The familiar sound of slot machines and high dollar card tables was replaced by the sounds of banging hammers and nail guns as Paul Athey and Mohegan Sun Racing welcomed a new sponsor to their operation. Sterling Homes is proud to announce their backing of the Mohegan Sun Team for the remainder of the 2006 season and the 2007 campaign as well.

“This is a great partnership,” team owner Paul Athey said. “Russ is a great guy with a passion for what we are trying to achieve on the track. It is really great to have someone on board with our team that sees what we are trying to accomplish in the long term, as well as the short term. The quality of their homes is completely unmatched as well.”

Russ Busa the owner of Sterling Homes attended a drag race at New England Dragway as a guest of the Mohegan Sun Casino, from the experience he had with the team at the race track, it was an easy decision to provide funding for the continued growth of their operation.

“I see two organizations moving in the same direction,” said Busa. “What really got me excited was the passion that Paul and his team showed at the races. I had no idea about what went on in the pits and the excitement, passion, and focus that Paul’s team concentrated on the race car is exactly what I invest in my business.”

Busa, much like Athey, is a self made man, who spent his early years helping his dad build houses and eventually started his own, highly successful, custom housing business. “My father spent 45 years building houses and he built over 800 of them,” Busa said. “I started Sterling Homes in 1998 with the goal of establishing the company as a name that stood for quality custom homes and the kind of work every craftsman would be proud of.”

From his first taste of the Pro Modified world as a spectator, Busa’s interests in the Mohegan Sun team grew quickly. “I saw the attitude and professionalism that the team had in the pits and on the track and it fit the model that I have for my business perfectly,” Busa said. “The fact is that this team is ready to do some big things and I want to be a part of it.”

Paul Athey and the rest of the Mohegan Sun team agree. With a fresh tune up and more runs than literally any of their competitors at new England Dragway, host of the up coming Amalie Oil North American Nationals, this local team is ready to score some big points.

“We are going to be fighting against the best Pro Mod cars in the business at the North American Nationals,” said Athey.

That fight may have gotten a little bit easier due to the addition of Sterling Homes to the roster of supporters for the 2006 campaign. We’ve said it before, but it is the truth. No matter what your position is, never bet against the house (literally!), because you will probably get burned.