Phoenix Racing posted its best NASCAR Nationwide Series finish of the season Saturday with a second-place by Ryan Newman at Dover International Speedway. But general manager Marc Reno said the team may cut its schedule back in upcoming races. Rookie James Buescher left the team earlier this week, and Newman got a call about 4 p.m. on Wednesday about driving the #1 Chevy this weekend. Newman said yes, and Reno hopes he does that some more this year. Asked if any other drivers are on the team’s radar, Reno said no and then added that the team may skip upcoming standalone races at Nashville and Kentucky. “We’re probably going to be a did-not-show-up at Nashville,” Reno said. “I would say Nashville and Kentucky and some of those places. We’ll probably run all the new-car races, maybe the road races if we can get Max (Papis) or somebody to drive or Ryan might drive. But we’re going to cut it back to races (car owner) James (Finch) has fun at. Otherwise, he’s going to get out of here pretty quick.” Finch has said his team for sale, but Reno said Finch originally planned to sell the Nationwide Series operation to Steve Turner, owner of the Turner Motorsports Camping World Truck Series team and father to Buescher’s fianc. “It all started a few weeks ago or a month ago when he offered to sell the (Nationwide) team to Steve Turner,” Reno said. “Well, then the press picked up on it and the Internet got a hold of it, and all of a sudden it turned into, ‘It’s wide open for a sale. (Finch is) pretty down on the (Nationwide) Series right now. He doesn’t think that a lot of the things they’re doing are productive for this series. But we’re building five of those new cars, so if he’s quitting, I don’t know why we’re doing that.” Reno said Phoenix will be at the test of the new Nationwide Series car at Daytona next week, likely with Mike Bliss driving.(NNS Racing)(5-15-2010)
UPDATE: Unsponsored Phoenix Racing will officially begin cutting back its Nationwide schedule next month. A source told Frontstretch the organization has decided to pull out of the series’ three road course races, turning down a turnkey driver/sponsor opportunity to run at Road America fully-funded in mid-June. Instead, races at Watkins Glen and Montreal will be skipped as owner James Finch reorganizes his effort, focusing on the series’ three Car of Tomorrow races while attempting to put the #1 car back up for sale. Originally, Finch had sold the No. 1 to Truck Series owner Steve Turner, but the deal fell through, a move that triggered in part the firing of struggling rookie James Buescher. Buescher has now moved to Turner Motorsports full-time to run in that series, while Finch is planning on a hodgepodge of drivers to fill seat time in selected races over the next few months.(Fronststretch)(5-19-2010)
UPDATE 2: been told that the team does want to run the road course races and will address their future schedule in more detail on Monday.(5-20-2010)
UPDATE 3: hearing that there was a large round of layoffs at the Phoenix Racing shop on Thursday, with more than 20 employees being let go.(5-20-2010)
UPDATE: 4: Phoenix Racing, which saw longtime sponsor Miccosukee Resorts drop its Nationwide and Cup sponsorship of the organization a week before the 2010 NASCAR season began, will continue its Sprint Cup program but will cut back its Nationwide effort following this week, team general manager Marc Reno said Thursday at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The team likely will skip the next four Nationwide Series races and return to the series July 2 at Daytona International Speedway when the new Nationwide Series car is scheduled to debut. Reno said he hopes to have Ryan Newman, who is driving for the team for the second consecutive Nationwide race this weekend, behind the wheel to run seven or eight more races this year. The departure of Phoenix Racing from full-time competition in the series will drop it out of a locked-in position, as it is currently 20th in the owner standings.(Scene Daily)(5-27-2010)
