More on Atwood: A spokesperson for Casey Atwood yesterday denied a flurry of Internet and TV reports that the young racer from Nashville has been fired as the driver of the No. 7 Dodge co-owned by Ray Evernham. ”None of that was true,” said Ultra/Evernham Motorsports spokesperson Amy Hunerberg. ”Casey has not been fired, re-hired and fired again.” So even though the swirl of rumors has so far been unfounded, all indications are that it’s unlikely that Atwood will remain with Ultra/Evernham Motorsports. Hunerberg said yesterday that, ”as we speak,” Atwood is scheduled to drive the car in Sunday’s race at Rockingham, N.C. Attempts to contact Atwood have been unsuccessful. His father, Terry, yesterday said: ”Ray told him he’s still in the car.” Adding to the complexity of the issue is the fact that Jim Smith, the car’s other co-owner, is mired in legal problems in California. He’s fighting charges of illegally dumping unapproved waste material at his manufacturing plant. Atwood canceled his usual weekly teleconference with media on Tuesday, fanning rumors that had already been swirling. Earlier, Hank Parker Jr. was selected by Evernham to drive a ”research and development” car in this Sunday’s race in what is widely considered to be an audition for Atwood’s job. Kevin Le-page, who recently left Brewco Motorsports, is also reported to be in contention for the ride. If Atwood is fired, there could be a breach-of-contact issue. He has one year remaining on a three-year contact he signed with Evernham. Atwood was not consulted when Evernham added Smith as a partner and demoted Atwood to the #7 car. ”It’s been a mess,” Terry Atwood said. Casey Atwood has talked to Brewco Motorsports owner Clarence Brewer about returning to the Busch Series team for which he once drove. Atwood said he would like to run Busch races ”on a limited schedule” but hopes to remain in Winston Cup full-time.(Tennessean)(10-31-2002)
