Gladeville, Tenn. ? David Stremme has been a regular at race tracks ever since he was a baby in a booster seat with his mother stuffing cotton in his ears.

Pressure meant installing the right part correctly in the race car being driven by either his father, Lou, or his mother, Cindy. That, and not getting caught being under age in the pits.

“We didn’t go on family vacations,” David said. “That was going to the race track.”

The stakes are considerably higher now that Stremme is the latest driver to be “discovered” by Chip Ganassi. But Stremme says he doesn’t feel any pressure, at least not this year.

“I have set some goals for myself, but I feel I can get the job done. They must feel that way because I’m in the car,” he said.

Stremme has had only one race to show why Ganassi plucked him out of the American Speed Assn. last year. But he showed his potential in his Busch Series debut April 12.

He overcame a blown motor that forced him to start at the back of field at the Pepsi 300 at the Nashville Superspeedway and finished seventh, the highest finish for a rookie in the race.

“Very impressive,” said car chief Jon Wolfe.

NASCAR Busch series rookie David Stremme climbs into the No. 1 Yellow Freight Dodge for the start of the Pepsi 300. Stremme showed potential in his Busch debut at the race April 12 at Nashville Superspeedway in Nashville, Tenn.

“I didn’t really know much about David until we went and tested for Nashville the week before. I was very impressed with the test and how it went. It’s one thing to be out there all by yourself and run some good laps as opposed to being in competition.”

Not Stremme. He thinks he was too cautious and spent valuable time learning how to pass on the 1.33-mile concrete track.

“It’s like I’ve graduated high school and gone to college, which is great because I learned so much in the Busch race I can’t wait to get behind the wheel of a car again,” he said.

Stremme’s current education could be seen as more of an internship, thanks to a partnership between Ganassi and Phoenix Racing owner James Finch. Stremme, who races again May 3 at Richmond, is running 18 Busch races this year, filling in for Jamie McMurray in the Yellow Racing No. 1 Dodge.

His graduation will be running the full Busch schedule in 2004.