#91 Team News and Links Page
LINKS
OFFICIAL - team/driver
Marc Goossens
David Green
SPONSORS
Primary:
Commonwealth
Associates:
UN-OFFICIAL - team/driver
(not posting new unofficial sites anymore: too many have no updates, are old, driver bashing)
#91 Team Past News and Rumors
(NOTE: some older links may not work)
Contract Status: Driver: ?; Primary Sponsor: ?
- Riley still interested in NASCAR ownership: Bill Riley, whose family is well known in the building of open-wheel and road-racing chassis, has not soured on NASCAR after his fledgling Riley/D'Hondt Racing has closed its doors. The #91 Toyota team ran one Cup race in 2007 after Riley and Eddie D'Hondt announced its formation in 2006. Riley had moved his company from Indianapolis to Charlotte, in part to be more connected to NASCAR. "Eddie and I were promised a lot of things and had a lot of signed documents and promises, and they just didn't work out," Riley said. "It was simple as that. ... It's not an easy place to get in. It's not like you can walk in and beat the 48 team [of Jimmie Johnson]. But that's where you need to be in motorsports. You need to be involved with that series. I'd like to try," Riley said Friday at Daytona International Speedway where his company had several cars testing for the Rolex 24 At Daytona. "There's some people talking to me, but I'm really taking my time with it. I have quite a bit of commitments with sports-car racing right now. ... The next time I get an opportunity to come in, I will be a bit more cautious [with potential sponsors] and a bit slower."(Scene Daily)(1-7-2008)
- Riley – D'Hondt Motorsports Dissolved? After much fanfare, the partnership between Bill Riley and former Yates Racing general manager Eddie D'Hondt is no more. The two announced goals to form an ambitious Cup and Busch program back in August, 2006, aligning themselves with Toyota [#91]. But sponsorship never materialized, and the team
only made one Nextel Cup race throughout its existence; Marc Goossens finished 38th last June at Infineon Raceway. The Busch program appeared in better shape, with veteran David Green driving a handful of races; however, he and development driver Bobby Santos never could drudge up the financial support to go with them. In half-a-dozen events, their highest finish was 11th with Green at Nashville. While that team has dissolved, Eddie D'Hondt supposedly still plans to remain in the ownership business – he hopes to run some Busch and ARCA races in 2008 under the D'Hondt Motorsports banner.(Frontstretch)(12-18-2007)
- Riley-D'Hondt Motorsports to run road course races UPDATE: on Thursday NASCAR Now on ESPN2, Riley-D'Hondt Motorsports Busch Series driver, David Green was interviews and asked about the Nextel Cup Series plans, Green said the team plans to attempt the tw oroad course races at Infineon Raceway and Watkins Glen with Marc Goossens as the driver.(5-25-2007)
UPDATE: Riley-D'Hondt Motorsports (RDM) announced that Commonwealth will sponsor the #91 Toyota Camry driven by
Marc Goossens at Infineon Raceway on June 24, 2007. "We are very pleased to be associated with a company so diverse in their market area as Commonwealth," said Riley-D'Hondt Motorsports co-owner Eddie D'Hondt. "We anticipate bringing the NASCAR fan more in touch with the in-style clothing lines Commonwealth has to offer. Commonwealth and NASCAR will be a great fit for each other." In their initial partnership, Riley-D'Hondt Motorsports and Commonwealth will attempt their first "Car of Tomorrow" race at a road course. Marc Goossens brings a diversified racing background to the team and is looking forward to being back behind the wheel of a stock car. "I am excited to be driving the #91 Toyota Camry for Riley-D'Hondt Motorsports and representing Commonwealth," said Goossens. "Combining my driving experience with the leadership and technology of RDM should be a winning combination." Born in Belgium, Goossens has raced all over the world and is currently the lead driver of the #91 Riley-Matthews Motorsports Pontiac Riley in the Rolex Grand American Series. Goossens is known for his ability to quickly adapt to any type of car and track. Having started his racing career in go-karts, Goossens quickly established himself at a young age winning the 1991 British Formula Ford Championship before going on to win numerous races and a championship in the FIA F3000 series. For more information or to shop visit www.cmonwealth.com.(Riley D'Hondt Motorsports PR)(6-19-2007)
- Riley-D'Hondt Still Planning to Run this Year: Riley-D'Hondt Motorsports still plans on fielding a Busch Series car later this year as well as entering the two Nextel Cup road-course races, team co-owner Eddie D'Hondt said Sunday. Road racer Marc Goosens will drive in the Cup events, D'Hondt said. David Green has been working with the team and is presumed to be its Busch driver. The team has 10 Busch cars and two cars of tomorrow for its launch. Jerry Pitts will be the crew chief.(SceneDaily.com)(3-12-2007)
- David Green to Drive for Riley-D'Hondt at Daytona: David Green will drive the Busch Series season-opening race in 2007 at Daytona for Riley-D'Hondt Motorsports and possibly the full season for the team. Team co-owner Eddie D'Hondt said Sunday that the new team has moved into its shop and working on finalizing plans for its Busch program next year. The team is planning to run two Busch teams. D'Hondt said the team will announce which manufacturer it is aligned with in the next week. Speculation centers that it is Toyota, which also is expected to announce its Busch lineup next weekend at Texas.(SceneDaily.com)(10-29-2006)
- Paul Tracy to Run for Riley-D'Hondt Motorsports in limited 2007 schedule: Having announced the formation of
Riley-D'Hondt Motorsports less than a month ago, co-owners Bill Riley and Eddie D'Hondt are proud to announce that Sport Clips has agreed to be the primary sponsor of one of their new teams in the 2007 Busch Series. Fielded out of their new shops located in Mooresville, NC, Riley-D'Hondt Motorsports will run a yet-to-be-determined limited schedule with champion open-wheel driver Paul Tracy in the driver's seat. Sport Clips has spent the last three seasons in the Busch Series where they have experienced great success. In 2004, Sport Clips was in Victory Lane at Daytona with driver, Mike Wallace. In February 2005, they sat on the Pole at Daytona with driver, Joe Nemechek, and, most recently, they are the primary sponsor of Champ Car star Paul Tracy in his 2006
Busch Series effort. Adding to an already impressive motorsports resume, Sport Clips was the primary sponsor of Max Papis' Indianapolis 500 entry on May 28, 2006, and also was the primary sponsor for Max Papis' debut in the Busch Series on August 12, 2006.(Riley-D'Hondt Motorsports PR)(9-2-2006)
- RDM team may look outside NASCAR for drivers: New Riley-D'Hondt Motorsports co-owner Eddie D'Hondt told Sirius Speedway (MRN/Sirius Satellite Radio) host Dave Moody Tuesday that he may look outside the established NASCAR system for drivers. "We have two drivers in mind right now," said D'Hondt, "and we hope to have an announcement on that, plus sponsorship and manufacturer affiliations within the next three to four weeks. I wouldn't necessarily be surprised to see NASCAR teams begin to recruit drivers from the Grand American Rolex (Sports Car) Series in the near future. I'm not saying it will necessarily be us, but with (co-owner) Bill Riley's connections in sports car racing, it might be."(MRN/Sirius Satellite Radio)(8-9-2006)
- Riley-D'Hondt Motorsports updates - NO Manufacturer yet: Riley-D'Hondt Motorsports wishes to clarify their position about the report they will field Toyota's: "As discussed in our announcement on Friday, Riley-D'Hondt Motorsports is currently in discussions with multiple vehicle manufacturers for our new organization. We have not confirmed our decision as to what vehicle manufacturer we are aligning with, therefore any reports of Toyotas, Chevys, Fords or Dodges confirmed as RDM's manufacturer are erroneous. RDM will make official announcements in the very near future, not just about manufacturer, but also sponsors and drivers. Please stay tuned."
AND Also another error the team wishes to clarify: "For additional clarification of the article, Bob and Bill Riley did not "help" NASCAR create its Car of Tomorrow. The Car of Tomorrow is NASCAR's vehicle. Rather, we pointed out that the Rileys specialize on a few aerodynamic components that will be found on this new racing vehicle - namely the nose "splitter" and the rear wing. Both components are similar to those used in sports car racing, vehicles that Riley Technologies has designed and built for many years."(Autopasse Inc./RDM PR)(8-8-2006)
- New Team? Press Conferences... UPDATE 3: there is a press conference scheduled for Friday, August 4th at Indianapolis Motor Speedway to announce a new NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Team
UPDATE on new team: been told that former RYR Team Mgr, Eddie D'Hondt, will be part owner in the new team.
Others include:
Unveil the #25 OAR/GMAC Chevy with Brian Vickers [will run at RIR]
Jimmie Johnson Foundation Press Conference [fundraising event/special paint for Calif]
Petty Enterprises Announcement [General Mills re-ups]
Robert Yates Racing Announcement [postponed](8-2-2006)
UPDATE 2: Today marks the introduction of a new NASCAR motorsports organization combining the best of NASCAR experience with cutting-edge technology and engineering skills, Riley-D'Hondt Motorsports, LLC (RDM). Based out of Mooresville, North Carolina, RDM will be fully operational by the 2007 season, with an expected two teams in the NASCAR Busch Series, as
well as a NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series team competing in as many as five Nextel Cup "Car of Tomorrow" events. "We're ideally going to start off with three teams - two Busch Series and one part-time Nextel Cup team in 2007," said Eddie D'Hondt, co-founder, co-owner and general manager, Riley-D'Hondt Motorsports. "Right now we don't know to what extent each of these teams will participate in the 2007 season - as sponsorship unfolds, we will revise our schedules. RDM's goal is to become a NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series powerhouse within five years, with up to four teams in contention for the Nextel Cup championship." D'Hondt's RDM co-founder and co-owner is Bill Riley of Riley Technologies, a premier motorsports engineering and manufacturing organization, which is in the process of moving its operations from Speedway, Indiana to Mooresville. Among many other projects, Riley Technologies builds winning competition vehicles, including Daytona Prototypes for the Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series. Full sponsor, vehicle manufacturer and driver rosters are to be announced in the very near future. RDM is currently in negotiations with all parties. The racing model for RDM is to run at least one NASCAR Busch Series team in concert with one to four NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series teams. The goal of the Busch Series effort will be to win races while creating a sustainable source of talent and engineering solutions to the Nextel Cup team(s). The Busch Series team(s) will focus on future driver development, as well as shock and suspension development. RDM is co-owned by four principals: D'Hondt, Bill Riley, Bob Riley and Jim Matthews. Bob Riley, Bill's father and founder/owner of Riley Technologies, will operate as RDM's engineering director, with Bill's assistance. Matthews, a sports car racing star, will assist the team with business matters and lend his road-racing experience to RDM's driver roster as needed. Based out of the motorsports industry-filled Talbert Point Business Park in "Race City U.S.A.," Mooresville, North Carolina, RDM is co-owned by Eddie D'Hondt and Bill Riley with additional ownership by Bob Riley and Jim Matthews. RDM is currently under development and will be ready for the 2007 NASCAR season. RDM will initially be housed in and adjacent to the 40,000 square foot Riley Technologies facility. Sponsorship and investment opportunities abound at Riley-D'Hondt Motorsports, and the team is actively searching for investors and marketing partners for the 2007 season and beyond.(Riley-D'Hondt Motorsports/RDM/Autopasse Inc. PR)(8-4-2006)
UPDATE 3 Toyota and Drivers: Toyota's presence in NASCAR's Nextel Cup Series expanded again Friday with the creation of Riley-D'Hondt Motorsports. That team will build two Camrys and compete in next year's Allstate 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, as well as five Car of Tomorrow events. The team hopes to be at full speed in 2008 or 2009 with two full-time Busch Series and four Cup teams. Bill and Bob Riley helped NASCAR create its Car of Tomorrow - a car that's supposed to reduce the dependency on aerodynamics to promote more competitive racing. The new car, which is taller and wider than the current car, also will have a rear wing instead of a spoiler. The Rileys are the leading manufacturer of chassis components in the Grand American Road Racing Series with nine victories in 11 races in the Daytona Prototype division. The team didn't offer a lot of detail about its future, except to say it already had a verbal commitment from two drivers. Eddie D'Hondt, who was fired in July as general manager at Robert Yates Racing, said the team decided to concentrate on the Car of Tomorrow because it eventually will be the only car used in NASCAR.(AP/Augusta Chronicle)(8-6-2006)
