March 20, 2008
- Dale Jr. featured on ESPN The Magazine cover: Five-time NASCAR Most Popular Driver #88-Dale Earnhardt Jr. is among a select group of professional sports stars featured on unique covers for ESPN The Magazine‘s 10th anniversary issue, released this week. The double-sided special edition features 10 covers, five on each side and in random order. The front half highlights athletes who have dominated their respective sport in the last 10 years — baseball’s Ichiro Suzuki, NFL running back LaDainian Tomlinson, pro basketball player Tim Duncan, tennis sisters Venus and Serena Williams, and professional snowboarder Shaun White. The flip side is devoted to athletes believed to shine over the next 10 years — Earnhardt Jr., pro basketball player LeBron James, hockey star Sidney Crosby, New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez and NFL quarterback Vince Young. Earnhardt Jr.’s cover was shot by photographer Matt Jones, who shows the driver not in typical NASCAR attire but in a single-breasted Armani suit and tie. This marks the third time Earnhardt Jr. has appeared on the cover of ESPN The Magazine. He and Matt Kenseth shared the cover for the 1999 NASCAR Preview, and he alone was the subject of a cover story in the Feb. 18, 2002 edition. “It was a real honor to be included in this 10th anniversary project for ESPN The Magazine,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “It’s humbling to be among athletes of this caliber. I hope ESPN is correct in that we can generate a few headlines in the next 10 years. I feel like we can.” In addition to the 10 covers, each athlete was photographed in settings of special meaning or personal significance for the inside pages. In homage to the history of NASCAR and his racing roots, Earnhardt Jr. took ESPN The Magazine to his vintage gas station in Mooresville, N.C., where photographer Sarah Friedman shot Earnhardt Jr. and his 1972 Camaro. “I have a great appreciation for the history of NASCAR where I grew up in Kannapolis,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “This old-school gas station reminds me of that town, where the old cotton mill was the big industry. It’s all torn down now, and I’m real nostalgic for it.” ESPN The Magazine’s 10th anniversary edition is on newsstands now. Fans can also log on to www.espnthemag.com for behind-the-scenes footage of each athlete at their respective photo shoots, as well as prominent feature articles that have appeared in the magazine during its first 10 years of publication.(HMS PR)(3-20-2008) Comment here
- Testing at Greenville: hearing that #77-Sam Hornish Jr. and #07-Clint Bowyer tested Tuesday at Greenville-Pickens Speedway in South Carolina.(3-20-2008)
- Petree to drive Truck at Martinsville? UPDATE 2 denied: Image added: Hearing that current ESPN analyst Andy Petree was testing a #92 Harris Trucking Toyota at Martinsville and plans to run the CTS race on March 29. Petree has run 7 career CTS races, the last coming in 2004 at Martinsville.(3-12-2008)
UPDATE: Image of the #92-Harris Trucking Toyota tested by Andy Petree at Martinsville is posted on the 2008 Paint Scheme Gallery page.
UPDATE 2: Petree said on Wednesday’s NASCAR Now [ESPN2 6pm/et] that he would not be running the race, he got his racing fix out of his system testing the truck at Martinsville.(3-20-2008) - Said picks up a two race NNS deal: Team Rensi Motorsports announced the signing of Boris Said to drive the #25 No Fear Energy / Smithfield Foods Ford for the two Nationwide Series international races — in Mexico City and Montreal. Frank Stoddard will work with Said and Team Rensi Motorsports for both Nationwide Series events.(Team Rensi PR)(3-20-2008)
- Said to own car dealership: #60-Boris Said is teaming up with one of the country’s largest automotive retail operations to bring Boris Said’s BMW of Murrieta to the Temecula Valley [Calif] in 2009. A joint venture between Said and Charlotte, N.C.-based Hendrick Automotive Group, the more than 50,000-square-foot facility will open off of Interstate 15 at the future French Valley Parkway exit in the fall of 2009. Hendrick Automotive Group will co-own and operate the dealership. Occupying more than eight acres of property at the Murrieta Auto Mall, Boris Said’s BMW of Murrieta will provide sales and service to what has been an under-represented region for the automaker. Construction will begin in the fall of this year. Hendrick Automotive Group currently owns and operates five BMW Centers in three different states that have achieved the manufacturer’s Pinnacle CSI (customer satisfaction index) award 12 times since 2002. The honor is earned annually by the top 8 percent of BMW retailers in the United States.(Hendrick Automotive Group PR)(3-20-2008)
- Increased Purse for Texas Race: Texas Motor Speedway has upped the ante for the Nationwide Series O’Reilly 300 on April 5. The posted purse of $1,527,668 is an increase of $23,067 from last year, and a record for the series at TMS.(Ft. Worth Star Telegram)(3-20-2008)
- Petree to drive at Martinsville? UPDATE 2 denied: Hearing that current ESPN analyst Andy Petree was testing a #92 Harris Trucking Toyota at Martinsville and plans to run the CTS race on March 29. Petree has run 7 career CTS races, the last coming in 2004 at Martinsville.(3-12-2008)
UPDATE: Image of the #92-Harris Trucking Toyota tested by Andy Petree at Martinsville is posted on the 2008 Paint Scheme Gallery page.
UPDATE 2: Petree said on Wednesday’s NASCAR Now [ESPN2 6pm/et] that he would not be running the race, he got his racing fix out of his system testing the truck at Martinsville.(3-20-2008)
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