No #26 or #66 at Atlanta? UPDATE 2 no #66 The sponsorship woes are nowhere more evident than in the Haas-Carter Motorsports camp. Last year, Bodine won two poles, three outside poles and posted two top-five finishes while Nemechek won the fall race at North Carolina Speedway [in the #33 APR Chevy]. They are considered at least a mid-level team, and yet even after Bodine’s pole-winning run on Friday that team does not believe it will have enough money to race next week in Atlanta. “To be quite blunt, I don’t think we are going to be going to Atlanta,” Bodine said. “We are entertaining some sponsors and talking to some people, but nothing is even close to becoming a deal.”(News and Observer)(3-2-2002) UPDATE: being told that the #66 Haas Carter Motorsports team will NOT enter the MBNA America 500 at Atlanta, still no word on if the #26 will go or not.(3-4-2002) UPDATE 2: FSN’s Totally NASCAR reports that the #26 Ford and driver Joe Nemechek will run at Atlanta while the #66 Ford and driver Todd Bodine will not run unless a sponsor is found to run the car.(3-5-2002) UPDATE 3: Travis Carter Enterprises announced Tuesday it will send just one of its two Winston Cup teams to compete in Sunday’s MBNA America 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The #26 Ford team of driver Joe Nemechek plans to compete in the race without a sponsor, while the No. 66 team and driver Todd Bodine will sit out. A statement from the team released Tuesday afternoon said plans could change for the #66 should the sponsorship situation change.(ThatsRacin.com)(3-6-2002)
