be a turnaround to what had been a rocky relationship with Bell. It wasn’t. He left the team three races later.

He had no ride, only a dream, a family willing to make it happen and a well-connected mentor in Calinoff. That was good enough to get him back on the Magic Mile tomorrow.

Calinoff has been in the business for 25 years as a jack-of-all-trades, ranging for public relations to his regular gig as Kenseth’s spotter. He also looks for young drivers to help manage, including Chase Montgomery of the Craftsman Truck Series. He spotted Caisse that day three years ago and thought he might have found someone special.

“What struck me the most about him is that he’s got a great personality and he’s a good looking kid. I thought if he can drive a race car, he’s going to have the full package,” Calinoff said. “I saw him race in (July) and you can tell a race driver if they have talent and how they’re going to run in the first 20 laps of the race. That’s the most critical part and he did that really well. I was impressed.”

It was on Calinoff’s recommendation that Chew leased one of his cars to Caisse for this weekend and next weekend at Dover (Del.).

“This will lay the foundation for what’s to come,” Calinoff said. “If he does well, and he maintains his composure and his smarts, and he finishes the race, it will be very successful. He’s a smart driver and I think that’s going to show Saturday.”

Jim Caisse, Sean’s dad, said the split with Bell is behind them and now they’re concentrating on getting Sean time behind the wheel of a Busch North car in hope of landing a full-time ride next year. The elder Caisse started his son in the sport eight years ago, racing go-carts at Sugar Hill in Weare, and has been his biggest supporter ever since.

“I have an unbelievable family and if it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t even be racing,” Caisse said. “I’m glad and I’m thankful to have a family that supports me like that.”

Jim Caisse said the cost of renting a ride this weekend is somewhere around the neighborhood of $20,000. They rounded up some sponsorship, most notably ParkerStore Racing, but most of it is coming from the family fund. With two kids in college (a daughter, Danielle is studying to be a veterinarian at Colby-Sawyer College), Caisse said finding the money to support Sean’s racing has been challenging. He also said it’s been worth it.

“I’ve got goose bumps right now,” Jim Caisse said. “He’s the real deal.”

Sean Caisse had to decide if it was worth it two years ago. Running a late model race at Lee Speedway, he was pushing for the lead when he collided with five laps to go and broke bones in both of his legs. He was a junior at Pelham at the time.

“The next morning my mom walked in and asked if I still wanted to do this,” Caisse said. “I said yes, rebuild my race car because I’ll be ready in eight weeks.”

He came back with a re-built car and returned to Lee in time to clean up in a handful of late-season races. And he hasn’t stopped racing.

Morgan Shepherd should be proud.
Staff sports writer Jim Fennell’s e-mail address is: jfennell@theunionleader.com.