March 26 – Today in Jayski’s NASCAR history

March 26, 2001

• Stewart/Gordon UPDATE Stewart Penalized: ….#24-Jeff Gordon had been working #20-Tony Stewart from behind for the fourth-place position for several laps, but entering Turn 3 on the last lap, he slid all the way down to the apron to try to get past Stewart. As Gordon tried to pass, he and Stewart collided and Stewart spun out. Gordon was able to hang on and finish fourth. Stewart ended up 25th. But it wasn’t over. Stewart came back around and drove onto pitroad and hit Gordon’s car causing Gordon’s car to spin. The drivers, their crew chiefs and team owners were all called to the NASCAR hauler following the race to discuss the incident. Kevin Triplett, NASCAR’s director of operations, said penalties may be forthcoming and would likely be announced by Tuesday.(That’s Racin’ and see a story at NASCAR.com Buzz)(3-25-2001)
  UPDATE: NASCAR officials announced today they have penalized NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver Tony Stewart for intentionally running into the car driven by Jeff Gordon during the cool-down lap of the Food City 500 at the Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tenn. Stewart, driver of the #20 team, was fined $10,000 and placed on probation until Aug. 29th. Stewart was penalized under Section 12-4-A in the 2001 NASCAR Winston Cup Series rule book: “…actions deemed by NASCAR Officials as detrimental to stock car racing…”(NASCAR PR). Been asked too much so here it is: What does probation mean? “Probation may be for a specified time period to review the conduct of a member to determine whether a more severe penalty is warranted”. In other words, stay out of trouble. Probation is NOT a suspension.(3-26-2001)

• Drivers skipping Talladega?? UPDATE 2: in part from the Winston Salem Journal – …But the big story of the day was furious driver reaction to NASCAR’s continued inaction on Talladega rules. Bobby Labonte, the Winston Cup champ, said some sponsors have told their drivers if they want to skip the April Talladega 500 they’ll support that decision. See the comments at the :Winston Salem Journal in the middle of the article(3-25-2001)
  UPDATE: ..Everyone is scared to death over the Talladega race right now. There is even talk, not that anything is likely to materialize, of sponsors telling their teams they will allow them to skip the race, or of some drivers talking about running only a token lap and then parking their cars in protest. They aren’t telling NASCAR that. They’re afraid their car won’t get through inspection, or that NASCAR will start hitting them with arbitrary requirements that make it impossible for them to be competitive.(Gaston Gazette) AND see a story at the Stock Car Reporter: Talledega?(3-25-2001)
  UPDATE 2: No one seriously expects any of the stars to pass up the April 22 race(at Talladega). But the fact that sponsors are getting into the safety debate is significant, because NASCAR executives who might dismiss complaints by drivers won’t easily write off worries by the companies whose advertising dollars keep this sport running.(Winston Salem Journal)(3-26-2001)

• New Changer for the #10 UPDATE: Two team members who changed the rear tires on Johnny Benson’s #10 car last year will be back in that role this weekend. They will replace two crewmen who’ve moved to the crew of #36 Ken Schrader, Benson’s teammate(That’s Racin’), AND Two pit crew members for the #10 MBV Motorsports Pontiac have been relieved of their duties at the track. Those two individuals, which were unnamed, still hold positions at the team’s shop, but were replaced at the track by two former pit crew members of the #36(NASCAR.com Buzz) (3-24-2001)
  UPDATE: The rear tire changer and carrier on the #10 Valvoline Pontiac at Darlington served as the rear tire changer and carrier for the #36 car at Bristol. On the #10 car at Bristol, Gary Putnam, car chief, served as rear tire carrier and Carroll Luft, general mechanic, served as tire changer. Both Putnam and Luft worked on the rear tires the entire 2000 season on the #10 car. Nobody was fired or lost their job on the #10 team(Team PR)(3-26-2001)

• New Belts for Labonte UPDATEs: #18-Bobby Labonte will use a different seat belt system in today’s Food City 500. Labonte will use a system designed and manufactured by the European company Willans(www.racecar.co.uk/willans) — making him the first driver in recent memory to use a restraint device not manufactured by Bill Simpson and Simpson Racing(Kingsport Times News)(3-25-2001)
  UPDATE: also been told that Terry Labonte, Michael Waltrip and Steve Park also use Willans belts, not Simpson AND Bobby Labonte used belts from a different manufacturer Sunday. Labonte, who had been using Simpson products, had belts from Willans in his car. The company is in England and provides seat belts for some Formula One teams. Crew chief Jimmy Makar said that Terry Labonte has been using the belts for about two years and the team began to look into those belts. Makar says that teammate Tony Stewart used seat belts from that manufacturer when Stewart drove in the Indy Racing League. Makar said Stewart’s car would be outfitted with those belts soon(Roanoke Times)(3-26-2001)

• Lepage stays thru Texas and helps Test: team owner Larry McClure quote: ” Kevin was new driver, we had new pit guys. They all communicated well. That helped us. Everything was really smooth. We changed the car every pit stop. His first performance with us was admirable. That is what we needed. We needed a settling factor as much as anything. We will go to Martinsville and test with Kevin this week then we will move on to Texas. We will talk next week. One race does not say everything. This team just went through something that I do not want to go through again. I will make sure the right decision is made this time for Morgan-McClure.”(Morgan-McClure PR)(3-26-2001)

• New Series Rumor…again UPDATE: CBS, the first network to carry a Winston Cup race live from start to finish, a daring decision back in 1979, has been approached or will soon be approached about a proposed new stock-car racing series, according to NASCAR sources. And various stock-car teams have been approached to gauge interest in such a venture, according to team owners. Winston Cup team owners have been watching Fox’s on-camera handling of car sponsors with an increasingly skeptical eye, some noting that Fox’s coverage at times appears to be avoiding or downplaying teams whose sponsors haven’t bought into the big TV advertising package(Winston Salem Journal)(3-19-2001)
  UPDATE: Last weekend there were reports that CBS might be interested in counter-programming a new racing series. Now ABC executives have confirmed that such talks have taken place at their network. ABC and CBS have invested some 20 years in Winston Cup coverage, but they lost out in bidding to Fox and NBC for the next six years. When asked about the possibility of a package of counter-programming to NASCAR on Fox and NBC, Mark Quenzel, the senior vice president of programming for ESPN, said: “I know it’s been brought up once or twice in the last year, that various people have discussed it. But my opinion is that this isn’t football or baseball, where you have fields all over the country. There aren’t that many race tracks, and the ones you do have are pretty much tied up. It would be very tough to start a competitive series. That is an expensive sport to run.(Winston Salem Journal)(3-26-2001)

• News rules for the Winston UPDATE: Drivers this year will make a four-tire change instead of a two-tire change on their pit stop at the start of qualifying for The Winston all-star race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway on May 19. Teams were allowed to pit anytime during a three-lap qualifying run until last year, when the stop was moved to the beginning of the run. This year, teams will make a four-tire change, then complete a three-lap run with total time being used to determine starting order for the event. The Winston will again be run in segments of 30, 30 and 10 laps, with only green-flag laps counting. After the first segment, as few as the top six and as many as the top 12 positions will be inverted using a process that will be announced later. Drivers not qualified for The Winston can earn a spot in the event by winning the 30-lap Winston Open or the 16-lap No Bull Sprint that precede the main event on May 19. There will be no 25-lap qualifying races for the Open or the Sprint this year – a two-lap qualifying run will be used instead. If there are no more first-time winners between now and May 19, John Andretti and Joe Nemechek will be in The Winston. If there is a first-time winner, however, both Andretti and Nemechek would be knocked out(That’s Racin’)(3-24-2001)
  UPDATE: it happened – Elliott Sadler’s victory earned him a spot in The Winston and knocked John Andretti and Joe Nemechek out of the field(unless they can win by Richmond or Win the WInston Open of No Bull Sprint).
  see my 2001 The Winston page for drivers eligible and the rules(3-26-2001)

• #27 almost had a full sponsor: Barry Dodson was close to gaining sponsorship for the #27Eel River racing team driven by Kenny Wallace, but NASCAR turned down the liquor company that was offering to pay the bill for the season. Crown Royal, with its sponsorship of several fishing tournaments, was barred by the sanctioning body. Beer but not liquor sponsorships are allowed in NASCAR(Richmond Times Dispatch)(3-26-2001)

• Sad News: Legendary stock car driver Kenny Shoemaker died at his home in Albany, NY, on Thursday after a long battle with heart disease. He was 71. Shoemaker, known as “The Shoe,” thrilled generations of racing fans with his “take no prisoners” driving style on both dirt and asphalt. He raced from 1948 to 1978-a period that saw the sport grow from infancy to its present form. He won a heat race on opening night at Fonda in 1953, and developed a love affair with the Montgomery County oval that transcended three decades and included 140 heat wins, 54 feature wins, and the 1958 Fonda track championship. He raced regularly at Fonda, Rochester, Victoria, Stafford Springs, Utica-Rome, Malta, Plattsburg, and Lebanon Valley. He drove the high banks of Daytona in the first modified race held on the super speedway in 1958, and again in 1961. Funeral services are at 10:00 AM Tuesday from the DeMarco and Stone Funeral Home, Heldeberg Avenue, Rotterdam, NY. Visiting hours are on Monday from 5:00 – 8:00 PM. Contributions may be made to the Community Hospice of Albany County, 445 New Karner Rd., Albany, NY 12205, or the New York State Stock Car Association, P.O. Box 1136, Clifton Park, NY 12065(Vintage Modifieds)(3-26-2001)
• A Baby Green: Diane Green, wife of NASCAR Busch driver David Green gave birth to a baby boy on Monday night at 9:29pm. Austin Green, 8 lbs. – 9 oz., 21 inches DOB 3-26-01(PR)(3-27-2001)
• #16 Team Suspends Operations UPDATE: the #16 Team Rensi Team with driver David Donohue, has suspended operations effective immediately, citing lack of a sponsor. The #61 team with Randy Tolsma will continue(ESPN2’s RPM 2Night)(3-26-2001)

• #73 News UPDATE: The #73 has made new additions to the team. Joey Sonntag has taken on a partner and the New race team name is Tagsby Racing(3-4-2001)
  UPDATE: Joey Sonntag has taken on a new partner Ron Crosby and a Marketing Director Lynzi Bush and will be at Martinsville for the next race, see an interview at their site with driver Jason Small(3-26-2001)

• Ribbs to test at Martinsville but….UPDATE:NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series rookie Willy Ribbs will test at Martinsville on Monday, Mar 26th, but he ’ll be in a Busch car. There is no testing in the Craftsman Truck Series (I didn’t know that, I guess unless NASCAR Mandated), and the only way he could get seat time there was in a BGN car(which do not run at Martinsville). The Busch car is owned by Ribbs’ truck owner Bobby Hamilton(Martinsville Speedway PR)(3-24-2001)
  UPDATE: Ribbs showed up Monday morning at Martinsville Speedway with Bobby Hamilton, who owns the Dodge Ribbs drives on the CTS. Ribbs was in town to pick up a few points on the fine art of short-tracking. The CTS next stop is the Advance Auto Parts 250 at Martinsville Speedway, another short track famous for its action. Of course things were a little different for Ribbs on Monday. The CTS doesn’t allow testing in trucks at tracks the series visits, so Hamilton brought a BGN car for Ribbs to pilot. Ribbs drives a Dodge on the truck circuit, but the Busch car was a Chevrolet, outfitted with a Dodge power plant.(Martinsville Speedway PR)(3-26-2001)

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