April 7, 2008
- Management Reorganization at BDR: Bill Davis, President of Bill Davis Racing (BDR), announced a reorganization of the company’s management team. Davis, who with wife Gail has fielded teams in NASCAR for over 20 years, has added several key personnel and shifted several others within the organization. All changes are effective immediately. NASCAR veteran Marty Gaunt has been named Vice President of Bill Davis Racing. Gaunt, a native of Toronto, Ont., Canada, began his tenure in NASCAR in 1996 and has held similar positions at Penske Racing and Team Red Bull. Gaunt was also part owner of Red Horse Racing. “It’s an honor for me to able to be a part of Bill Davis Racing with Bill and Gail,” stated Gaunt. “Bill has fielded teams for 21 years now and to be considered to be a part of the reorganization is a great opportunity. I’m excited about the tasks at hand and ready to get started.”
Mark Chambers, who previously served as team manager of BDR’s Craftsman Truck Series effort, will now assume the role of the general manager of Bill Davis Racing. Chambers, who has been with the team since 2006, takes over the GM role from Mike Brown, who will move into the position of Chief Financial Officer.
“I’m confident the modifications we’ve made to our management and front-office staff will make our entire organization stronger,” stated Davis. “Our Truck Series program continues to thrive, but there isn’t any doubt that the Cup Series program has struggled this year. Our partnership with Caterpillar is over 10 years strong, and we owe it to them and to ourselves to make sure we have the best possible people in the most important positions. We have great partners in Caterpillar and Toyota and we hope to continue our affiliation with them for many years to come. I’m confident the changes we’ve announced today will ensure a strong future for this team.” In addition, Davis has hired Jim Thomas as the organization’s Director of Marketing. Thomas, a Florida native, has been the Director of Business Development for Sullivan Worldwide Marketing Group, a leading strategic marketing and planning agency to the United States motorsports industry. Prior to that, he spent several years within the financial arm of Southeast Toyota.(BDR)(4-7-2008) Comment here - Menard and Crafton help the community: NASCAR drivers Paul Menard and Matt Crafton are taking part in the construction of a Habitat for Humanity home today in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The drivers will help by installing insulation donated by Johns Manville. Menard and Crafton will be in Fort Wayne to give of their time and help raise awareness for the organization, while shining a light on the first green build home in Fort Wayne Habitat for Humanity history. In addition to their volunteer efforts, Menard and Crafton will sign autographs for fans in celebration of the grand opening of a new Menards store location in Fort Wayne. Menard heads to Indiana on the heels of a 17th place run in yesterday’s Sprint Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway. Crafton is coming off his career best finish of second place in last weeks Craftsman Truck Series event at Martinsville Speedway. Both drivers represent Menards in their respective series.(Co-Pilott Motorsports Marketing)(4-7-2008)
- No changes planned in COT: NASCAR’s Jim Hunter, one of the sport’s top officials and a 40-year veteran at the tour’s tracks, said that drivers and crews shouldn’t be expecting any rules changes for the winged car any time soon: “At least for a period of time. “I think Robin (Pemberton) and John (Darby), they’d say ‘Let’s go some more races and see where we are.’” Pemberton and Darby are NASCAR’s top two competition officials under president Mike Helton. “Actually I can remember a lot of guys saying they couldn’t run side-by-side in the old car, when they had a hell of a lot of downforce,” Hunter said. “Carl Edwards got out of his car today and said ‘It’s a great feeling when your hands hurt after a race.’ You just have to get up on the wheel. And that was the whole purpose of this thing … secondary to safety.” The next midsize track debut for the stock car will be at Concord in a few weeks. But the Mother’s Day weekend race at just-repaved Darlington could also present some similar issues, with its sudden 200-mph speeds, even though the car raced there last spring.(Winston Salem Journal)(4-7-2008) Comment here
- Race and Commercial Breakdown of the Samsung 500:
Total number of commercials: 125
Total number of companies or entities advertised: 69*
Total number of brief promos of products/services during the race broadcast: 42
Total number of companies or entities advertised in brief promos or crawlers: 39
Start time to record race/commercial periods: 2:03 PM
End time to record race/commercial periods:5:51 PM
Total minutes: 228
Minutes of race broadcast: 168
Minutes of commercials: 60
Number of missed restarts: 0
Number of ‘mystery debris cautions’: 1
See full report at CawsnJaws.com and see more about Commercials on my 2008 Commercials page.(4-7-2008) Comment here - Hamlin nearly faints after race: #11-Denny Hamlin was talking with reporters on pit road about his fifth-place finish in the Samsung 500 at Texas Motor Speedway when he nearly fainted and collapsed Sunday. It brought an abrupt end to the interview, as a wobbly Hamlin staggered to a nearby golf cart with the assistance of team personnel. He then was whisked away to be given fluids and to rest, after which team officials insisted he was fine. “He’ll need to get some fluids in him, and he’ll be all right.” Hamlin stood off to the side for several minutes before even attempting to answer questions, taking sips from a water bottle and having a cold towel applied to the back of his neck. He then answered three questions before nearly collapsing, with one of his answers being about his physical condition. “I didn’t feel well [during the race],” Hamlin said. “It’s just the heat, the long runs. So I’ll try to get better. It really hit me when I got out of the car. I was just really dizzy and I knew I needed to sit down.”(NASCAR.com)(4-7-2008) Comment here
- Sad News: Shane Hammond NorthEastern Midget Association driver Shane Hammond was killed in an accident Sunday at Thompson International Speedway, the Connecticut State police confirmed. Hammond, 27, of Halifax, Mass. was involved in a crash on the fourth lap of a scheduled 25-lap NEMA Midget feature. Hammond’s car made contact with the car driven by Chris Leonard of Pelham, N.H. heading into turn 3. Hammond’s car ended up going over the concrete wall at the entrance to the corner and through a loose banner billboard above the wall. It was unclear if Hammond’s car impacted directly with the stanchion holding the banner billboard upright. Hammond’s car was entirely over the wall and caught in the billboard when rescue personnel arrived at the scene of the crash. The accident took place at 1:06 p.m. Rescue personnel spent about 12 minutes extricating Hammond from the car. The ambulance carrying Hammond left the track at 1:18 p.m. headed to Day Kimball Hospital in Putnam. Track officials said they expected that Hammond would be airlifted to a trauma center from Day Kimball. State police dispatcher Jay Robillard at Troop D in Danielson said Hammond was pronounced dead at Day Kimball. Robillard said only that Hammond sustained “traumatic injuries”(Hartford Courant)(4-7-2008)
- Almirola, Menard to Test at Infineon: Sprint Cup Series drivers #8-Aric Almirola and #15-Paul Menard will come to Infineon Raceway on Wednesday, April 9, for a one-day test session. Almirola, who shares driving duties with veteran Mark Martin in the #8 U.S. Army Chevy, has never competed on the Sonoma Valley road course in the Sprint Cup Series. Neither has Menard, who drives the #15 Menards Chevy. Almirola and Menard are expected to test the challenging 10-turn, 1.99-mile road course in late-model stock cars provided by a Northern California-based race team. They will be coached by road-course veteran Chris Cook, who has also worked with NASCAR drivers David Reutimann, Johnny Sauter and AJ Allmendinger. Both will return for the Toyota/Save Mart 350 NASCAR weekend, June 20-22, at Infineon Raceway. For tickets, call 800-870-RACE or visit www.infineonraceway.com.(Infineon Raceway)(4-7-2008)
- Nationwide Series Live in Prime Time from Phoenix on ESPN2: ESPN2 continues its season-long coverage of the Nationwide Series with a live, flag-to-flag primetime telecast of the 200-mile race from Phoenix International Raceway Friday, April 5, beginning at 9:30 p.m. ET with NASCAR Countdown. The telecast is presented by Cici’s Pizza. ESPN2 is the home of the Nationwide Series all season, with selected races on ESPN and ABC. Marty Reid will be the lead announcer for ESPN2’s coverage, joined in the booth for analysis by Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree. Jamie Little, Mike Massaro and Vince Welch will report from the pits, while Tim Brewer will be in the ESPN DISH Tech Center. Allen Bestwick will host NASCAR Countdown with analysis by Jarrett and Brad Daugherty in the ESPN pit studio. The race will be simulcast on ESPN360.com, ESPN’s signature broadband sports network, and on ESPN Deportes, the domestic Spanish-language network. The event also will be simulcast on ESPN MobileTV.(ESPN PR)(4-7-2008)
- Crafton & Menard help the community: NASCAR drivers Matt Crafton and Paul Menard are taking part in the construction of a Habitat for Humanity home today in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The drivers will help by installing insulation donated by Johns Manville. Menard and Crafton will be in Fort Wayne to give of their time and help raise awareness for the organization, while shining a light on the first green build home in Fort Wayne Habitat for Humanity history. In addition to their volunteer efforts, Menard and Crafton will sign autographs for fans in celebration of the grand opening of a new Menards store location in Fort Wayne. Menard heads to Indiana on the heels of a 17th place run in yesterday’s Sprint Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway. Crafton is coming off his career best finish of second place in last weeks Craftsman Truck Series event at Martinsville Speedway. Both drivers represent Menards in their respective series.(Co-Pilott Motorsports Marketing)(4-7-2008)
- Gaunt leaves TRG Motorsports? UPDATE 2 Gaunt joins Bill Davis Racing: Hearing that Marty Gaunt has left his position as general manager for TRG Motorsports. Also hearing that some crew members are no longer with the team as well. [TRG fields teams for #7-Andy Lally and the #71-Donny Lia](4-5-2008)
UPDATE: A representative from TRG confirmed that Marty Gaunt has resigned and that Butch Hylton [#7 crew chief] has assumed the role of general manager for TRG Motorsports.(4-5-2007)
UPDATE 2: Bill Davis, President of Bill Davis Racing (BDR), announced today a reorganization of the company’s management team. Davis, who with wife Gail has fielded teams in NASCAR for over 20 years, has added several key personnel and shifted several others within the organization. All changes are effective immediately. NASCAR veteran Marty Gaunt has been named Vice President of Bill Davis Racing. Gaunt,a native of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, began his tenure in NASCAR in 1996 and has held similar positions at Penske Racing and Team Red Bull. Gaunt was also part owner of Red Horse Racing. Mark Chambers, who previously served as team manager of BDR’s highly successful NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series effort, will now assume the role of the general manager of Bill Davis Racing. Chambers, who has been with the team since 2006, takes over the GM role from Mike Brown, who will move into the position of Chief Financial Officer. In addition, Davis has hired Jim Thomas as the organization’s Director of Marketing. Thomas, a Florida native, has been the Director of Business Development for Sullivan Worldwide Marketing Group, a leading strategic marketing and planning agency to the United States motorsports industry. Prior to that, he spent several years within the financial arm of Southeast Toyota.(Bill Davis Racing PR)(4-7-2008)
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