#81 Back? UPDATE 4 I hear that Gil Martin, crew chief for the #93 Amoco Bill Davis Racing BGN Pontiac and co-owner of the #81 with Filbert Martocci, are close to reaching a settlement with Martocci to keep the team going in 1999 with a sponsor-driver package that Martin brought to the table. The deal would retain Martin as a part-owner with a new ownership group but he will remain as the central figure(crew chief) in Dave Blaney’s program at Bill Davis Racing next season and beyond(unnamed source) — The team has been sold to Pinnacle(sp?) Motorsports, one owner is Mark Collins. Sponsorship and driver announcement on Friday.(NASCAR Today Radio), one possibility I hear is Morgan Shepherd(12-15-98) — No announcement today from what I have seen/heard(12-18-98) — I hear Skip Eyler, former #97 Crew Chief will handle those duties with the team(12-30-98) — “In a deal pieced together by driver Morgan Shepherd, the Pinnacle Motorsports Group bought the team. Shepherd came to the group with a sponsor and the idea. He had originally considered owning a team, but decided the dual role was too complicated. Martocci will remain with the team through this season as a minority interest holder. Shepherd will drive the car and Skip Eyler, formerly of Roush Racing, will be the crew chief. Everything seemed perfect until earlier this week. Then, the sponsor — an insurance group that has signed a four-year contract with Shepherd — told the owners it wants to wait another season to start on the Winston Cup circuit. The decision shocked the group. Mark Collins, president and CEO of Pinnacle Motorsports Group, said the sponsor approached Shepherd earlier this year after conducting demographic studies of its target markets. The studies showed Shepherd best fit the profile of prospective insurance buyers. So the company went to the driver and convinced him to sign the contract. Now, it may take a court action to force the sponsor to honor the contract. Even if it does bail out for a season, Collins said the team plans to try to run. Collins said they will definitely run in Daytona, sponsor or not.”( Times-Dispatch Article )(12-31-98)
