PAST NEWS APR 7-13, 2003
THE PAST NEWS! YESTERDAY and BEYOND..
OTHER PAST NEWS PAGES
(4-13-2003)
- Jeff Gordon wins at Martinsville: #24-Jeff Gordon won the Virginia 500 at Martinsville Speedway, his first of 2003 and 62nd of his career [he is 7th All Time]. It was Gordon's first win in 15 races, his last being at Kansas in Spet 2002. Gordon as now won at least one race a season for ten years in a row. There has now been 9 different winners in the first 9 races. #18-Bobby Labonte, who started 39th using a provisional finshed a close 2nd. The race ended under yellow as #17-Kenseth spun and created a lot of smoke and #97-Busch got hit by someone and turned around and got stuck on a corner. #38-Sadler and #20-Stewart had a 'spirited' fight for 5th, with Sadler finishing 5th and Stewart getting a cut left rear tire and aa bit ticked off, banging into Sadler a few times on the track during the final yellow. #49-Schrader gets his first top 10 in 55 races and the first ever for BAM Racing. Highest finishing Rookie of the Year candidate was #16-Greg Biffle at 18th. The highest finishing Pontiac of the five in the race? 27th by #32-Ricky Craven.
See my Virginia 500 Race Info page for my race rundown, cautions, notes, etc
Race Re-air: The race will be re-aired on Speed Channel, Wed, Apr 16th, 8:00pm/et (enhanced) and Thurs, Apr 17th, 1:00am/et and at 3:00pm/et.
Results Links at: Jayski 2003 Winston Cup Race Results page
ThatsRacin.com,
NASCAR.com
Motorsports One.(4-13-2003)
- Hut on TV: From beekeeping and wine-making to scrapbooking and woodworking, more and more celebrities are devoting their downtime to hobbies and do-it-yourself projects that are often quirky and always personally rewarding. DIY-Do It Yourself Network will showcase known personalities and their personal passions in Celebrity Hobbies, an intriguing new 13-part series that launched on April 4. Hosted by Tracy Griffith (half-sister of actress Melanie Griffith), Celebrity Hobbies will air weekly on Friday nights. The series will feature more than two dozen actors, musicians, athletes and authors at home or in the field, in their studios and workshops, as they demonstrate first-hand for viewers their particular penchants, ranging from the artistically fulfilling and functional to the relaxing and downright offbeat. Each episode will focus on two celebrities, who give step-by-step instructions on a project, as well as guest experts who give advice on the array of topics featured every week. Like with any DIY program, the network's website, DIYnet.com, will provide step-by step project instructions and related resources to each of the episode's topics. The one-hour special, to precede the series premiere, offers a fast-paced preview of many of the personalities featured in the program, including the NFL's Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders who love to scrapbook; Atlanta Braves' catcher Javy Lopez who collects and operates radio control airplanes; actor James Avery who collects African-American memorabilia; and rock guitarist Steve Vai who's in to beekeeping.
AND Hut Stricklin (NASCAR driver): When he's not behind the wheel revving the engine, Hut restores classic cars and offers some tricks of the trade [scheduled to air on April 25th at 8:30pm/et, re-air dates can be found on their website]. Mario Andretti (race car driver): Mario demonstrates the much slower-paced world of fine winemaking at his own Napa Valley vineyard. DIY, one of four cable television networks operated by Scripps Networks, focuses on the do-it-yourself enthusiast, providing in-depth demonstrations and tips for categories such as arts and crafts; automotive and boating; cooking and entertaining; decorating and design; gardening and landscaping; household and cleaning; home building; home improvement; recreation and hobbies; and tools and products. DIY is distributed to 13 million U.S. households and is on pace to reach 20 million by the end of 2003. The network's companion website, DIYnet.com, mirrors the weekly on-air programming schedule, featuring easy-to-use, step-by-step instructions for more than 9,000 projects, including a detailed online guide to resources, materials and related projects. DIYnet.com users can search the site for any project shown on-air, engage in community bulletin boards and submit do-it-yourself questions to the expert DIY staff.(4-13-2003)
- Newman Hurting: #12-Ryan Newman said the only lasting effect he had from the harrowing 27-car crash on Lap 4 of last week's Aaron's 499 at Talladega was a sore on his foot. "When I hit the wall, my left foot got caught under the pedal," Newman said. "I told everybody in the shop that I looked like I 'Barney Fifed' myself. It looked like I shot myself right in the top center of my foot. There's a little dot right there that looks like a bullet went right through. It's all swollen up, but it only hurts when I take my shoe off or put it on."(ThatsRacin.com)(4-13-2003)
- Wood Brother's New Engineer: In another sign of the increasing impact of technology and physics on NASCAR, #21 Wood Brothers Racing welcomed its first full-time engineer this weekend. Jackie Mohrfeld, a 24-year-old mechanical engineering graduate of Purdue University, will help the Stuart, VA -based team by crunching numbers and running computer simulations on race weekends for the remainder of the season.(Richmond Times Dispatch)(4-13-2003)
- Indy 500 Looks Doubtful for Andretti: A new set of Indy Racing League rules probably will prevent John Andretti from competing in the Indianapolis 500 next month. The driver of the #43 Cheerios Dodge for Petty Enterprises wanted to race against his cousin Michael, who will be driving in his final Indy 500. "Right now, the IRL basically is in a state of transition in that they've got new engine programs, chassis and a lot of new teams, too," said Andretti, the first driver to race the 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day in 1994. "The biggest issue is, is there going to be enough equipment? . . . It doesn't look strong [for attempting the race], but the possibility is still there."(Richmond Times Dispatch)(4-13-2003)
(4-12-2003)
- Jarrett Speaks, Wants Support: Dale Jarrett said Friday's he's looking for a crew chief who "supports and believes in me as a driver" after his Robert Yates Racing team's decision to dismiss Brad Parrott from that role this week. Parrott's older brother, Todd, who was the crew chief on the #88 Fords when Jarrett won the 1999 Winston Cup title, was also placed on "indefinite leave" this week. Based on comments from Jarrett and team general manager Doug Yates Friday, however, it seems all but definite that Todd Parrott won't be back. "I think some confidence was lost in the misrepresentation of some things," Jarrett said. "As a driver you're out there busting your tail week in and week out. Even in years where you win seven races...or the championship that might not be enough - you get that little hint. You hear things. ...To be quite honest, I've been a little disappointed in some things I've heard. So that's kind of separated us a little bit more."
Jarrett finished 10th in the Daytona 500 and then won the season's second race at Rockingham, but has no top-10 finishes since. He pointed to a test the team had at Texas as the point at which he began to feel things weren't working with him and Brad Parrott. "I was just not pleased with what I saw there," Jarrett said. "Then just a few things have happened during some races that kind of threw up a red flag." Parrott was hired Thursday by Roush Racing to be the car chief for Jeff Burton's #99 Fords. He was Burton's Busch Series crew chief last season for a team that won five races in 14 starts. "I never once had the opportunity to put a Brad Parrott set-up under the race car," Parrott said of the 88 team. "It was always what this team had or what that team had." Garth Finley and Richard Buck will share duties leading Jarrett's No. 88 team for the Virginia 500 this weekend. Robin Pemberton's name has been mentioned as a possible long-term replacement for Parrott, but Yates said Friday no decisions have been made. "Right now there's a vacancy sign up and we're just going to explore our options," said Yates, son of team owner Robert Yates. "We're just going to see who's out there."(ThatsRacin.com)(4-12-2003)
- Pemberton to Yates? UPDATE Makar? Robert and Doug Yates have been silent since putting Brad and Todd Parrott on the sideline this week, but the two car owners said they will talk about their team shakeup today and their plans for the future of Dale Jarrett's half of their two-car team. Robin Pemberton is the subject of speculation for a possible to move to the Yateses' team. Pemberton worked about 10 years with Rusty Wallace and Roger Penske, after a long run with Jack Roush. Last season Pemberton worked with Kyle Petty at Petty Enterprises, but he left at the start of the season to take a role with Ford Motor Company as the field director.(Winston Salem Journal)(4-11-2003)
UPDATE Makar? One name that came to the surface quickly was Jimmy Makar. Makar would be an interesting choice since he and Dale Jarrett have raced and won together when Jarrett was with Joe Gibbs, prior to his joining the Yates organization. Makar couldn’t be found at Martinsville and the Yates camp is holding their cards close to the vest, so no discussions took place regarding the viability of that rumor.(from Ford Racing)(4-12-2003)
- Another tire war coming? Firestone engineers have begun testing NASCAR-type stock-car tires for what could be a planned move into this branch of the sport, according to NASCAR sources.(Winston Salem Journal)(4-12-2003)
- NASCAR gets letter from Congress about Ephedra UPDATE NASCAR will NOT ban it: According to wire reports Congress is asking major league sport leagues for information regarding their knowledge and position regarding the over-the-counter drug, ephedra. The now-legal substance is under review by Congress following Baltimore Orioles pitching prospect Steve Bechler’s death in February. According to a report there was a link between Bechler’s death from heat stroke and the dietary supplement. The congressional letter, which was sent to Major League Baseball the prior week, was followed this week with similar letters to National Football League, National Hockey League, National Basketball Association, Major League Soccer and NASCAR. The letter was penned by House Energy and Commerce chairman Billy Tauzin (R-La.), along with Reps. Michael Bilirakis (R-Fla.), Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) and James Greenwood (R-Pa.).(Ford Racing)(4-12-2003)
UPDATE: For now, NASCAR will not join other major sports leagues in banning use of the controversial stimulant ephedra among its competitors. In a printed bulletin handed out to teams in each of NASCAR's top three series Saturday, NASCAR advised competitors to "seek guidance from their individual physician prior to taking and supplement product labeled as containing ephedra/ephedrine." The bulletin cited a recent government-released study that concluded supplements may increase the incidence of side effects such as heart palpitations. "NASCAR will continue to monitor reports regarding health related concerns for ephedra/ephedrine and will advise NASCAR participants as additional information becomes available," it said.(USA Today some good related links there too)(4-12-2003)
- A.J. Foyt Speaks Out: A.J. Foyt, a team owner in both the Indy Racing League IndyCar Series and NASCAR Winston Cup [#14 Harrah's Dodge which is sitting out this week at Martinsville], had harsh words for NASCAR on Saturday for its recent inconsistency in its rules. Foyt's comments stem from the yellow flag decision at Texas Motor Speedway two weeks ago, to last week's race-winning pass where Dale Earnhardt Jr. clearly went below the yellow out of bounds like to pass race leader Matt Kenseth. "More people are waking up to NASCAR, but they are afraid to speak out," Foyt said. "I have nothing to lose, either way. The yellow flag thing is a bad deal and one of these days, someone will get killed over it. I don't care what you write about. I call a spade a spade, good or bad. That's how I feel about plate racing. What has happened the last three weeks, it's something different every week. I think the world of Dale Earnhardt Jr. and I think the world of Tony Stewart, but whoever that judge was should be thrown out of the organization or should be the judge of a bathroom whether boys or girls go in. If he looks at the yellow line thing and says it was right, then he was wrong." Foyt was also steamed that NASCAR disqualified his son's [Larry Foyt, driver of the #14] qualification attempt last week at Talladega for a rules violation for being too low. Subsequently, Foyt did not make the 43-car starting lineup. "After what NASCAR did to me at Talladega last week, we didn't see any point in going up to Martinsville and tearing something up," Foyt said. "The deal they did to us at Talladega was a big (bleep)-off deal, so (bleep) them. I'm like Dale Earnhardt was when he was alive, those (bleeping) plate races (stink). NASCAR is so crooked. Whoever you are, I don't care what you say, if you can't see that, then you are blind. Why should you take out that many cars if you are racing?" Foyt believes it's time NASCAR recognize that restrictor-plate racing has only made the events at Daytona and Talladega more dangerous, rather than allow teams to race above 200 miles per hour and let the cars spread out more naturally rather than bunch them together. "All it is any more, restrictor-plate cars is a glorified IROC race, that's all it is," Foyt said. "If you are going to go racing, then go racing. But if you want an IROC race, then just call it an IROC race. I've never been for plate racing, I never will be. It's just like racing back to the yellow, I'm glad to see Jeff Gordon speak out against that. Racing shouldn't be who is a complete idiot on the yellow flag. It's a different ball game than it used to be. It's not getting any better, it's getting worse." Between yellow flags, yellow lines and other NASCAR inconsistencies, Foyt admits he is losing interest in what is currently the most popular form of racing in the United States.(FoxSports/SportsTicker)(4-12-2003)
- Parrott Speaks: Brad Parrott, car chief of the #99 Citgo Taurus, held a brief Q&A session in the Martinsville Speedway Infield Media Center before NASCAR Winston Cup qualifying to discuss his departure from Robert Yates Racing and re-hiring at Roush Racing. (a few choice tidbits, see link in parens for more).
“First of all, I’d like to say that there’s not a better person in this garage area than Dale Jarrett. He’s a great person, individual and race car driver. I worked from February 1st to Tuesday and had one day off. I worked to make Dale Jarrett the best race car driver in the garage area and I’m sorry I couldn’t make that happen. I’m here this weekend and I’m racing with Jeff Burton for the next three years for sure. I’ve got a contract now and I’m happy about it. I know Jeff Burton is gonna go out and win a lot of races and I’m gonna help Paul Andrews. I’m gonna be the car chief on the 99 Citgo team and we’re gonna go win races and go have fun.”
WHAT HAPPENED FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE? “I was told there were too many opinions and that comes from going in the truck at Texas. I stayed out by the car and worked on the car at Texas a little bit and went in the truck and there were four guys in the truck telling Dale what the race car needed, so I turned around and walked back out.”
HAVE YOU TALKED TO TODD? “Todd is taking a month off and he’ll evaluate his situation when it comes time, but you’ll have to talk to him about what his plans are.”
DID YOU TALK TO YOUR DAD [Buddy] AND WHAT DID HE SAY? “Yeah, I heard from dad. He remembers the time back in 1978 that he walked into the DiGard shop and took care of business. He asked me if I took care of business and I said, ‘no’ because times have changed.”(Ford Racing)(4-12-2003)
- Wheel Tethers UPDATE: Mark Harrah, one of the owners of Dave Blaney's team and an engineer, said that NASCAR should change the way it has teams attach the wheel tethers to keep them from flying off the cars in a wreck. A wheel off Ryan Newman's car flew over the wall at Talladega and hit a car in the parking lot.(Winston Salem Journal)(4-12-2003)
UPDATE: In response to a wheel and tire that went sailing over the wall at Talladega last weekend, NASCAR issued a technical bulletin Saturday revising its policy on tethering wheels in the Winston Cup series. Under the revised guidelines, distributed to teams Saturday at Martinsville Speedway, two fiber cables must be used on each front spindle of the car on all tracks 1¼ miles or more in length, excluding the two road courses. In addition, steel cables will no longer be permitted. The new guidelines go into effect April 23. Last weekend, Ryan Newman lost the left-front wheel of his #12 Dodge during a 27-car accident on Lap 4. The entire wheel assembly sailed over the Turn 2 wall and landed in a parking lot. It was later recovered by NASCAR officials.(ThatsRacin.com)(4-12-2003)
- Final Talladega TV Ratings: Final Nielsen figures for Fox's broadcast of last Sunday's Aaron's 499 Winston Cup race from Talladega Superspeedway show the race drew a 6.2 rating and 15 share, according to MotorsportsTV.com. The figures show a solid jump from the 5.7/12 overnight figures but still left the race well short of last year's 7.0/16. Nonetheless, the race didn't drop nearly as much as they did for CBS's broadcast of the NCAA basketball tournament's semifinal games, which fell from 11.3 last year to 7.9 and 9.4 to 6.3, MotorsportsTV.com says. The major cause for the drops in the sports ratings continues to be the war with Iraq, the Web site and industry observers say.(Winston Cup Scene Daily Newsletter)(4-12-2003)
- Atwood News: Casey Atwood always wished he had time to do more fishing. Now he wishes he had less time. ''That's about all I've been doing, fishing at Percy Priest Lake,'' Atwood said yesterday as he caught up with some of his racing buddies in the Nashville Superspeedway infield. ''I'm ready to do something else.'' Atwood, 21, is out of racing for the first time since his mid-teens. The Nashvillian lost his Winston Cup ride with Evernham Motorsports at the end of last season and has yet to find a new ride. ''I'm still looking,'' he said. ''I'm confident something will come up, but it's still early in the season and no jobs have been opening up.'' Atwood, who competed two seasons in Winston Cup, said he would actually prefer returning to the second-tier Busch Series where he set records for the youngest pole winner and youngest race winner. ''In Winston Cup there are a few dominant teams and if you aren't with one of them you're going to struggle,'' he said. ''I'd like to go back and run Busch, at least for awhile.'' Atwood said settlement of the final year of his three-year contract with Evernham is still in negotiation. ''Meanwhile I'm free to look for another job,'' he said. ''If something comes open, I'm going to take it.''(Tennessean)(4-12-2003)
- New RCR Museum to Open in Mid-May: What was once the race shop where six championships were earned is now being transformed into a museum honoring one of NASCAR’s most storied racing operations. Richard Childress Racing’s (RCR) original race shop and museum at the RCR complex, with the construction of a connecting building between the two, is now a single-structure museum showcasing five decades of auto racing history. Nearly 50 race cars driven by Dale Earnhardt, Kevin Harvick, Mike Skinner, Richard Childress and others will be on display along with an incredible array of trophies, banners, photographs and other memorabilia.. Also near completion in the 47,000-square-foot building is a gift shop in the area that was the original race shop’s administrative offices. The new RCR Museum & Gift Shop is scheduled to open to the public May 16, 2003.
The original shop area will be dedicated to the famed No. 3 teams with Earnhardt that earned NASCAR Winston Cup championships in 1986-87, 1990-91, and 1993-94. Nearly 20 of the world-famous black paint-schemed No. 3 GM Goodwrench Chevrolet Monte Carlos, including the 1998 Daytona 500 and 2000 Winston 500 (at Talladega [Ala.] Superspeedway) winners, will be on display. Video screens and memorabilia throughout the building will showcase the highlights and amazing history of the No. 3 team during its 16 seasons within those walls.
“With all the history made within those walls, it wouldn’t be right to just lease the building out to another company or to put another race team in it,” said Richard Childress, president and CEO of Richard Childress Racing Enterprises, Inc. “I had mixed emotions on how to do it. I wanted to do something the Earnhardt family would be proud of, every employee that ever worked at RCR would be proud of, and the race fans would be proud to come and see. To me, it’s going to be one of the most incredible stock car racing museums in the country because of the history that was made there over the years. I want the race fans to feel they are a part of that history because they were the ones that made it possible. When they leave, I want them to walk away with a smile on their face knowing that they had just been on an incredible tour.”
The area that was the original RCR Museum and Gift Shop will have a variety of cars on display. Vehicles representing RCR’s championships in the NASCAR Winston Cup, NASCAR Busch Series and NASCAR SuperTruck Series (RCR is the only organization to have championships in all three), its current lineup of Winston Cup and Busch Series teams, cars for each of the No. 3 team’s special paint schemes for The Winston from 1995 through 2000 and a number of other race cars significant to RCR’s history will be showcased.
“There’s a lot of history that I’ve kept over the years from all of the RCR race teams that I’m looking forward to sharing with race fans,” Childress said of the area that was the original museum. “Those cars, the ones driven by Kevin Harvick, Mike Skinner, Robby Gordon, and many others, including some that I drove, are also a big part of RCR’s success through the years.”
The newly constructed center part of the building will be dedicated to Childress’ devotion to wildlife and outdoor conservation. The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, the North Carolina Wildlife Habitat Foundation, the National Wild Turkey Federation and Ducks Unlimited, all actively involved in the conservation of the nation’s wildlife and natural resources, will be showcased in this area along with many of the animal trophies Childress has collected over the years.
RCR moved into the building, located in this small town 10 minutes south of Winston-Salem off Highway 52, in June 1986. The entire operation at that time was under one roof in the 33,000 square-foot building. The No. 3 team earned its first victory working out of the new shop in October 1986 at Charlotte Motor Speedway (now Lowe’s Motor Speedway). They went on that year to capture RCR’s first, and Earnhardt’s second, NASCAR Winston Cup championship. During the time the No. 3 team occupied the building, from mid-1986 through the first race of 2001, it earned 58 victories, 16 pole positions and more than $38 million in race winnings. The three-car Winston Cup program and the administrative staff moved into a state-of-the-art 86,000 square-foot building in the same 35-acre complex in early May 2002. RCR, which also has a two-car NASCAR Busch Series program, now consists of more than 260 employees working in 12 buildings with approximately 300,000 square-feet of shop space.(RCR PR)(4-12-2003)
- Fuel Problems? Sources at Talladega Superspeedway told teamfordracing.com that the fuel Unocal has provided since the announcement that they were leaving the sport might have some consistency problems. This, according to a leading engine builder in the sport, is leading to some interesting finds during post-race engine tear down. “We’ve even questioned here lately with Unocal moving out how the fuel … We’ve seen some funny things on our parts after the race and for some of us fuel quality is changing on us,” said the engine builder. “So yeah, it’s a big issue and we’ve been talking about it quite a bit.” Fuel is a vital part of the Winston Cup engine builder equation as the additive packages are what help hold a motor together during a race. Fuel chemistry changes can lead to premature part failure. NASCAR hasn’t let the teams know what will be pumping in 2003, which is making the engine builders nervous. Variances with the chemistry and consistency of blend will be needed soon as it can take six to nine months to match the engine package to the fuel package. One big question that’s not been answered is whether the fuel will be of a leaded blend, or no-lead. There is concern that if the sanctioning body goes the no-lead route that engine failure could rise dramatically due to leads lubricity qualities, or the capacity for reducing friction. Unocal, along with NASCAR and the teams, tried a no-lead blend several years ago in the Busch Grand National Series. Those experiments ended after the exhaust valves beat the seats out of the head. Unocal, to help solve the problem, suggested that the teams move to titanium vales. That suggestion angered the involved engine builders as they’d been using titanium for several years, and were surprised that Unocal engineers seemingly didn’t know what was in a motor for which they were blending fuel.(Ford Racing), see my NASCAR-Sponsors page for more info on the Unocal deal.(4-12-2003)
(4-11-2003)
- Elliott does some dirt trackin': On Saturday night the fans and drivers at Seven Flags Speedway, a dirt track in Douglasville, GA got quite a surprise. Bill Elliott dropped in unexpectedly to run the Late Model feature. Joe Armistead Jr., who qualified before Elliott, started on the pole with Elliott alongside. When the green flag dropped, Armistead bolted into the lead. The lead duo ran bumper-to-bumper in the early laps, but Armistead never relinquished the lead and led all 30 laps to get the victory. "It was one of the most memorable races I've ever run," Armistead said. "I've always been a big Bill Elliott fan, so it was really cool to get to race with him." But because Elliott didn't tell anyone ahead of time that he planned to race at Seven Flags, only the few hundred in attendance knew he'd been there. Elliott also raced his dirt car at Talladega Short Track on Friday night, but spun on the start and was unable to work his way back to the front.(Atlanta Journal-Constitution)(4-11-2003)
- #20 Impounded Car Chopped? and returned? UPDATE, nope and nope: An unconfirmed rumor has it that the 20 car was, indeed, returned though in a slightly modified form: Sliced in half at the B-pillar, the front section delivered to the Gibbs team garage. How would that be for a message sent and delivered? (in part from Autoweek)(4-8-2003)
UPDATE: Crew chief Greg Zipadelli is still waiting to see if or when NASCAR will return the Home Depot Chevrolet NASCAR confiscated prior to practice two weeks ago at Texas. Zipadelli told PRN's "Garagepass" car owner Joe Gibbs visited NASCAR's Research and Development center in Mooresville on Wednesday and that car is still in the condition as when they took it. Zipadelli says the team has already built a new car replacing the one taken at Texas and that they're "over it" and are moving on.(PRN's Garage Pass)(4-11-2003)
- Park Rumors Denied UPDATE: Rumors about Steve Park's job security in DEI's #1 Pennzoil Chevy were circulating even before the Cup race at Texas. But Ty Norris, vice president of motorsports at DEI isn't ready for talk of change, saying the team needs to do better and that DEI is going to keep trying to do better. Norris said Park has been real dedicated, coming by the shop and talking to the crew. The communication is open and positive. Norris had no comment when it was mentioned that Shane Hmiel's [#48 in the Busch Series] name has been tossed around as a possible replacement for Park.(paraphrased from the Winston Cup Scene - subscription required to read online)(4-4-2003)
UPDATE: Driver Steve Park just shrugs his shoulders at the rumors over him being replaced in the Pennzoil Chevy by Busch Series regular Shane Hmiel. Park admits the performance of the team is not where they would like it to be and that's what produces the rumors. Park said, "The Inquirer and all the trash newspapers that are out there sell, so I guess bad news sells better than good news." Maybe we'll do a story on how much money Steve Park donates to charity and all the work he does away from the racetrack to raise money for different charities 'you never see anything like that' all you see is that Steve Park is out of the Pennzoil car and so we're fixin' to prove them all wrong." Since Shane's father Steve is DEI's Technical Director Park says it makes for a great story, but he's staying in the racecar.(PRN's Garage Pass)(4-11-2003)
- Garrow on TV: PRN radio anchor Mark Garrow will anchor this weekend's Busch Series qualifying on Speed Channel and Saturday's race from Nashville on FX.(4-11-2003)
- Stewart to run Busch race at Michigan with special scheme - UPDATE 5: the Tony Stewart #8 Busch Series program has been changed from Kid Rock to 3 Doors Down. This special program will be racing in Michigan on August 16th. Dale Earnhardt Jr.(car owner) and Stewart both filmed footage to appear in a new rock music video with 3 Doors Down which is due out this summer.(3-27-2003)
IMAGE see an image of the scheme on my Paint Scheme Gallery, the Busch page.(4-11-2003)
- Helton on Fox Sunday: This week NASCAR President Mike Helton comes by the "Hollywood Hotel" to address several issues in the sport including process and procedure in determining those types of penalties. Coverage begins live Sunday, April 13 at 12:30pm/et from inside the NASCAR on FOX traveling prerace studio now situated within the friendly confines of the Martinsville Speedway infield. The 30-minute countdown to Sunday's dropping of the green flag is hosted by Chris Myers, analyst Jeff Hammond and special guest Darrell Waltrip.(Fox Sports)(4-11-2003)
(4-10-2003)
- Wilburn staying at the #2 UPDATE: #2-Rusty Wallace/Penske Racing crew chief, Billy Wilburn, said there are no truth to the rumors [not here!] that he is leaving the team or being released.(XM Satellite- NASCAR Radio - Subscription Required)(4-10-2003)
UPDATE: the rumor floating around is that once Todd Parrott gets out of his 'lifetime' contract with Robert Yates, he could be headed to the #2 Penske team.(4-10-2003)
- Realtree and the #29? UPDATE 2: hearing Realtree, who sponsored Dave Marcis for years on the #71 car, will be on Kevin Harvick's #29 GM Goodwrench as the primary or co-primary at an upcoming race.
UPDATE: This special paint will run August 23rd at Bristol under the lights OR rumor has it may run in the Busch Series.(3-14-2003)
UPDATE 2: now have an image of the scheme, see my Paint Scheme Gallery for the image.(4-10-2003)
- Brad Parott back to Roush? UPDATE: hearing former #88 Crew Chief, Brad Parrott will be the new car chief for #99-Jeff Burton.(4-10-2003)
UPDATE: Roush Racing announced today that they have re-hired Brad Parrott and assigned him to join the #99 CITGO team, reporting to crew chief Paul Andrews. "We are excited to bring Brad (Parrott) back to Roush Racing," said Jeff Burton, driver of the #99 CITGO Ford. "Our Busch Series team had a lot of success last year and Brad was a big contributor to that success so we think he can come in and help the #99 team this year." Parrott was crew chief for Burton and the #9 Busch Series team in 2002 making the trip to victory lane five times in only 14 races. Crew chief Paul Andrews is excited to have this kind of experience in his stable. "I think this is a really good thing," said Andrews. "We will be able to utilize Brad's (Parrott) knowledge and expertise to help advance the #99 team. We are fortunate to have so many talented people working on the CITGO team, and Brad will help make us even stronger."(Roush Racing site)(4-10-2003)
- Bill Elliott's Pit Crew Wins Again: The pit crew for #9-Bill Elliott captured the $20,000 prize in McDonald's Drive-Thru Pit Championship fueled by Powerade for the fastest pit work among participating teams in last Sunday's Aaron's 499 at Talladega Superspeedway. The #9 spent a total of 310 seconds in the pits. #40-Sterling Marlin's crew was second with 328 seconds. #74-Tony Raines crew was third with 488 seconds. For the standing and full press release, see my Pit Crew News and Links page.(4-10-2003)
- Petree and Menard to do ABC and T schedule UPDATE: it was announced on XM Satellite- NASCAR Radio (Subscription Required) that Paul Menard will drive a ABCT schedule for 18 races for Andy Petree Racing [APR] in 2003. A=ARCA, B=Busch Series, C=Cup and T=Trucks. The team will be sponsored by Turtle Wax and Manard. First scheduled race is the Salem ARCA race on April 27th and goes thru to the Phoenix Cup race in November. Menard is currently in college and after he finishes up, he will move to North Carolina. Menard will spot for Petree at Martinsville, who will run the Truck Series race there.(XM Satellite- NASCAR Radio Subscription Required), see more info about Paul Menard at Teammenard.net and more about APR at www.andypetreeracing.com.(4-9-2003)
UPDATE: Andy Petree has made a commitment to build the future of his racing team by developing young talent, likewise Paul Menard, 22, the son of Eau Claire home-improvement businessman and Indy-car owner John Menard, has made a commitment to learning this year, both on and off the track. Menard who is pursuing a degree in business at University of Wisconsin Eau Claire, will tackle an 18-event racing schedule driving a Turtle Wax“sponsored Chevrolet for APR that will include races in the Truck Series, Busch Series, Winston Cup Series and ARCA. Over the past three seasons, Paul Menard has been working his way up the NASCAR ladder, competing in the ReMax Challenge Series fulltime, while also running selected events in the Southwest Tour Series. At the close of 2002, Menard won the November Phoenix Southwest Tour event at Phoenix with a late race pass of Ken Schrader, something that caught the intrigue of NASCAR veteran, Andy Petree. "To be honest, I didn't even see the race; I was driving like crazy to get to the track to see as much as I could because I promised Kenny (Schrader) I would watch it," said Petree, owner of Andy Petree Racing. "I got there a few minutes too late and called Kenny as I was crossing the bridge to find out what happened. He said he got beat by some kid and finished second. I said, "What kid?" He said, "Paul Menard“ the kid just chased me down, got underneath me on the last lap and won it. He did a great job." Paul Menard's Andy Petree Racing Chevrolet will be sponsored by Turtle Wax and will likely carry the #33 across all series he will compete in this year. The first event will be the ARCA race in Salem, IN April 27. The complete schedule is listed on my #33 Team News and Links page. See full Press release at the Team Menard site.(Co-Pilott PR)(4-10-2003)
- Racing and Wrestling Event and Hermie to Announce Sponsorship plans UPDATE: Racing and wrestling pair up once again for an evening of incredible sports entertainment this Wednesday night on NWA-TNA: Total Nonstop Action wrestling on iNDEMAND and DirecTV pay-per-view at 8:00pm/et. Fox Sport's Jeff Hammond will serve as a guest color analyst for an innovative X-Division 6 Man Match. The X Division is an extreme class of wrestling with high-flying, acrobatic maneuvers and is available only on TNA. Hammond will join "The Professor" Mike Tenay and Don West ringside to call the action on what will surely be a "match of the year" candidate. In addition to his analyst duties, Hammond will be broadcasting his segment for Totally NASCAR on Fox Sports Net from the TNA Asylum Wednesday night. Hermie Sadler will be back at the TNA Asylum to talk about TNA's sponsorship of his car this past weekend at the Aaron's 499 in Talladega, and will be announcing TNA's sponsorship plans for the #02 car for several additional Winston Cup races. No stranger to wrestling, Sadler defeated Ron "The Truth" Killings in his only in-ring appearance last September. NWA-TNA: Total Nonstop Action Wrestling is the first-ever weekly pay-per-view wrestling series that airs every Wednesday at 8:00pm/et on iNDEMAND and DirecTV. With its unique blend of traditional wrestling and the high-flying cutting edge moves of the X-Division, it is the definitive alternative for the wrestling enthusiast.(Trifecta Entertainment PR)(4-8-2003)
UPDATE: "We're announcing a five-race sponsorship program in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling," Hermie Sadler said on Totally NASCAR. "The first race is going to be the Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte. We're tying John Boy & Billy and all those on in. It's a great promotion, and we're looking forward to getting it started."(Fox Sports Net's Totally NASCAR)(4-10-2003
- Jeff Burton and Dan Ackroyd Team Up for "Auto Care Month": The month of April is "Auto Care Month" and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and American Lung Association are launching a massive public awareness campaign on behalf of cleaner air and more efficiently running cars. They are teaming up with Jeff Burton, driver of the #99 CITGO Ford, and actor/comedian Dan Ackroyd to produce a public service campaign titled, "The Little Light with a Big Message." "I'm honored to be a part of the campaign," said Burton. "Hopefully it will bring awareness and educate people about a topic most of us ignore." The campaign centers around the "check engine" light in the dashboard of cars and trucks. Research has shown that most people ignore the light when it comes on. This could shorten engine life, increase harmful emissions and reduce gas mileage. "This is a small but important thing." Burton continued, "If people would take the time to have their engines checked when the light came on, it would save them time, money and headaches down the road." Burton and Ackroyd have taped a :30 second TV spot and radio spots that will begin airing April 12 and run through July 12. The TV and radio campaign will be distributed to all TV/radio networks and cable outlets and will be run during NASCAR race broadcasts.(Roush Racing)(4-10-2003)
- Chartwell Investments invests in RCR: Chartwell Investments II LLC announced today that it has made an equity investment in RCR Enterprises, LLC, the elite NASCAR racing team founded and majority-owned by Richard Childress. "We are pleased to partner with Chartwell Investments," said Richard Childress, President and CEO of RCR. "I've had investors in RCR since the late 1990's and I am confident that Chartwell's people and capital will help us to continue to build one of NASCAR's top organizations. I've made a long-term commitment to Chartwell and there will be no changes in how RCR is run."
"NASCAR is the fastest-growing major sport with over 75 million fans nationwide and we are enthusiastic about partnering with Richard Childress, a legendary figure in the NASCAR racing world," said Todd R. Berman, President and Founder of Chartwell Investments. "We hope our participation will give Richard even more time to focus on winning races and supporting the company's sponsors."(PRN Newswire)(4-3-2003)
UPDATE: Winston Cup car owner Richard Childress confirmed Wednesday he has sold partial equity in his Richard Childress Racing company to Chartwell Investments, a private New York City-based equity firm. "We have had an investor in RCR since I expanded with (Mike) Skinner in the No. 31 (in 1996), but on a limited basis. This is more extensive," Childress said. "Nothing will look different. I still have control of the company, I own the majority of the company and I'm still the CEO." Chartwell's investment was not disclosed, but Childress said he holds more than a 50 percent interest in RCR. The addition of Chartwell, Childress said, strengthens his organization. "We aren't a little corporation any more," he said. "They can help RCR Enterprises go to another level in this sport. There are a lot of ways you can grow your business in this sport without adding race teams. I've made a long-term commitment to Chartwell, to my employees and to the sport."(ThatsRacin.com)(4-10-2003)
(4-9-2003)
- Parrotts Out at RYR? UPDATE 3 It's Official: hearing some rumors that Todd and Brad Parrott have left Robert Yates Racing, still checking into it.
UPDATE: hearing Brad was released and Todd is on some sort of leave from the team.(4-8-2003)
UPDATE 2: have confirmed that Brad is no longer with RYR and Todd has taken a "leave of absense". The #88 team will use current members of the RYR organization for Martinsville this weekend. Expect an official PR later this morning.(4-9-2003)
UPDATE 2 the Press Release: Robert Yates Racing announced changes to the management structure of the #88 UPS team. Effective immediately, Brad Parrott has been released from crew chief duties on the #88 team. Additionally, Competition Director Todd Parrott has taken an indefinite leave of absence from Robert Yates Racing. General Manager Doug Yates hopes the change will give the team the opportunity to take a step back, regroup and get the race program on target for the remainder of 2003. The 2003 season got off to a strong start for Dale Jarrett and the #88 Robert Yates Racing team with a 10th-place finish at Daytona, and a win at Rockingham. Jarrett was second in the points following the win at Rockingham in February, but currently sits 12th. Daytona and Rockingham are the #88 team's only top-10 finishes in 2003. The #88 team will be under the temporary leadership of Garth Finley and Richard Buck this weekend at Martinsville. Yates believes this change in personnel is necessary to get the #88 team back to championship form. "We are in the business of winning races and championships," Yates said. "For the last several races, this team hasn't performed to the level that we know it is capable of performing. We said at the beginning of 2003 we would do whatever it took to get the #88 team and Dale Jarrett back to championship contending form. This wasn't an easy decision but it was a necessary one, and we hopefully will be able to get the #88 team back to victory lane and back to where they are the team everyone looks to beat." Doug Yates and Dale Jarrett will be available for questions in the infield media center at Martinsville Speedway this Friday, April 11th at 10:30am/et.(Elevation Motorsports/RYR PR) and see articles at ThatsRacin.com and Ford Racing(4-9-2003)
- #14 Withdraws from Martinsville to regroup: In an effort to catch up on building up resources and test for upcoming events, the #14 Foyt/Harrah's Racing team has withdrawn its entry for this weekend's NASCAR Winston Cup Series event at Martinsville Speedway. "It was a very tough decision to not go to Martinsville this weekend, but we think it's the best choice for us right now," said Larry Foyt, driver of the #14 Foyt/Harrah's Racing Dodge. "We got such a slow start at the beginning of the year and this will give us a chance to catch up, build up our resources and actually test, something we haven't been able to do since the season started." The team plans on doing a two-day test next week at Richmond International Raceway.(Performance PR Plus PR)(4-9-2003)
- Tryson fined: NASCAR officials announced Wednesday that Pat Tryson, crew chief for the #21 Wood Brothers Ford, has been fined $10,000 for rule violations on April 5 during practice for the Aaron's 499 at Talladega Superspeedway. The #21, driven by Ricky Rudd, was in violation of Section 12-4-A in the NASCAR Winston Cup rule book (actions detrimental to stock car racing) and Section 12-4-W (improperly attached weight). As the #21 was preparing to go onto the race track, the improperly attached weight fell off the car. On Saturday afternoon, a 35-lb. lead block, scuffed and deformed on one end and tagged with the #21, sat on the inside counter of the Winston Cup office trailer with several other confiscated parts, including two sheared driveshafts.(NASCAR.com)(4-9-2003)
- At least 300 have died on tracks since 1990: The death toll for U.S. auto racing has climbed to at least 300 since 1990, after recent accidents killed two drag racers. During the past two weeks, businessmen Don Rhyne and Phil Burghard died in separate crashes after their dragsters sped out of control. In a 2001 investigation, The Observer found that more than 260 people, including 29 spectators, died in U.S. auto racing from 1990 through 2001. Since then, 40 more drivers have died, including 28 in 2002. Another drag racer, Larry Winter, remains unconscious and in critical condition after suffering head injuries when his car hit a wall March 31. It happened at Southwestern International Raceway in Tucson, Ariz., where Rhyne crashed four days earlier. There was also a scare in Sunday's NASCAR Winston Cup race at Talladega, Ala. A tire from Ryan Newman's car flew over the fence between Turns 1 and 2, struck a parked car and landed in an area where there were no grandstands. No one was injured. Series officials are investigating why a tether failed to keep the tire from flying over the fence.(full story at the Charlotte Observer)(4-9-2003)
- Special Champ Programs on Speed: Before qualifying coverage of the Cup race at Martinsville on Friday, April 11th [3:00pm/et] on Speed Channel, a three hour block of NASCAR Past Champions will air, starting at 12:00noon/et:
12:00 pm Dale Earnhardt - Part 1
12:30 pm Dale Earnhardt - Part 2
1:00 pm Jeff Gordon
1:30 pm Darrell Waltrip
2:00 pm Richard Petty - Part 1
2:30 pm Richard Petty - Part 2.(Speed Channel)(4-9-2003)
- #31 Tire Changer Back: Jason Fowler, the rear tire carrier for Robby Gordon's team, nearly sliced off his finger while making repairs to the #31 car in Bristol. After sitting out a week, Totally NASCAR checked on his progress in Talladega. "Actually the finger is doing really well," Fowler said. "I can really bend it. I've got more movement in it. I really don't have much feeling in the side right now but I've got more feeling in the bottom. In pit practice this week, I could bend it just fine." Fowler will be back in action Sunday at Martinsville(Fox Sports Net's Totally NASCAR)(4-9-2003)
- Rusty's son to race Late Models: Stephen Wallace, the 15-year-old son of Rusty and Patti, will be getting his feet wet in late model competition later on in the year. Driving a Robert Hamke-built chassis (Dodge sheet metal of course)and powered by a Maurice Petty engine, Stephen will be testing at various short tracks until he turns 16 (on 8/18) and then will enter selected late model events. A scheduled test on Monday of this week at Hickory Speedway fell victim to rain.(Tom Roberts PR)(4-9-2003)
- Johnson to throw out first pitch at Phillies game: #48-Jimmie Johnson is scheduled to throw out the 'first pitch' tomorrow night at the Philadelphia Phillies (Jayski's team) / Atlanta Braves to coincide with his Winner Circle appearance in Philadelphia on Wednesday, April 9th.(4-9-2003)
- Gordon Testing at Nashville: #31-Robby Gordon is scheduled to test at Nashville Superspeedway on April 15 and 16.(RCR PR)(4-9-2003)
- Adopt a Sailor: The Winston Cup Racing Wives Auxiliary [WCRWA] is joining with the Adopt-a-Sailor program to bring much needed care packages to the men and women of our armed forces.. The WCRWA offices,. located at 5700 Concord Parkway South, Concord, NC. (on the corner of Hwy 29 and Morehead Rd., across from Lowe’s Motorspeedway) will serve as a donation drop of location for the Adopt-a-Sailor program. For more info, see my Racing Charities page.(4-9-2003)
- Local NC driver remains critical: Melvin "Puddin'" Swisher, who was injured in a crash at Caraway Speedway {many Cup teams test there] on March 29, is still in intensive care and listed in critical condition at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. But son Curtis Swisher said that his father is improving slowly each day. "His left wrist is broken, he has some broken ribs, and there are some head injuries," Curtis Swisher said. "He had some facial fractures, but they're healing." Curtis Swisher said that his father is heavily sedated to restrict his movement while he heals. Curtis Swisher said that doctors "aren't saying a whole lot" about the prognosis of the head injuries but said that the family remains hopeful that his father will recover and that they are encouraged by the positive signs they see. "He is improving," Curtis Swisher said. "It will just take time, and we'll have to wait and see. It is pretty slow going. But, considering what happened, he's still doing good." Melvin Swisher, 66, of Kernersville, was competing in a race for the Southern Modified Auto Racing Teams series at Caraway. He lost control of his car in the fourth turn and crashed into the end of a concrete wall at a pit-road opening. Swisher, who has been racing since 1959, has been a regular competitor at Bowman Gray Stadium, where he ranks No. 16 on the all-time victory list for feature races with 24 wins.(Winston Salem Journal)(4-9-2003)
(4-8-2003)
- DW to test Wednesday: The weather in the Carolinas has postponed and moved Darrell Waltrip's truck test from Caraway Speedway in Asheboro, NC on Tuesday to Hickory Speedway [NC] on Wednesday.(Fox Sports)(4-8-2003)
- Furr replaces Conner: Tony Furr will serve as crew chief for Winston Cup Rookie of the Year candidate Jack Sprague, beginning at this weekend at Martinsville. Furr replaces Dennis Connor at Haas CNC Racing. Connor has worked with Sprague for the last eight seasons. Together they won three championships in the Craftsman Truck Series, in 1997, 1999 and 2001. In 2002 Sprague and Connor moved to the Busch Series for Hendrick Motorsports, their Truck Series employer. Near the end of the 2002 season, team owner Gene Haas announced plans to field a Winston Cup team for Sprague that would be closely allied with Rick Hendrick's operation. Furr most recently worked in a management role with Morgan-McClure Motorsports [#4 Kodak Pontiac](NASCAR.com)(4-8-2003)
- Testing at Kentucky UPDATE: Four Winston Cup teams and a Busch Series squad are scheduled to test at the track this week at Kentucky Speedway. #77-Dave Blaney was to test today, while #42-Jamie McMurray and #74-Tony Raines are expected to test Wednesday and Thursday. Hank Parker Jr. is also scheduled to test a Winston Cup car for Evernham Motorsports on Wednesday and Thursday, while Brewco Motorsports [#27/#37] is listed as testing a Busch entry on the same days, but no driver is named. While testing is not open to the public, the track says fans may watch from the visitor center in turn three.(Winston Cup Scene Daily Newsletter)
UPDATE: Joey Clanton will be in the #27 Brewco Motorsports Pontiac, no listing of Raines in the 2nd Alert sent out by Kentucky Speedway.(4-8-2003)
- Mikey gets a TV gig and DW miked: Michael Waltrip will join Rick Allen, Dorsey Schroeder and Barry Dodson in the booth for this weekend's Craftsman Truck Series event in Martinsville. Waltrip has a vested interest in the race, as older brother Darrell - a three-time Winston Cup champion - will be racing a DEI-powered truck owned by Michael and crewed by Michael's NASCAR Busch Series crew. SPEED Channel will bring race fans a unique view to DW's return, as the truck will be equipped with in-car cameras and the racing legend
will be wired for sound for the entire race. In addition, fellow FOX broadcasters Larry McReynolds and Jeff Hammond also will be a part of
the SPEED broadcast, with McReynolds acting as Waltrip's spotter and Hammond observing from the pits.(Speed Channel PR) see more about DW's truck deal on my Truck Series site (have a image of the the truck there) or Retired Cup drivers page.(4-8-2003)
- #20 Impounded Car Chopped? and returned? An unconfirmed rumor has it that the 20 car was, indeed, returned though in a slightly modified form: Sliced in half at the B-pillar, the front section delivered to the Gibbs team garage. How would that be for a message sent and delivered? (in part from Autoweek), see the complete news progresssion on the #20 Chevy being confisgated at Texas on my #20 Team News and Links page.(4-8-2003)
- #49 Testing: hearing the #49 BAM Racing Dodge and Kenny Schrader are testing today, weather permitting, at Greenville Pickens Speedway in Greenville, SC.(4-8-2003)
UPDATE: the testing was rained out.(4-8-2003)
- Simpson vs NASCAR goes on Sept 15th: Racing safety pioneer Bill Simpson said his defamation claim against NASCAR isn't about what sanctioning body officials said following the death of Dale Earnhardt in the 2001 Daytona 500. It's what NASCAR didn't say. In a deposition taken Feb. 27, Simpson said NASCAR's refusal to say that Earnhardt's seat belt was installed incorrectly is what defamed him. NASCAR, filing for a summary judgment last week in U.S. District Court in Indianapolis, said Simpson's admission that NASCAR never said anything false should compel a ruling in its favor without the $8.5 million claim going to trial as scheduled Sept. 15. NASCAR also contends that it never mentioned Simpson by name and never said anything with malice. In the Simpson deposition, NASCAR attorney Robert Johnstone questioned him on a list of 22 statements provided by Horn as evidence that NASCAR defamed Simpson or invaded Simpson's privacy.(Daytona Beach New Journal), see past news on the lawsuit on my Lawsuits Page.(4-8-2003)
- Qualifying On Speed: Beginning with the Virginia 500 from Martinsville Speedway, SPEED Channel will be the exclusive home for NASCAR Winston Cup Series qualifying for the remainder of the FOX portion of the broadcast season [thru Sonoma in June). The FOX NASCAR team of Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip, Larry McReynolds and Jeff Hammond will handle the on-air responsibilities. During the second half of the season, which begins July 5 with the Pepsi 400 from Daytona [On NBC], SPEED Channel also expects to carry a majority
of the NASCAR Winston Cup Series qualifying events, tentatively scheduled to handle 15 of the 19 qualifying sessions. In addition, SPEED Channel continues to be the exclusive home of NASCAR Busch Series qualifying for the remainder of the season.(SPEED Channel PR)(4-8-2003)
- Bodine to double dip, Nashville and Martinsville: Busch Series points leader Todd Bodine [#54-Ford in Cup, #92-Chevy in Busch] will race in Nashville this Saturday and Martinsville on Sunday. Mike McLaughlin will practice and qualify the #92 Busch Series car in Nashville while Bodine is in Martinsville for Cup qualifying/practice.(Fox Sports Net's Totally NASCAR), Hermie Sadler will do the same but Dennis Setzer will practice and qualify the #02 Cup car while Sadler qualifies the #54 Busch car.(4-8-2003)
- Andretti helps out: On March 26, NASCAR driver John Andretti made a special appearance at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee and delighted the children there undergoing treatment for pediatric cancer and other life-threatening childhood diseases. The appearance included a $30,000 check presentation to Target House. Andretti raised the money by meeting a challenge - for each lap completed in the EA Sports 500 in Talladega, Ala., on October 6, 2002, General Mills pledged to donate money to Target House. Andretti not only completed the race, but also placed in the top 20.(Ruder Finn Arts & Communications Counselors)(4-8-2003)
(4-7-2003)
- How did Johnson end up ahead of Wallace? been asked this quite a bit today, after #48-Jimmie Johnson got together with #23-Kenny Wallace towards the end of the race, Johnson spun and lost the lead draft and Wallace continued on, BUT Wallace ran out of fuel a few hundred feet after the incident with Johnson and finished 17th, Johnson finished 15th.(Speed Channel's Inside Winston Cup - Kenny Wallace, also the #77 crew chief, Bootie Barker is the hot seat guest this week)(4-7-2003)
- Talladega Early TV Ratings Down: Nielsen says Fox's broadcast of Sunday's Aaron's 499 Winston Cup race from Talladega Superspeedway drew an overnight 5.7 rating and a 12 share, according to today's Sports Business Daily. The figures were well off the final numbers for 2002 Talladega race, which was run two weeks later and drew a 7.0/16, but all sports programming appears to be continuing to feel the impact of the war with Iraq. The Daily reports that the two NCAA basketball tournament semifinal games were off 30 percent and 25 percent.(Winston Cup Scene Daily Newsletter), past ratings on my 2003 TV Ratings page.(4-7-2003)
- Testing at Richmond UPDATE Postponed: The first NASCAR testing of the season at Richmond International Raceway starts next week, as NASCAR Busch Series drivers #2-Ron Hornaday, #21?/43?-Johnny Sauter and #00-Troy Cline are scheduled to test on Tuesday, April 8 and Wednesday, April 9. Scheduled to test NASCAR Winston Cup Series cars April 15-16 are #21-Ricky Rudd and #97-Kurt Busch along with #31-Dave Blaney, #18-Coy Gibbs, #59-Stacey Compton, #32-Lyndon Amick, #8-Martin Truex Jr., and #19-Chad Blount who will test NASCAR Busch Series cars. #40-Sterling Marlin [Cup] and #01-Jason Rudd -Busch] will test on April 16-17 only. More drivers are expected to test on April 22-23 and other drivers may be added to the two other sessions. Fans are invited to watch testing each day. The gates will be open from 9:00am to 5:00pm/et each day. The Pontiac Excitement 400 NASCAR Winston Cup Series race on Saturday, May 3 is sold out, but tickets still remain for the Hardee's 250 NASCAR Busch Series race on Friday, May 3.(RIR PR)(4-4-2003)
UPDATE: Richmond International Raceway says Busch Series tests planned for Tuesday and Wednesday have been postponed because of expected bad weather. The track says Ron Hornaday, one of three drivers expected this week, has rescheduled his test to next week. The track says Ricky Rudd and Kurt Busch are scheduled to test their Winston Cup cars April 15 and 16, along with Busch Series drivers Dave Blaney, Coy Gibbs, Stacey Compton, Lyndon Amick, Martin Truex Jr., Chad Blount and Hornaday. Sterling Marlin and Jason Rudd will test on April 16 and 17, and more drivers are expected April 22-23. The track says gates will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day of testing for fans who want to watch and says updated lists of drivers will be posted at www.rir.com.(Winston Cup Scene Daily Newsletter)(4-7-2003)
- The Earnhardt Jr Pass: Illegal or Not: blurbs from a few sites:
Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s pass below the out-of-bounds line with four laps to go at Talladega might have drawn a penalty some other day. After all, judgment calls differ from week to week. But on this day, it was the “safe” call. Had a black flag prevented Junior from winning his fourth consecutive Winston Cup race at Talladega, there might have been a riot. Junior has fans everywhere but none more vocal than at Talladega. Give him credit -- he started at the rear, overcame a damaged front end and didn't have teammate Michael Waltrip for drafting help at the end. Junior's car was solid, but his driving talent won the race. Thirty-eighth in points after two races, he now stands second just six races later.(Sporting News)
Kevin Harvick's crew chief, Todd Berrier, did. He went to the NASCAR hauler and reviewed the tape with NASCAR officials. "I guarantee if Kevin was an inch below the yellow line they would park him," Berrier said before looking at the replay. "The rule is you can't go below the yellow line period. It's that simple." Berrier was somewhat mollified after seeing the tape, saying the move was "probably too close to call" and that "I think the right decision was probably made." Kenseth had no opinion on the yellow-line pass Earnhardt Jr. made, but wondered why Harvick chose to go with the eventual winner in the final push. "He was pushing me really good and we had a run on the outside of the 8," Kenseth said. "He (Harvick) kind of faked right like he was going to go with me and then he went behind the 8. ...Everybody makes his own decisions. I couldn't win without somebody pushing me ... but if you line up behind the 8 it's hard to beat him."(ThatsRacin.com)
Crossing the yellow line considered out of bounds by NASCAR, Earnhardt outdueled Matt Kenseth in the Aaron's 499 with a pivotal move that triggered another controversy in NASCAR's Winston Cup Series. "It's unfortunate that that's going to get all the publicity and not the four in a row," Earnhardt said. Replays indicated Earnhardt and Kenseth appeared to be side by side as Earnhardt's car moved well below the line in Turn 3, but Earnhardt claimed he already had cleared Kenseth's Ford. "I ran [below the line] to keep from running into him," Earnhardt said. "By that time, I was already past him." Johnson, who led a race-high 65 laps, begged to differ. "He was clearly below the yellow line," Johnson said. "I didn't think it was a legal pass." Runner-up Kevin Harvick and third-place finisher Elliott Sadler both claimed not to have seen the pass. But when asked if he would have been penalized for making the same move, Harvick offered a guarded response. "That's a good question," Harvick said. "I'll plead the fifth on that one." Others were less diplomatic. "It looks like they gave it to the '8' car," pole-sitter Jeremy Mayfield said. "He can do what he wants to do." In the prerace drivers meeting, race director David Hoots said NASCAR would black-flag cars that improved their position by crossing the yellow line that circles the bottom of the 2.66-mile track. Steve Park was black-flagged for passing Joe Nemechek below the line midway through yesterday's race, but NASCAR spokesman Jim Hunter said Earnhardt wasn't penalized because his pass didn't improve his position.(Richmond Times Dispatch)
Jim Hunter, NASCAR vp/communications, offered this explanation: "This was a judgment call, very obviously," he said. "In our opinion, there is no question he went below the yellow line. Where the judgemnt call comes into effect [was that he] did not go below the yellow line to improve his position. He had already passed the 17 car when he went below the yellow line. We based our opinion on reviews of the tapes both in the tower at the time and after the race." Many saw the matter differently, with NASCAR having used the black flag earlier in the race, without apparent review or reservation, against Earnhardt teammate Steve Park. The rule also has been invoked in similar cases in the past, notably with Tony Stewart at Daytona in 2001. NASCAR's non-ruling, and yet another victory by Junior at the big track, did nothing to diminish suspicions that NASCAR somehow favors Earnhardt Jr., suspicions Hunter flatly denied.(Speed Channel)
from a GM Press Release - GM Racing notes - Post-race, Talladega: EARNHARDT, JR. (Would You Like To See The Yellow Line Removed?) ....."Another thing - I'll be reading on Jayski (jayski.com) all these articles and for any of you suns of guns that are wanting to talk (expletive) about me - you know where you can go."(SpeedwayMedia.com)
AND from ThatsRacin.com: Earnhardt Jr. talks about 'The Pass'
See my Article/Story/Columns Links page for a Plethora of columns/article on the matter.(4-7-2003)
- Seeking speed, General Mills turns to NASCAR: When General Mills wanted to cut the time it takes to make a product changeover at a Betty Crocker plant, it turned to NASCAR for help. The food company sent a team to work with a Winston Cup pit crew "because nobody can change over a car faster than these guys can," said Randy Darcy, senior vice president of General Mills' supply chain operations. After studying the NASCAR crew, General Mills cut to 12 minutes -- from as long as 2 1/2 to 4 1/2 hours -- the time it takes to switch production lines from one Betty Crocker meal to another. One thing the mechanics learned from working with the NASCAR pit crew was to videotape each of the changeovers, then critique everything that happened.(Atlanta Journal-Constitution)(4-7-2003)
- Four Straight nice, Seven is the record: Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s win was his fourth straight at Talladega, breaking a tie with Buddy Baker for consecutive wins at the track, but it is not the first time a driver has gone four-fer at one track. Bill Elliott was the last driver to do it, winning four straight at Michigan International Speedway in 1985-86. The all-time record is seven straight, co-held by Richard Petty (Richmond, 1970-73) and Darrell Waltrip (Bristol, 1981-84).(The State)(4-7-2003)
- Skinner and Kenseth - No DNF's at 'Dega: #4-Mike Skinner and #17-Matt Kenseth are the only active drivers with at least three starts at Talladega who have not posted at least one DNF. Skinner has been running at the end of all 12 of his Winston Cup starts at Talladega, even though he was involved in Sunday's big wreck. Kenseth had done that for seven races.(Alabama Live)(4-7-2003)
- The Flying Tire: Winston Cup officials recovered the tire from Ryan Newman's car and planned to study why a tether failed to keep it from bouncing out of Talladega Superspeedway in Sunday's race. Newman's left front wheel cleared the catch fence off turn 2 where there weren't any grandstands. The tire hit a parked car. No one was injured, a track spokesperson said. Goodyear lists a left front tire as weighing 24.3 pounds. Newman's tire was heavier because part of the steel front spindle remained attached. NASCAR requires teams to tether the front spindles to the car to prevent a wheel from coming off. The rule book states that teams must use steel fiber cables or Vectran fiber cables to tether the wheel.(Roanoke Times)(4-7-2003)
- Traction Control to be watched at Martinsville: NASCAR will employ “special help” to monitor teams for traction control this weekend at Martinsville, where spinning the tires coming off the corners is a big concern.(Sporting News)(4-7-2003)
- Wind Tunnel Plans Canceled: NASCAR canceled plans to take cars to the wind tunnel for aerodynamic testing after watching Sunday's race. "After that race, I reconvinced myself that the cars are evenly matched," said Winston Cup director John Darby. "A Dodge led, a Ford led, a Chevrolet led, and I think Ricky Craven in a Pontiac might even have led a lap. And at the end of the race, all four makes were running up front." Wind tunnel testing is done to make sure all makes are aerodynamically equal, something NASCAR is trying to make certain of this year through common templates. But Darby had been reluctant so far this season to test the cars to make sure his process was working. He said Sunday he had since reconsidered and was all set to take the cars to the wind tunnel following the race. Instead, the big white haulers that normally transport the cars sat idle on pit road with Darby convinced the test was not needed.(ThatsRacin.com/AP)(4-7-2003)
- Busch vs Stewart: Kurt Busch and Tony Stewart met after the race to discuss their incident. Busch and Greg Biffle got together and sent Busch into Stewart's car on lap 90. Stewart banged the wall and had to go to the garage for repairs. He returned to finish 25th. Busch placed 19th. "He ended up on my outside when Biffle pinched me up against him," Busch said of Stewart. "It was like I ended up running into him purposely; it was just an accident." Stewart was unavailable for comment after the race.(Roanoke Times) AND as seen on Speed Channel's NASCAR Victory Lane, Busch squirted Stewart as the two walked away from each other after Stewart confronted Busch about the incident that put Tony in the wall. Stewart basically did not react or notice.
AND Busch's comments on the accident: Teammates Greg Biffle and Kurt Busch banged Fords late in the race and each fell out of contention after running with the leaders. Biffle, who finished 22nd, seemed to race up the track in front of Busch. That caused Busch, who finished 19th, to plow into defending Cup champ Tony Stewart. Stewart, who was already struggling, finished 25th. And though Stewart had words with Busch after the race, Busch said it wasn't his fault. "We were on the lead lap and my deal was I had a 10-mph run on my teammate, and he pulled out in front of me," Busch said. "That's fine. But we ended up running out of racetrack and we wrecked. I had a pretty good run and didn't expect him to come up like that." Biffle said he thought Busch would take another line, one higher up than the one Biffle steered into. "Anybody can get a run on somebody and pass them on a restart, but I thought we had established the inside lane," he said. "I wished he would have gotten on the brakes a little and not had that happen."(News and Observer)(4-7-2003)
- Talladega Sweep: Dale Earnhardt Jr became the first driver to sweep both major [NASCAR] events on a single NASCAR weekend since Burton won Busch Series and Winston Cup events at Phoenix International Raceway in November 2000. Earnhardt also won the Aaron’s 312, a Busch Series race, on Saturday.(Gaston Gazette) AND By winning the Busch race and the Winston Cup race at Daytona over the weekend, Earnhardt became the fourth driver to accomplish the feat at Talladega. The others were Ernie Irvan in 1992, Dale Earnhardt Sr. in 1993 and Mark Martin in 1997.(Alabama Live)(4-7-2003)
- Snake Oil? Word in the garage: Some teams are using oxygenated oil additives that can boost an engine's horsepower by five to 15. Winston Cup Series director John Darby says the “snake oil” has been reported for a while, and his officials have taken random samples at Daytona and Talladega to try to determine what is out there. NASCAR always has taken a stringent stand against using additives in gasoline and might take a similar approach with oil. One owner whose team used oil additives last year says there is an increased risk of engine failure. Additives put a strain on the engine's rings because the oxygen reduces the oil's ability to lubricate.(Sporting News)(4-7-2003)
- Petty still hurtin' but makes it thru: Kyle Petty finished a season-high 11th despite racing with two cracked ribs. It wasn't easy. "My ribs hurt so bad and my back hurt so bad that I just rode around for the first 170 laps," Petty said as he walked in the garage but kept his left arm still. "I told them to tell me when there were 15 laps to go and we'll race."(Roanoke Times)(4-7-2003)
- 2004 Taurus News: Ford's new Taurus for 2004 has made it to the wind tunnel. The current model has been in competition for four years and needs a face-lift, but Ford engineers aren't optimistic that gains will be made now that common templates are being used. The car body must be submitted to NASCAR by July 1 and the components by September 1.(Sporting News)(4-7-2003)
- Dale Earnhardt Tribute Car Captures Best of Show Award: Inspired by the work ethic of his favorite NASCAR driver, Larry Cheffer claimed overall Best of Show honors for his 1984 Chevrolet Monte Carlo during the Food Lion AutoFair Awards Ceremony Sunday at Lowe's Motor Speedway. The Kankakee, Ill., body shop owner began restoring the jet-black car five years ago and put more than 3,500 hours into what became a labor of love. "I wanted to quit working on the car so many times, but I thought about Dale Earnhardt and his never give up, do whatever it takes attitude," stated Cheffer. "I started rebuilding the car as a tribute to him, and then after his death, it became a memorial. My wife and I didn't celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary because we were trying to get the car finished for this trip to Charlotte. It's the first time I've ever shown the car and I'm just overwhelmed at the response to it." Cheffer returns to Illinois with two additional pieces of hardware including the Lion Cup (Best Paint, as chosen by Food Lion representative Mark Miller) and a Best of Show trophy from the Southern Rods and Classics Club.(LMS PR)(4-7-2003)
- Rumblings - Talladega: About the only thing different about today's Talladega Winston Cup event was we had the "Big One" early on (lap 4 to be precise)....but it still got wild (as usual) at the end. Dale Earnhardt Jr got his four-peat today (no one else has graced Victory Lane since Bobby Hamilton won her in April of 2001), but it was not without a struggle. Engine change (to the back), damage in the "Big One" (sheet metal flapping in the breeze), a controversial pass late under Matt Kenseth .....just another typical Talladega race.
Now, while I [Henry] feel the pass was legal, I've gotta question NASCAR's call. It appears (as usual) that the only thing consistent in NASCAR is their inconsistency. Last week (in the BGN race at Texas) they said that Brian Vickers had to be penalized because he was "in the act of passing" when, in NASCAR's opinion, he jumped the start. Today, when Little E had two tires under the yellow "out of bounds" line, NASCAR said he was "in the act of passing". So, which is it?
Jr is now tied with Kyle Petty for 50th on the all-time win list (with 8), and DEI has won 8 of the last 10 plate races.
16 different leaders today....that's the most since we were here in April of 2001 when we had 26.
#29-Kevin Harvick (2nd) had his best finish since he won at Chicagoland last July.
#38-Elliott Sadler (3rd) had his best finish since he was runner-up at Darlington in March of 2002.
#5-Terry Labonte (5th) had his best finish since he was 3rd at Infineon Raceway last June.
#22-Ward Burton (7th) had his best finish since he was 5th at Martinsville last October.
#45-Kyle Petty (11th) had his best finish since he was 10th here last April.
#43-John Andretti (14th) had his best finish since he was 14th at Phoenix last November.
#74-Tony Raines (16th) had his career-best finish today. His previous best was 24th twice....the last of which was at Atlanta last month.
STREAKIN.....Matt Kenseth has 7 Top-10's in a row. Dale Earnhardt Jr has 5 Top-10's in the last 6 races. Jeff Gordon has 4 Top-10's in the last 5 races.
This Week's Elevator....UP: Operator of the Week is Tony Raines (+27), followed by John Andretti (+26), and Terry Labonte (+23). DOWN: The Big Dropper was Ryan Newman (-31), followed by Casey Mears (-30), and Johnny Benson (-24). With that 27 car melee that started as far up as it did you would have expected more activity in this category, eh?(NOTE: this is Official Starting positions, not if a driver falls to the rear of the field for an engine/driver/car change)
Terry Labonte led one lap today...it's the first time he's led since he was on the point twice for 11 laps at Martinsville Speedway in April of '02. Ward Burton led three times for 5 laps today....it's the first time he's led since he was up front at Atlanta las October for 4 laps. 32 different drivers have now led (not too shabby when you consider we've only had 48 different drivers compete this season).(Henry Dubret from StockCarFans.Com Winston Cup Newsletter)(4-7-2003)
(4-6-2003)
see the Mar 31-Apr 6, 2003 Archived News Page
(3-30-2003)
see the Mar 24-30, 2003 Archived News Page
(3-23-2003)
see the Mar 17-23, 2003 Archived News Page
