Gone Fishing: Six NASCAR drivers and six professional anglers teamed up on Tuesday, June 5, for the first annual CITGO BASSMASTER Celebrity Challenge in Orlando, Florida. NASCAR drivers Jeff Burton, Kurt Busch, Greg Biffle, Todd Bodine, Jeff Green and Hank Parker Jr. paired up with anglers Kevin VanDam, Marty Stone, Gerald Swindle, Jay Yelas, Earl Bentz and Shaw Grigsby for the made for TV event. The teams headed out early Tuesday morning on a four hour bass fishing excursion on the Walt Disney World property. Each team was in a Triton boat and the anglers provided the equipment. The NASCAR driver had to boat the first keeper and the pros could coach their driver partner all they wanted. However, the anglers could not cast, retrieve, or help their driver partner in any other way during the cast and retrieve. Burton said his partner VanDam gave him this advice, “Kevin said in order to win, his strategy was to cast as much as possible. And that’s exactly what we did. We threw, and threw, and threw. It seemed to work.” Other drivers like Busch had never fished before but managed to come up with some good catches. “It was a lot of fun out there. I think Jay (Yelas) and I did pretty well. We’ll find out when we weigh in.” Each team was limited to three bass per person for a total catch of six per boat. The minimum length was 13 inches and fish measuring less than this would be culled along with a one-pound penalty at the weigh in. Upon completion of the fishing, the teams headed over to the BASS Pro Shop for the weigh in. Burton and VanDam arrived in the CITGO show car to weigh their fish while the other teams arrived in their respective Triton boats carrying their catches. Each team weighed their six fish and the combined total weight would determine the winner. CITGO would also donate $10,000 in the name of the winner to MDA. The winner will be announced July 27 on ESPN2, when the made for TV show first airs before the BASS Master Classic. In the end, the drivers became anglers and the anglers became NASCAR fans. Tune in to ESPN2 on July 27th and see how these two sports interact at this unique event.(Roush Racing PR)(6-7-2002)
