After a three-year hiatus, Elmira, NY, native Frank Cicci Jr. is looking forward to the challenge of getting back into NASCAR’s Busch Series on a full-time basis. He tried to get his team, based in Mooresville, N.C., back on track earlier but didn’t have the sponsorship to do it. However, in December he signed a one-year, multimillion dollar sponsorship deal with Dollar General, with an option to renew for a second season. “It’s been a tough financial drain to keep everything going, but I’ve worked awful hard for it,” Cicci said Wednesday from Mooresville, where he now lives. “We worked the whole year to put this deal together.” His #34 Dollar General Chevy Monte Carlo, with driver Randy LaJoie, will compete in all 35 events this season, beginning with the season-opening Hershey’s Kisses 300 at Daytona International Speedway on Feb. 19. “It’s a tougher go now because of the Nextel Cup teams’ increased involvement in the series, but that is our motivation,” Cicci said. “Our goal is to try and beat the best guys in the business.” Cicci, who still makes weekly trips to Elmira to oversee his convenience store in Elmira Heights, owned Busch teams from 1988 through 2001. His teams had 19 victories and finished second twice in the points standings. In 2002, he joined the Jimmy Spencer-owned Spencer Motor Ventures Busch Series team as its vice president and general manager but quit in midseason because his real desire was to run his own team again. He brought former NFL quarterback Jim Kelly into his Busch Series team a little more than two years ago to help accomplish that goal. Cicci thought the Hall of Fame player would give the team some marketing clout to attract sponsorship, but it’s been a struggle. Cicci and Kelly signed LesCare Kitchens as a sponsor for a 10-race deal in 2003 that was cut to six events. A lawsuit brought by Cicci against LesCare for failing to meet its contract obligations is pending. Cicci tried to put a partial schedule deal together with Dollar General for 2004, but it fell through when the sponsor realized it was too late to get everything organized. The familiar yellow and black colors of Dollar General stores will be featured on the Cicci/Kelly racing machines. Polaroid Alkaline Batteries will be the first of several Dollar General marketing partners. John Bland will serve as crew chief for the team, which will operate out of a 10,000-square foot facility in Mooresville, NC. They have eight cars, some of which are still being built. “We really got a late start here,” Cicci said. “We’re way behind, but we’ll be OK.”(Elmira Star Gazette)(1-27-2005)
