March 31, 2009
- GM Head Steps Down, could it effect NASCAR? George Richard “Rick” Wagoner Jr. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of General Motors resigned as Chairman and CEO at General Motors on March 29, 2009, at the request of the White House. During Wagoner’s tenure as CEO of General Motors, the market capitalization of GM has gone down by more than 90%. In 2008 Wagoner came under renewed pressure as GM sought financial support from the U.S. government in an attempt to avoid bankruptcy. Under Wagoner’s leadership, GM suffered more than $73 billion in losses.(AP)
AND: Despite just ousting General Motors’ chief executive, President Barack Obama Monday insisted “The United States government has no interest in running GM.” However the abrupt dismissal of Rick Wagoner, the well-respected executive (Duke, class of ’75) who has run GM for the past eight years, has shocked not only Detroit but the rest of the car market, including NASCAR’s North Carolina base. Yet during Wagoner’s run, GM stock fell from $60 a share to $1.27 a few weeks ago, and Obama says new leadership at GM is needed. During a 20-minute statement Monday in Washington, Obama laid out his game plan for reviving the American car industry. And it is very clear that Obama has agendas for both GM and Chrysler, the two car makers on the hotseat (Ford and Toyota have avoided the government’s spotlight), and Monday he pushed repeated for “cleaner” cars out of Detroit. That could well make NASCAR men squirm, because these race cars are certainly not visibly cutting edge at all – 358 cubic inch engines with carburetors, five or six mpg. It took NASCAR nearly 30 years even to make the switch to unleaded gasoline. Obama himself raised the word “bankruptcy,” and appeared to be bracing the American people for a GM bankruptcy – by trying to explain what he envisioned it would be: “A tool we can use, even as workers stay on the job building cars.”(much more at mikemulhern.net and more info at the Detroit Free Press), No word how any of this could effect NASCAR, there are rumors that Chevy/General Motors could leave NASCAR.(3-31-2009)
- McMurray trying to gain access to frozen accounts: #26-Jamie McMurray is trying to gain access to five investment accounts frozen in the multi-billion-dollar fraud investigation of Stanford Financial Group. Some of the funds in the accounts are used to pay expenses associated with his racing team, including employees, according to a filing in Dallas federal court. McMurray’s Chicago-based attorney did not respond to phone and email messages Monday evening. According to a filing in Dallas federal court, NASCAR driver Jamie McMurray will likely not have enough cash to take care of his income taxes by April. McMurray’s motion, filed late Friday, says he did purchase one of the problematic CDs from Stanford International Bank, but it is held independently from his frozen accounts. A total of more than $308,000 was deposited into two of McMurray’s accounts on Feb. 17 and 18. These were “direct cash deposits in connection with McMurray’s employment as a NASCAR driver and are unequivocally not connected with the alleged fraud,” his filing says. A Feb. 16 court order froze Stanford accounts. Since then, most accounts have been unlocked. But the court-appointed receiver is still sorting through accounts with possible links to the CDs. The filing said McMurray will likely have to file an extension on his income taxes because he doesn’t have enough cash available otherwise.(Dallas Morning News)(3-31-2009)
- Harvick set at RCR Thru 2010: #29-Kevin Harvick says rumors of his imminent free agency are greatly exaggerated. Although mentioned recently as a driver up for grabs after this season, “I have another year on my contract after this year [with Richard Childress Racing], so I’m not in the middle of all that stuff this year,” Harvick said. “So you can go ahead and check my name off that list. We have an extension in my contract that we signed about a year and a half ago. It goes through 2010.”(ESPN Insider)(3-31-2009)
- Special Scheme for Johnson at Texas: #48-Jimmie Johnson will showcase a special “Tough Tools for Cool Schools” paint scheme for the Samsung 500 at Texas Motor Speedway as a result of his assistance with a partnership between Kobalt Tools and SkillsUSA. Lowe’s and Kobalt Tools will help the next generation of skilled trade professionals by donating approximately $300,000 worth of Kobalt tools to more than 500 SkillsUSA building and construction trade classes and labs across the country. There are approximately 1,000 SkillsUSA chapters in Texas public schools and trade/technical schools. Texas SkillsUSA serves nearly 15,500 student and professional members who are enrolled in trade, technical, industrial and health occupation programs.(TMS PR), see an image of the scheme on the #48 Team Schemes page.(3-31-2009)
- Racing Resources Says …Sprint Cup Series:
* Jimmie Johnson won the Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway.
* Johnson became the fourth different race winner in 2009. Matt Kenseth won the first two races (Daytona and California). Kyle Busch won at Las Vegas and Bristol, and Kurt Busch won at Atlanta.
* Johnson, who started ninth Sunday, posted his 41st career Cup victory in 261 races. This was his fourth top-10 finish in six races this season. He remained 15th on NASCAR’s all-time win list.
* Johnson scored his sixth Martinsville victory in 15 races, including five of the past six races. He has scored top-10 finishes in the past 14 races at Martinsville, the longest current streak.
* Johnson posted his ninth victory in 44 races on the three short tracks (Bristol, Martinsville and Richmond). Six came at Martinsvile and three came at Richmond. He has never won at Bristol. He has scored 25 top-10s in 44 races on short tracks (57%).
* Johnson climbed from ninth to fourth in the point standings, the second week in 2009 that Johnson has been among the top 12. Johnson began the season ranked 31st after Daytona.
* Chad Knaus posted his 39th victory in his 282 Cup race as a crew chief. All 39 of his crew chief victories have come with Johnson.
* This is the 46th win by a Chevrolet in a Cup race at Martinsville.
* Hendrick Motorsports scored its 18th Martinsville victory, and 176th victory overall.
* All four Hendrick cars finished in the top 10: Johnson, first; Jeff Gordon, fourth; Mark Martin, seventh; Dale Earnhardt Jr., eighth.
* Hendrick Motorsports celebrated the 25th anniversary of its first win at Martinsville. Geoffrey Bodine scored Hendrick’s first win at Martinsville in April 1984.
* Johnson led twice for 42 laps in Sunday’s race, including the final 16 laps. He has led 1,216 of the last 3,510 laps raced in the past seven races at Martinsville (35%). He won five of those seven races.
* Denny Hamlin (second) scored his second straight top-10 finish. It marked his third top-10 finish in 2009.
* Tony Stewart (third) scored his best finish in 2009. It was his fourth top-10 in six races in 2009.
* Johnson teammate Gordon (fourth) has scored top-10 finishes in the past 13 races at Martinsville. Gordon has scored nine straight top-5s at Martinsville, the longest current streak. He has been running at the finish in all 33 of his races at Martinsville.
* Gordon leads the Cup point standings, by 89 over second-place Clint Bowyer. The four-time champ posted his sixth top-15 finish in 2009, the only driver to do so. He also extended his winless streak to 47 races, since October 2007 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.
* Gordon climbed to fifth all time in laps led at Martinsville with 2,760, trailing leader Cale Yarborough (3,851), Rusty Wallace (3,632), Darrell Waltrip (3,616) and Richard Petty (2,964).
* Clint Bowyer (fifth) extended a 79-race streak of running at the finish that began at Homestead in November 2006. Bowyer’s last DNF came at Phoenix on Nov. 12, 2006, when he finished 33rd due to oil-pump failure.
* Joey Logano (32nd) was the highest-finishing rookie contender among the two rookies in the race. Scott Speed finished 39th.
* The top 10 consisted of seven Chevrolets, one Ford, one Dodge and one Toyota.(ESPN)(3-31-2009) - Kyle Busch debuts NOS sponsorship for 2009: If he wins this weekend in the NASCAR Nationwide Series’ O’Reilly 300, [Kyle Busch] will have collected his third-straight series win at Texas Motor Speedway. Presently third in the Nationwide Series standings, Kyle takes to the wheel of the #18 NOS Energy Drink Toyota for the first of a 14-race schedule with NOS atop the hood and adorning the quarter panels of the Joe Gibbs Racing-built machine.(TrueSpeed Communications PR), See an image of the car on the #18 Nationwide Series paint schemes page.(3-31-2009)
- Johnny Davis Motorsports announces Texas sponsors: Danny O’Quinn’s #01 team to again carry www.Cash4Gold.Com/Racing primary sponsorship for this weekend’s O’Reilly 300 at Texas Motor Speedway. In additioin, Lowery Plumbing of Kerrville, Texas will again support Danny and Johnny this weekend and the team welcomes Bob & Bill Kapitan with Steve Poole representing the “Stew-Garitaville-Campground 4 row 82 Group’s Open House” this weekend. JC Stout will drive the www.sponsordavis.com #0 Chevy this weekend.(Hufco Promotion / JDM PR)(3-31-2009)
- Sellers ready for series debut: Peyton Sellers is not exactly a household name in NASCAR…yet. But anyone inside the sport will tell you that they have been watching this young man for years, building experience as a driver and respect as a person. On Saturday, April 4, the 25 year old will step into his #77 SFP Chevy at Texas Motor Speedway in one of NASCAR’s top series for the first of ten races this year.(Cardinal Motorsports PR)(3-31-2009)
- Dale Jr. running first Fastenal race of the year: This weekend will mark the first of a 14-race sponsorship package with Fastenal, America’s leading fastener distributer. #5-Dale Earnhardt, Jr. will share driving duties of the Fastenal Chevy throughout the year with Ryan Newman (four races) and Scott Wimmer (six races).(JR Motosports PR), see an image of the car on the #5 Nationwide Paint Schemes page.(3-31-2009)
- Hellmans on the #88 at Texas: This weekend will mark the first of three races in which Hellmann’s mayonnaise will be the primary sponsor for the JR Motorsports #88 Chevy. The additional events will be the June Nashville race and the October Charlotte race. At Charlotte, Keselowski will run the special “Hellmann’s Real Fan of the Year” paint scheme.(JR Motorsports PR)(3-31-2009)
- Congrats: #29-Holiday Inn Racing gasman and mechanic Thomas Costello celebrated the birth of his son Tyler Robert. Tyler was born Saturday evening shortly after 7:30 p.m. at Northeast Medical Center in Concord, N.C.(RCR PR)(3-31-2009)
- Leffler tests at Motor Mile: #38-Jason Leffler and the Great Clips team spent gearing up for the series’ upcoming short track races by testing at Motor Mile Speedway in Radford, VA on Monday.(Braun Racing PR)(3-31-2009)
- New look for Stott Racing: Andy Ponstein and Corrie Stott Racing will head to Texas with a new paint scheme for their #02 Chevy. The blue and white car you are used to seeing on track will now be red and white.(Corrie Stott Racing PR), See an image on the #02 Nationwide Series paint scheme page.(3-31-2009)
- Racing Resources says…
*Kevin Harvick won the Kroger 250 on Monday at Martinsville Speedway. It was his fourth series victory in his 97th race. His last victory came at Phoenix in November 2008.
*Harvick scored his first Truck series victory at Martinsville in his eighth race. It is his first series win at a track other than Phoenix.
*Chevrolet posted its seventh Truck series win at Martinsville and first since Bobby Labonte won there in 2005.
*Kevin Harvick Inc. scored its 16th series victory and its first at Martinsville.
*Harvick, who started sixth, became the third winner in the four races of 2009. He led only once. It was the 14th race at Martinsville, including the past four, when the race winner led only once.
*Ron Hornaday finished second. Monday’s race was the third career 1-2 finish for KHI.
*Kyle Busch was running second with four laps to go but was penalized for a commitment-line violation after trying to fix his fender by rubbing up against the inside wall on the backstretch. Busch finished 17th.
*Both Busch and Todd Bodine (18th) ended streaks of finishing in the top 10. Busch had finished in the top 10 in his previous 15 starts. Bodine had finished in the top 10 in his previous nine starts.
*Four drivers made their series debut: Ryan Sieg (34th), Mikey Kile (12th), Dillon Oliver (30th) and Brett Butler (26th).
*James Buescher (11th) was the highest-finishing rookie contender among the six rookies in the race.
*The top 10 consisted of four Toyotas, five Chevrolets and one Ford. The best Dodge finished 23rd.(ESPN.com)(3-31-2009)
2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 | 1998 | 1997