#7 to be around in 2002 and a Dodge: Once on the brink of extinction, Jim Smith now expects Ultra Motorsports to field a Winston Cup team next season. His two CTS teams will also remain, but a proposed full-time BGN team is now on hold until 2003. Smith is in litigation with Winston Cup sponsor NationsRent and isn’t sure who will sponsor the team next year. But after a 13th-place finish in the UAW-GM Quality 500, new driver Kevin Lepage figures to be in the running when Smith considers who will drive what will be Dodge Intrepids in 2002. Lepage, released by Morgan-McClure Motorsports Oct. 1, signed with the team two days later after Mike Wallace left to join Penske Racing. Smith said Lepage is in the car for the time being and figures he’ll be there for the final seven races. As for the BGN, sponsors Carquest and ASE have elected to run just a handful of events next year, while moving to a full-time team in 2003. The companies will remain as the full-time sponsor of one of Smith’s two truck teams as well(Winston Cup Scene)(10-11-2001)
