MARTINSVILLE, VA - OCTOBER 24: Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Express Toyota, and Marcos Ambrose, driver of the #47 Dollar General Country Million Sweepstakes Toyota, lead the field to the green flag to start the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series TUMS Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway on October 24, 2010 in Martinsville, Virginia. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCAR) | Getty Images
MARTINSVILLE, VA - OCTOBER 24: Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Express Toyota, and Marcos Ambrose, driver of the #47 Dollar General Country Million Sweepstakes Toyota, lead the field to the green flag to start the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series TUMS Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway on October 24, 2010 in Martinsville, Virginia. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCAR) | Getty Images
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March 29 – Today in Jayski’s NASCAR history

March 29, 2020 at 6:00 AM

March 29, 2004

      • Testing at Martinsville: hearing #19-Jeremy Mayfield and #9-Kasey Kahne are testing at Martinsville Speedway today.(3-29-2004)
      • Elliott Dirt Tracking: Bill Elliott raced on dirt Saturday night at Volunteer Speedway in Bulls Gap, TN. He qualified 33rd-fastest, but failed to qualify for the evening’s feature race after crashing during his heat.(www.volunteerspeedway.com – site down).(3-29-2004)
      • Hawk to NASCAR’s Diversity Program? UPDATE: hearing that NASCAR is going to or has hired Don Hawk to help with its diversity programs. Hawk is President of Hawk Sports Management which provides consultative services in the area of endorsements, product licensing, sport celebrity appearances, marketing concepts, and sponsorship programs to a diverse client base including NASCAR drivers, teams, race tracks, various racing entities, Professional Golfers and Tournaments and Licensing and Marketing Companies. The first two clients added on February 19, 2000 were Dale Earnhardt and NASCAR. Since that time, Hawk Sports Management has added to its list of clientele and grown into a diverse sports management company. Hawk was also General Manager for Alan Kulwicki Racing and President of Dale Earnhardt, Inc., More info at www.hawk-sports.com.(3-24-2004)
        UPDATE: NASCAR is expected to announce that former Dale Earnhardt Inc. president Don Hawk will join its competition segment, working in racing development.(FoxSports/Sporting News)(3-29-2004)
      • Update on the New Ford Engine Heads UPDATE: Even though the NASCAR Ford Racing teams were granted a new cylinder head at the end of the 2003 season, the piece has not yet made an appearance in a Cup event. Reliability testing is the final hurdle as the engine builders work to ensure that the new piece is as robust as the old one. The old head, with its roots dating back to the very early 1990’s, is certainly a proven piece that shows few failures in the casting. It is this reliability that Doug Yates and the Ford engine group are trying to translate into the new part. Slowing the process, however, is the fact that the teams need to race every week, and that alone creates a considerable amount of work with which the engine builders keep up. “Yes we have been working on the new heads. That’s what we see as our future,” Doug Yates told Team Ford Racing. “To this point we’ve worked extremely hard on our restrictor plate engines and did well and we’ve worked extremely hard at getting enough engines in the system to get to the race track with this current engine. That set us back a little bit on the production of our new engine. We know what we need and it’s coming soon. The problem right now is that we’ve got a pretty good package with that engine, we’ve just got to get the new package tested and race track proven before we jump out there and have problems. The number one goal is to not have any failures.” With event points as difficult as they are to come by Yates’ approach of maintaining reliability is vital. TFR asked Yates about the option of transient dyno cells, which can torture an engine using real data gathered from a test session to manipulate the throttle and load as it would if a driver was manipulating the pedal in the car. “We don’t have a transient dyno,” Yates said of his engine shop facilities. “Some of the teams do and that’s probably a real advantage. Ford Motor Company actually has one that’s at our disposal.” Yates then suggested that some ancillary issues could arise out of the use of a transient dyno, issues that could lead a builder on a wild chase. Giving an estimate as to when the new cylinder head might make its first appearance, Yates speculated, “I think Fontana is a pretty good date for when we need to have something on the race track. That’s four or five weeks out right now.”(in part from Ford Racing)(3-27-2004)
        UPDATE – More on Ford cylinder heads: Robert Yates, whose organization fields cars driven by Dale Jarrett and Elliott Sadler, is eager to run the new Team Ford Racing cylinder heads, but the current port heights don’t fit NASCAR regulations. Ford hopes the new engine can make its debut at the May 2 race at California Speedway.(FoxSports/Sporting News)(3-29-2004)
      • Kennseth vs. McMurray: #17-Matt Kenseth and #42-Jamie McMurray traded bumps in the closing laps and then McMurray spun Kenseth’s #17 DeWalt Ford on pit road after the race was completed. Kenseth “hit me two or three times going into Turn 1 when we took the green. He’s not typically like that,” McMurray said. “I got into him a little bit, trying to get him out of the way so I could get by him. It’s just one of those deals. I’m shocked Matt acted that way.” Of the post-race spin, McMurray said: “You can’t really get out and punch somebody in our sport, so I just wanted him to know I was mad.” Kenseth said he simply was retaliating on the track to McMurray’s moves. “He just knocked me out of the groove and I did the same to him,” Kenseth said. “They say nice guys finish last, I guess. “He didn’t wreck. I didn’t wreck, except for when he wrecked me on pit road.” Kenseth and McMurray and their crew chiefs were all called to the hauler. A penalty is likely for McMurray’s spin after the race.(ThatsRacin.com)(3-29-2004)
      • A Short Track Streak: Kurt Busch is fourth driver to win at least three straight Bristol races. Darrell Waltip won seven in a row at one point. Cale Yarborough won four straight and Fred Lorenzen won three in a row. The last driver to win three straight races at one short track was Rusty Wallace, who won both races in 1994 and the first race in 1995 at Martinsville.(ThatsRacin.com)(3-29-2004)
      • Sad News: Farris Frazier, father of Busch Series crew chief Bryant Frazier and Susan Grissom, wife of 1993 Busch Series champion Steve Grissom, died March 26,2004 in Gadsden, Alabama.  Funeral services were held March 29. Bryant Frazier is crew chief for Labonte Motorsports and Team Coast Guard driver Justin Labonte.(Labonte Motorsports PR)(3-29-2004)
      • Sad News – Journalist dies: Tom Hodge, editorial director of the Johnson City Press, collapsed and died at the track Saturday while working as a volunteer for the Kiwanis Club. Hodge, 74, began his newspaper career as an 18-year-old sportswriter.(Tennessean)(3-29-2004)
      • Sad News: Thirty-two year old Sonny Sayre of Proctor, AR, passed away late last night after suffering critical injuries in Saturday night’s season-opening American Sprint Car Series National Tour event at Delta Bowl Speedway in Tunica, MS.(ascsracing.com)(3-29-2004)
      • Sad News: Farris Frazier, father of Busch Series crew chief Bryant Frazier and Susan Grissom, wife of 1993 Busch Series champion Steve Grissom, died March 26,2004 in Gadsden, Alabama.  Funeral services were held March 29. Bryant Frazier is crew chief for Labonte Motorsports and Team Coast Guard driver Justin Labonte.(Labonte Motorsports PR)(3-29-2004)
      • Reed Sorenson Set for Run at ASA Championship and run some Busch races: 18-year-old driving sensation Reed Sorenson may be returning to familiar territory when the 2004 ASA Racing season kicks off this Saturday at USA International Speedway in Lakeland, Fla., but one thing is for sure – almost everything around him has changed. Sorenson, the 2003 ASA Rookie of the Year, will be sporting a new car with new colors in addition to having some major sponsorship backing. Sorenson will pilot the #29 Target/Texaco/Havoline Dodge for RSR Racing full time in ASA competition this season. Veteran crew chief Gene Roberts has been added to help guide the 18-year-old to the 2004 ASA Championship. “I’m really excited about getting things started this year,” Sorenson said. “Gene is going to bring a lot of information to this team and I’m looking forward to working with him. I’m also very excited to have Target and Texaco/Havoline supporting me this year. Being part of Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates is definitely an honor for me. Hopefully we can deliver everyone with a championship this year.” Sorenson, who is part of the driver development program at Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates, also plans to test the water in several other racing series during the 2004 season. Through a collaborative effort with Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates, Sorenson will compete in select ARCA and NASCAR Busch Series races in 2004. For more information on Reed Sorenson, please visit www.reedsorenson.com.(Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates PR)(3-29-2004)

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