BGNRacing.com is reporting that Stanton Barrett supposedly won’t be driving the #60 Odoban Ford this weekend at Nashville.(BGNRacing.com)(6-5-2003)
UPDATE: hearing now that Barrett will be in the car this weekend at Nashville, but a shake up is coming soon for the team.(BGNRacing.com)(6-6-2003)
UPDATE 2: Geoff Smith, President of Roush Racing, has issued a statement in response to recent rumors circulating the NASCAR garage regarding Stanton Barrett and the #60 OdoBan Taurus. Roush Racing has not contemplated nor is it considering the replacement of Stanton Barrett as driver of the #60 OdoBan Taurus. The sponsor OdoBan is not considering nor has it requested a change of driver in the program. We are pleased with the outstanding progress Stanton has made in his first full season in the NASCAR Busch Series. Stanton Barrett is present at Nashville Superspeedway and will driver the #60 OdoBan Taurus in the Trace Adkins Chrome 300 tomorrow night.(Roush Racing PR)(6-6-2003)
UPDATE 3 Odoban Sponsorship in trouble? Roush Racing lost the Navy sponsorship (on Jon Wood’s Craftsman Truck) to FitzBradshaw, so both of his Trucks are running naked (although they nearly pulled off a one-two at Texas Saturday). In Busch, Roush graduated Grainger to Winston Cup with Greg Biffle, but the Gain (Procter & Gamble) sponsorship for Jeff Burton went away, and he accepted Stanton Barrett’s OdoBan/Bojangles deal to keep that program alive. Now it appears the OdoBan deal may be in jeopardy. Roush Racing representative Stephanie Smith said the OdoBan deal was complicated, involving bank financing based on sales, or something like that. Yet, despite reports the deal was cooked, Smith said not to close the book just yet.(Speed Channel)(6-9-2003)
UPDATE 4 Shutting Down: Roush Racing is shutting down its No. 60 Busch Series team because of sponsorship issues, NASCAR Winston Cup Scene reporter Rick Houston has learned. Stanton Barrett, who drove the car to seventh in last Saturdays Trace Adkins Chrome 300 for his fourth top-10 finish of the season, is 16th in the driver point standings. Houston says Roush Racing may add a partial Busch program for Carl Edwards, who drives for the team in the Craftsman Truck Series.(Winston Cup Scene Daily Newsletter)(6-11-2003)
UPDATE 5: Geoff Smith, president of Roush Racing, announced today that the Roush Racing #60 NASCAR Busch Series team will suspend operations effective immediately. “Roush Racing has been able to successfully execute a 15-race marketing test for Clean Control Corporation, makers of OdoBan Odor Eliminator and has proven to their satisfaction that the NASCAR Busch Series is a viable marketing investment,” said Smith. “It is now up to the marketing staff at Clean Control to take its experience to generate the ancillary marketing initiatives necessary to fully activate the program through their distribution base. While we hoped that we could continue to operate without interruption, we are optimistic that the final marketing plans of OdoBan will include a longer term commitment to Roush Racing and the Busch Series.”
“OdoBan is pleased with the success on and off the track that Roush Racing and Stanton Barrett have been able to demonstrate,” said Steve Davison, president of Clean Control Corporation. “With their engineering and management capabilities, Roush provided an excellent opportunity for Stanton’s talents as a driver to shine. While we would like to continue, and have every intention of returning to motorsports, this 15-race sponsorship was only a test. We have added substantial in-house marketing talent that is very busy creating the marketing initiatives that can fully exploit the many benefits of this program. Based on the results we have seen, we are expecting to be able to launch a fully committed long term sponsorship in the near future.” In this season’s 15-races, Barrett has earned twice as many top-10 finishes as he had totaled in his previous 52 starts spanning the 10 years before joining Roush Racing. “Contractually, he is a “free agent” and he definitely deserves a chance for a full-time ride with a top team.” Barrett, an accomplished Hollywood stuntman of 15 years, is currently in California working on the set of Spiderman 2. “I appreciate Roush and OdoBan giving me the opportunity to demonstrate my driving abilities with a properly supported team,” said Barrett. “This first third of the season has been the best I have ever run in the Busch Series. We came very close to winning a couple of races and I believe that without a doubt, the remainder of the season would have brought continued success. Right now I am just hoping that another full-time opportunity presents itself.”(Roush Racing PR)(6-12-2003)
