April 1 – Today in Jayski’s NASCAR history - Jayski's NASCAR Silly Season Site

Ward looking to race again: Ward Burton was back in the garage at Martinsville Speedway on Friday wishing he were wearing a driving suit instead of jeans. “I’ve been carrying on some communication, seeing what kind of dominoes need to fall to get back in,” he said, adding that he no longer is as insistent on getting a Nextel Cup ride as he was last year. “I’m getting a little more open-minded to the possibility of another series,” he said, indicating that he’d be willing to make a comeback in the Craftsman Truck or Busch series. Burton, a five-time Cup winner who hasn’t raced since the fall race at Phoenix in 2004, said he enjoyed his year layoff, but he’s ready for it to end. “I had a whole year to get a good breather, and I probably needed it,” he said. “But when it got close to Daytona and I wasn’t testing and doing appearances, I started having a longing, like I had lost a friend in my heart.”(Atlanta Journal-Constitution)(4-1-2006)

Been Asked…about Steve Byrnes UPDATE: As you may have noticed, NASCAR on FOX pit reporter Steve Byrnes’ left eye has been swollen, and he was not part of the Nextel Cup broadcast from Bristol. On Sunday, he was hospitalized with a viral infection in his left sinus cavity that will not respond to oral antibiotics. In the past three weeks, Steve has visited five different doctors and has been placed on four different oral antibiotics, none of which improved the situation. Dr. Jerry Petty, a trusted physician in the NASCAR community, insisted that Steve depart Bristol Sunday morning and go to Presbyterian Hospital in Charlotte for an office visit that Dr. Petty had arranged with a specialist. Doctors have run a CT scan to see how far the infection has spread, and he has been put on “gorilla-strength” I.V. antibiotics. Steve and his family thank you for your notes of concern and will try to keep you posted as his recovery continues.(FoxSports)(3-28-2006)
UPDATE: on Speed Channel’s NASCAR Live, John Robert’s mentioned that Byrnes’ is out of the hospital, responding to the medication and hopes to be back at the track in Texas.(Speed Channel’s NASCAR Live)(3-31-2006)
COLUMN: Check out Steve Brynes’ column on FoxSports: ‘Family’ support helped through eye ordeal which explains what he went thru and his plans.(4-1-2006)

‘Craftsman For A Cure’ Announced at Martinsville: Craftsman Motorsports in conjunction with Bobby Hamilton Racing will host the ‘Craftsman For A Cure’ charity event which will support the American Cancer Society Relay for Life and the Victory Junction Gang Camp. ‘Craftsman For A Cure’ will give race fans the opportunity to live their racing dream, to meet and race fender-to-fender with some of their favorite NASCAR drivers at NASCAR SpeedPark in Concord, N.C., while also helping out two very important charities on May 23rd. More info on my Racing Charities Page.(4-1-2006)

Schrader Book Released: Motorsports publisher Coastal 181 has announced the release of GOTTA RACE!, the autobiography of popular Nextel Cup driver Ken Schrader. The book was written with Joyce Standridge and includes forewords by Rick Hendrick and Bones Bourcier. GOTTA RACE! is the latest in Coastal 181’s series of race driver biographies, which has included RICHIE! (Richie Evans), BUGSY! (Bugsy Stevens), They Called Me ‘The Shoe’ (Ken Shoemaker), and Life Wide Open (Dave Dion). More info on my Bookstore Page.(4-1-2006)

15 Minute Penalties dished out: #01-Nemechek, #5-Busch and #43-Labonte were all penalized 15 minutes of practice time at Martinsville Speedway on Friday as the teams were amonished for being late for inspection last week at Bristol.(MRN Radio Qualifying Coverage)(4-1-2006)

Kenseth: My Fault: Matt Kenseth disagreed with NASCAR’s decision to fine Gordon $10,000 and place him on probation for shoving Kenseth at Bristol. “The deal was my fault,” Kenseth said. “I made a mistake and I should have known better than to go over there and try to apologize.”(Dallas Morning News)(4-1-2006)
Qualifying for the Kroger 250 is over: Hamilton Jr. breaks record (top five)
#18-Bobby Hamilton Jr. 95.180
#6-Mark Martin Scotts Ford 95.161
#07-Clint Bowyer 95.103
#14-Rick Crawford 94.836
#50- David Ragan 94.836
#1st Toyota (6th) #12-Joey Miller
#1st Rookie (6th) #12-Joey Miller
Going home: #70 Tam Topham, #40 Chad Chaffin, #63 Justin Martz
Top six drivers all break previous qualifying speed record
For complete starting lineup visit:truckseries.com(4-1-2006)

Darnell rookie of the race, 4 in a row: Erik Darnell was the top finishing Raybestos rookie at every race held so far this season. Where the rest finished; East 13th, Miller 16th, Almirola 18th, Earnhardt 20th, McCumbee 21st, Krisiloff 23rd, Crocker 25th, Richardson 28th, Kinser 29th, Reid 31st. (Raybestos PR)(4-3-2006)

Starr wins at Martinsville: David Starr, driving the #11 Red Horse Toyota stayed free of the cautions Saturday at Martinsville Speedway to win the Kroger 250.There were a record 16 cautions during the race, including a red flag. Starr led 121 laps. It was Starr’s fourth career victory. His previous best finish at Martinsville was eighth. Starr moved to fifth in points. Mark Martin, who finished fourth, leads the point standings. Ted Musgrave was second and moved to second in points.(nascar.com)(4-1-2006)

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April 1 – Today in Jayski’s NASCAR history