Bang Racing owner Alex Meshkin told MRN Radio Sirius Speedway host Dave Moody Wednesday that his team will compete at Richmond Friday night, in a Toyota Tundra.
Its unfortunate that anything was said, said Meshkin of last weeks announcement by Toyota Racing Development that it would drop support of his two-truck team, effective immediately. We have been negotiating these issues with TRD over the last 60 to 90 days, and those talks were ongoing.
Meshkin confirmed that a major factor in Toyotas decision was the July departure of Larry McReynolds. Our agreement (with TRD) was contingent on Larrys involvement, he said. That information had been confidential until last week, but it was a part of the deal. Unfortunately, the relationship was not going in the right direction. There were issues between Larry and myself, and quite frankly, there were issues between Larry and some members of the team. Eventually, it became clear to everyone that it was just not working out.
Meshkin downplayed McReynoldsinvolvement with the team, saying, he was not involved in the day-to-day operation of Bang Racing. Hes a busy man with a number of different commitments, and those commitments made it impossible for him to be as involved with the team as perhaps we would have liked.
He said disagreement over the payment of bills was a factor in McReynolds decision to leave the team, saying, its possible that I pay my bills slower than some teams. Certainly not as slow as 120 days, which is common in the business world, but probably not in 30 days in all cases, either.
The NCTS teamowner also criticized recent negative comments attributed to McReynolds. Im not sure where Larrys attitude shift came from,” said Meshkin. “Just a few weeks ago, he wrote an article saying how proud he was of Bang Racing after our win in Michigan. Apparently, that has changed, and Im not sure why. I have never said anything negative about Larry McReynolds, and have certainly never said anything that would damage his ability to do business in this sport.
The Bang Racing owner said he has negotiated a deal with TRD that will put driver Travis Kvapil in a Toyota Tundra for the remainder of the 2004 season. He confirmed, however, that former series champion Mike Skinner has left Bang Racing. Mike Skinner will be racing elsewhere for the remainder of the season, with backing from Toyota, he said. Bang Racing will function as a one-truck team for the remainder of the season, with all our effort being focused on Travis Kvapil.
He confirmed that Bang will field a NASCAR Busch Series team for Kvapil in 2005, but said the door is still open for some sort of Truck Series effort. He refused to comment on whether that effort would involve Toyota. Meshkin said an official announcement of his teams plans will be made Thursday.(MRN Radio Sirius Speedway)(9-9-2004)
