Petree tests at Martinsville UPDATE: It was a strange gathering in the garage area at Martinsville Speedway Tuesday: a Winston Cup team owner driving a BGN car, hoping to gain enough seat time to help him make the CTS race at the track on April 13. Andy Petree, owner of the #55 Schneider Electric Chevy driven by Bobby Hamilton and the unsponsored #33 Chevy driven by Mike Wallace has an opportunity to drive a truck at martinsville, but he felt like he needed some practice laps on Martinsville’ tight .526-mile oval. But in the CTS, private test sessions are not allowed. That’ why Petree showed up with a BGN car. We got a Busch car to come here and make some laps and get a feel for the race track, said Petree, who ran a handful of BGN races at Martinsville in the early 1990s. It (the Busch car) has a somewhat similar configuration as the truck deal. It has the same motor, the same carburetor, so were just getting a little seat time and seeing what’ going on. Petree had a little help in the pits with him Tuesday. Robert Pressley, who won the season-opening CTS race at Daytona last month, was sort of a track tutor for Petree. Pressley’ truck owner is Winston Cup driver Bobby Hamilton, who happens to be fielding Petree’ entry in the Advance Auto Parts 250.(Martinsville Speedway PR)(3-6-2002) UPDATE: Actually, Petree will be driving the #33 Chevy (not a Dodge), so far no primary sponsor, but Petree may be close, and Craftsman and Sherwin Williams will be major associates on the truck.(3-28-2002)
