Mast to the #50? UPDATE 2 Looks like Mast: hearing Rick Mast is talking to the #50 MidWest Transit team about driving for them in 2001 as Ricky Craven has left the team (to go to the #32 Tide ride). Other possibilites include Hut Stricklin and Kevin Lepage UPDATE: Rick Mast looms as odd man out as the final pieces fall into place for the 2001 Winston Cup season. After being told last fall he wouldn’t return to the A.J. Foyt-owned #14 team, Mast was in line for the Jim Smith-owned #7 team and the #01 team of Chip Ganassi and Felix Sabates. But Smith announced late last week that Mike Wallace will be his new driver(Daily Press)(12-22-2000) UPDATE 2: #50 Team Mgr, Charley Pressley’s first impression was right when it came to finding a replacement for driver Ricky Craven, who announced on Dec. 15 that he was leaving the team. Queried Pressley that day: “You know the guy that I’m surprised doesn’t have a ride? Rick Mast.” That’s the driver Pressley went out and got, too, announcing Tuesday that Mast has agreed to drive for the Midwest team in 2001. “All that’s left to do is dot the i’s and cross the t’s,” Pressley said. “As soon as Ricky announced his deal, I called Rick and asked him if he didn’t have anything going, would he consider us? He said he would, so he sat down with (team owner) Hal (Hicks) and talked about it. Now it’s just a deal of hopefully finishing it up and getting the contracts signed.” Pressley and Mast worked together on Richard Jackson’s Skoal-sponsored team in the early ’90s. Owner Hal Hicks plans to run no less than 26 Cup races in 2001 and his team is gearing up to run the entire slate if an associate sponsor can be found who is willing to kick in $1-2 million.(FoxSports)(1-4-2001)
