A sponsor announcement yesterday included a bonus for Truck teams that win a race from the pole. The money is coming just in time. Of the 43 Truck teams that entered Daytona, only 20 had true sponsorship. Jack Roush has his company and his Web site on his two trucks. Wayne Spears has his manufacturing company on David Starr’s machine. The Baltimore Ravens spiral across the side of Donnie Neuenberger’s truck, People Against Drugs highlight Bobby Dotter’s and Menards graces John Menard’s. This is not exactly the way to make money in racing. The Truck series, cheapest of NASCAR’s three main divisions, is facing a lack of sponsor dollars and teams. But money wasn’t the only thing on the mind of truck owners yesterday. Only 13 teams made it through technical inspection on Sunday. Yesterday, the opening practice started with nine trucks still trying to gain approval. One team finally withdrew, giving up in frustration after repeated runs past the inspectors. Meanwhile, series sponsor Craftsman offered a $10,000 bonus to a team that wins the pole and race for any of the 24 events(Times Dispatch)(2-13-2001)
