Frank Cicci and his partner, former Buffalo Bills quarterback Jim Kelly, had hoped to debut their new Busch Series team at the Darlingtonraceway.com 200 at Darlington Raceway this weekend. However, with only three weeks to get the team ready, Cicci decided to postpone the start of the team’s season. Cicci’s only asset before securing a sponsor was a 10,000-square foot race shop in Mooresville, NC. “I want to do the job right and do what is good for our sponsor,” Cicci said Wednesday from his Mooresville, N.C., home. Several factors led the team to push back its 2003 plans, such as trying to buy race cars, hiring personnel and finding time to test its young driver, Clay Rogers. “It’s been a rush to get things done,” said Cicci, who signed sponsor LesCare Kitchens on Feb. 24. “We only had a few weeks and we just couldn’t do it.” Cicci and Kelly, who announced their partnership last October, signed a minimum 10-race deal with the Connecticut-based kitchen-cabinet manufacturer. Cicci, who had hoped to run a full season, said they could run as many as 14 to 18 additional races in 2003. But the team will also miss its next scheduled race, next weekend’s Channellock 250 at Bristol Motor Speedway. “We didn’t want to take a chance of bringing him there cold,” said Cicci, who wasn’t able to schedule a test session there first. Rogers last competed in the Busch Series in 2001, running nine races. Last year he ran in the Hooters Cup series, finishing seventh in the series points. Cicci will meet with his sponsor on Friday to discuss which tracks they will compete at to make up for the two races they’re going to miss. The team’s next scheduled race is the Aaron’s 312 at Talladega Superspeedway on April 5. Cicci said it’s possible the team will compete in the O’Reilly 300 at Texas Motor Speedway on March 29. Cicci has bought five cars and taken delivery on four of them. Among the Chevy Monte Carlos he’s purchased are two from the AP Motorsports team that finished 13th in the 2002 point standings with Tim Sauter, and three that Jimmy Spencer drove for James Finch Racing last year. Cicci won’t get his hands on one of the Finch cars until after the Bristol race. Finch has switched over to Dodge cars and driver Jim McMurray this year, but the team hasn’t built enough Dodges yet and wants to use one of the Chevys at Bristol. Cicci said he also intends to build a sixth car. He’s hired five people, including former longtime chief Clyde McLeod, who will be the team manager. The team plans to run the #34 Chevy in the Busch North Series race at Watkins Glen International during the Sirius at the Glen weekend in August.(Elmira Star Gazette), see past news on the team on myFeb 2003 Busch Series Archive page.(3-13-2003)
UPDATE: Fox Sports Net’s Totally NASCAR [also seen on Speed Channel at 6:30pm/et] reports that Mike McLaughlin will drive a few races for Frank Cicci and Jim Kelly, with the first race being at Talladega on April 5th.(3-24-2003)
UPDATE 2: Plans are for McLaughlin to run at Talladega and Richmond so far, with LesCare Kitchens as the sponsor.(XM Satellite- NASCAR Radio – Subscription Required)(3-25-2003)
UPDATE 3: Frank Cicci Racing with Jim Kelly has announced a 10-race Busch Series scheduled for Mike McLaughlin in the team’s #34 Chevy. The team expects to debut in Saturday’s Aaron’s Rents 312 at Talladega Superspeedway and return to action for the May 2 race at Richmond International Raceway.(Winston Cup Scene Daily Newsletter – free) AND With Mike McLaughlin now signed to drive the #34 Frank Cicci Racing with Jim Kelly Chevrolets in the NASCAR Busch Series in 2003, the team and sponsor LesCare Kitchens have announced the group’s initial race schedule for the partnership’s first 11-race program. Connecticut-based LesCare Kitchens, which recently opened a new, 330,000 square foot manufacturing facility in Statesville, NC, is America’s largest, privately-held frame-less cabinet manufacturer. The company’s sponsorship with Frank Cicci Racing with Jim Kelly and McLaughlin is the first for the company in a national racing touring series. LesCare sponsored Busch North Series champion Andy Santerre last year, the ninth straight season in which the company supported a team in that series. Following this weekend’s debut at Talladega Superspeedway in the Aaron’s Rents 312, McLaughlin will pilot the LesCare Kitchens Chevrolet in nine more Busch Series and one Busch North Series events. McLaughlin will next appear in the LesCare Kitchens machine at Richmond International Raceway in Richmond, VA on May 2 and again take on the -mile RIR tri-oval on September 5.. McLaughlin will also drive the Frank Cicci Racing with Jim Kelly entry at both races at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Charlotte, NC on May 24 and October 10;. Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, IL on July 12;. Loudon, NH on July 19; Daytona International Speedway in Florida on July 4; Bristol, TN on August 22, and the season finale in Homestead, FL on November 15. The team will also enter the Busch North Series event at Watkins Glen, NY on August 9 under the LesCare banner. “LesCare has mentioned the possibility of expanding the schedule, but that will be determined at a later date,” Cicci explained. “Our primary focus now, however, is to develop the team and be competitive in order to benefit LesCare Kitchens with media attention and in support of their overall marketing efforts. We are hoping to announce additions to the current race schedule shortly,” Cicci ended.(Frank Cicci Racing with Jim Kelly PR)(4-2-2003)
