PERSONAL PROFILE
	Spouse: Ann Kids: Dorothy Lynn, Sheldon, Bradley Hometown: Fenton, MO Birthdate: May 29, 1955 Personal Vehicle: Chevrolet Suburban Hobbies: Racing, Collecting old cars and trucks

Ken Schrader couldn't wait to get a new teammate in place in 2001. For the St. Louis native it couldn't have come too soon, as 2000 marked the third straight year in which the affable all-around driver dropped in the Winston Cup standings.

Schrader fell from 15th in 1999 to 18th in 2000, his first season driving the No. 36 M&M's Pontiac for MB2 Motorsports. Although he had his competitive moments Schrader managed only two top-10 finishes in 34 starts, thus he anticipated having MBV Motorsports driver Johnny Benson in his camp at the outset of the season, once again using Hendrick Motorsports cars and engines.

Sammy Johns, who came over from Andy Petree Racing with the race-aholic after Schrader's three-year run there ended following the 1999 season, engineered the team's best finish in the season opening Daytona 500. Schrader flirted with the top-10 in the standings early in the first half of the season, however, despite registering only two DNFs all year the team also scored its lone other top-10 late in the second half of the season, at New Hampshire.

Schrader started his 18th Winston Cup season hoping to reverse the trend he lived at Petree's. He started his tenure there with a 10th place finish in the point standings and fell from 12th to 15th in the next two seasons before his rough debut campaign with MB2. He was a consistent middle-of-the-pack runner, with 18 top-20 finishes.

Schrader can make it happen as he has four career victories, all with team owner Rick Hendrick's multi-car organization and has three times finished in the top-5 in the standings, again with Hendrick in 1988, 1989 and 1994, when he scored a career best fourth place points finish. His last victory came in 1991.

Schrader, one of the first of the now more prevalent open-wheel converts to find a permanent home in stock cars, was the USCA Silver Crown champion in 1982 and national Sprint Car champion in 1983 and scored rookie of the year honors five years apart in USAC stock cars in 1980 and Winston Cup in 1985, when he drove for Junie Donlavey.

Schrader was once considered one of the strongest qualifiers in the sport, winning three straight pole positions for the Daytona 500 and two straight editions of the Busch Clash, the Speedweeks special event for pole winners only.

The diverse Schrader owns his own race team that competes in limited schedules in the Craftsman Truck Series and Busch Series as well as running hand-picked races virtually anywhere in the country on any surface. He also promotes races at the clay 1-55 Raceway in Pevely, Mo.

Schrader's father, Bill, was an accomplished short-track racer in the Midwest and instilled his love of racing and automobiles in his son, who for years went to races with his dad who, along with A.J. Foyt, is Schrader's hero. Foyt's impact on Schrader is evident, as, like Foyt, Schrader has won races in stock cars, Silver Crown cars, Sprints and Midgets.