April 1, 2003
- And the Race to the Yellow Flag rule UPDATE: Defending Texas champ Matt Kenseth was running in first when the caution flag was waved at the end of 168th lap. Kenseth slowed before the line to allow Roush teammate Kurt Busch to get a lap back. Ricky Rudd, who was two laps down, and second-place driver Jeff Gordon went racing by as well. After NASCAR reviewed the move, Kenseth was restored to the lead, ahead of Gordon, and both Busch and Rudd got their laps back. “There’s a gentlemen’s agreement not to pass for position, but if he chooses to let the guys have a lap back, the gentlemen’s agreement is out the door,” said Gordon, who finished third.(ThatsRacin.com/AP)
AND It’s not often you see Jeff Gordon get riled up, but the four-time Winston Cup champion has had it with NASCAR’s rule of racing back to the start-finish line when a caution comes out. How that rule is enforced came into question Sunday when Gordon passed leader Matt Kenseth as they reached the line to start a caution midway through the race. Gordon, who was running second, moved ahead of Kenseth when Kenseth slowed down to let drivers Kurt Busch and Ricky Rudd by him and get back on the lead lap. But Gordon moved ahead of Kenseth to keep the other two drivers a lap down. NASCAR officials ruled that Kenseth still would be the leader, Gordon would be second and Busch and Rudd would get their lap back. “Someone will have to explain that one to me,” Gordon said. “It’s frustrating. Just because the leader may want to let them have their lap back, it doesn’t mean everybody else behind him has to let them have a lap back. The next guy in line can choose. I did. I was the leader when we crossed the line.” NASCAR president Mike Helton said Gordon didn’t have the right to determine who got a lap back because Gordon wasn’t the leader when the yellow was displayed. Drivers have a gentlemen’s agreement not to pass the leader while racing back to the yellow flag. But the leader often slows down enough to let lapped cars go by him to get back on the lead lap. “There is a gentlemen’s agreement not to pass for position, but we’re talking about keeping cars down a lap,” Gordon said. “I don’t know of any gentleman’s agreement to let cars get a lap back, even if you aren’t the leader. I didn’t think there was any reason for me to let them have a lap back. We’re fighting those guys for a championship. For NASCAR to put those guys back just blows me away. I think the whole getting a lap back thing is crazy.” NASCAR is the only major racing body that has it cars race back around to the start-finish line when a caution is displayed.(Dallas Morning News – may need to register to view) AND see my Story/Columns/Article Links page for many more stories and commentary on this.(3-31-2003)
UPDATE: NASCAR president Mike Helton said Tuesday the sanctioning body erred in the way it handled Jeff Gordon’s attempt to keep down cars that Matt Kenseth tried to let back on the lead lap during the Samsung/Radio Shack 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. “If we had to do that call over again, we would have done it differently,” Helton said. “We made a mistake.” Kenseth was leading the race when Elliott Sadler’s Ford spun on the backstretch on Lap 168. When the yellow flag came out, Kenseth slowed to allow Ricky Rudd and Kurt Busch to make up a lap. Gordon sped up to try to keep them a lap down, passing Kenseth before the start-finish line. That pass, Helton said, technically made Gordon the race leader. Since he got to the line before Busch and Rudd, they would have still been a lap down. The problem happened when Gordon allowed Kenseth to go back by him before the pace car picked up the leaders. Gordon said he didn’t want to violate the “gentlemen’s agreement” against racing for position back to the yellow, so he wanted to give the lead back to Kenseth. But Gordon did want to keep Busch and Rudd a lap down. “It was a scenario that we had not seen before,” Helton said. “Someone who took the lead in the race then gave it back after the start-finish line.” But since Gordon ceded the lead back to Kenseth, Helton said, NASCAR ruled Busch and Rudd did make up a lap. “For a long time we’ve told the drivers…that when a yellow comes out, slow down and let the leaders be the one to keep the lapped cars down,” Helton said. “What happens between the leaders is their prerogative. What we did Sunday was interject NASCAR into that prerogative that we leave to the drivers, and we shouldn’t have done that.” Helton said that since the race continued there’s no way to go back and change anything about Sunday’s race now. He also said NASCAR does not plan to change its rules about racing back to the flag, partly because the technology does not yet exist to ensure NASCAR could accurately record the correct positions of all cars at the time a caution comes out to freeze the running order at that point.(ThatsRacin.com)(4-1-2003)
- Martinsville Testing UPDATE 2 Speeds on Tuesday: Nine drivers are scheduled to test at Martinsville Speedway on Tuesday and Wednesday [March 31, April 1] in preparation for the April13 Virginia 500. Scheduled to test are #25-Joe Nemechek, #16-Greg Biffle, #1-Steve Park, #32-Ricky Craven, #45-Kyle Petty [may cancle or have Andretti/Fittipaldi test if he is still sore], #41-Casey Mears, #0-Jack Sprague, #4-Mike Skinner and #74-Tony Raines.(Roanoke Times)(3-30-2003)
UPDATE: Cup team testing at Martinsville and some note – testing this morning at Martinsville Speedway are #41-Casey Mears, #1-Steve Park, #15-Michael Waltrip, #32-Ricky Craven, #16-Greg Biffle, #0-Jack Sprague, #74-Tony Raines and #25-Joe Nemechek. In addition to those Winston Cup regulars, Andy Petree is here testing a Busch car. He plans on attempting to qualifying for the Advance Auto Parts 250 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race and is using the Busch car to get some track time in the absence of truck testing. Darrell Waltrip will probably get some seat time in Petree’s car on Wednesday for the same reason.
Kyle Petty’s #45 team is here, but obviously Kyle is still hurting. In a surprise, but explainable move David Hyder is driving the car today and possibly tomorrow. David who? Hyder is a Late Model driver who has enjoyed great success in this region and especially at Martinsville Speedway. He’s also a member of Petty’s crew. He holds the track qualifying record for Late Models at 90.227 mph (1997 Miller 300). He also won that race. His winnings that day, $27,500, is still at Late Model record here.(Martinsville Speedway PR)
TEST SPEEDS TUESDAY: Testing is over at Martinsville Speedway for the day. Following is a list of drivers and times. Please note that David Hyder was subbing for Kyle Petty. Andy Petree was in a Busch car, getting in seat time for the Advance Auto Parts 250 (Truck Race). Also, earlier today it was noted that #15-Michael Waltrip would be testing, it was a understandable mistake as Mears’ team bought one of Waltrip’s car haulers from DEI and have not repainted it. The speeds:
#74-Tony Raines, 93.281mph (20.30 sec)
#25-Joe Nemechek, 92.371 (20.50)
#16-Greg Biffle, 92.371 (20.50)
#1-Steve Park, 92.281 (20.52)
#0-Jack Sprague, 92.191 (20.54)
#32-Ricky Craven, 91.700 (20.65)
#41-Casey Mears, 91.922 (20.60)
#45-David Hyder, 91.478 (20.70)
Andy Petree, 91.170 (20.77)
Winston Cup qualifying record is 95.371mph (19.855 seconds), set by #20-Tony Stewart in the fall of 2000.(Martinsville Speedway PR)(4-1-2003)
- News on the #20 Impounding = NOTHING – NOTE: nothing new on the #20 Home Depot Chevy impounding [see new below], when I hear anything it’ll be posted, NASCAR usually announces Cup penalties on Tues/Wed following the race.(3-31-2003)
UPDATE: NASCAR still has not announced any further penalties against Tony Stewart’s team at Joe Gibbs Racing after its primary #20 Chevrolet was impounded at Texas for failing its initial inspection because it did not fit the templates. The apparently unprecedented move to seize the car did get the attention of other crew chiefs in the garage. “As soon as I heard what happened to them I called back to the shop and told them that was a prime example of what can happen if you’re not right,” said Raymond Fox III, crew chief for Elliott Sadler’s Ford. “The 20 car is a good team. It opens up your eyes to make you go back to the shop and say, ‘OK, this is what happened last week. Let’s try not to let it happen to us.’”(ThatsRacin.com), see past news on my #20 Team News and Links page.(4-1-2003)
- Final Bristol TV Ratings: Final Nielsen figures show that small markets boosted the ratings considerably for Fox’s airing of the March 23 Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway, but the numbers were still down 11.3 percent from last year. Today’s Sports Business Daily says the final figures show the race earned a 5.5 rating and 13 share. While that was up from the 5.1/11 overnight figures, it was still well short of the 6.2/16 the race drew in 2002, when sports events weren’t competing with war news for viewers’ attention.(Winston Cup Scene Daily Newsletter – free)(4-1-2003)
- The 2003 Driver of the Year Award will be determined by a blue ribbon panel of eighteen motorsports writers, journalists and announcers plus one cumulative fan vote hosted on Speedtv.com. That means that the fans can help decide the winner of the award by casting their vote for the driver they feel most desrves recognition for each quarter of the 2003 season. The award encompasses all racing platforms including NASCAR Champ Car, IRL, NHRA, SCCA, World of Outlaws and Sports Cars. The award vote is based on a 25-point system. Each panelist will select a top-six from the list of nominees and based on those picks points are awarded to the drivers as follows: 9 points for first, 6 for second, 4 for third, 3 for fourth, 2 for fifth and 1 for sixth. The top six vote-getters from the Speedtv.com online voting will also be included on a single final ballot along with the top six overall from the 16 media panel members. The quarterly winner will then be determined based on the results of this final ballot to be voted on by the Expert Media Panel. Finally, at the end of the year the Expert Media Panel will vote on the Quarterly winners to determine the 2003 Driver of the Year. Drivers’ achievements are evaluated using the following criteria: Track Performance – Wins, top five finishes, top ten finishes and pole qualifying; Sportsmanship – Conduct and professionalism; Humanitarianism – Participation in and willingness to support philanthropic causes; Fan Recognition – Popularity among motorsports enthusiasts.
First Quarter Nominee’s: Paul Tracy, Michael Waltrip, Matt Kenseth, Danny Lasoski, Kurt Busch, Brandon Bernstein and Tony Kanaan. Fan voting will take place online from Saturday, March 29, until Wednesday, April 16 at 12:00noon/et. More at Speed Channel site.(4-1-2003)
- SAFER Test: NASCAR officials have scheduled another test for the SAFER barrier this month and don’t expect to have a short-track version of the impact-absorbing wall perfected in time for the May 3 race at Richmond International Raceway.(USA Today)(4-1-2003)
- Hermie back at Talladega UPDATE 2: Hermie Sadler will make his return to the Cup Series on April 6, 2003 when he pilots the #02 Autism Awareness Pontiac sponsored by NWA-TNA: Total Nonstop Action Wrestling in the AARON’ S 499 at Talladega Superspeedway. In honor of Autism Awareness Month and the thousands of people affected daily by this disease, the car will feature the Autism “puzzle ribbon” on the hood along with 1-800-3-AUTISM, the phone number for the Autism Society of America. Sadler, whose daughter Halie Dru was diagnosed with Autism in February 2001, carried the ribbon in the Spring Bristol race last year and was amazed at the response. “The number of people we reached through this exposure was unbelievable. It was just the tool we needed-the Autism Society of America received literally thousands of phone calls following the race. This is the perfect way for us to kick off Autism Awareness month for 2003,” stated Sadler. NWA-TNA Heavyweight Champion Jeff Jarrett is pleased to participate in this event. “Hermie has been such a huge supporter of NWA-TNA, and it is a pleasure to return the favor. I’m looking forward to the race and helping increase the awareness of Autism.” Also participating in the promotion are FOX Sports, FX, www.goteamva.com, and Dale Earnhardt, Incorporated. Fox Sports is providing an in-car camera to help promote awareness for autism and Dale Earnhardt, Incorporated is providing engines and technical support to Sadler’s team for this event. “I am honored and grateful to everyone who is involved with this program,” Sadler said. “We not only have the chance to run a great race; we have the chance to make a difference for kids and families all over the world affected by autism.” NWA-TNA Total Nonstop Action Wrestling is the first-ever weekly Pay-Per-View wrestling series that airs every Wednesday at 8:00pm/et on iN DEMAND and DIRECT-TV. With its unique blend of traditional wrestling and the high-flying cutting edge moves of the X-Division, it is the definitive alternative for the wrestling enthusiast. For more information on NWA-TNA: Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, go to www.nwatna.com.(PR)(3-26-2003)
UPDATE: Look for Hermie Sadler to drive a Dale Earnhardt Inc. car at Talladega. DEI is donating the car to promote autism awareness. Sadler’s daughter, Halie Dru, was diagnosed with autism in February 2001.(Sporting News)(3-31-2003)
UPDATE 2: Hermie Sadler suffered a fractured bone in his right foot and bruised ligaments in his ankle from the crash. Sadler still plans to enter both the Busch Series and Winston Cup races this weekend.(Sadler Fanclub Site)(4-1-2003)
- Andretti and Gordon may miss the Indy 500: John Andretti and Robby Gordon announced several weeks ago their intention to compete in this year’s Indianapolis 500. But both are being reminded of the significant gap between planning and doing. It takes money to bridge that gap, and neither is having luck finding it. The two Winston Cup regulars said this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway that time is quickly running out on hopes of pulling double duty May 25, racing in both the Indy 500 in the day and the Coca-Cola 600 in Concord, N.C., that night. It is particularly disappointing for Andretti, an Indianapolis native who wanted to return to the 500 in what cousin Michael Andretti has said will be his last race. John Andretti was counting on General Mills, his Winston Cup sponsor, to fund his Indy program, but the company now is telling him that given the economy and world situation, it is inclined to wait a year. He hasn’t given up and even has talked to one potential sponsor about a package deal for himself and another open-wheeler turned stock car driver, Petty Enterprises teammate Christian Fittipaldi. One thing he won’t do is ask his cousin, in his first year as an Indy Racing League team owner, for help. Michael already has plans to run four cars at Indy. “He’s got his hands full,” John Andretti said of his cousin. “I don’t want to be the guy he comes up to afterward and says, ‘I lost because of you,’ because he split up one of his pit crews to help me out.” Complicating matters for Gordon and Andretti is the IRL has all new cars this season with few extras available. But Gordon said all he has to do is turn on CNN to see the real problem. “It’s hard to find money when there’s a war going on,” Gordon said. “I don’t have a deal and I don’t see one opening up.”(Indianapolis Star)(4-1-2003)
- NASCAR Wheel of Fortune: Wheel of Fortune, America’s #1 rated syndicated television series, and NASCAR have teamed up for a second consecutive year for Wheel of Fortune’s “NASCAR Week,” scheduled to air nationwide April 7-11. NASCAR fans have been selected as contestants to compete on a NASCAR-themed Wheel of Fortune set, featuring 2002 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Champion Tony Stewart’s #20 Home Depot car (wonder if it is the car from Texas? just joking). Official NASCAR licensees are providing apparel for the studio audience to wear during the taping. In addition, race fans and Wheel Watchers alike can expect some of NASCAR’s top 10 drivers, including Jeff Gordon and Ricky Craven and other fan favorites to appear in taped segments throughout Wheel of Fortune’s “NASCAR Week”. (NASCAR PR) (4-1-2003)
- Model racing car project stolen: Middleburgh [Albany, NY area] teacher Scott Gray said, “I’m just devastated. It’s just all this work is gone, just sad.” Gray is devastated that someone would steal the model NASCAR race car his engineering students at Middleburgh Central School had built from scratch. The students not only put the car together, they also raised the money for its parts. Gray said, “I was hoping to use this as a tool in the classroom and now that it’s gone, I don’t have that tool to use. So whoever was that took it, I’m sure their intentions were to steal it directly from me, they’re really not stealing that car from me. They’re really stealing the education of the 15 students that I have in my class.” Senior Tom Loucks said, “We learned a lot from it, like the mechanical advantages of cars, and stuff that we won’t learn anywhere else in life, like design and stuff like that.” Senior DareRick Krufchinski said, “I’ve been working on it since September, a lot of hours, a lot of after school days at least twice a week until 8, 9 at night.” The model car was taken out of Sears parking lot in Rotterdam. Scott Gray went there with the model car in the back of his pickup, went inside for about five minutes and when he came out, the model car was gone. Lieutenant Bill Manikas of the Rotterdam Police Department said, “To be perfectly frank, we’re working really hard on it, as we do with every crime. We have very few leads to go on, but the detectives are out looking right now.” Gray said, “Our biggest thing is that we really hope to get the car back because it’s not so much the money that was spent on it, it was the time and we can’t make back that time.” Gray said he won’t press charges if the car is returned, but if the thief is caught, then he will.(Capital News 9)(4-1-2003)
- #19 Team Fined: XM Satellite- NASCAR Radio (Subscription Required) reports that the #19 Braun Racing team has been penalized 25 owners and drivers points and crew chief Patrick Donahue has been fined $5,000 and suspended the next two Busch Series races for unapproved wheel hubs. Owner is Todd Braun and the driver is Chad Blount.(4-1-2003)
- Sadler injured but will race at Talladega: Hermie Sadler suffered a fractured bone in his right foot and bruised ligaments in his ankle from the crash. Sadler still plans to enter both the Busch Series and Winston Cup races this weekend.(Sadler Fanclub Site)(4-1-2003)
- Green and Holly back together with Amick? UPDATE 2: The 2000 Busch Series championship team of driver Jeff Green and crew chief Harold Holly may once again work together at Team Amick Motorsports if the organization can land sponsorship for a limited Busch Series Schedule. (Winston Cup Scene via BGN Racing.com)(3-20-2003)
UPDATE: Bill Amick, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Amick Farms and owner of Team Amick Engine Development, announced today the formation of Team Amick Motorsports, a Busch Series team with plans to compete this season. Team Amick Motorsports will run a partial 2003 schedule in preparation for a run for the NASCAR Busch Series Championship in 2004. Amick and veteran Crew Chief Harold Holly, who won the NASCAR Busch Series Championship in 2000 with driver Jeff Green, have been assembling a team to take on the challenges that lay before them. Twenty-five year old NASCAR “Young Gun” Lyndon Amick will drive the #32 Chevy Monte Carlo for the planned partial season. Amick, while young, isn’t inexperienced. Winner of the 1996 NASCAR Goody’s Dash Series Championship, Amick has competed in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck and Busch Series. Bill Amick, who established Team Amick Engine Development in 1998, one of the premier independent engine builders in NASCAR, has set his sights on a Busch Series championship. “Putting together a world class motorsports team has always been my goal,” stated Amick. “I know we have a lot of hard work ahead of us but I feel confident in the crew we’re putting together. With Harold, our experienced personnel and Lyndon’s youth, I feel we’re on our way to fielding a very competitive team now and for the future. Team Amick Motorsports’ goals are to win poles, win races and contend for the NASCAR Busch Series championship in 2004.” Team Amick Motorsports will field the #32 Chevy while utilizing engines provided by Team Amick Engine Development. The Engine Development division is responsible for the horsepower under the hoods of several NASCAR Craftsman Truck, Busch and Winston Cup teams including Morgan Dollar Motorsports, BACE Motorsports and Herzog Jackson Motorsports. The team, who hopes to run five to 10 events this season, is working on sponsorship. “In such a tight economy, finding a sponsor won’t be easy,” explained Bill Amick. “But this team has more to offer than your average team. We have Harold [Holly] who is a proven champion, Bo [Montgomery] who in my opinion is the best engine man in motorsports and a team that is so dedicated it amazes me each day.”(Eclipse Management/Team Amick PR)(3-26-2003)
UPDATE 2: Team Amick Motorsports (TAM), home of the #32 Busch Series Chevy, makes its debut this Saturday in the Aaron’s 312 at Talladega Superspeedway. The newly formed Team Amick Motorsports, which is based in the same shop as its sister company, Team Amick Engine Development, features 2000 Busch Series Champion crew chief Harold Holly with Lyndon Amick behind the wheel. While the team is brand new, this weekend does not mark the first time Holly and Amick have worked together. Holly teamed up with Lyndon Amick for one race last season acting as co-owner of the #15 ppc Racing entry that Amick drove to a ninth-place finish at Kansas Speedway. In their short time together (Holly joined Team Amick in February of 2003 after Angela’s Motorsports closed its shop), the duo have established a chemistry that will hopefully propel them to a top finish. Pit stops will be handled by the #77 Jasper Engines and Transmissions pit crew(Eclipse Management/Team Amick PR)(4-1-2003)
- #92 team not closing shop UPDATE 4 will be at Talladega: despite reports saying the team will close shop after the Bristol race, Herzog Jackson Motorsports says they will NOT close shop and are in discusions with potential sponsors for the team and driver Todd Bodine, who just won the Busch Series race at Darlington.(XM Satellite- NASCAR Radio – Subscription Required)(3-19-2003)
UPDATE: Herzog Jackson Motorsports #92 team — co-owned by brothers Stan and Randy Herzog, their father Bill Herzog and baseball Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson — began the 2003 season without a sponsor for its car. The owners had decided before the season that if no primary sponsor could be found by the time the fifth race on the schedule ended, they would have to reassess the team’s future. Among the options for the team is shutting down for the rest of the year. Well, Saturday’s Channellock 250 at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, TN, is the fifth race of the season. Randy Herzog said that barring a late sponsorship commitment, “We will meet on Monday morning to see where everything sits.” Other options the Herzogs will consider will be to run a limited Busch schedule the rest of the season, run a limited Busch/Winston Cup schedule or find a way to keep running on a full-time basis. Randy Herzog said that landing a sponsor for the rest of the year is not out of the question. He said Wednesday that team officials have been talking with several potential sponsors this week and that more talks are planned for the next couple of days. He terms the talks “serious”. But until something is signed, “All we can do is perform on the track,” Herzog said. On the track, the Herzog Jackson team has been anything but uncertain this year. Their driver, Todd Bodine, leads the series points standings. He has three top-six finishes in four races. In Monday’s rain-delayed race at Darlington, Bodine gave the Herzogs their third victory since the team joined the Busch series in 2000. Randy Herzog said he was ecstatic Monday as he watched Bodine beat and bang on the car of #1-Jamie McMurray on his way to the finish line. Randy Herzog said the timing of Monday’s win and the resulting move to the top of the points race, may have been very good — a week before decision day. “It had to have helped in a lot of regards,” he said. “It’s difficult to walk into a (corporate) office and ask for several million dollars when you just finished 27th.” Then again, with the situation of the war in Iraq, the timing might have been bad. But the one great thing was that the victory provided a nice boost. “It validates everything we are doing,” he said.(Kansas City Star)(3-21-2003)
UPDATE 2: Herzog Jackson Motorsports co-owner Randy Herzog told NASCAR Winston Cup Scene reporter Rick Houston today that the team would race at least through the March 29 O’Reilly 300 at Texas Motor Speedway. The team might continue beyond that, if meetings with potential sponsors continue progressing well, he said. Herzog had said earlier that the team would run the season’s first five races and then might scale back to a limited schedule if no sponsor were signed. Heading into tomorrow’s Channellock 250 race at Bristol Motor Speedway, the fifth race on the 2003 Busch Series schedule, the team’s driver, Todd Bodine, is leading the series standings and is fresh off a win at Darlington.(Winston Cup Scene Daily Newsletter)(3-21-2003)
UPDATE 3: Talks with potential sponsors are continuing, so Herzog Jackson Motorsports will keep on racing — for the time being, at least. Randy Herzog, co-owner of the St. Joseph-based Busch Grand National team, said Tuesday that his car will be on the track for Saturday’s race at Texas Motor Speedway. He said that talks were held with a potential sponsor Monday in Kansas City and that talks with other potential sponsors are set for later this week. Herzog — who owns the team along with his brother Stan; his father, Bill; and former baseball star Reggie Jackson — said that as long as there is hope for landing a major sponsor, the team will keep racing. The team has not had a major sponsor since the end of last season. Before the current season began, the team owners agreed that if a sponsor could not be found, they would meet to reassess the future after the fifth race of the season. “Last week I would have said that Bristol would be our last week” of running full time in the series, Herzog said. “But based on what has happened” hopes are that a sponsor will sign on soon. Herzog says his team’s status will now be determined “week to week.” He said that if no major sponsor is found, the team may be forced abandon plans to race a full schedule — even if their driver is in first place. “If things don’t move forward, there will be some tough decisions to make,” he said. If that decision is to only run selected events, “We’d pretty much have to give up running for the championship. At that point, we would have to try to put things back together and run for a top 10.” Despite the frustration of dealing with an unknown future, Herzog said the mood on the team is good.(Kansas City Star)(3-26-2003)
UPDATE 4: The Herzog Jackson Motorsports team will travel to Talladega, AL for the running of the Aaron’s 312 on Saturday April 5th.(PR)(4-1-2003) - Martinsville Testing UPDATE: Nine drivers are scheduled to test at Martinsville Speedway on Tuesday and Wednesday [March 31, April 1] in preparation for the April13 Virginia 500. Scheduled to test are #25-Joe Nemechek, #16-Greg Biffle, #1-Steve Park, #32-Ricky Craven, #45-Kyle Petty [may cancle or have Andretti/Fittipaldi test if he is still sore], #41-Casey Mears, #0-Jack Sprague, #4-Mike Skinner and #74-Tony Raines.(Roanoke Times)(3-30-2003)
UPDATE: Cup team testing at Martinsville and some note – testing this morning at Martinsville Speedway are #41-Casey Mears, #1-Steve Park, #15-Michael Waltrip, #32-Ricky Craven, #16-Greg Biffle, #0-Jack Sprague, #74-Tony Raines and #25-Joe Nemechek. In addition to those Winston Cup regulars, Andy Petree is here testing a Busch car. He plans on attempting to qualifying for the Advance Auto Parts 250 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race and is using the Busch car to get some track time in the absence of truck testing. Darrell Waltrip will probably get some seat time in Petree’s car on Wednesday for the same reason.
Kyle Petty’s #45 team is here, but obviously Kyle is still hurting. In a surprise, but explainable move David Hyder is driving the car today and possibly tomorrow. David who? Hyder is a Late Model driver who has enjoyed great success in this region and especially at Martinsville Speedway. He’s also a member of Petty’s crew. He holds the track qualifying record for Late Models at 90.227 mph (1997 Miller 300). He also won that race. His winnings that day, $27,500, is still at Late Model record here.(Martinsville Speedway PR)(4-1-2003)
- A New Lester enters the world: Cheryl Lester gave birth to her and husband [#8 Dodge driver in the CTS] Bill’s first child on Friday, March 28, 2003 at 9:09 PM.. William Alexander Lester IV weighed seven pounds, 12 ounces, and was 21 ¼ inches long. Alex, as the child will be called, was delivered at the Northside Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia. Lester had been a little worried last week at Bakersfield, California that he may miss the birth, due to the event at Mesa Marin Raceway. “I’m just so happy,” said Lester. “I just don’t know what to say. There are so many things running through my head that it’s hard to put into words. Everything could not have worked out any better. I was here with Cheryl and not somewhere racing, and I have a healthy baby boy. Cheryl is doing great.. Wow, what else can I ask for!”
Lester will have a few weeks to spend with his wife and new son before the next event in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series at Martinsville, Virginia on April 12, 2003. “The schedule worked out great for me,” said Lester. “With a few weeks off between races, it will give Cheryl and me a chance to settle into being parents before I have to get back to racing again.” This is the third child for BHR [Bobby Hamilton Racing] employees in the last month.. Early in the month of March, Mark Hancock and his wife, Kim, had a baby boy, and the week before last, Danny Rollins and his wife, Marli, had a baby girl.(PR)(4-1-2003)
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