former #26/97/6 Roush crew chief Jimmy Fennig [recently replaced on the #26 and now with Roush in the Busch Series], a highly respected, no-nonsense guy who gained his credentials with Bobby Allison and Mark Martin, is suddenly the hottest item in the stock-car racing garage, with Toyota officials and Dodge’s Chip Ganassi expected to make calls. Ganassi is looking for a new team manager for his three-car operation after Andy Graves’ resignation. And Fennig could be just the guy to fill the void, with instant credibility. Toyota could be an option. Toyota executives are wide open in building their Nextel Cup tour operations, and now they’re raiding teams right and left, according to car owners. Don Miller, of the Roger Penske team, said that Toyota has picked up five Penske men already: “They just offer them $20,000 more than they’re currently making, and get them.” Ganassi has been so upset at losing crewmen to Toyota that he has sent the company a “cease-and-desist” letter. That move has many here writing off Ganassi for any Toyota-NASCAR deal.(Winston Salem Journal)(4-22-206)
