Josh Wise will be driving the #43 Dodge Challenger under the Baker Curb Racing banner in the Nationwide Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway next week. The deal is supposedly being backed by veteran tire changer D.J. Copp, his company OTWCrew.com, and Ingersoll Rand. Besides backing the deal, Copp will also serve as crew chief for the all volunteer crew during the weekend. Copp is a familiar name around the sport. In addition to working as a tire changer for some of NASCAR’s biggest teams over the last decade, he also does segments for ESPN’s NASCAR Now. Word is that Copp is attempting to put together enough support to run future races. Expect an official announcement toward the end of the week. (NASCAR Insiders)(10-7-2010)
UPDATE: Ilmor will be providing the engine for the #43 Dodge to be driven by Josh Wise at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the Dollar General 300 on October 15th. Ilmor has supplied Cunningham Motorsport, the Penske Driver Development ARCA team, with Dodge engines since 2007 and work closely with Penske Engines, Ilmor being coowned by Roger Penske also partner with Honda to supply the engines to the Indy Car field.(PR)(10-7-2010)
IMAGE: see an image of the car on the #43 Nationwide team paint scheme page.(10-9-2010)
UPDATE: Veteran NASCAR tire changer & ESPN/MRN analyst DJ Copp is trading his Ingersoll Rand Thunder Gun for the weekend at the NASCAR Nationwide Series Dollar General 300 in Charlotte – and topping the pit box to crew chief the team his company, OTWCrew.com, is sponsoring in its headquartered hometown. Teaming up with longtime partner Ingersoll Rand, Copp hopes to lead an all-volunteer student crew & talented upcoming driver, Josh Wise, to a top-15 finish. When asked about if the team will only race in Charlotte, Copp is hopeful for the future. “We’re not preparing this car to run half the race. This OTWCrew.com Dodge is going to be ready to roll come green flag drop, and I know Josh will be ready to wheel it for 300 miles after qualifying. He has a steady track record for teams of getting the job done on the qualifying laps – so it’s up to us to show how we can put in the track performance. With the right partnerships, we’re looking to keep racing after Charlotte.”(Girl Friday PR & Marketing)(10-11-2010)
