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April 3 – Today in Jayski’s NASCAR history

April 3, 2020 at 5:53 AM

April 3, 2000

  • #60 Driver at Martinsville? UPDATE 3: hearing that CTS driver Jimmy Hensley will drive the #60 Power Team Chevy at Martinsville next week(3-31-2000)
    UPDATE: #60 owner Joe Bessey said a decision will be made Monday on who will drive the car at Martinsville. Bessey says he’s considering a few drivers, including Jimmy Hensley and Rich Bickle and he is considering driving the car himself(Roanoke Times)(4-2-2000)
    UPDATE 2: Being told that the driver won’t be Jimmy Hensley
    UPDATE 3: Rich Bickle will drive the #60 at Martinsville(Winston Cup Today Radio – real audio)(4-3-2000)
  • NASCAR Interns: Companies have joined NASCAR in an eight-week Diversity Summer Internship Program for 21 college students. The multi-ethnic coed program is for students in good standing who have completed at least their junior year studies. Interns will be paid by the 19 participating companies. Each company has designed its own program that will involve immersing the intern in some aspect of the motorsport industry. See the full story at SpeedVision: NASCAR Summer Internships(4-3-2000)
  • Rusty’s 500th: Rusty Wallace, driver of the #2 Miller Lite Taurus, will be making the 500th start of his Winston Cup career this weekend in the Goody’s Body Pain 500 at Martinsville Speedway(Ford PR)(4-3-2000)
  • France Better UPDATE: According to Mike Helton, chief operation officer of NASCAR, Bill France has rounded the corner in regards to his recent cancer diagnosis. France, age 67, had been undergoing treatments for some time for an undisclosed form of cancer but learned he was “clear” this past Monday(Speedway Scene)(4-1-2000)
    UPDATE: See another story on France’s condition at Roanoke Times – Racing Notes(4-3-2000)
  • Little E gets his first CUP win UPDATE: In his 12th start, rookie Dale Earnhardt Jr won his first Winston Cup race at Texas in the DirecTV 500, the same place he won his first BGN race. It’s the first time a father and son have won a CUP race in the same season since 1988 when Bobby and Davey Allison won. Another note mentioned by the CBS crew during the race, Both Dale Sr and Jr won their first CUP race on April Fools weekend, Dale Sr in 1979. Also it’s the first time a father and son have won their first CUP race in their rookie season. It’s the first win for Dale Earnhardt Inc(DEI), plus Dale Jr had the flu. Results of the DirecTV 500 at NOL(4-2-2000)
    UPDATE: Earnhardt Jr won in his 12th start, besting his Dad who won in the 16th start in 1979, Davey Allison who won in his 14th start in 1987 and Tony Stewart last year who won in his 25th start. Also the win makes Earnhardt Jr only the 2nd rookie to win his way into The Winston, Davey Allison also did it in 1987. Tony Stewart had to win the Winston Open to get into the field last year. Also it is Budweisers first win since Bill Elliott won in 1994 while driving Junior Johnson’s #11 Bud Ford(4-3-2000)
  • Texas Penalties: #17-Matt Kenseth was penalized a lap for pitting outside his pit stall Sunday. #20-Tony Stewart was penalized after his team let a tire get away during a stop. #3-Dale Earnhardt, #93-Dave Blaney, #97-Chad Little and #14 Rick Mast each were penalized for pit-road speed violations(Roanoke Times)(4-3-2000)
  • Dyno Testing: NASCAR officials tested the cars of #18-Bobby Labonte, #8-Dale Earnhardt Jr. and #99-Jeff Burton on the chassis dyno following the DirecTV 500(Times-Dispatch)(4-3-2000)
  • Little/Lepage Situation: since this was somewhat confusing to folks, thought I’d post this info and link, well explained by David Poole: At one point during Sunday’s race at Texas it appeared that #16-Kevin Lepage and #97-Chad Little were the only two cars on the lead lap. That actually was true, but the sometimes confusing rule that stacks up cars on the tail end of the lead lap then came into play. Here’s what happened, see this story: Lepage, Little nearly had field a lap down(That’s Racin’)(4-3-2000)
  • #30 News UPDATE: hearing Phil Morris, who drove the #01 car in a few BGN events in 1999 will drive ten BGN races in the #30 Little Tree’s Chevy. Morris will drive on the smaller trackers while Chad Little will handle the superspeedway tracks. He’ll debut at Nashville this weekend and is testing with the team this week(4-3-2000)
  • BGN TV UPDATE: For the third year in a row, rain delays at Texas Motor Speedway forced CBS into a backup plan for its coverage of the Busch race Saturday. The network showed a condensed version of this year’s February Busch race from Daytona won by Matt Kenseth. Because CBS was under contract to carry the NCAA Final Four from Indianapolis, it was forced to switch from Texas Motor Speedway at 4pm. Plans to carry the race on CBS-owned cable network TNN were also scrapped when the rain delay lasted longer than four hours. “We’re disappointed,” said CBS technical manager Steve Stum. “You don’t like to set all this up for nothing. Anytime you do an outdoor sport, though, you have to have a plan for rain.”(Dallas Morning News) – folks who wish to complain, don’t email me, go to my TV/Media page and contact CBS and or TNN via email, phone, fax or regular mail(sorry postal workers, no insult intended calling it snail mail)(4-2-2000)
    UPDATE: TNN decided Saturday not to pick up coverage from partner CBS of Saturday’s rain-delayed BGN race at Texas and that decision has provoked considerable controversy in the NASCAR garage, and concern among some Winston Cup team owners, worried about how disinterested this season’s lame-duck broadcasters might really be about covering this sport over the rest of the year, the last year of their contracts. CBS carried the start of the race and, at the rain delay, announced coverage would switch to TNN, its business partner, because of the rain. However, TNN decided not to pick up the race, instead showing cartoons, despite demands and pleas from NASCAR officials, according to sources. TNN and CBS wouldn’t even tape the race for later broadcast(PitNow)(4-3-2000)
  • Sprague Bolts: Jack Sprague’s decision Saturday to leave Andy Petree’s #15 Busch car parked and not return to the 300 wasn’t setting well in Petree’s truck yesterday. Sprague complained about the car and said that the engine was getting ready to fail so he didn’t want to take it back out. Petree is now looking for a new driver, and it apparently won’t be Ken Schrader for the Talladega race in two weeks. Petree indicated he might ask John Andretti. Petree declined to talk about the Sprague issue except to indicate his displeasure(PitNow)(4-3-2000)
  • New CTS Team: Former Busch North series driver Tom Carey Jr. announced plans to run 4 Nascar Craftsman Truck races in 2000. Orange, MA native and former Busch North series competitor Tom Carey Jr., who recently moved his family to Asheboro, NC to pursue his racing career, plans to attempt to qualify his #10 Dodge trucks for 4 races in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 2000. Tom Carey’s first race will be the NAPA 250 at Martinsville, VA. Other races on his schedule include: Watkins Glen, New Hampshire and Dover. Kevin Banning, owner of the #42 Busch North cars that Tom has driven the past three years, has teamed up with Tex Powell, president of Tex Racing in NC. Carey is currently working out of the Tex Racing shop, a modern facility which specializes in transmissions and drive line components to all NASCAR divisions. This facility will double as a race shop for the #10 Dodge trucks of Carey(Tom Carey Jr Website)(4-3-2000)

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