PAST NEWS MARCH 22-28, 1999
(3-28-1999)
- Kenseth to Cup, confirmed: Jack Roush confirmed in the postrace BGN news conference that BGN driver Matt Kenseth will drive a Mark Martin Racing car in Cup in 2000. Roush said that DeWalt Tools would like to come along with Kenseth. Roush will provide the team engines and chassis, but will be a separate team from the Roush stable. Kenseth will also drive a Roush Racing car in five Cup races in 1999(NOL/AP)(3-27-1999)
- Gordon: His 43rd place finish in the Primestar 500 was the first time Jeff Gordon has finished 43rd in a Winston Cup event, in hid 195th race(CBS Race), NOTE: He was last in a 42-car field at Atlanta Motor Speedway in March 1997(3-28-1999)
- Wind Tunnel stuff: from PitNow/Journal Now Site - Yes, Jeff Gordon's Monte Carlo did test out better in the Lockheed wind tunnel last week than Mark Martin's Ford, John Hendrick concedes. Jack Roush and Ford officials say that Gordon's aerodynamic edge should be worth more than two-tenths of a second a lap, according to extrapolation of NASCAR's own data. See complete story at FUROR: Wind-tunnel results are still point of contention(3-28-1999)
- #400: Michael Waltrip made his 400th career Cup start on Sunday in the Primestar 500 at Texas(3-27/29-1999)
(3-27-1999)
- #90 Sponsor: Donlavey Racing and Stanton Barrett has a one-race deal for the PRIMESTAR 500 with Suburban Lodfges of America, Inc, an economy extended stay hotel company(NOL) that could turn into a full-time deal(Times-Dispatch), failed to make the race(3-27-1999)
- #94 Assoc Sponsor trouble? Service Merchandise is seeking Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. It is not known how it will affect sponsorship of the #94 McDonald's Ford team of Bill Elliott(NSSN)(3-27-1999)
- Bouchard Update: Ken Bouchard, driver of the #84 Three Stooges Beer Chevrolet, is still at Parkland Memorial Hospital. His test results were negative and he is in stable condition(TMS Page)(3-27-1999)
- Raybestos and #28: It's a week or so old, but saw this in last weeks Winston Cup Scene - Raybestos Brakes has signed on for three more years as an associate sponsor with Robert Yates Racing and the #28 Texaco Ford of Kenny Irwin(WC Scene)(3-27-1999)
- No New Monte: According to Richard Childress, owner of the #3 Goodwrench car driven by Dale Earnhardt and the #31 driven by Mike Skinner, the possibility of running a new Chevrolet is now a dead issue. See the complete story at It's official: No new Monte in '99 by Lee Spencer (SpeedVisoin/iRace)(3-27-1999)
- Earnhardt Honors: Dale Earnhardt will honor Garry Sanders, a Sansom Park firefighter who was killed recently when trying to rescue people from a burning church. Sanders' brother, Steve, is a member of the Texas Motor Speedway rescue crew and prior to his death, Garry had been trying to earn enough hours to be permitted to work race events. His goal had been to work in Earnhardt's pit area during a Winston Cup event at the track. To honor Garry Sanders, Earnhardt will carry decals on his car Sunday that say, "In memory of Garry Sanders." In addition, Steve Sanders will work in Earnhardt's pit in the Primestar 500(Dallas Morning News - Notes)(3-27-1999)
- DW/#66 in Trouble? UPDATE 5: The Speedwords website has been hearing of discontent and outright anger in the #66 Winston Cup team of Darrell Waltrip, primarily in the last two weeks though some say it goes back farther than that. DW is out of provisionals (as best as anyone understands that "rule"), crew chiefs have come and gone and now there is talk of an impending split of the team itself. Track side reports of tension in the pit and garage area possibly fed by on-track performance that appears to be spiraling downwards all lend credence to the reports. Late yesterday Speedwords was told that at least two prospective crew chiefs have quietly turned down offers from the #66 team. Sources close to the team also said last night that key figures in the Travis Carter owned operation are seeking a way out of what even hopeful supporters are now considering a bad situation. Though publicly displaying his game face, this has to be a tough time for DW and everyone involved with the team(Speedwords) Yikes!(3-25-1999) -- I hear there was a story on Waltrip echoing the same in Thursday's USA Today print edition, but I could not find it online and have not seen Thursday paper. UPDATE 2: Also I hear if DW is not up to speed for 1st round qualifying, look for another driver(Jeff Green??) to make an attempt in 2nd round(3-26-1999) -- UPDATE 3: see a story of That's Racin' at Waltrip faces prospect of going home by David poole and from SpeedNet's Notes by Monte Dutton: Rumors circulated late Friday that Travis Carter, Waltrip's car owner, was considering putting another driver in the car for today's second-round qualifying session. Waltrip has needed a provisional to make the field in all five events and no longer has that option since the team fell out of the top 25 in car-owner standings last week. Carter was apparently considering Matt Kenseth, Todd Bodine and several other Busch regulars, although Waltrip would almost certainly be the driver on Sunday if someone else can get the #66 Ford in the field. Carter left the track abruptly and was unavailable for comment(SpeedNet) -- UPDATE 4: The Travis Carter owned teams both had trouble in the session with Jimmy Spencer qualifying 40th and Darrell Waltrip qualifying 44th. Waltrip's run must have been a disappointment as he ran a time 4/10ths of a second slower than he practiced earlier in the day. Waltrip’s #66 car was covered and the team hauler locked as the team left the track early(Speedway Scene) -- UPDATE 5: DW made the race and that'll quiet things down for at least two weeks. Many articles out there now about the situation including: Waltrip Overcomes Fears, Qualifies for Texas Race from the WRAL Auto Racing page and Waltrip produces hot lap when he needs it from That's Racin'(3-27-1999)
(3-26-1999)
- Hollywood Video/Craven UPDATE: Looks like Hollywood Video is doing a race by race deal with Ricky Craven. They will be on the #58 SBIII Ford at Texas(3-25-1999) -- UPDATE: I hear Hollywood Video has signed on for the entire 1999 season(3-26-1999)
- Bud Moore News UPDATE: Jeff Green is entered in the #15-Bud Moore Ford, but I am hearing that team may have closed up shop(3-23-1999) -- UPDATE: The Bud Moore Engineering race team is still hard at work. Moore, the team's general manager, is encouraged by upcoming talks with potential sponsors and partners, but it's happened before. He knows not to get too optimistic before the final deal is signed. They are rebuilding their car from Daytona. As recently as a month ago, the team had planned to qualify for the events at Atlanta two weeks ago and this weekend's Texas race. But plans for both fell through at the last minute. On Wednesday, Moore withdrew his entry for Sunday's race at Texas Motor Speedway. The team is still fairly discouraged by the events at Daytona in February, when the #15 Ford was wrecked on the first lap of the 125-mile qualifying event. Driver Jeff Green had tested and practiced the car at good times, and the team was confident that he would make the field. Moore has been trying to convince potential sponsors and partners based upon limited past performances -- and questionable potential(GoUpstate.com), look for more on this later...(3-26-1999)
(3-24-1999)
- Rusty Paint Scheme: Rusty Wallace and the #2 Miller Lite Ford team will have a special paint scheme at Texas, with the "True to Texas" on his #2 Ford on the side quarter-panels and the back TV panel. The car will also have a big star on each side, representing the "Lone Star State" of Texas(NOL)(3-24-1999)
- Atwood Five Race Cup Deal? UPDATE 3: Speedway Scene has learned that rising star Casey Atwood will announce a five race Cup deal for later this year. No details were available at the time of this posting on which five races will be included in the package, but expect an announcement soon, possibly this weekend(Speedway Scene) Jayski Note: I had reported a while back that Atwood signed a deal with Bill Eliiott, may have been just a testing deal, but possibly something related??(3-18-1999) -- UPDATE 1: BGN driver Casey Atwood announced today he is not planning to enter any NASCAR Winston Cup Series events during the 1999 season. His current BGN team may look into running some Cup races in 2000, but nothing has been decided(Keystone Marketing)(3-19-1999) -- UPDATE 2: Supposedly Atwood had been on the verge of signing a developmental contract with Richard Childress that would have included a five-race Cup deal. Under pressure from Castrol, his BGN sponsor, Atwood said all Cup plans were off for the remainder of this year(SpeedNet)(3-22-1999) -- UPDATE 3: Atwood, Castrol and Brewco have a multiyear agreement, and plan to partner with a Cup team maybe for a few races in 2000, it basically hinges upon when Atwood is ready, right now and this year they will not be running in the Winston Cup series. Richard Childress has not offered a deal and by no means has Castrol put any pressure on anyone. As a group Brewco is not in as big a hurry as others would like for them to be. A press release to this effect was issued at Darlington on Friday(see UPDATE 1)(3-24-1999)
- Monte Carlo to Tunnel: Chevy engineers plan on putting their 2000 Monte Carlo through its paces in the Detroit wind tunnel today. The fate of the new Monte Carlo has been weighed by NASCAR officials for two months now, and its Indianapolis debut in August has been scratched. The new model is all but dead for any Winston Cup racing in 1999, because of the stalemate between NASCAR and GM executives, though some NASCAR teams are holding out slim hope they might get to run the model somewhere in the final month of the season. NASCAR officials were apparently not invited to this week's wind tunnel tests(PitNow)(3-24-1999)
- Lake Speed Returns UPDATE: Midwest Transit Racing has NASCAR Winston Cup Series veteran Lake Speed as general manager. Speed will be responsible for all day to day operations of the #50 Midwest Transit Chevy race team. Speed, a former World Karting champion, has made 402 NASCAR Winston Cup Series starts as a driver. In 1988, driving a car he owned, Speed captured the TranSouth 500 at Darlington Raceway. In his last assignment, Speed was the driver and team manager at Melling Racing, a team that boasts 34 wins and the 1988 Winston Cup championship. Dan Pardus, who's running for Raybestos Rookie of the Year honors as Midwest Transit Racing's primary driver, said he was delighted with
Speed's selection(Midwest Transit PR)(3-23-1999) -- UPDATE: The team will sit out and regroup the next few races and plan to return to Cup action at Talladega in April(3-24-1999)
- Ganassi to Cup? CART team owner Chip Ganassi, whose drivers have won the last three CART titles, says he's still mulling an expansion into Winston Cup -- perhaps by 2001, if not sooner(USA Today/Skip Wood)(3-24-1999)
- Martinsville Testing UPDATE: Elliott Sadler and the #21 CITGO Ford tested at Martinsville Monday and will test there again on Tuesday(WC Today Radio)(3-22-1999) -- UPDATE: Sadler again tested Tuesday with Petty truck driver, Jimmy Hensley. The #21 team spent much time testing shock, no speeds(SpeedNet)(3-24-1999)
(3-23-1999)
- Martin Car Owner? UPDATE 2: Mark Martin could become a Winston Cup car owner as soon as next year. With Dale Earnhardt setting the precedent (driving for one team, owning a rival team with another driver), Martin could emerge in 2000 as owner of a Cup team for Matt Kenseth, possibly with DeWalt sponsorship. Martin’s personal interest in rising star Kenseth, a 26-year-old from Wisconsin, gave the youngster’s career a boost during an exciting rookie campaign in the Busch Series last year. Kenseth’s Busch team is owned by Robbie Reiser. It receives no cars or engines from Roush Racing, but it receives guidance and sponsorship support from the Roush group. Under the Roush plan, Kenseth faces several career options, all apparently favorable. He could be graduated to one of Roush’s Cup cars, or the Reiser team could become a companion team to the Roush-supported Wood Brothers outfit. At Atlanta, however, Roush suggested a third option with Mark Martin as an owner(This info from the Racer Magazine Site/Ben Blake, thanks to Team Roush Fans Site for the heads up)(3-15-1999) -- UPDATE 2: Mark Martin's owner, Jack Roush says that Matt Kenseth may be the driver for the possible Mark Martin owned Winston Cup team for the 2000 season, DeWalt Tools may follow Kenseth as the sponsor.(NOL)(3-23-1999)
- Next Driver UPDATE 2: Junie Donlavey said Stanton Barrett will drive the team’s #90 Ford at Texas Motor Speedway next weekend(Times-Dispatch)(3-20-1999) -- UPDATE: Stanton Barrett, fourth in the NASCAR Rookie of the Year points standings, will drive the Heritage Consumer Products Taurus for Donlavey in Sunday’s Texas 500 at the 1.5-mile Texas Motor Speedway.
The 26-year-old Barrett drove for Donlavey in the Las Vegas 400 two weeks ago, and was the second highest-finishing rookie driver in that event. His only other attempt came in the Daytona 500 when he finished 16th in his 125-mile qualifying race, missing the most difficult field to make in motorsports by less than one-tenth of a second. The Taurus will be sponsored by Heritage Consumer Products Company, which delivers high quality healthcare products to
consumers which fulfill specific needs. Heritage Consumer Products markets and distributes such well-known products as Acutrim, Allerest, Sinarest, Fiberall, Eucalyptamint, Privine, Ting, Konodremul, Caldesene and Americaino. There won’t be much of a cushion as far as provisional starting spots are concerned as the team is out until Martinsville.
(Williams Company of America) -- UPDATE 2: Please note that the Junie Donlavey Taurus driven by Stanton Barrett of Bishop, Calif., at Texas Motor Speedway this weekend will be unsponsored.
Donlavey hired Barrett for the Texas NASCAR Winston Cup event directly. A previous release mentioning Heritage Consumer Products Company as sponsor for the Texas event was in error. We regret any problems or inconveniences this might have caused(Williams Company of America)(3-23-1999)
- Grissom News: Steve Grissom woll sub in the #18 MBNA BGN Pontiac for Bobby Labonte at the Texas BGN race(NOL)(3-23-1999)
- Three Stooges Return: The #84 Chevy returns to TMS this weekend with Three Stooges Beer, made by Panther Brewing Company, driven by Ken Bouchard. Stanton Barrett was slated to drive the car in a limited schedule but parted with Petty Huggins Motorsports shortly after the Daytona 500. Island Oasis, which produces 'Smoothees' will be an associate sponsor on the car. The car will have motors from veteran engine builder and long-time NASCAR car owner Richard Jackson(NOL)(3-23-1999)
- Donlavey (Darlington)Sponsor UPDATE 3: Bryan Foods will sponsor the Junie Donlavey-owned #90 Ford driven by Ed Berrier in at Darlington. Bryan(Sara Lee) is the primary sponsor of the #30 Pontiac and driver Derrike Cope, but it failed to get in the race(NOL)(3-20-1999) -- plus the team gets an in-car camera too(Times-Dispatch) UPDATE 2: NASCAR Online had the #90 car listed as the #90 Mean Green Ford, the sponsor Berrier brought with him, its a cleaner. Accu-Turn was also on the var along with Bryan(3-21-1999) -- UPDATE 3: Here is the story on this Team Green deal - Mean Green Super Strength Cleaners is a product manufactured by Chempro out of Spartenburg, SC. They have been with Ed Berrier for many years, primarily on his ARCA car. They are also the current primary sponsor of Elaine Hughes. Elaine is the Office Manager for Jaspar Motorsports and campaigns a Legends car at Charlotte Motor Speedway, and also competes in the Late Model Stock Division at Concord Motor Speedway. She was voted Most Popular driver in 1998 and finished 7th in points. She is currently leading the points in the legends car at Concord Motor Speedway. Her Husband/Car Owner/Crew Chief Kevin Hughes is the Operations Supervisor for Diamond Ridge Motorsports. Just thought it was interesting(3-23-1999)
- #88 Crew: I hear Steve Allen, #88 assistant engine builder, raceday gasman and engine tuner has left Robert Yates Racing as of last week, no idea where he may be headed(Diehard RYR Page)(3-23-1999)
- Trickle back? Hear Dick Trickle will return to the #91 LJ Racing Chevy for Texas, after that ??(3-23-1999)
- Felix, changes? I hear from some readers that #'s 40 and 42(not 43 doh!) owner, Felix Sabates appeared on Speedvision's Inside Winston Cup Racing Show on the Hot-Seat segment and indicated that if his teams don't start performing better soon, it will be time for some drastic changes, though he did say in general he is happy about being down to two teams keeping the best personnel from last years three team effort, and that the team is much better than their bad-luck finishes show(3-23-1999)
- What Happened? to #36 Ernie Irvan on that near the end of the race spin: Jeff Gordon was one driver who thought the last caution flag should have come out one lap earlier because the rain had already started while the cars were still running on the track. A wet surface could have been the cause of the final crash involving six cars, including Gordon's(Dallas Morning News)(3-23-1999)
- Guess, who? Big Daddy's BBQ info: Big Daddy's Racing has hired a management consultant to get the company back on track. The consultant immediately began going through racing sponsorship agreements in an effort to stem the gush of red ink. See the complete story and Press Release at Big Daddy's BBQ Site (3-23-1999) note: no more Big Daddy's stuff unless they show up on a Cup car, thanks
(3-22-1999)
- Irvan-Simo Debut: Randy LaJoie will debut the #14 Federated Auto Parts Irvan-Simo Ford at Texas on March 28th(if he makes the race of course), this is a once race deal as the team hopes to get Boris Said up to speed on the ovals. An side image of the car can be seen at NOL. Also see the team's schedule and past news on Jayski's Ernie Irvan Site(3-22-1999)
- Park to Sub: Steve Park will sub for BGN driver Wayne Grubb in the #83 Link-Belt Chevy for the Texas BGN race(Pennzoil PR)(3-22-1999)
- More Kennseth UPDATE: Kenseth will run Sunday if Bobby Labonte can start the car, Jack Roush said. Roush has a five-race Winston Cup deal with Kenseth for this season, and a sixth start would take Kenseth out of a 2000 bid for rookie of the year(PitNow)(3-20-1999) -- On RPM2Nite, John Kernan had Kenseth on show and asked about the Cup news, and it was pretty much confirmed that Kenseth will run five Cup races for Jack Roush later this season(3-22-1999)