March 16, 2003
- WOW! now that was a great race: #32-Ricky Craven won the The Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 is on at Darlington Raceway by a few inches [2/1000th’s of a second] with him and #97-Kurt Busch beating and banging the last lap, both slapping the wall a few times. Busch had no power steering the last 10 laps. It is Craven’s 2nd career Winston Cup win and he is the 40th driver to ever win a Cup race at Darlington [thanks Mike Joy]. It is the first career win for #32 Crew Chief Scott Miller and the first win by a single car team since Craven won in 2001. Crave last won at Martinsville in Oct 2001, 46 races ago. Busch has 3 top fives this year, all 2nds. #77-Dave Blaney was 3rd, his first ever top five finish in 116 races. Only 10 drivers finished on the lead lap. After a wild start, only 4 cars ended up in the garage. Kind of funny, the two best finishes this year so far are at the tracks rumored to lose their spring race dates [Rockingham and Darlington]. #17-Matt Kenseth keeps the points lead at 760, with #20-Tony Stewart at 703. If five races so far this season, there are five different pole winners and five different race winners. The top ten unofficial finishers:
#32-Ricky Craven (1 Lap Led – The final one, by an inch or two)
#97-Kurt Busch (23 laps led)
#77-Dave Blaney
#6-Mark Martin (71 laps led)
#15-Michael Waltrip
#8-Dale Earnhardt Jr (91 laps led – led the most laps)
#38-Elliott Sadler (12 laps led)
#17-Matt Kenseth
#9-Bill Elliott
#20-Tony Stewart
Laps Leaders (11): #38-Sadler (12 laps led); #12-Newman (1); #7-Spencer (4); #8-Earnhardt Jr (91 led the most laps); #88-Jarrett (4); #31-Gordon (1); #6-Martin (71); #24-Gordon (79); #25-Nemechek (3); #97-Busch (24); #32-Craven (1-the final one);
Cars on the lead lap: 11 (of 43 starters)
Off track/out of race (4): #54-Bodine (out-accident); #99-Burton (out-engine); #74-Raines(out-accident); #43-Andretti(out-accident); #40-Marlin (out-accident);
Cautions 7 for 33 laps
Caution 7: Laps 237-242: Debris between turn turns 3 and 4.
Caution 6: Laps 191-196: #7-Spencer and #43-Andretti got together, sending Andretti hard into the inside frontstretch wall, car is pretty much done, Andretti is OK.
Caution 5: Laps 68-74: #12-Newman and #22-Burton were racing side by side in turn 2, Burton drifted up and they got together and both spun. The track sent the blowers out to clean off the debris on the track.
Caution 4: Laps 34-39: #99-Burton and #20-Stewart got together, Burton is smoking badly, looks like he lost an engine which caused Stewart toget into him.
Caution 3: Laps 24-28: #48-Johnson got into #40-Marlin, who then went into the wall, #18-Labonte spun out, then hit by #29-Harvick. This is a wild race so far.
Caution 2: Laps 13-16: #0-Sprague spun around on the backstretch, didn’t hit anything.
Caution 1: Laps 7-9: #01-Nadeau spun around, followed by a spin by #17-Kenseth after getting tapped by #42-McMurray, no damage reoirted. Nadeau was running 2nd at the time.NOTES: On lap 283, #24-Gordon went up the track and slapped the wall and #23-Wallace hit the car, but both drove off and continued. During caution 7 pit stops, #6-Martin’s car left with a missing lugnut and had to come back into the pits to get it put on. Green flag pit stops happened around lap 128-132 range, and again around laps 185-190. #01-Nadeau had an oil leak and had to pit as he was running 3rd, was smoking bad. #40-Marlin, #74-Raines came back out to the track on lap 68-69 range but went back into the garage after running a few laps. During caution 5, ALL the cars came in to pit except #31-Gordon who led a lap, then pitted. all the cars who were a lap down (#’s 14, 57 and #29 got their laps back when the yellow flag came out. Lots of contact between many of the cars so far as of lap 30. During caution 3 all but #88-Jarrett and #24-Gordon came in to pit. All but 17 cars came in to pit on the first caution.
Re-Air: the race will be re-aired on Speed Channel, Wed, Mar 19th, 8:00pm/et (enhanced) and Thurs, Mar 20th, 1:00am/et and at 3:00pm/et.
Result Links at:
ThatsRacin.com, NASCAR.com or Motorsports One.(3-16-2003) - Whats the latest on the carbon monoxide problem? Managing Director of Competition Gary Nelson said NASCAR is making steady progress on dealing with carbon monoxide. The deadly gas, which is colorless, odorless and found in exhaust fumes, has left many drivers who have been exposed feeling nauseous. NASCAR ratcheted up its approach to the problem when Lexington, Va., native Rick Mast was forced to retire after being diagnosed with chronic carbon monoxide poisoning. Random testing of volunteer drivers to measure pre- and postrace levels of carbon monoxide has yielded nothing alarming throughout the year’s first four races, Nelson said. NASCAR crews and inspectors have been trained to be more vigilant in examining their cars for small cracks or improper seals that might allow carbon monoxide to seep into the cockpit. “We think we made the most progress talking to the crews and crew chiefs and training inspectors on what to look for,” Nelson said. “If they notice anything, they bring it to the crews’ attention. . . . We’ve made tremendous gains.” Engineers at NASCAR’s Research and Development Center in Concord, N.C., also are working on a catalyst system to filter air inside the car. “The efficiency of the catalyst is dependent on the speed that the air flows through it,” Nelson said. “If you have contaminated air and you run it through this catalyst too fast, the catalyst doesn’t do the job. You run it through too slow, it doesn’t do the job. We’re trying to optimize that, and we’re very encouraged that we’re seeing results.”(Richmond Times Dispatch)(3-16-2003)
- Michelin? Goodyear in trouble? UPDATE: Winston Cup tire men are asking why Michelin was suddenly a NASCAR tour sponsor, something unexpected and unexplained. Goodyear has a contract to be the sole supplier of tires for NASCAR racing. But some teams are becoming worried about Goodyear’s financial problems and the possible impact that could have. Of all the things it takes to put on a race, tires are the most indispensable. And the last time Goodyear’s fate was in question – in the late 1980s when the company was a takeover target – NASCAR made a deal with Hoosier Tires’ Bob Newton to provide race tires.(Winston Salem Journal)(3-15-2003)
UPDATE: the race at Darlington, the Carolina Dodge Dealers 400, will be referred to by Fox TV as the NASCAR Winston Cup race Presented by Michelin – in yet another example of how sharp and bitter the TV advertising debate has gotten. Goodyear, the exclusive tire supplier to NASCAR, isn’t buying any TV ads, so Fox sold spots to archrival Michelin. To say that Goodyear men and Michelin men don’t get along is understatement. And the mere mention of Michelin in NASCAR has been such a surprise that it has raised speculation about what might lie ahead, given the financial troubles besetting Goodyear. And there has been no word from Dodge officials about the looming Fox snub, coming in front of a predicted TV audience of about 10 million today. It is the latest example of what appears to be an aggressive push by the New York TV network executives to squeeze out more advertising dollars. NASCAR insiders are pointing to that as perhaps one reason the sanctioning body appears to be having trouble signing a new fuel sponsor to replace Unocal. And TV pressure is considered a significant piece of the RJR sponsorship puzzle. If Goodyear, Reynolds and Unocal – three of NASCAR’s most loyal and longest running sponsors – all bite the dust; one NASCAR veteran puts it this way: “If we didn’t know who ran the sport before, we sure do now – the networks.” If NASCAR officials can find a company willing to put up the $40 million to $50 million a year in a long-term sponsorship deal to be the series titlist, replacing R.J. Reynolds, the TV networks are expected to demand at least $1 million a race in advertising fees to use that name in its telecasts. According to one New York advertising official, NASCAR is looking for a series sponsorship of $100 million a year for 15 years.(Winston Salem Journal)(3-16-2003) - Contingency Plans for travel and TV in case of war: With the country on the verge of war, NASCAR teams and officials are considering contingency plans for travel to Fort Worth, Talladega and Los Angeles in the coming weeks. “I know that became a concern when we went to Dover last year, and I’m sure at some of these tracks there will be different restrictions that come up,” Robbie Loomis, Jeff Gordon’s crew chief, said. “It’s a pretty stressful time on all the folks in the military and their families right now.” Fox is expected to put Winston Cup races on its FX cable if or when war begins.(Winston Salem Journal)(3-14-2003)
UPDATE: Jim Hunter, NASCAR vice president of communications, also an Army veteran, addressed the topic of war and racing on Friday. “I have always felt that one of Bill France’s quotes was right on target on this subject,” Hunter said. “I can remember people asking ‘Bill, who are your fans?’ And he would say, ‘I’ll tell you who our fans are. They are the kind of people that win wars for you.’ And never has that been more true than today.” Hunter said NASCAR has monitored the expected showdown with Iraq for the last several months and has worked through several scenarios which includes postponing an event if necessary. “I don’t really want to speculate but certainly that would be an option and we’ve done it before,” Hunter said. “Just to arbitrarily do that, no. It depends on the circumstances, and what is best under those circumstances, not only what is best for the racing community but what is best for the country.”(Daytona Beach News Journal)(3-16-2003) - Three engines go bad for Roush at Darlington? Car owner Jack Roush’s motor troubles keep mounting. He lost four engines in the Atlanta race last Sunday, and he’s lost three more already this weekend.(Winston Salem Journal), doesn’t say what three, the #97 lost one in practice Saturday, assume the other two are the ones that overheated in the Truck Series race [#50-Jon Wood and #99-Carl Edwards](3-16-2003)
- Buford to run at Bristol: Joe Buford of Nashville, TN will be driving the #53 Tennessee Mountain Boys Racing Chevy at Bristol this week. Buford is very competitive at Bristol and the team looks forward to a good run. They are still looking for a sponsor for the race, but will be there either way. The team hopes to find some sponsorship soon that will allow them to run 10 to 15 races this year.(Jarvis PR via BGN Racing)(3-16-2003)
- Spencer partners up with Fitz Bradshaw: Spencer Motor Ventured will make its retunr to the Busch Series at Texas on March 29th. The team will be part of an alliance with the #12 Fitzbradshaw Motorsports team [driver Kerry Earnhardt]. The team plans to run 5-6 Busch Series races with sponsorship from JaniKing.(Speedway Scene print mag)(3-16-2003)
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