Cautions: 6 for 74 laps

TRACK/RACE NEWS

• See images of the SAFER wall on my Jayski's® Silly Season Site - New Hampshire International Speedway News page.
  
  
• SAFER at NHIS: When cars careen into the corners at the New Hampshire International Speedway next month they'll be met by safer walls, thanks to the completed installation and inspection of Steel and Foam Energy Reduction [SAFER] barriers in each of the Loudon track's four turns. The soft-wall technology comes to New Hampshire on the recommendation of the NASCAR-sponsored Midwest Roadside Safety Facility, which looked at the layout of the track and considered the danger of the corners based on speed information. The facility also studied similar figures from every other track remaining on the Winston Cup's 2003 slate, and earlier this summer suggested NHIS and Virginia's Richmond International Speedway install the SAFER barriers. Both tracks heeded the recommendation.(see full story at the Concord Monitor)(8-27-2003)
  
  
• New Hampshire 2004: being told by folks that they have gotten renewals for the 2nd 2004 race at Hew Hampshire International Speedway, the date? September 19, 2004. See my 2004 Unofficial Schedule page for more, 26 of 36 races are 'confirmed.(8-9-2003)
  
  
• NHIS will install SAFER for Sept race: New Hampshire International Speedway (NHIS) has announced plans to install the SAFER barrier. "We are very pleased to announce that following Dr. Dean L. Sicking's recommendation to NASCAR, we will be installing the SAFER (Steel and Foam Energy Reduction) barrier at New Hampshire International Speedway," said Bob Bahre, Chairman of the Board. Dr. Sicking, the Director of the Midwest Roadside Safety Facility (MwRSF) at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, has developed the barrier that will be attached to the outside walls at NHIS. The SAFER barrier will cover all four of the track's turns. "It is our plan to have the SAFER barrier in place for the NASCAR Winston Cup Series Sylvania 300 weekend this September," Bahre stated. The NASCAR Winston Cup Series Sylvania 300 weekend, from Thursday, September 11 through Sunday, September 14, will also feature the New Hampshire 200 for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series; the New Hampshire 125 for the NASCAR Grand National Division, Busch North Series; and the New Hampshire 100 for the Featherlite Modified Series, NASCAR Touring.(NHIS PR), see the story about Richmond installing SAFER below and for past news, see my Softwalls/SAFER page.(7-3-2003)
  
  
• Past track news: posted in the past at Jayski's Past Track News/Rumors - Richmond International Speedway
  
  

DRIVER/TEAM NEWS

• Crew Chief for the #88 at NHIS: Winston Cup driver Dale Jarrett's #88 Ford team will be led this weekend by a "crew chief by committee." Jarrett's regular crew chief, Shawn Parker, is not in New Hampshire this week as his wife and two of her sisters were killed in a car wreck near Greensboro, N.C., on Wednesday night. Leading the #88 team this weekend will be team owner Robert Yates; Shane Callis, who assists in car set-up; tire specialist Scott Elkins; and car chief Jason Burdett. Funeral plans for Parker's wife, Tara Parker, remained incomplete Friday. The team does not know when Shawn Parker will return.(ThatsRacin.com)(9-12-2003)
  
  
• Jarrett Speaks about Parker: Dale Jarrett says the only reason Robert Yates Racing is at New Hampshire is because they have to be. Commenting on the death of crew chief Shawn Parker's wife Tara and her sisters in a Wednesday night traffic accident. "Certainly our minds are with Shawn and his family and with Tara's family, she was just a wonderful person that's going to be missed tremendously. Shawn's a good leader here and these guys are doing their job, but it's going to be a difficult weekend because we're certainly just thinking about him."(PRN's Garage Pass Radio Show)(9-12-2003)
  
  
• #88 Jackman Returns to the Track: John Bryan will reassume duties as jackman for the #88 UPS Racing Team this weekend at New Hampshire International Speedway. Bryan has been on the sidelines since getting hurt at Indianapolis Motor Speedway the first of August. Bryan has been working out with the pit crew and practicing for the last three weeks and returns to action for the first time this weekend.(UPS Racing PR)(9-11-2003)
  
  
• Sauter back in the #4 at NHIS: Johnny Sauter returns to Loudon, New Hampshire with Morgan-McClure Motorsports for the upcoming NASCAR Winston Cup Series event. The Sylvania 300 will be Sauter's fifth career Winston Cup race. In July at New Hampshire International Speedway, Sauter started the #4 Kodak Pontiac in the 41st position (field set under rain-out rules) and completed the event 23rd. Tim Brewer will work with Sauter as his crew chief. Johnny Sauter quotes: "I look forward to returning to a track where I have worked with the Kodak team this year. I think that will help us out with the set-up tremendously. We can build from the notes acquired in July. We had one of the fastest cars during that race."(Morgan-McClure Motorsports PR)(9-9-2003)
  
  
• PF2 Motorsports postpones Cup debut: After taking the first half of the season off, Fred and Pam Bickford were looking forward to debuting in the Winston Cup Series at the New Hampshire Speedway. With Rich Bickle as their driver, they were getting a team geared up for the New England 300 on July 20th, 2003. Unfortunately, time has not been on their side. "The Winston Cup arena is the most competitive motorsports playing field today," commented Bickford. "We want to be sure that when we debut in the series that our equipment and team effort are as well prepared as it needs to be competitive with the rest of the competitors. We don't feel like that is where we are right now." PF2 has used the resources from Pam Bickford's [#94] Busch Team to train a crew as well as getting everyone acquainted with the NASCAR process. "If we brought our current program to the track right now it wouldn't be in our best interest and it would be a step in the wrong direction," replied Bickford. With this knowledge, they will postpone their debut to a later date. Excited to return to the Winston Cup Series, Rich Bickle has to agree with the Bickfords. "Pam and Fred are committed to this program and getting it off in the right direction. If they don't think we're ready to run the series yet, I trust their judgment. I think that is the right decision and I look forward to when we are back at the track," replied Bickle. "I know I will be giving 150% effort behind the wheel of the No. 94 insure94.com / knotlessboatrope.com Chevy." PF2 Motorsports will announce their debut at a later date.(PF2 Motorsports PR)(7-14-2003)
  
  
• See the 2003 Team Chart which has links to past news for each team and info on each team.
  
  

PAINT SCHEME NEWS

Car#/Driver	Sponsor/Scheme/Promo	Race/Date	Image?
#6-Mark Martin	500th Consecutive Start	New Hampshire - Sept	Car #'s 0-23 page
#12-Ryan Newman	Mobil 1	New Hampshire -Sept Atlanta - Oct	Car #'s 0-23 page




• 12-year-old Connecticut girl wins Ultimate Show-And-Tell: 12-year-old Seneca Tedford visited her local Friendly’s Restaurant in July, and colored and designed a #37 Chevrolet. Her design was picked as the winner from among thousands of entries. The paint scheme and design was the work of the 12-year-old girl as part of a major promotional contest. The race car – with her design – as well as driver Cope, a former Daytona 500 winner, will visit her school, Lebanon Middle School, Thursday morning at 9:30am/et. The actual #37 Friendly’s Chevrolet of driver Derrike Cope that will run in Sunday’s Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire International Raceway in Loudon – will be unloaded in the parking lot. Seneca’s design will be unveiled publicly for the first time, giving her and her schoolmates the first look. Cope and Friendly’s will host an ice cream party immediately afterwards for the entire school. “Hey, she did a great job with her design, and she deserves to show it off,” said Cope, a two-time NASCAR Winston Cup race winner who includes the prestigious Daytona 500 among his major victories. Cope and his Friendly’s Chevrolet team will help Seneca do just that – the team’s huge transporter will stop by Lebanon Middle School at 9:30 Thursday morning and unload the newly-designed car, giving Seneca and her friends an opportunity to see the finished product, meet Cope and his team, and possibly even sit behind the wheel. “We might crank it for her but I don’t think the school would be too happy with us letting her take a couple of laps around the parking lot,” Cope laughed. “This is what Friendly’s is all about – kids and families,” said Pete Bell, Senior Director, Marketing. “We wanted a promotion within our NASCAR sponsorship that really peaked kids' interest, and that enhanced their visit to Friendly's Restaurants. "The results were phenomenal.. Seneca was the winner but thousands of children entered the contest, and were very interested in being a part of our promotion.. Friendly's Ice Cream and its restaurants have always been dedicated to serving families, especially children," Bell continued.. "This contest was a way to involve the entire family, kids and parents, in a wholesome promotion surrounding a wholesome sport." Seneca’s design will certainly be one of the most unique in motorsports history. The Friendly’s Chevrolet at New Hampshire will sport a royal blue base color covered with ice cream cones – strawberry, chocolate and vanilla. The Friendly’s logo and the number 37 will be a tie-dyed design. “I assure you no one has ever seen anything like this on a race track ever before,” Cope said. “It is really going to show up well for the fans in the stands and those watching on national television. I’m excited to be driving it, and I’m grateful to Seneca for the wonderful job she did. To be honest, there were a lot of really good designs and color schemes used by thousands of kids. It was tough to pick just one,” he added. “But this will be one nobody will ever forget.” Seneca has already received $100 worth of Derrike Cope gear as part of her prize package. Additional information on Friendly Ice Cream Corporation can be found on the company’s web site (www.friendlys.com).(Williams Company PR)
  ALSO it is posted on the Derrike Cope site that "Derrike will be announcing his sponsor for the 2004 Winston Cup season on this week's NASCAR This Morning broadcast."[Sunday on Fox Sports Net at 11:00am/et](9-9-2003)
  
  
• #500 for Martin: #6-Mark Martin is scheduled to run a special paint scheme for his 500th Consecutive Winston Cup Start at New Hampshire Intl Speedway in Sept. See an image of the scheme on my Paint Scheme Gallery - Cup page 1.(7-9-2003)
  
  
• More Paint Scheme news can be found on Paint Schemes Gallery
  
  

• NASCAR to require Cup, Busch, Truck teams to add fuel cell area fire extinuisher: NASCAR officials announced today that all vehicles in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series, NASCAR Busch Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will require an additional fire-extinguishing cylinder solely dedicated to the fuel cell area, effective Aug. 13 but recommended immediately. An automatic, thermally activated discharge nozzle recommended by the manufacturer for this application must activate the cylinder, which is required to be made of DOT-approved metal. The automatic system may have a manual and/or pneumatic override from the driver-activated system. The cylinder must be mounted in the driver's compartment and will attach to a steel bracket welded to the frame and/or roll cage of the vehicle. When discharged, the extinguisher releases Halon in the area of the fire. Halon, a proven and extremely effective fire suppressant, is a liquefied compressed gas that stops the spread of fire by chemically disrupting combustion. A minimum of 10 pounds of fire extinguishing agent is required in the cylinder for the fuel cell area. In addition to the fire extinguisher cylinder being added for the fuel cell area, NASCAR has enhanced its requirements and specifications for the current on-board driver protection system as well as the fuel cell vent area. The cockpit extinguisher, a manually controlled push or pull knob that activates a fully charged fire-extinguishing pressurized cylinder, now must contain a minimum of five pounds of extinguishing agent. Should the cylinder also be used for fire extinguishing in the engine compartment, it must contain a minimum of 10 pounds of extinguishing agent. The cylinder also must be securely mounted to the frame and/or roll cage, and hose clamps, worm drive clamps and cable ties are not permitted. In addition, all discharge lines and fittings for the cylinders must be steel or steel-reinforced hose although the nozzles may remain aluminum. A maximum length for the neck of the fuel cell check valve vent hose has been set at three inches. By limiting length, it will make the component more impact resistant. The neck connects the fuel cell to the fuel cell vent hose and is located inside the trunk area of the vehicle. To accommodate the maximum neck length standard, fuel cell vent hoses will increase in length from 60 inches to a maximum of 66 inches.(NASCAR PR)(7-30-2003)
  
  
• New Gas Can Rule: Beginning with the July 13 race at Chicagoland Speedway, NASCAR will prohibit teams from throwing or tossing gas cans or gas catch cans over the pit wall during a pit stop. The change was announced in Sunday's prerace drivers' meeting. If a violation happens under caution, the driver will have to restart at the end of the longest line. If it occurs under green-flag conditions, the driver must return to pit road to serve a 15-second penalty. The change is being made to reduce the liklihood of gas spills during pit stops.(ThatsRacin.com)(6-22-2003)
  
  

• note: this is not to promote gambling but to offer readers odds and ideas on what the 'experts' think about the upcoming race and the Cup series season
  
  
• Oasis Casino and Sportsbook - Sylvania 300
  
  
• America's Line - Odds for the Sylvania 300
  
  
• National Sports Services - 2003 Winston Cup and the Sylvania 300
  
  
• NASCAR Odds - Early Odds for the Sylvania 300
  
  
• Racebook: Sylvania 300 - Odds To Win and the 2003 Winston Cup
  
  
• Vegas Insider - Odds to Win the 2003 Winston Cup Championship and Vegas Insider - Sylvania 300
  
  
• World Sports Exchange:Sylvania 300 odds and other NASCAR odds
  
  

STATS and STUFF

Moved to my STATS and STATS Links page