March 22, 2004
- “Field-filler” announcement? hearing that NASCAR is going to make some kind of announcement this week about the whole “field-filler” deal.(3-22-2004)
- Blaney sponsor for Texas: Batesville Speedway owner and promoter Mooney Starr has entered into a one-race sponsorship deal with Bill Davis Motorsports to back Dave Blaney’s #23 Dodge in the Samsung/Radio Shack 500 at the Texas Motor Speedway. Blaney’s Dodge will carry the Batesville Speedway as a sponsor, but also appearing on the car will be Starr’s two primary events in 2004, the Alltel 100 for Modifieds, and the Comp Cams Topless 100 for Late Models. According to Starr, he wants to feature the primary sponsors of those two events as well as his track.(midsouthracing.com) and fans of Blaney are up to over $50,000 of pledges, for more info on that drive, see my #23 Team News Page(link fixed – DOH!)(3-22-2004)
- Action Father’s Day Promotion at MIS in June on….Father’s Day: A Father’s Day promotion will run on June 20, 2004 at Michigan Speedway for the NEXTEL Cup Series. This race falls on Father’s Day and as part of a recognition program of the inspiration of family and racing. Action has proposed that drivers pay tribute to their Father and the connection they have built through racing. Each car that carries this special package will have a “Happy Father’s Day” on the hood along with “Thanks Dad” on the TV panel. The Fathers name will appear on the passenger side above the door. Driver’s announced so far include: #8-Dale Earnhardt Jr. #33-Kerry Earnhardt, #15-Michael Waltrip, #41-Casey Mears, #42-Jamie McMurray and #20-Tony Stewart.(3-22-2004)
- Grandpa Marlin…and congrats Steadman: #40-Sterling Marlin became a grandfather at 6:14pm/et Sunday following the Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 at Darlington Raceway. Marlin’s son, NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver Steadman Marlin and his wife, Mandy, gave birth to Stirlin Blaise Marlin at at Williamson County Hospital Tennessee. The baby weighed in at 9 lbs 3 oz and is 21 ½ inches long. “Paula and I are very excited,” Sterling said. “The baby is a healthy and beautiful baby boy! I have been looking forward to this and I am glad the day is finally here.”(ThatsRacin.com)(3-22-2004)
- Busch Scheme at Bristols: #97-Kurt Busch will be driving a Sharpie 40th Anniversary paint scheme at both Bristol Races this year.(3-22-2004)
- Must Have A Pit Crew Rule to be Added? Expect NASCAR officials to add a rule in the off-season requiring teams to start each race with a full pit crew, because of the James Finch controversy at Rockingham. Finch and driver Joe Ruttman started the Rockingham race without a pit crew chief, and NASCAR planned to fine the team, until Finch pointed out that there was no such rule in the book.(Winston Salem Journal)(3-22-2004)
AND heard from a few folks telling about the effort that #89-Morgan Shepherd’s crew gave, supposedly there were three crew members, a gas man, a tire changer and a jackman and did the stop one tire at a time. The first stop Shepherd made, after leading 2 laps under caution, Shepherd was able to do so without losing a lap, the next time around he got lapped while on pit road. After going a lap down, low on tires and making a few stops, Shepherd parked the #89 Racing for Jesus Dodge.(3-22-2004)
- More Changes at the #2: Unhappy with his pit crew’s performance in Sunday’s race, driver Rusty Wallace and crew chief Larry Carter elected to make a swap of rear-tire changers with Penske teammate Brendan Gaughan’s team. Rich Macco from Gaughan’s team went to Wallace’s team for the remainder of the race and Cole Chitty from Wallace’s #2 team moved to Gaughan’s #77.(ThatsRacin.com)(3-22-2004)
- Bodine to make ARCA Debut at Nashville: NASCAR veteran Todd Bodine will make his ARCA RE/MAX Series debut next month when the teams roll into the Nashville Superspeedway. Bodine will be driving for Dan Shaver Motorsports. Bodine, who has a solid record at the track will drive the #49 Petro Express with guidance from crew chief Jeff Buice.(Catchfence)(3-22-2004)
- So What Happened to Kenseth? Series points leader #17-Matt Kenseth was involved in an accident on Lap 161 that collected six cars in Turn 1, but Kenseth’s problems grew worse when he was assessed a one-lap penalty for passing cars under caution. Kenseth had to pit while pit road was closed immediately following his incident, and was sent to the end of the longest line. While the rest of the lead-lap cars went to pit road, it appeared Kenseth would take over the lead if he stayed out. But while he passed the cars that had pitted, NASCAR assessed the penalty. Kenseth’s crew chief, Robbie Reiser, became involved in a heated confrontation with several NASCAR officials after the incident. “It seems these days you need a rule book for every race track we go to, but I don’t know what the rule was and I don’t really know what happened,” Reiser said. “The penalty for pulling up to pit – we didn’t pit. So, whatever you want to tell us, I’m sure I’ll understand it after they get done with me.” NASCAR’s Jim Hunter said since Kenseth was assessed a penalty, he was never the race leader during the caution. “The fact is he passed some cars, and you cannot pass people under caution,” Hunter said. Kenseth’s damage ended up being more extensive and he required several pit stops later in the race and finished 31st.(ThatsRacin.com and more at Speed Channel)(3-22-2004)
- Tony not Happy with Biffle UPDATE: hearing that following the Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 at Darlington Raceway, #20-Tony Stewart from his car to #16-Greg Biffle’s hauler to “confront” him. Supposedly there was some incident on pit road where Stewart could not pit when Biffle supposedly cut off Stewart, causing Stewart to have to drive around anther lap to pit, explains why Stewart went from the top-10 to 17th for the final re-start.(3-22-2004)
UPDATE: …..another caution came on lap 275 for oil on the track, which should’ve set the stage for the #20 team’s last pit stop. But as the field headed to pit road, Biffle blocked Stewart from entering the pits. Livid, Stewart was forced to make a full lap around the 1.366-mile oval before getting his scheduled service. The silver lining in all of this was the five bonus points Stewart earned for leading a lap, as all the other lead lap drivers were getting four tires and fuel in their respective pit stalls. That was a tough sell to Stewart, however, as he emerged for the lap 283 restart in 17th.(Truespeed PR/Joe Gibbs Racing)(3-22-2004) - Baker Racing Still Looking For Sponsorship: Veteran NASCAR Busch Series driver Brad Baker has informed Catchfence.com that his No. 28 Baker Racing team is still looking for sponsorship after their primary sponsor for their limited schedule for the past two season Trus Joist backed out heading into the 2004 season. Baker is still hoping that they will be able to find a sponsor that will allow the team to compete at their “hometown” track at Nashville Superspeedway next month. We will keep you informed on Baker Racing future plans.(Catchfence)(3-22-2004)
- Testing at Texas: #44-Justin Labonte, #66-Billy Parker, and #50-David Starr will be testing Mar. 22-24 at Texas Motor Speedway in preparation for the O’Reilly 300 on April 3. (TMS PR via BGNRacing.com)(3-22-2004)
- Atwood to test at Nashville: Casey Atwood will be testing his #14 Chevrolet at Nashville Superspeedway on Monday, March 22. Nashville Superspeedway PR via BGNRacing.com)(3-22-2004)
- Andrews is looking UPDATE 2 to BANG?: Paul Andrews, a successful crew chief for many years [championship with Kulwicki, wins at Penske and DEI], lost his job earlier this week with Bob Osborne, an engineer now taking over with Jeff Burton at Roush Racing. Andrews is still on the Roush payroll but reportedly looking elsewhere for a job.(Gaston Gazette)(3-21-2004)
UPDATE: Crew chief Paul Andrews is looking for a job, since being released by Jeff Burton and Jack Roush, and says “We’re talking to different people now about what we might do next. We’ve got a lot of people talking and that’s good. “I was brought in to win races and we hadn’t won races, so we felt like we needed to make a change and that’s what we did. I think Jeff is a good driver and there are a lot of good things going on over at Roush’s. But that’s just what happened. We couldn’t win races together.”(Winston Salem Journal)(3-22-2004)
UPDATE 2: hearing that Larry McReynolds and Bang Racing are talking to Andrews about potentially heading up their Nextel Cup effort later this year.(3-22-2004)
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