March 29 – Today in Jayski’s NASCAR history

March 29, 2002

• • • Earnhardt Statue and Paintings/Prints: Ross Morgan, the Arizona-based sculptor selected to build the Dale Earnhardt Tribute, has officially signed on to the project and will be in Kannapolis for the next few days. Jennifer Woodford, Kannapolis’ public information officer, said the cost of the project is still to be determined. She said working out the details of the deal is one of the main reasons Morgan is in town. “This morning (Thursday) he signed a contract, so he is officially commissioned,” Woodford said. More than $20,000 has been raised for the project, and Woodford has said that should cover the cost of having the concept developed. Woodford said once Morgan completes the concept, planners should have a better idea of what the finished project will cost. The recent decision to place the statue downtown in Funderburk Park will cut down a lot on the final price of the project, Woodford said. Original plans had the statue being erected in Village Park, where the tribute was projected to cost upwards of $700,000. Morgan’s visit also allows him to check out the project’s new site. Funderburk Park, which likely will be renamed Dale Earnhardt Tribute Park, measures 140 by 207 feet. It’s off South Main Street between West A and West B Streets. Morgan said Funderburk Park works well with the mental concept he’s already developed. Woodford said among those Morgan met with were Earnhardt’s mother, Martha Earnhardt, and sister, Cathy Watkins, who is serving on a steering committee that is planning the project. Woodford said Morgan has not met with Earnhardt’s widow, Teresa Earnhardt. Ultimately the project’s concept will have to be approved by her.
      AND Other news: Phyllis Beaver, marketing director for Cannon Village, said NASCAR artist Sam Bass is hoping to get some of his artwork featuring Earnhardt to the visitors center prior to May’s NASCAR events at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Bass is planning to paint a mural that will be housed inside the visitors center. The painting should coincide somewhat with Morgan’s statue.(Independent Tribune)
      AND In a small town on the Choptank River, On Maryland’s Eastern Shore; lives an artist whose expressions are not only a labor of love, but also a daily struggle. Renowned artist George Wright recently unveiled his latest creation to the world: a chronicle of the life and times of the greatest NASCAR racer of all time-Dale Earnhardt. The print traces his life from childhood to the days before the tragedy that took him from us forever. This is a joint project between Wright and Tom Brown, founder of Tom Brown’s Rookie League; a non-profit instructional youth-sports program in Salisbury, MD. The Dale Earnhardt print was recently finished and is generating a lot of attention in the collector’s world. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the prints will benefit The Rookie League and it’s great work with teaching young children the fundamentals of sports while instilling sportsmanship and fair-play. A portion of the proceeds will also benefit the Dale Earnhardt Tribute Fund in Kannapolis, NC. More info on this print and others by white can be found at l-nsports.com.(3-29-2002)
    • New Fab Shop: Jerry Painter, formally of Robert Yates Racing and Andy Petree Racing is starting a fabrication shop called The Fab Shop and is looking for several fabricators. Thought with the recent layoff’s, this was a worthwhile post. Contact Painter at (704) 650-2660(3-29-2002)
    • Mayfield and Trickle test at Talladega for Evernham: #19-Jeremy Mayfield concluded a two-day test session at Talladega Superspeedway on Thursday. During the two-day test at Talladega, Mayfield was joined by veteran Dick Trickle in the #91 Dodge owned by Ray Evernham. “One reason we are here is to get our speedway program sorted out where it needs to be,” said Mayfield. “Dodge has certainly had a good year so far.”(Talladega Superspedway PR)(3-29-2002)
    • Martinsville Testing: #32-Ricky Craven and Raybestos Rookie-of-the-Year contenders #12-Ryan Newman and #48-Jimmy Johnson closed out two days of testing at Martinsville Speedway on Thursday afternoon. Testing resumes Monday when #8-Dale Earnhardt Jr., #9-Bill Elliott, #15-Michael Waltrip, #4-Mike Skinner and #59-Randy Renfrow hit the track for a two-day session.(Martinsville Speedway PR)(3-29-2002)
    • Teresa Earnhardt – Outstanding Mother of the Year: Teresa Earnhardt, the CEO of Dale Earnhardt, Inc. — the racing and business conglomerate that fields three NASCAR Winston Cup Series race teams [#’s 1,8,15] — has been cited as an “Outstanding Mother of the Year” for 2002 by the National Mother’s Day Commitee. Earnhardt, the widow of seven-time Winston Cup champion Dale Earnhardt and the founder of the organization that bears his name, is one of six women from the entertainment, sports, business and television fields honored by the committee.(NASCAR.com)(3-29-2002)
    • Mechanix Wear to sponsor Pit Crew of the Year Award: Mechanix Wear announced that it will sponsor an official NASCAR Winston Cup Series year-end award to honor the best pit crew for the 2002 season. The Mechanix Wear Pit Crew of the Year Award is a $75,000 prize awarded to the winning pit crew as selected by the crew chiefs in the Winston Cup Series. The winning crew will be chosen from 4 quarterly finalists which will be determined by a points awarded for finishes in the top 15 of each race. For more info and rules breakdown, see the NAPCM Site.(3-29-2002)
    • IWC draws record audience: The SPEED Channel show Inside Winston Cup with drivers Michael Waltrip, Johnny Benson and Ken Schrader joining host Allen Bestwick, drew its highest-ever audience on the motorsports cable channel, as 367,000 households tuned in Monday night. “The response to IWC has been very exciting,” said SPEED Channel president Jim Liberatore. “In fact, all of our new NASCAR programming has doubled and in some cases tripled the time period performance from last year. We are hoping that this new Speed Channel audience will not only enjoy our NASCAR presentations, but also enjoy all of the other diverse events that this channel offers. This from the beginning has been our goal, to expose the vast NASCAR audience to new and exciting forms of speed”. The show, which airs every Monday night from 7-8 p.m., drew a 0.73 rating number. (Speed Channel)(3-29-2002)

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