April 5, 2006
- Robby back in Black: Jim Beam Black will take the spotlight for the first time this year with the #7 Chevy at Texas Motor Speedway. Race fans can also enjoy the limelight for a day by entering the inaugural Jim Beam 1100 sweepstakes. The ultimate racing adventure includes an all expense paid trip to see the Indy 500 and the Coca Cola 600 – all on the same day, more info at jimbeam.com. Menards, Harrah’s and CarLoan.com will serve as associate sponsors.(RGM PR), see image of the scheme on my #7 Team Schemes page.(4-5-2006)
- Boris and Stoddard to Roush? UPDATE: hearing #36 MB2 Motorsports crew chief, Frank Stoddard has left MC2 Motorsports and gone back to Roush Racing [where is was the crew chief of the #99 and Jeff Burton for years] and that driver Boris Said also signed with Roush Racing. Not sure of the details or specifics yet but hearing the races planned are Infineon Raceway, Pepsi 400 at Daytona, Brickyard 400 and Watkins Glen. Could be in the #06 the Todd Kleuver is supposed to run 6 races in later this year as these four races are not on Kleuver’s Cup schedule. Stoddard mentioned this on the radio show, The Morning Buzz, which Stoddard calls in to give NASCAR reports on Tuesday mornings.(4-4-2006)
UPDATE: Boris Said and veteran crew chief Frank Stoddard have formed their own Nextel Cup team, Yahoo! Sports has learned. They are partnering with long-time Said associate and former driver and team owner Mark Simo. The team, which is slated to run four or five races this season, will work with Roush Racing, which has offered to supply the team with cars, engines and technical expertise. Stoddard recently left MB2 Motorsports and speculation was that he was set to rejoin Roush. But Stoddard, who used to be crew chief for Roush’s #99 car when Jeff Burton was behind the wheel, instead has been working with Roush officials on forming the new team. Said has been frustrated with his inability to find a regular Cup ride this season after running nine races with MB2 in 2005 with Stoddard as his crew chief. After Simo’s No Fear clothing company purchased a building adjacent to Roush Racing headquarters in Concord, N.C., for a planned East Coast distribution center, Said, who has been working as a consultant for Roush’s teams, began talking with Roush about possibly starting a team. The current plan is for the new team to run the Dodge/Save Mart 350 at the Infineon Raceway road course in June, the Pepsi 400 at Daytona in July, the Brickyard in August and the Watkins Glen road course, also in August. The team has secured sponsorship for at least four races, with an announcement regarding sponsorship details to come.(Yahoo Sports)(4-5-2006)
- Rule Violations Result in Suspension, Fine for #07 Team: NASCAR has announced that one member of the #07 Jack Daniel’s/DirecTV Chevy team has been suspended and another has been fined, as a result of rule violations during this past Sunday’s NASCAR NEXTEL Cup event at Martinsville Speedway. Crew member Clint Almquist has been suspended from NASCAR until April 19, 2006 [misses Texas] and placed on probation until June 7, 2006 for violating Section 12-4-A (actions detrimental to stock car racing) of the 2006 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series rule book. During Sunday’s race, Almquist on one occasion did not place racing fuel in the designated collection area. Crew chief Gil Martin was fined $2,500 for violating Section 12-4-A (actions detrimental to stock car racing) and 9-4-A (crew chief assumes responsibility for the actions of his team members).(NASCAR PR)(4-5-2006)
- Goodyear to test again at Charlotte UPDATE 2 testing goes better: Goodyear officials confirmed Thursday that it will conduct another tire test at Lowe’s Motor Speedway next Tuesday, a week after a two-day test on the newly resurfaced 1.5-mile oval. Rick Heinrich, project manager for Goodyear, said Wednesday that the tires showed a little more wear than Goodyear would have liked, but that could be expected as Goodyear attempts to create a compound that will work on the track. Lowe’s Motor Speedway underwent a $3.5 million repaving job after tire problems plagued races there last season. Track president H.A. “Humpy” Wheeler said it is too early to predict whether tire wear will be an issue during the May races. All of the Nextel Cup teams are scheduled to test May 1-3 and then Busch Series teams will test May 8-10. “It’s going to be a challenge, and I’m not sure that we really are going to now exactly what we’ve got as far as the track is concerned until we have all of the cars come in here in early May,” Wheeler said. “We have no idea right now about a second groove because everybody is staying down low.”(SceneDaily.com)(3-31-2006)
UPDATE: Goodyear is planning to do a second tire test at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Dale Jarrett and Kevin Harvick will test there Tuesday.(Roanoke Times)(4-1-2006)
UPDATE 2: Officials from NASCAR, Lowe’s Motor Speedway and Goodyear met Tuesday afternoon to discuss the results of a second tire test at the newly paved 1.5-mile track, with everyone apparently feeling better than they did after last week’s initial test. “Goodyear officials were a lot more optimistic,” said Jerry Gappens, the track’s senior vice president. “They brought a completely new tire and they did not encounter the challenges they had last week with the higher speeds, excessive wear and higher tire temperatures.” Kevin Harvick and Dale Jarrett participated in Tuesday’s test. Goodyear built a totally different tire, with new construction and a harder compound, and Gappens said cars were about one second per lap slower than last week, a drop of about 6 mph. There were no apparent issues with excessive wear or high temperatures. Goodyear plans to bring the tire tested Tuesday back for the Nextel Cup test scheduled at the track May 1-3. It also the one Goodyear plans to supply to Busch and Truck series teams for their races here in May. It appears now that carburetor restrictor plates like those used at Daytona and Talladega will not be needed for the NASCAR Nextel All-Star Challenge and the Coca-Cola 600. It however remains possible that smaller fuel cells used at those tracks might be employed for May’s races here.(full column at ThatsRacin)(4-5-2006)
- Robby to deliever Meals On Wheels: Robby Gordon will make a special delivery to a homebound person on Thursday, April 6 in Ft. Worth, TX in his #7 Harrah’s Chevy via police escort. He will assist Carla Jutson in delivering the 10 millionth meal served in Tarrant County since Meals on Wheels of Tarrant County began meal deliveries in 1973. In 2002, Harrah’s became a national prime sponsor of the Meals On Wheels Association of America’s “March For Meals” campaign, committing $1 million over three years and an additional $1 million from 2005 to 2009. Since 2004, Harrah’s Entertainment and Gordon have teamed up to aid Harrah’s nationwide efforts to drive public awareness for the association’s campaign. This is the first of six deliveries in race markets this season.(RGM PR)(4-5-2006)
- #92 gets a sponsor for Texas: Front Row Motorsports announced that FOX Collision Center will sponsor the Front Row Motorsports #92 Chevy driven by Chad Blount at Texas Motor Speedway, for the Samsung/RadioShack 500. FOX Collision Center, Inc., with 11 full service body shops is owned and operated by Kansas native Todd Fox, an industry veteran with over 20 years experience in collision repair. He began his collision repair business in Wichita and operated four facilities before moving onto Tulsa, Oklahoma in spring of 2001. After just a few short months, FOX quickly became Tulsa’s premier Collision Center. There are currently four FOX Collision Centers in Wichita, one in Kansas City, Kansas; four in Tulsa and one in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. FOX Collision launched in Arkansas last week with the opening of their newest shop in Springdale. For more information about Fox Collision please visit www.foxcollision.com.(FRM PR)(4-5-2006)
- Sadler’s Team Earns Pit Crew Challenge Win: Elliott Sadler’s #38 M&M’s pit crew claimed its first win of the season in the weekly Checkers / Rally’s Double Drive-Thru Challenge competition, helping boost the Robert Yates Racing driver to a sixth-place finish in Sunday’s (April 2) Nextel Cup race at Martinsville Speedway. Sadler’s over-the-wall team edged out other participating crews by spending the least amount of time in the pits during the DIRECTV 500. Sadler’s #38 Ford spent 279.774 seconds on pit lane. “You’ve got to have good pit stops and my guys were definitely on it on Sunday,” continued Sadler, whose crew earned $10,500 for the win. “This M&M’s team needed a good run. I think we are definitely back on track.” Sadler’s over-the-wall crew consists of: Rodney Fetters (jackman), Ryan McCray (front-tire carrier), Mike Lingerfelt (front-tire changer), Lance Hanna (rear-tire carrier), Dave Smith (rear-tire changer), Brian Dunaway (gasman), Frankie Good (catch can) and Toby Mellott (windshield). The team’s crew chief is Tommy Baldwin Jr. and the pit crew coach is Andy Ward. After the sixth race of the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup season, Jimmie Johnson’s and Tony Stewart’s pit crew are tied in the Checkers/Rally’s Double Drive-Thru Challenge standings with two victories each. The season champion will receive a $105,000 bonus. Checkers/Rally’s is the Official Burger and Drive-Thru Restaurant of NASCAR, more info at checkers.com.(DMF Communications PR)(4-5-2006)
- Eury Jr. Wins WypAll Wipers Crew Chief of the Race Award: Martinsville Speedway delivered 500 laps of incensed racing excitement in this weekend’s DIRECTV 500. Pushing, bumping and shoving were the norm at the half-mile bull ring, leaving the garage littered with numerous torn up vehicles by the event’s end. Dale Earnhardt Jr. and crew chief Tony Eury Jr. weren’t exempt from the action, as the #8 Budweiser Chevy was involved in two separate incidents on the race track, forcing lengthy pit stops to fix the damage after each episode. Still, with Eury Jr.’s guidance, Earnhardt Jr. was able to climb back and finish inside the top-five. Eury Jr.’s comeback earned him the WypAll Wipers Crew Chief of the Race. Earnhardt Jr. suffered extensive damage to the right side of his Monte Carlo after getting collected in a multi-car accident during the opening stages of the DIRECTV 500. Eury Jr. ordered vast repairs to the #8 Chevy and worked his driver inside the top-10 following the maintenance, but contact wit the #12 car on lap 318 forced another unscheduled stop. Despite the two setbacks, the Earnhardt Jr. and Eury Jr. combination fought to a fourth-place finish. A panel of voters; including Robbie Reiser, Mike Mulhern of the Winston-Salem Journal and a WypAll Wipers representative; unanimously agreed that Eury Jr.’s comeback deserved Crew Chief of the Race accolades. For winning the Crew Chief of the Race award, WypAll Wipers gave Eury Jr. $1,000. At the end of the season, the crew chief with the most weekly wins will receive $20,000 and be crowned the WypAll Wipers Crew Chief of the Year. This was Eury Jr.’s first Crew Chief of the Race award in 2006, which ties him with Darian Grubb, Kenny Francis and Roy McCauley for second-place in the standings. Robbie Reiser is in the lead with two wins.(Wypall PR)(4-5-2006)
- Cope plans to attempt Texas: Derrike Cope and the #74 Dodge are heading to Texas. Cope told derrikecope.com: “It looks as if we will have the My Guardian/Sundance Vacations/YRA Dodge at Texas Motor Speedway this weekend! I am looking forward to this opportunity after last weekend. I really enjoy The Texas race track. It is very fast and always produces a great race. I have had some very good runs there as of late, both in the Busch Series as well as the Cup series.” The team is not listed on mine or nascar.com’s entry list as of yet.(4-5-2006)
- Keith Coleman Picks up Sponsor for Texas: Keith Coleman Racing will have clothier Manuel on the quarter panels of the #23 Chevy while in the Lone Star State. Manuel, the well-loved cowboy clothier to the stars, has been responsible for the “Man in Black’s” black suits, as well as celebrities such as George Jones, Dolly Parton, Travis Tritt, Kenny Chesney, and Keith Urban. He is credited with putting the skull and crossbones on the Grateful Dead and designing the Rolling Stones’ tongue logo. For additional information on Manuel Exclusives, visit www.manuelinc.com.(Keith Coleman Racing PR)(4-5-2006)
- Woodard and Sharp end partnership: Truck Series owner, Rick Woodard has announced that he and partner, Eddie Sharp will be parting ways in their newly-formed team, Woodard & Sharp Racing. Effective immediately, the team will change its name to Woodard Racing. Boston Reid will continue to be the driver of the #25 Dodge.(woodardracing.com)(4-5-2006)
- Kevin Harvick Inc. and Chris Rice part ways: Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) has announced that Chris Rice, crew chief of the #33 Truck Series team and two-time Truck Series champion Ron Hornaday, have agreed to part ways. A replacement for Rice will be named at a later date.(kevinharvickinc.com)(4-5-2006)
- Benson to race in Berlin’s opener: Johnny Benson will race in Berlin Raceway’s season opener in the Coors Light Late Model division on April 15th. The Trucks are off for a three-week period in April, leaving time in Benson’s schedule to make the visit to his home track. Benson is also scheduled to race at Berlin in the ASA Challenge Series 200 on Wednesday, June 14, and in “The Chet” 100-lap Coors Light Late Model race on Wednesday, August 16, along with Cup driver Kyle Busch.(johnnybenson.com)(4-5-2006)
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