March 29 – Today in Jayski’s NASCAR history

March 29, 2007

• • • Where is Bill Brodrick? who? The Hat Man.. since I get asked about him a few times a month and even have a section for the question in my Racing FAQ’s [#27]….the lastest. He’s been to more Victory Lanes than Richard Petty, David Pearson, Dale Earnhardt and Jeff Gordon combined. Officially, Bill “The Hat Man” Brodrick was in charge of public relations for Unocal’s racing division. He’s remembered, however, as the burly guy with a lion’s mane of coiffed hair and beard to match who was in charge of Victory Lane. His celebrations were orchestrated with the finely tuned precision of a symphony conductor. Brodrick was almost always the first person to a winner’s car once it got to racing’s version of the Promised Land, and as a result, he was almost always on television for at least a few seconds. Unocal was bought out in 1997. Although he’d been with the company just a few weeks shy of 29 years, at the end of the season, Brodrick was shown the door. Afterward, he refused to be a “hanger on,” who begs for passes. He operated Tavern at the Bridge in Algonquin, Ill., for four years and then turned it over to his son. “My son talked me into it, and my wife, of course, was on my son’s side,” Brodrick said of his decision to buy the bar. “This place was available, and my son knew it real well. To make a long story short, I bought that saloon and had to go to work. My son runs the business now and it’s doing quite well. It was work. I’d never worked that hard in all my life.” He still handles a few things here and there with the tavern, and he’s also a contract driver for a courier company. Brodrick stays as busy as he wants to be. Read full story on NASCAR.com.(3-29-2007)
    • Raines tests at Caraway: #96-Tony Raines and the Hall of Fame Racing Team headed to Caraway on Tuesday, March 27, to shake down the #96 DLP HDTV Chevy Impala SS [COT] in preparation for Sunday’s Goody’s Cool Orange 500 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. Both tracks are similar in layout, and Raines is hoping the one-day test session will lead to a productive weekend at Martinsville. Officials from DLP HDTV donated 80 tickets for this weekends Goody’s Cool Orange 500 to members of the Virginia Army National Guard and their families.(HOF Racing)(3-29-2007)
    • Testing at Greenville: many teams tested recently at Greenville Pickens Speedway in S.C. including #18-J.J. Yeley [3/27], #41-Reed Sorensen [3/27], #84-A.J. Allmendinger [3/28-3/29].(3-29-2007)
    • USG colors for Kenseth at Martinsville: #17-Matt Kenseth will run the USG Sheetrock paint scheme this weekend for the first of three races this season (Chicago in July and Texas in November). (Roush Racing), see scheme on my #17 Team Schemes page.(3-29-2007)
    • Martinsville Rookie News and Notes: #6-David Ragan was the Raybestos Rookie of the Race in the March 25 Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Ragan scored a 26th-place finish and took top rookie honors for the third time in five races this season. · Ragan and #42-Juan Montoya are tied (57-57) for the lead in the Raybestos Rookie standings entering the April 1 Goody’s Cool Orange 500 at Martinsville Speedway. Montoya is 19th in the Nextel Cup Series championship standings, best of any Raybestos Rookie. The Goody’s Cool Orange 500 will be race No. 3 in the Raybestos Rookie Magnificent Seven program. The Raybestos Rookie of the Race normally pays $1,500 but that increases to $5,000 at seven designated races throughout the 2007 season. Ragan (Daytona) and Montoya (Las Vegas) have each captured the bonus once this season. Other races where the bonus is available: Darlington (May 12), Infineon (June 24), Chicagoland (July 15), and Bristol (August 25). Morgan Shepherd is the only Raybestos Rookie to win the Goody’s Cool Orange 500 (since 1975). Shepherd won the 1981 event, outlasting the late Neil Bonnett to score his first Nextel Cup Series win. The most recent Raybestos Rookie to score a top-10 finish in the Goody’s Cool Orange 500 is Jeff Gordon, who placed eighth in 1993. Tony Stewart [1999] is the only Raybestos Rookie to win the pole for the Goody’s Cool Orange 500 (since 1975). Denny Hamlin is the only Raybestos Rookie to qualify for the Chase for the Nextel Cup since the program was created in 2004. At least one Raybestos Rookie has won a Bud Pole in each of the last 11 years (1996-2006).(Camp and Assoc/Raybestos PR), and see standings and more on my 2007 Rookie News, Notes and Standings page.(3-29-2007)
    • Justin Labonte to Compete in Grand National Series: Justin Labonte, a former Busch Series winner, is back behind the wheel this weekend. Labonte will be competing in the Allstate Texas Thunder 150 Saturday at the .375-mile Thunderhill Raceway located in Kyle, Texas. Part of the NASCAR Grand National West Series, Labonte will be driving the Mainstreet Homes Chevy for Midgley Motorsports. Maintsreet Homes is central Texas’ largest locally owned homebuilder. Justin’s father, Terry Labonte, will also be participating in the weekend’s festivities. He will be the Grand Marshal of the 150-lap event. He will also drive the pace car for the start of the race. Justin Labonte participates in this weekend’s event as he continues to search for opportunities in the Craftsman Truck and Busch Series.(Labonte Racing PR)(3-29-2007)
    • Sears Craftsman brand drives relationship in store: Sears and its Craftsman brand are making sure its customers are aware its sponsorship of the Craftsman Truck Series by installing racing-themed signs in tool departments at 861 Full-line Sears stores nationwide. The sign package features scenes of Craftsman Truck Series racing and pit stops, and includes cash register station wraps, threshold signs at entrances, hanging banners and tool box toppers. The sign package is just one part of a major activation program connected with Craftsman’s NASCAR association. In addition, Craftsman reaches out to race fans at-track with an 8,000-square-foot mobile interactive marketing display that features simulators, games involving skills and tools needed for pit stops, information on new and innovative Craftsman tools and a cutaway version of a Craftsman Truck Series race truck. These efforts complement an extensive advertising campaign and NASCAR references in Craftsman catalogs and Craftsman Club mailers.(Craftsman PR)(3-29-2007)
    • Rick Allen & Phil Parsons in the booth for Fox broadcast: UPDATE: Fox to broadcast first-ever Truck Series race: During a Sirius Radio interview with driver, Brendan Gaughan [#77], Gaughan mentioned that Speed/TV’s Rick Allen and Phil Parsons will be in the booth for the Fox TV broadcast from Martinsville Speedway on Saturday, March 31st beginning at 3:00 pm/et.(3-23-2007)
      UPDATE: Craftsman Truck Series action races on to FOX this Saturday, March 31 live from Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Virginia. Saturday’s race marks the first of two NCTS events to air on FOX this season, while the remainder of the series is televised by FOX Sports’ cable brother SPEED/TV. Coverage gets underway at 3:00 pm/et from FOX’s renowned “Hollywood Hotel” traveling studio, and is hosted by the network’s Chris Myers and Jeff Hammond. From there, coverage shifts to the broadcast booth where SPEED’s race announcer Rick Allen and analyst Phil Parsons handle race coverage alongside FOX’s Darrell Waltrip. Covering the action from pit road are SPEED’s reporters Adam Alexander and Ray Dunlap. They are joined by former colleague Krista Voda, who covered Truck Series pit road action on SPEED/TV last season before joining FOX’s Nextel Cup broadcast team this season.(Fox Sports PR)(3-29-2007)

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