March 30 – Today in Jayski’s NASCAR history

March 30, 2009

• • • Johnson testifies in Castroneves tax trial #48-Jimmie Johnson was the leadoff defense witness Monday in the Helio Castroneves tax evasion trial, testifying that a lawyer who is also charged in the case has a sterling reputation in the motorsports world. Johnson said Michigan lawyer Alan Miller has many clients in NASCAR and the Indy Racing League, a circuit where the Brazilian-born Castroneves is a top driver. Both Castroneves and Johnson have received financial guidance from Miller. “Alan’s reputation is about honesty. His character is second to none,” Johnson testified in a 10-minute appearance. “He’s given me great advice.” Miller, 71, is charged with conspiracy and tax evasion for allegedly helping Castroneves, 33, and the driver’s business manager-sister, 35-year-old Katiucia, avoid U.S. taxes on some $5.5 million from 1999 to 2004. All three face more than six years in prison if convicted. Prosecutors rested their case Monday after four weeks of testimony, much of it focused on Miller’s role in handling financial arrangements when Castroneves was hired by Penske Racing in late 1999. Prosecutors say the deal illegally avoided U.S. taxes on $5 million of the Penske money, which first was earmarked for a Panamanian shell corporation and then wound up in a Dutch deferred compensation account. Johnson, 33, said Miller – a former professional football player and former NFL Players Association lawyer – has represented him for about 12 years and came widely recommended by racing industry leaders. “I needed help to grow in my career. Alan was that guy for me,” said Johnson.(Associated Press)(3-30-2009)
  • • Race & Commercial Breakdown of the Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500
      Total number of commercials: 127
      Total number of companies or entities advertised: 68
      Total number of brief promos of products/services during the race broadcast: 99
      Start time to record race/commercial periods: 2:00 PM
      End time to record race/commercial periods: 5:43 PM
      Total minutes: 223
      Minutes of race broadcast: 166
      Minutes of commercials: 57
      Number of missed restarts: 1 and two close calls
      Number of beer cans that brought out a caution: 1
      Total race brdcst time 166 Total comm. brdcst time 57
      See more and full report on my 2009 TV Commercials Page.(3-30-2009)
  • • MyAutoLoan.com to sponsor Andretti at Texas: myAutoloan.com will be the primary sponsor of the #34 Front Row Motorsports entry driven by John Andretti at Texas Motor Speedway, for NASCAR’s Sprint Cup race, the Samsung 500. “I look forward to driving the #34 myAutoloan.com Chevrolet Impala at Texas Motor Speedway,” commented driver John Andretti. “The guys in the shop have spent a lot of time the last couple of weeks getting the car ready for the race and branding it for myAutoloan.com this weekend. Texas is a fast track and we have a great car, I’m confident we will put together a superior effort.” For more information about myAutoloan.com please visit myAutoloan.com. “We are grateful for the support of myAutoloan.com for the Texas race,” said Front Row Motorsports team owner Bob Jenkins. “There is no doubt the Sprint Cup Series is as tough as it has ever been, but great partners like myAutoloan.com, make it possible for us to go to the track week after week.”(PR Leap)(3-30-2009)
  • • Martinsville Overnight TV Ratings: NASCAR on Fox charted a 4.1/9 on Sunday for the race from Martinsville Speedway. That matches last weekend’s Bristol rating, but it’s down -16% compared to last year’s 4.9/10 for the Martinsville race. Early tune-in, while down -10% (3.8/9 vs. 4.2/10), was a little better than in recent weeks. The race rating grew by +35% from start-to-finish, which is a normal in-race build. The Martinsville race faced formidable competition from both the NCAA Tournament (5.9/13 early, 7.7/15 late) and the Bay Hill Invitational (4.9/10), which was won by Tiger Woods. Season-to-date, NASCAR On FOX is averaging a 5.3/11 in the overnights, -15% off last year’s pace (6.2/12). For each race, see my 2009 TV Ratings page.(3-30-2009)
  • • Retro Pepsi image at ‘Dega for Gordon UPDATE: The year was 1983 when Darrell Waltrip took to the track in the Pepsi Challenger Chevy. Waltrip had won back-to-back titles and was trying for three in a row when PepsiCo changed the primary sponsor on his car from Mountain Dew to its signature brand before the season. Waltrip failed to win the title that year. At Talladega, Jeff Gordon will go retro with Waltrip’s 1983 paint scheme on his car.(gordonline.com)(3-10-2009)
      UPDATE: #24-Jeff Gordon will drive a special retro “Pepsi Challenger” #24 paint scheme Chevy in Talladega on April 26, 2009. Inspired by Darrell Waltrip’s Pepsi Challenger of the 1980’s this car will feature retro Pepsi logos and a white and yellow scheme.(JeffGordon.com), see images of the scheme on my #24 Team Schemes page.(3-30-2009)
  • • Grooved Tires at Martinsville? many readers noticed grooved tires stacked in the garage area of Martiinsville Speedway and asked if NASCAR was thinig of using rain tires, the answer to that is NO. Goodyear provides the teams a special grooved tire [for easy identification] that is used while the cars are moved around when the actual racing tires are not available to them.(ESPN)(3-30-2009)
  • • Did Not Finish Streak and stats: #33-Bowyer has been running at the finish in 79 consecutive races, the longest current streak, only 2 races behind the modern era record of #29-Harvick who had 81 until DNFing at California in Feb 2009, next up is #48-Johnson at 30 consecutive races. The all-time record for the longest streak of NOT having an DNF is 84 races held by Herman Beam from April 30, 1961 thru March 10, 1963 [Beam didn’t run all the races, but didn’t DNF in 84 straight consecutive races that he ran]. Kevin Harvick holds the modern era (1972-present) record at 81 [he also has the 2nd longest at 58], then Jeff Gordon at 56 and Dale Earnhardt at 53 [Indy in 1996 thru Martinsville in the spring of 1998.(3-29-2009)
  • • Mike Brown named GM at TRG: Mike Brown has been named General Manager of The Racers Group NASCAR program. Brown was GM at Bill Davis Racing [#22 Toyota] for the last 12 years and watched the operation expand from 19 employees with a single Cup operation to a workforce of 300 that also fielded multiple truck teams, including last year’s series champion Johnny Benson. “I feel like my experience with Bill and Gail (Davis) is a good fit for what Kevin (team owner Buckler) and Debra have started. I have the perfect template for helping them grow,” Brown said. TRG currently fields the #71 Chevy with David Gilliland in Sprint Cup and J.R. Fitzgerald in the #7 Tundra in the Camping World Truck Series. Slugger Labbe and Butch Hylton serve as crew chiefs for the teams.(FoxSports)(3-30-2009)
  • • No Sponsor for Almirola after Texas: Aric Almirola, who has a commitment from Earnhardt Ganassi Racing to field the #8 Chevy through next week’s race at Texas Motor Speedway, still needs sponsorship for the April 18 race at Phoenix International Raceway. Earnhardt Ganassi Racing President Steve Lauletta said he had “nothing new to report” when asked if sponsorship had been secured for Almirola and if Almirola was going to be able to go to Phoenix. Almirola had been scheduled to run the full season at Dale Earnhardt Inc., and after the DEI merger with Chip Ganassi Racing in November, he was named as the driver of the #8 car. But the organization has had to put together sponsorship to keep that team going.(SceneDaily)(3-30-2009)
  • • Bristol Officials Reviewing Saturday Night Special: Bristol Motor Speedway vice-president of events Wayne Estes said the process of selecting the legends field dictated that Bristol winners at the Cup or Busch/Nationwide Series level would compete, and none would be “full-time” competitors in either series. “This gave us the opportunity to keep Terry Labonte in the field,” Estes said. “Considering his ties to the two most famous finishes in our history, we wanted Terry in the race.” As is the case with all events at the track, Estes and BMS staff will review options for improving the legends show. “Clearly, we learned a lot that will be applied if we do this again,” Estes said. “The question now is, do the fans want to see it again. Most of them tell us that they do, with some adjustments. “I talked to Cale Yarborough and his comment was, “‘Take the young guys out and let just us old guys race.”‘ That seems to be the prevailing feeling, and open it up beyond Bristol winners so that Buddy Baker and Ricky Rudd can take part.” In retrospect, Estes admitted that the Saturday Night Special could have more been compelling with additional planning and tinkering.(Bristol Herald Courier)(3-30-2009)
    • Brian Scott to run some Nationwide races: Camping World Truck Series driver Brian Scott told Sirius NASCAR Radio’s Sirius Speedway Monday that he hopes to run a limited number of Nationwide Series events, beginning at Nashville, for a team to be announced. “I can’t much yet because it’s not totally signed, sealed and delivered,” said Scott. “But I’m pretty confident that it’s going to happen.”(3-30-2009)
  • • Raybestos Rookie Notes for Texas: …Justin Allgaier was the Raybestos Rookie of the Race in the Scotts Turf Builder 300 at Bristol. Allgaier scored a fifth-place finish, his first top-five in eight NASCAR Nationwide Series races and his second consecutive top-10. He claimed Raybestos® Rookie of the Race honors for the first time this season and became the first freshman driver to finish in the top-five since 2005.
      …Brendan Gaughan won the pole at Bristol, his first in five Nationwide Series starts. Gaughan’s best previous qualifying effort was 11th-place earlier this season at Auto Club Speedway.
      …Two Raybestos Rookies led at Bristol: Gaughan and Michael Annett. Gaughan led once for six laps and has led at least one lap in the last two consecutive races. Annett led once for one lap, the first lap he had led in five career Nationwide Series starts.
      …At least one Raybestos Rookie has now scored top-10 finishes in three of the first four races this season.
      …Allgaier leads Brendan Gaughan by one point (45-44) in the Raybestos Rookie standings entering the O’Reilly 300 at Texas.
      …Dario Franchitti was the Raybestos Rookie of the Race in the 2008 O’Reilly 300, scoring an 11th-place finish. Franchitti also led the race once for one lap and was the only first-year driver to lead the race.(Raybestos/Camp & Assoc. PR)(3-30-2009)
  • • New team, BNB Racing plans to make first start at Memphis: BNB Racing, a newly formed team based out of Southhampton, New Jersey plans to attempt at least four races in 2009 starting with the June 27th race at Memphis Motorsports Park. Driver is Paul Bamburak in the #34-Chevy with crew chief, Steve Herbert.(BnB Racing)(3-30-2009)
  • • Cook needs backing to get to Kansas: #25-Terry Cook is still hoping to land at least enough sponsorship to get to Kansas. His HT Motorsports group only committed to field Cook’s Toyota for the season’s first four races if more sponsorship couldn’t be procured. Cook’s truck has been underwritten by team owner Jim Harris’ Lynchburg, Va.-based Harris Trucking Co. so far this season, but the driver doesn’t expect that to continue. “As long as we can keep the momentum of racing well together, hopefully, we’ll continue to race,” Cook said. “We have a lot riding on this weekend whether we put funding together or have a great run to get to Kansas. Even though we’ve got Harris Trucking on the side of the truck, it’s Jim Harris that owns the team and it’s a self-funded team.” Cook is off to a solid start this season. After three races, the series veteran has two top-10s and is seventh in points.(SceneDaily.com)(3-30-2009)
  • • Bliss making 200th start at Martinsville: During the broadcast on Saturday, it was noted that Mike Bliss will be making his 200th career start in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. When he starts the race, he will become the 8th driver with at least 200 starts in the series.(3-30-2009)

2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 | 1998 | 1997