hearing that Tina Gordon has been released from her ride with the #13 Thorsport team and crew chief Lance Hooper will run the truck at Dover.(6-2-2004)
UPDATE: Lance Hooper, a two-time NASCAR regional touring series champion and veteran of 70 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS) races, will be the driver of ThorSport Racing’s #13 Chevrolet in the MBNA America 200 NCTS race at the Dover International Speedway, team owner Duke Thorson announced Wednesday. Hooper is substituting for Tina Gordon. “We felt that giving Lance a chance to run a race in one of our #13 trucks at a track where he has a lot of experience would allow us to analyze our program and make decisions about how best to proceed toward our goals,” Thorson said. “We find ourselves in a position where we are 32nd in the owners’ points and need to improve our performance to ensure the long-term viability of this race team.” Thorson added that a decision about a driver for the truck for Texas and other NCTS races would be made following the Dover event.(ThorSport Racing PR)(6-3-2004)
UPDATE 2: Tina Gordon’s drive in NASCAR’s truck series has hit a red light. The green light is on, though, for the Cedar Bluff racer to run in the Busch series. Lance Hooper, who had been Gordon’s crew chief, practiced and qualified the No.13 truck fielded by ThorSport Racing on Thursday for today’s race at Dover International Speedway. Gordon, who had raced the truck in the first five events on the schedule, remained at home. We parted ways this week,” she said. “It was not a good deal for me at all.” Gordon, with her primary sponsorship from Vassarette, a maker of women’s intimate apparel, Microtel Inns and Sticks `n’ Stuff, is now looking at other opportunities. A deal to put her in a Busch car is, she said, “a high possibility,” perhaps as soon as the June races in Nashville or Kentucky. For now, contract disputes remain with ThorSport.(Alabama Live)(6-4-2004)
