March 18 -Today in Jayski’s NASCAR history

March 18, 2008

• • • Stewart gets waxed…see images: Last night [3/17] on “Tony Stewart Live” on SIRIUS NASCAR Radio, Stewart and Kevin Harvick discussed their run-in in the final laps of Sunday’s Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. While running second and third, Harvick’s and Stewart’s cars came together, spinning Stewart out and knocking him back to a 14th place finish. Immediately after the accident, words were exchanged between spotters for the #20 and #29 teams.
      Kevin Harvick: “I think for me the biggest thing is just Bristol brings out the best in everybody. I was mad when I got out [of the car]. The spotter was mad when I got into the side of Tony and the emotions run so high. And it’s not the spotter’s fault. It’s not anybody’s fault. It’s just part of our sport. It won’t be the last time we probably run into each other but we get better at handling it amongst each other as you learn more about the situations and things like that. The spotters didn’t have anything to do with me running into the side of him.”
      Tony Stewart: “That’s the thing about our sport that you don’t see in other sports. We don’t get a cool-down period. You get that pure, raw emotion and a lot of times it doesn’t give us all a chance to compare notes. Like we were talking about earlier, I had called Kevin and I didn’t even know what had happened and this was 6 o’clock at night by the time I got home. It just shows how passionate I think everybody is. The crew guys are just as passionate about what is going on as we are. In our case my spotter is also head of our chassis department so when I crash something he’s the guy that has to fix it.”
      Stewart: “Obviously, I was disappointed that we were in a wreck but I know, of all people, I trust Kevin more than anybody else on that racetrack. I know that anything that happens with us, just like what happened yesterday, I knew it wasn’t intentional.”
      Later in the show, Stewart made good on a longtime bet with his buddy Harvick. After some teasing about his hirsute torso, Stewart said a year ago on SIRIUS that if Harvick was able to raise $100,000 for the Victory Junction Gang Camp, he would agree to have his back waxed. Having reached the stated goal with fan donations and a matching contribution from Harvick himself, Stewart made good on his promise, undergoing the painful procedure last night live on SIRIUS as Stewart’s co-host, Matt Yocum, and Harvick provided rip-by-rip commentary for SIRIUS listeners nationwide. Thanks to late donations by Joe Gibbs Racing President J.D. Gibbs, who pledged $15,000, and Sprint Cup Champion Jimmie Johnson, who donated $10,000, the total raised for Victory Junction Gang Camp surpassed $125,000. Asked during the procedure if the pain was worse than hitting the wall at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Stewart laughed and said, “Yeah, it does actually. It does hurt worse than hitting the wall at Vegas. It just isn’t lasting as long.” To hear audio clips and see photos from last night’s show, visit www.sirius.com/nascar. Last night’s show re-airs tonight at 11pm/et, Thursday at 10pm/et, Saturday at 10pm/et and Monday at 8pm/et on SIRIUS NASCAR Radio, channel 128.(Sirius PR))(3-18-2008)
    • Changes at the #96? UPDATE 3 Boyer Named Crew Chief: hearing there could be a crew chief change coming at the #96 Hall of Fame Racing team…Slugger Labbe could be coming over from the now idle #27 Bill Davis Racing team. Brandon Thomas is the current crew chief for J.J. Yeley at Hall of Fame Racing. There tend to be some changed during the first of weekend every season.(3-16-2008)
      UPDATE: been told that Labbe was seen at Bristol in a Bill Davis Racing sweatshirt and been told by BDR rep that Labbe is still with BDR and will help out the #22 CAT team in testing the next couple weeks.(3-17-2008)
      UPDATE 2: Richard “Slugger” Labbe, who was crew chief of the #27 Bill Davis Racing car, has parted ways with the team, a BDR spokesman confirmed Monday.(SceneDaily)(3-18-2008)
      UPDATE 3: Hall of Fame Racing officials announced that Steve Boyer will serve as crew chief for driver J.J. Yeley and the #96 DLP HDTV Toyota Camry beginning with the Goody’s Cool Orange 500 Sprint Cup Series race weekend March 29-30 at Martinsville. Boyer, who has worked within the engineering department at HoFR since December 2007, takes over for Brandon Thomas, who had served as crew chief since October 2006. Boyer is no stranger to the top of the pit box, as he was Sterling Marlin’s crew chief at Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates for the last six races of the 2004 Sprint Cup Series season and the entire 2005 campaign.(HOF PR)(3-18-2008)
    • McCumbee to test at Gateway for Petty’s UPDATE: Chad McCumbee is scheduled to test a Petty Enterprises Sprint Cup Series Dodge Tuesday and Wednesday at Gateway International Raceway. Test sessions will be closed to the public.(PR)(3-15-2008)
      UPDATE: Chad McCumbee and the Petty Enterprises team has cancelled their test session at GIR due to weather. There are no plans to re-schedule.(GIR)(3-18-2008)
    • Terry Labonte could return to racing? Two-time Cup champion Terry Labonte has enjoyed his cameo appearances at the track and would do so again. “A couple of years ago I ran some races for a team and they called me about this race and that race,” Labonte said Monday, chuckling while recalling the story. “I said, ‘Man, I’ve already got a fishing trip planned, and invited a bunch of my friends and stuff. They’ve already made their plans. I can’t change them.’” Labonte and his past champion provisional would be available, under the right circumstances. Labonte subbed three times for Michael Waltrip in 2007 to help guarantee the #55 Camry a spot in the field, and told the Richmond Times-Dispatch last year he would’ve helped old boss Rick Hendrick had Casey Mears fallen out of the top 35. But Labonte made it clear that an appearance would be less about a past relationship and more about running at tracks that he enjoys. He admitted that he’d love to compete at the road races, where his proficiency is well-noted, and he also mentioned short tracks like Richmond as a preference. More than anything, he doesn’t want to have a negative effect wherever he goes. “Like I told one guy, the only way I’d be interested in doing it is if everybody’s onboard with it,” Labonte said. “‘Cause I don’t want this [driver] to think I’m trying to take his job, because the last thing I want is his job. If I could help them, I would.” With Dale Jarrett’s retirement from points competition, his provisional is out of play. Labonte’s past champion provisional from his 1996 title would take precedence over Bill Elliott’s crown from 1988. Teams are considering switching owner points with past champions to guarantee spots in the field-Matt Kenseth/Jamie McMurray and Terry’s brother Bobby Labonte/Kyle Petty serving as examples-but the champs are running well enough that racing their way in on speed is likely, giving Terry Labonte’s provisional value.(Long Island Press)
      AND [Petty Racing] Team officials planned to meet Monday afternoon to discuss options for the #45 car, including the possibility of putting another driver temporarily behind the wheel. Petty Enterprises could switch points between Petty and Bobby Labonte, who could get in on a past champion’s provisional if he failed to make it on speed. But their obligations to sponsor General Mills, which backs Labonte’s car, make that a long shot. A more viable option might be calling on another Labonte — Bobby’s brother Terry, also a past champion, who Petty Enterprises was thinking of putting in the #45 car for road course events anyway. “We could do the Bobby thing, but we don’t want to do that because of the sponsor thing,” team vice president Robbie Loomis said Sunday. “We could call on brother Terry. He might be willing to help us out a little bit. We could use him to start the race. He’s got the championship status like they have with Bill [Elliott] and with Dale Jarrett. So that’s an option for us, too. But ultimately, we’d like to leave Kyle in there as the driver of the car, and have him make the race.”(NASCAR.com)(3-18-2008)
    • MWR Installs Jet Edge Waterjet Cutting System: Michael Waltrip Racing (MWR) has installed a Jet Edge precision waterjet cutting system at its fabrication shop in Cornelius, N.C. MWR plans to use its Jet Edge system to cut parts for its three Sprint Cup Series teams and Nationwide Series team. MWR and Jet Edge also announced their new technical partnership, which will give MWR access to Jet Edge’s latest waterjet-cutting technology and position Jet Edge as a leading waterjet technology supplier to the $19.5 billion performance racing industry. With construction of its new fabrication shop completed, MWR has begun increasing its in-house manufacturing capabilities, explained Dr. Eric Warren, MWR’s vice president and technical director. One of its first steps was to acquire waterjet-cutting capabilities that have become essential to NASCAR teams as they race to fabricate parts under extremely tight deadlines.(MWR PR)(3-18-2008)
    • #36 Team Cutting Back Schedule; Wallace to the #28: UPDATE 4: Fitz Motorsports’ Shark Energy Drink #36 Nationwide Series team will temporarily slow operations, effective immediately. Kenny Wallace drove the car in the first five Nationwide Series events this season. A number of different factors led to the decision. “Sponsor money for the #36 Dodge was based on distribution of Shark Energy Drink,” said team owner Armando Fitz. “While the initial response was terrific, it’s taking longer than anticipated to generate enough funding to run the #36 car competitively in the Nationwide Series. “We’re going to scale the #36 team back and put a full effort toward our #22 Supercuts Dodge,” Fitz added. “Kenny Wallace has an opportunity to drive for another Nationwide Series team and we certainly don’t want to hold him back. Kenny has been a great friend and supporter of our program, and he deserves to be racing full time.” Fitz Motorsports will customize a race program for Shark Energy Drink as more distribution outlets are found and product is sold.(Fitz Motorsports PR)(3-17-2008)
      AND: Rusty Wallace said on NASCAR Now tonight that Kenny will drive the #28-Jay Robinson Border Patrol car.(3-17-2008)
      UPDATE: Jay Robinson Racing announces that Kenny Wallace will be behind the wheel of the #28 U.S. Border Patrol Chevy for the remainder of the 2008 Nationwide Series Season. Kenny will make his debut in the #28 U.S. Border Patrol Chevy this Saturday March 22, 2008 in Nashville during the running of the Pepsi 300.(Jay Robinson Racing PR)(3-18-2008)
    • Colin Braun Making 2008 Nationwide Debut at Nashville: Colin Braun will be behind the wheel of the #16 CitiFinancial Ford this weekend at Nashville Superspeedway; the second-career Nationwide Series start for the 19-year-old Craftsman Truck Series regular. Braun’s Nationwide Series debut came last season at Memphis Motorsports Park.(Roush Fenway PR)(3-18-2008)
    • Raybestos Rookie Preview for Nashville: Dario Franchitti was the Raybestos Rookie of the Race in the Sharpie Mini 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Franchitti scored a 22nd-place finish and claimed top rookie honors for the third time in five Nationwide Series races this season.
      Franchitti holds a 15-point lead (58-43) over Bryan Clauson in the Raybestos Rookie standings entering the 22 Pepsi 300 at Nashville Superspeedway.
      Franchitti has been running at the finish of all five Nationwide Series races this season, completing 834 of 841 possible laps this season.
      This is the third consecutive week that Franchitti has led the Raybestos Rookie standings in both the Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series.
      Franchitti is 15th in the Nationwide Series championship standings, best of any Raybestos Rookie.(Raybestos PR)(3-18-2008)
    • Logano’s Schedule Taking Shape: Joey Logano might be a phenom behind the wheel of a racecar, but he’s not a good racing fan. May 24 can’t come quick enough for the Joe Gibbs Racing developmental driver from Middletown. That’s the day he turns 18 and becomes eligible to race in the Nationwide Series. Logano will make his Nationwide Series debut May 31 at Dover. Until then he pretty much, grudgingly, has to play the part of racing fan. Logano will compete in all but three of the final 22 Nationwide Series events this season. He will miss the Nationwide Series events at New Hampshire International Motor Speedway (June 28), Daytona International Speedway (July 4) and Chicagoland Speedway (July 11). Logano said he does not have approval yet to run Daytona and that Tony Stewart has sponsor obligations to run Chicagoland and New Hampshire. Logano said missing out on the event at New Hampshire was a tough one to swallow considering it’s the track closest to home and a place where he swept the two Camping World East Series events in 2007.(Hartford Courant)(3-18-2008)

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