March 27, 2006
- Testing at Kentucky week of March 27th UPDATE: #96-Tony Raines is scheduled to test at Kentucky Speedway on Tuesday, March 28th and #12-Ryan Newman is scheduled on Wed., March 29th. Fans are able to view testing from the designated area outside Turn 3 for free. Testing usually begins at 9:00 a.m., and ends at approximately 5:00 p.m. Test times will vary based on team goals.(KS site)(3-26-2006)
UPDATE: Four NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series teams are scheduled to test at Kentucky Speedway Wednesday, March 29. Tony Raines will practice with his #96 Texas Instruments DLP HDTV Chevy, Kurt Busch will put his #2 Miller Lite Dodge through its paces, Sterling Marlin will practice his #14 Waste Management Chevy and Morgan Shepherd will test his #89 Victory in Jesus Ministries Dodge.(Kentucky Speedway PR)(3-27-2006)
- Overtnight Bristol TV Ratings down: Overnight Nielsen Media Research ratings were down for Fox’s broadcast of Sunday’s Nextel Cup race at Bristol Motor Speedway, but the network saw an increase for Saturday’s Busch Series race, Street and Smith’s SportsBusiness Daily reports. Sunday’s Food City 500 earned a 5.3/11, down 5.4% from 2005’s overnight 5.6/13, while coverage of Saturday’s Sharpie Mini 300 was up 9.5% from a 2.1/5 last year to 2.3/5 this year.(SceneDaily.com), never did see the final Atlanta TV Ratings.(3-27-2006)
- Tire Testing at Lowe’s coming up UPDATE: The repaving at Lowe’s Motor Speedway is expected to be finished this weekend. Goodyear has scheduled a tire test there March 28 and 29. Scheduled to test are #21-Ken Schrader, #29-Kevin Harvick, #10-Scott Riggs and #43-Bobby Labonte, along with Bobby Hamilton in his Craftsman Truck.(Roanoke Times)(3-11-2006)
UPDATE: #48-Jimmie Johnson, #29-Kevin Harvick, #43-Bobby Labonte and #10-Scott Riggs have been picked by Goodyear and NASCAR to run the Charlotte tests, and that is drawing criticism from rivals. Johnson was a late substitution for Ken Schrader, and Johnson’s selection has drawn criticism from some who say that the test may give him an unfair advantage. Some question why NASCAR and Goodyear would pick Labonte for a second tire test already this year, after just doing a tire test at Texas, when so many other teams have not yet been picked. No Ford drivers were picked, which led Jimmy Fennig, crew chief for Jamie McMurray, to complain that “all the manufacturers should be represented.” Gil Martin, the crew chief for Clint Bowyer, said that “a dozen teams ought to be testing at Charlotte.” Richard “Slugger” Labbe, the crew chief for the Dale Jarrett-Robert Yates operation, was more pointed, questioning the pre-race tire data supplied by Goodyear. Last year many teams, with the backing of Detroit’s manufacturers, did their own pre-race tire testing at high-tech places like New York’s Calspan tire-research facility. This year, NASCAR officials have halted all that independent testing by instituting a tire-leasing program, and teams are not allowed to take any tires away from any track after the race.(Winston Salem Journal)
NOTE: Schrader and the Wood Brothers pulled out of the test because of a schedule conflict.(Roanoke Times)(3-27-2006)
- More sponsorship for Marlin coming UPDATE: Expect a sponsorship announcement soon from MB2 Motorsports about additional funding for Sterling Marlin’s #14 Chevrolet. Currently, the team has sponsorship for about half the Nextel Cup schedule, but is close to finalizing more deals. An announcement could come next week at Martinsville.(Speed Channel)(3-26-2006)
UPDATE: MB2 Motorsports announced that Ginn Clubs & Resorts (pronounced GHIN) has agreed to be a primary sponsor on Sterling Marlin’s #14 Chevy for three Nextel Cup races and Kraig Kinser’s Silverado for one Truck Series race. The sponsorship package kicks off this weekend at Martinsville Speedway with Ginn Clubs & Resorts being the primary sponsor on Marlin’s #14 entry for Sunday’s Cup race and Kinser’s #29 [not #47?] entry for Saturday’s truck race. Kinser, an MB2 Motorsports development driver, is part of the Morgan-Dollar Motorsports truck team. The agreement also calls for Ginn Clubs & Resorts to sponsor Marlin’s MB2-owned Chevrolet — July 1 at Daytona and Oct. 14 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Ginn Clubs & Resorts, based in Celebration, Fla., is a privately held resort development and management firm specializing in exclusive leisure lifestyle and vacation destination communities in the United States. The company first partnered with MB2 as the primary sponsor on Bill Elliott’s #36 Chevy during February’s Daytona Speedweeks.(MB2 Motorsports PR), more info on Ginn Clubs & Resorts at ginnclubsandresorts.com.(3-27-2006)
- Dale Jr. testing at Greenville: Dale Earnhardt Inc. officials say Dale Earnhardt Jr. is testing the team’s #8 Budweiser Chevy at Greenville-Pickens Speedway in South Carolina today. The team is testing a new short-track car that will likely be the primary car for this weekend’s race at Martinsville Speedway. Earnhardt Jr. finished 11th in yesterday’s race on another half-mile oval, Bristol Motor Speedway.(SceneDaily.com), plus Dale Jr, Truex Jr. and others are scheduled to race online at simracingnetwork.com.(3-27-2006)
- NASCAR Safety, reason Robby left the IRL: Paul Dana’s death in an Indy Racing League crash was a grim reminder for Robby Gordon of why he raced at Bristol Motor Speedway instead of Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday. “That’s why I left,” said Gordon, who gave up a promising open-wheel career to race NASCAR full time four years ago. “One hundred percent, no ifs, ands or buts about it. Indy cars are too fast for ovals, and they run ovals every weekend. If I run on ovals, then I’m running around in a stock car with a lot more protection around me and at less speeds as well.” News of the fatality in Florida spread through the Nextel Cup garage about two hours before the Food City 500.(USA Today)(3-27-2006)
- COT and the Wing: One item that is expected to be missing in the final version of the car of tomorrow [COT] will be the customary rear spoiler, which NASCAR has used for decades as part of its aerodynamic package. In its place will be a single-element rear deck wing, which was first track-tested at Daytona earlier this year. Monday’s session at Bristol will be used to test different wing designs. The wing will represent a dramatic change in the look of NASCAR’s stock cars, but according to Brett Bodine, a former driver who now serves as NASCAR’s test driver and is heavily involved in the development of the new car, the wing is more in tune with today’s modern race cars as well as new showroom models. He added that using a wing will allow teams to build a more symmetrically shaped car rather than the current models, which are cut and bent to shape to permit them to run better on ovals. According to Bodine, the wing will be a bolt-on piece that will be given to teams each race weekend by NASCAR, thus preventing any cheating. The wing will most likely include a small wickerbill/Gurney flap – a right-angle piece of metal rigidly bolted or riveted to a wing’s trailing edge – which will offer an additional level of downforce or drag to be produced by the wing. Monday’s session also will test the design of the new air splitter located below the bumper on the front of the new car. The splitter is designed to keep the front of the car on the ground. Both the wing and the splitter are items that have been used successfully for decades in sports car racing worldwide.(Yahoo Sports)(3-27-2006)
- Gordon push to be looked at by NASCAR: Although not giving as firm a statement as typical when penalties are imminent, NASCAR officials said they will review the Jeff Gordon shove of Matt Kenseth, which occurred on pit road after the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. NASCAR spokesman Kerry Tharp said Sunday night that NASCAR will follow its typical procedure and review the incident in the next few days, probably Tuesday. Kenseth and Gordon were involved in a crash on the final lap, where Kenseth sent Gordon spinning. Kenseth went over to Gordon to apologize after the race, and Gordon shoved him away. “I would have been ticked off, too,” Kenseth said. “I probably should have known better than to go over there, but I just think when you do something wrong, you should try to be a man about it and apologize.” Both drivers and crew chiefs were called to the hauler after the race. “I’m sure he didn’t mean to do it and all that stuff, but I wasn’t happy about it,” Gordon said. “I showed it to him after the race.”(SceneDaily.com)(3-27-2006)
- Even more on Cingular/AT&T/Childress: Car owner Richard Childress could have sponsor trouble if AT&T changes the names of the brands its about to acquire. AT&T has said it will spend $67 billion to purchase BellSouth, the parent company of Cingular – which currently sponsors Childress’ #31 Chevrolet. If the deal goes through, Cingular and BellSouth will be known as AT&T. That won’t fly in NASCAR, where series sponsor Nextel Cup has an exclusivity contract that grandfathered in the Cingular and Alltel sponsorships and logos. But they can’t be changed, and new names will not be permitted. “The contract NASCAR presented us is pretty straightforward,” said Michael Robichaud, vice president of sports sponsorships. “It’s really no different than the category exclusivity that Winston had for 33 years. We actually took it one step further, out of respect for Richard Childress and Roger Penske, and grandfathered in their existing sponsorships as it stood on the day we signed our agreement.” Childress wasn’t sure how it will play out. “It’s too early to comment on all that,” he said. “Cingular has said they’re going to be here for the long haul, and we expect them to be in the sport for quite a while.”(Associated Press)(3-27-2006)
- McCauley Wins Crew Chief of the Race Award: Kurt Busch and crew chief Roy McCauley survived 500 laps of furious racing action this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway. Despite setbacks with tires and radio transmissions, Busch battled back from the problems to capture his fifth victory at Thunder Valley. Busch’s come from behind win earned McCauley the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race. Trouble started early for Busch and McCauley. From the get-go, Busch and the team battled radio problems that hindered Busch from communicating with the team. On lap 62, a flat right-rear tire forced the #2 Miller Lite Dodge to make an unscheduled pit stop. Even with the problems, Busch methodically worked his way through the field in route to one of the speedway’s most impressive comebacks. A panel of voters; including Tony Eury Sr., a member of the local media and a Wypall Wipers representative; all agreed that McCauley’s comeback deserved Crew Chief of the Race accolades. For winning the Crew Chief of the Race award, Wypall Wipers gave McCauley $1,000. At the end of the season, the crew chief with the most weekly wins will receive $20,000 and be crowned the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Year. This was McCauley’s first Crew Chief of the Race award in 2006, which ties him with Darian Grubb and Kenny Francis for second-place in the standings. Robbie Reiser is in the lead with two wins.(Wypall PR)(3-27-2006)
- Kahne Joins the Winners Circle UPDATE and now Busch: #9-Kasey Kahne has joined an elite group of drivers as a result of his victory in the Golden Corral 500 at Atlanta. Kahne’s second career victory earned the Ray Evernham-owned #9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge team a spot in NASCAR’s Winner’s Circle Program, if Kahne enters, qualifies and competes in the remaining 32 races on the schedule this season beginning with Sunday’s Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Kahne joins the Winner’s Circle Program as a “wild card,” leaving one more “wild card” slot open to an additional race winner this season that is not already in the program. The Winner’s Circle Program, which starts each season with the top 10 winning drivers from the previous season, is designed to reward teams who have typified the best in NASCAR racing. Two “wild card” slots are available each year, making a total of 12 maximum spots open for the program in any season. For more info, the 2007 and 2006 charts and more, see my Winner Circle page.(3-24-2006)
UPDATE: after his win in Bristol on March 26th, #2-Kurt Busch takes over the final wild card spot on the program.(3-27-2006) - Hylton Leaves Fitz-Bradshaw: UPDATE: Butch Hylton has resigned his position as crew chief for the #12 Dodge effective immediately to seek other opportunities in racing. (BKB2 PR)(3-26-2006)
UPDATE: John Frattura has replaced Butch Hylton as the crew chief on the #12 Dodge Charger for FitzBradshaw Racing. Frattura was the car chief on the #14 Dodge Charger last year for David Stremme and held the same position for the first six races of the 2006 season.(Fitz-Bradshaw PR)(3-27-2006) - Earnhardt gets new crew chief: Lance Hooper has rejoined ThorSport Racing as crew chief for Kerry Earnhardt and the #13 Chevrolet Silverado. Hooper was previously crew chief at ThorSport in ’04, and has also been crew chief for Glynn Motorsports and Key Motorsports in the Truck Series. Hooper replaces interim crew chief Steve May, who will return to his duties as Director of Competition at ThorSport.(NASCAR PR)(3-27-2006)
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