#27 Done? UPDATE 3: hearing the Eel River Racing #27 Pontiac team has closed up shop and will not race anymore in 2001. No word on if it’ll try in 2002. Rick Mast is rumored to the #90 Ford if Hut Stricklin follows the Hill Brothers Coffee sponsorship to a new ride and Sauer/Dukes Mayo could follow UPDATE: Rick Mast, who has been driving the #27 Pontiacs owned by Eel River Racing, is also looking for a ride after that team, which failed to qualify for the Protection One 400 at Kansas Speedway over the weekend, suspended operations(That’s Racin’)(10-2-2001) UPDATE 2: Eel River Racing, with driver Rick Mast, closed its doors yesterday. The team has struggled this season, missing races and falling to 43rd in the owner’s points. With C.F. Sauer, the former sponsor of Eel River, and Junie Donlavey’s team both located in Richmond, speculation about a pairing between the two has been rampant. Driver Hut Stricklin, sponsor Hills Brothers and adviser Philippe Lopez already announced plans to leave Donlavey’s team at the end of the season. Mast has been rumored to be moving to Donlavey’s team, but the driver said he hasn’t made a decision. He could be driving this weekend, though. Mast is standing by for Dale Jarrett, who was knocked unconscious in a crash last weekend and might be unable to complete the 500-mile race at Lowes(Richmond Times Dispatch)(10-3-2001) UPDATE 3: Barry Dodson, part-owner and crew chief for Eel River’s defunct #27 team, said Saturday that sponsor C.F. Sauer wants to remain involved in Winston Cup racing but could not stay with the 27 team under conditions presented. The team shut down Tuesday after Sauer, which used its Duke’s Mayonnaise brand on the cars, decided not to continue its support. That leaves hard-luck driver Rick Mast again on the street. Dodson, who won the 1989 championship as crew chief for Rusty Wallace, said he had received some calls about his services but would be careful how he chose(SpeedVision) AND The troubled Eel River Racing team has closed its doors apparently permanently, leaving driver Rick Mast without a ride and the rest of the team scrambling for employment. Barry Dodson, the team’s crew chief, said Saturday the collapse of the team “boils down to a matter of dollars and the way they were spent.”(Greenville News)(10-7-2001)
