March 17, 2005
- RCR Names Interim Crew Chief for the #29: Richard Childress Racing says chief engineer Scott Miller will take over crew chief duties for the team’s #29 Chevrolet of Kevin Harvick for this weekend’s Golden Corral 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Miller will fill in for crew chief Todd Berrier after NASCAR suspended Berrier for four races for a fuel cell infraction last weekend at Las Vegas. The team has said it will appeal the terms of the suspension [the appeal is scheduled to be heard on March 28].(NASCAR Scene Daily Newsletter)(3-17-2005)
- McDonald’s to sponsor Elliott: hearing that McDonald’s will sponsor the #91 [#98?] Dodge and Bill Elliott at Michigan in June and California in September.(3-17-2005)
- Bowyer to debut at Phoenix: Richard Childress said on Speed Channel’s NASCAR Nation that his Busch Series driver, Clint Bowyer, will make his Nextel Cup debut at Phoenix International Raceway in the #33 Chevy with Sylvania as the sponsor.(3-17-2005)
- Ward to appear at Martinsville…no ride: Ward Burton said he plans to attend qualifying day [4/8] at Martinsville Speedway on April 8, his first visit to a Nextel Cup event this year. “I want to say hey to everybody,” said the South Boston native, who has been out of Cup since last November. “I have no desire to stay the whole weekend.” Burton, who reportedly has received offers to race in NASCAR’s top three touring series, has kept busy with managing his Halifax County wildlife foundation and doing charity work. The noted outdoorsman also has filmed two segments for the Outdoor Channel; the next appears at 3:00pm/et on March 29.(Richmond Times Dispatch)(3-17-2005)
- Appeals Allow Suspended Crew Chief’s to be at Atlanta; Berrier to sit out: NASCAR crew chiefs Chad Knaus [#48] and Alan Gustafson [#5] will be allowed to compete in Atlanta this weekend while they appeal their two-race suspension. Both were suspended on Tuesday for allegedly cheating at Las Vegas last weekend. Team owner Rick Hendrick appealed, and the National Stock Car Racing commission can’t assemble until next week to hear their case, NASCAR officials said Wednesday. Under NASCAR’s rules, the crew chiefs can still compete until their appeal has been heard. Todd Berrier was suspended for four races, and NASCAR spokesman Jim Hunter said they expected to receive notice of his plans to appeal in time for him to compete in Atlanta this weekend.(AP/ESPN.com). Richard Childress said onSpeed Channel’s NASCAR Nation that Berrier will sit out the Atlanta race and the suspension will be appealed. Knaus and Gustafson’s apeals will be heard Tues, March 22nd, Berriers on Monday, March 28th.(3-17-2005)
- Elliott to run at Atlanta IMAGE: This will be Bill Elliott’s second regular season start in 2005 and his second career start in the #91 Visteon Dodge Charger.(Clear!Blue PR)(3-16-2005)
IMAGE see an image of the scheme on my #91 Team Schemes page.(3-17-2005) - Kyle Busch in Life: Kyle Busch completed an interview at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for a Life magazine cover story. The piece will document the NEXTEL Cup rookie, his family and their path to the present-day success on the race track. World-renowned photojournalist Harry Benson photographed Busch for the cover, which is slated for distribution in late April.(Hendrick Motorsports)(3-17-2005)
- Inventor suing Roush and Wood Brothers UPDATE: An inventor is suing two NASCAR teams claiming he was not paid for a part that improves cornering speeds. Weston Griffith claims in his lawsuit that a chassis piece he designed has helped the teams since last season. Griffith says he developed a chassis piece — which he describes as “Part X” in the lawsuit — and the race teams stole his idea, according to the complaint. “I think they should pay for it,” Griffith said. Griffith is suing Wood Brothers Racing, Roush Racing and Pat Tryson, crew chief for Roush driver Mark Martin, in North Carolina Superior Court, Cabarrus County, for compensation in excess of $10,000. Griffith said he made his technology available on a trial basis to Wood Brothers Racing in 2003. Griffith claims his chassis innovation migrated to Roush Racing when team owner Jack Roush hired then-Wood Brothers crew chief Tryson, according to the lawsuit. Roush Racing president Geoff Smith called Griffith’s charges “bogus.” Eddie Wood, co-owner of the Wood Brothers team, had no comment when reached by phone Tuesday at his shop. Griffith lives in the Chicago area and owns a company called Solid Steel Inc. He has no direct affiliation with any NASCAR race team.
In his suit, Griffith says he approached Wood Brothers Racing with the part near the end of the 2003 season. Griffith said Wood Brothers Racing experimented with his part on its #21 Ford, driven by Ricky Rudd, at a private test session at Kansas Speedway, and the car showed an increase in speed. “They wanted so bad to take the pieces back with them to North Carolina,” Griffith said. “I would not let them do it. They wanted to leave the stuff right on their car.” After the test session, Griffith said Eddie Wood and he struck a deal to outfit the #21 Ford with “Part X” for the rest of the 2003 season. Griffith said Wood agreed to lease his parts for $20,000. Griffith said he received that payment. Griffith said Roush Racing is using his technology to win races and make large sums of money. “I don’t know even what the particulars are of that arrangement (they had),” said Roush’s Smith. “You don’t lease parts. You buy parts and you break them and guys look at them and they study them and they figure out how to make them better.” Griffith said Wood signed a confidentiality agreement when he agreed to lease the parts in 2003. In his suit, Griffith says, the “Wood Brothers also agreed not to share any information concerning Part X with anyone outside of Wood Brothers, and to refrain from testing, altering or defacing Part X in any way.” Following the 2003 NASCAR Cup season, Griffith said the Wood Brothers returned seven of eight chassis pieces. After demanding the return of his last piece, Griffith said it was obvious the part had been bored, cut and tested. “They were never supposed to test it,” he said.
Griffith theorizes his chassis part has boosted Roush Racing since the start of the 2004 Nextel Cup season. He points to the team’s vast success in NASCAR’s big-league circuit. Three of Roush’s four Cup cars [actually 4 of 5 did] won races last year. Three Roush drivers made the inaugural Chase for the Nextel Cup playoff segment. Kurt Busch, who drives the #97 Roush Ford, captured the championship. Griffith said he is upset because he is not being compensated for his speed discovery.(Daytona Bach News Journal)(3-16-2005)
UPDATE: a similar suit was dismissed in Chicago back in November, the current one is in North Carolina: Stephen J. Siegel and John F. Shonkwiler recently obtained a dismissal of all claims alleged against Roush Corporation, d/b/a Roush Racing, in a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. The suit, brought by Weston Griffith, Jr., alleged claims against Roush and co-defendant Glen Wood Company relating to the alleged use of certain racing equipment leased from the Plaintiff’s company. Roush moved to dismiss the complaint on the grounds that the Court lacked personal jurisdiction over it. By an Order entered October 26, 2004, Federal District Judge Samuel Der-Yeghiayan granted the motion and dismissed the case against Roush in its entirety. Judge Der-Yeghiayan found that notwithstanding Roush’s participation in several auto races in Illinois over the past few years, Roush was not “doing business” in Illinois or otherwise subject to personal jurisdiction there. The Court concluded that Plaintiff failed to show Roush “attempted to conduct sales in Illinois or maintain offices in Illinois or engage in the type of permanent and continuous activity” that would establish jurisdiction over Roush. Plaintiff’s allegations that he was injured in Illinois and signed an equipment lease with Glen Wood here, without more, were held insufficient to confer jurisdiction.(Novack and Macey LLP site)(3-17-2005) - McLaughlin Finished As Driver: Mike McLaughlin, former Busch Series driver, was at Nashville Superspeedway on Wednesday working as a consultant to Joe Gibbs Racing — tutoring J.J. Yeley and rookie Denny Hamlin in the NASCAR Busch Series. McLaughlin says he’s through as a driver. “I’m out here among all these race cars and it doesn’t bother me a bit,” said McLaughlin, “I felt like the time was right to quit driving.”(Insider Racing News)(3-17-2005)
- #58 merges with Glynn Motorsports: Doug Stringer, owner of Akins Motorsports and the #58 Serta Mattress/ Hickory Farms Dodge Charger, announces his merger with Glynn Motorsports owned by Phoenix businessman, Scott Glynn. The #58 will remain part of Akins Motorsports but will be moving to Glynn Motorsports’ 50,000 square foot state-of-the-art shop in Mooresville, N.C., which now houses Glynn’s newly established Craftsman Truck Series teams. Glynn Motorsports General Manager Jason Butler will handle day to day shop operations.(Akins Motorsports PR via BGNRacing.com), Brett Sherman drives the car, no word on any changes there.(3-17-2005)
- Geoffrey Bodine in the #72 at Atlanta: MacDonald Motorsports confirmed today that veteran Geoffrey Bodine will drive the #72 Chevrolet at Atlanta this weekend. The interim crew chief is Randy MacDonald, but the position is still open. Applicants should contact the team at 336-476-0100.(BGNRacing.com), Brett Sherman drives the car, no word on any changes there.(3-17-2005)
- #32 Fighting Crew Chief Suspension UPDATE: #32 Braun Racing [Shane Hmiel driver] will fight a $10,000 fine and four-race suspension of crew chief Todd Lohse given for an alteration to the roof flap found during initial inspection at California. A piece of aluminum taped inside the roof flap to keep it from sagging was snagged and NASCAR believed it would have restricted the air flow through the flap. Team owner Todd Braun said he would fight the penalty, especially because there was no competitive advantage that would have been gained. No date for the appeal has been set. “There was zero advantage,” Lohse said. “It was a brace that was put in there by one of the fabricators because the roof flap sagged a bit and we were trying to hold it up.”.(NASCAR Scene via BGNRacing.com)(3-10-2005)
UPDATE: On March 15, 2005, the National Stock Car Racing Commission heard and considered the Appeal of Todd Lohse, crew chief for Braun Racing, NASCAR Busch Series car #32. The penalties stemmed from a NASCAR Busch Series race at California Speedway on February 25, 2005. The infractions concerned Section 12-4-A of the NASCAR Rule Book “Actions detrimental to stock car racing,” and Section 12-4-Q “Any determination by NASCAR Officials that the car, car parts, components, and/or equipment used in the Event do not conform to NASCAR rules: unapproved hinged air deflector modifications.” The penalty assessed by NASCAR was a $10,000 fine and suspension until March 30, 2005 or the next four (4) NASCAR Busch Series Events. The Commission temporarily deferred the penalty until the hearing date.
In considering the Appeal, the Commission affirms that making unapproved modifications to safety equipment, such as roof flaps, constitutes a serious offense and harsh penalties are usually warranted. In this case the material added might have effected the proper functioning of the air channel that runs between the two roof flaps. Without in any way diminishing the preceding considerations, after reviewing the testimony specific to this Appeal, the Commission determined that there were mitigating circumstances. Accordingly, it is the unanimous decision of the National Stock Car Racing Commission to reduce the original penalty issued by NASCAR to: a $10,000 fine and probation through the end of the 2005 NASCAR Busch Series season. The Appellant has the right under Section 15 of the Rule Book to appeal this decision to the National Stock Car Racing Commissioner.(NASCAR)(3-17-2005) - Pork on the #29 at Atlanta: Brad Keselowski and the #29 K Automotive NASCAR Craftsman Truck series team, spent two days of testing at Atlanta Motor Speedway and considerable time in the wind tunnel preparing for Friday’s truck race at Atlanta. Keselowski’s Ford truck will carry a new paint scheme debuting Pork’s new marketing campaign. “Atlanta is real important for us,” Keselowski said. “Not only are we showcasing Pork’s new marketing campaign, but we are also working to perfect this new speedway truck that we worked very hard on over the off-season. We had such a great run at Daytona which was followed by bad luck at California. Now we want to get on the right track of consistency in top finishes starting at Atlanta.”(Detroit News)(3-17-2005)
2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 | 1998 | 1997