April 7, 2005
- All-Star Race Likely Back at LMS in 2006: NASCAR’s Nextel All-Star Challenge race is likely to return to Lowe’s Motor Speedway near Charlotte in 2006, but NASCAR isn’t ready to say the race will remain there in the future, The Charlotte Observer reports. The paper says a vice president from Nextel, which sponsors NASCAR’s Cup series as well as the all-star race, said that the company was happy with the Charlotte area’s efforts for the race and indicated the event would likely come back in 2006. But NASCAR Vice President Jim Hunter said nothing has been decided about the long term. “Every year, we revisit the idea of moving the all-star race,” he said. The story says the all-star event creates an estimated $94 million impact on the region’s economy in travel and tourism dollars.(NASCAR Scene Daily Newsletter)(4-7-2005)
- Sad News: Melvin Joseph, construction pioneer and owner of Melvin Joseph Construction, died on April 6, 2005 after a brief illness. He was 83. Joseph, of Georgetown, Del., oversaw construction during the late ’60s of the dual-use Dover Downs facility, which includes the one-mile motorsports track and the 5/8-mile horse track. Joseph had been a constant fixture at Dover International Speedway events, giving drivers the command to start their engines at every NASCAR NEXTEL Cup race in Dover since 1969.
At the time of his death, Joseph served on the board of directors for Dover Motorsports, Inc. as vice president and director of auto racing for Dover International Speedway. He also served on the board of Dover Downs Gaming & Entertainment, Inc. Joseph was originally appointed to the board of what was then Dover Downs, Inc. in 1969. Joseph oversaw the complicated 1994 repaving project at Dover International Speedway that transformed the asphalt into the current concrete surface. Joseph also served as a consultant for the Dover Motorsports construction of Nashville Superspeedway, in Lebanon, Tenn., in 2000. Among many other career-long accolades, Joseph was a 2002 inductee into the Delaware Sports Museum Hall of Fame. Funeral arrangements are pending. More information will be posted on the Dover International Speedway website, www.doverspeedway.com.(4-7-2005) - Bristol Reports Best TV Ratings Ever: Bristol Motor Speedway says Fox’s broadcast of last Sunday’s Food City 500 earned a 6.3 final Nielsen Media Research rating as it drew a track record viewership of more than 9.75 million people. The rating is 5.0% higher than the 6.0 the race drew for Fox last year and is also 5.0% higher than the 6.0 earned by the 2004 Samsung/RadioShack 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, which aired the same weekend last year. The track says 6.9 million households viewed the race, a 7% increase from the 2004 spring race.(NASCAR Scene Daily Newsletter)(4-7-2005)
- More testing in Asheboro: At least five Cup teams and eight truck teams visited Caraway Speedway [Asheboro, NC] as part of their preparation for this weekend’s races at Martinsville Speedway. #29-Kevin Harvick, #43-Jeff Green, #77-Travis Kvapil and the Evernham Motorsports duo of #9-Kasey Kahne and #19-Jeremy Mayfield were Cup drivers who tested at the Randolph County track getting ready for Sunday’s 500-lap race.(High Point Enterprise)(4-7-2005)
- More on Drugs and NASCAR: NASCAR confirmed Wednesday that it has issued 40 to 45 drug tests during the past two years, a figure that includes multiple tests for some individuals. NASCAR only drug tests individuals based on reasonable suspicion that they are abusing a drug. Jim Hunter, NASCAR spokesman, said that Shane Hmiel has been tested 12 to 15 times since he was reinstated in February 2004. NASCAR suspended Hmiel on Sept. 18, 2003, for violation of the series’ substance abuse policy. NASCAR required Hmiel to attend counseling and periodic random testing as part of his reinstatement. The issue of drugs in sports has grown since recent government hearings on steroids in Major League Baseball. The House Committee on Government Reform, which held those hearings, is investigating performance-enhancing drugs in sports. The committee sent letters Tuesday to several sports organizations asking for their drug testing policy. NASCAR has not been asked to submit such information.(News and Record)(4-7-2005)
- Gillette Young Guns – Weekly Update: By picking Kevin Harvick as the highest finishing Gillette Young Gun in the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway on April 3rd, Ken C. of Indianapolis, IN was the winner of the weekly Gillette Young Guns $5,000 Challenge. Ken picked Harvick as the highest finishing Young Gun by going to www.gilletteyoungguns.com and entering before the weekly deadline. As the highest finishing Gillette Young Gun, a $1,000 donation will be made to the National Prostate Cancer Coalition (NPCC) on behalf of Harvick. This is the first time this season a donation has been made to the NPCC on behalf of Harvick.(Alan Taylor Communications)(4-7-2005)
- Rusty wins Mid-race award: Rusty Wallace earned his first MBNA Mid-Race Leader Award of the 2005 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup season by leading Sunday’s Food City 500 at half-way mark. Wallace went on to finish the race in the 13th position causing the MBNA Mid-Race Leader $25,000 race-win bonus to go unclaimed. The bonus will increase to $30,000 for next week’s race at Martinsville. The MBNA Mid-Race Leader Award is worth $10,000 to any eligible NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series driver who leads a race at the halfway mark and displays the MBNA Mid-Race Leader Award decal on their race car. An additional $5,000 is earned if that driver also wins the race. If the race-win bonus goes unearned, the $5,000 rolls into the next week’s award. Eligible drivers earn two points for winning the MBNA Mid-Race Leader Award and another point if they also go on to win the race. The driver who earns the most points during the season will win the MBNA Mid-Race Leader Award Championship. MBNA Mid-Race Leader will be eligible for $10,000 + $30,000 available bonus if they also win the Advanced Auto Parts 500 at Martinsville Speedway.(MBNA PR)(4-7-2005)
- Terry going Retro: #44-Terry Labonte will return in his 1984 championship colors in the Texas spring race. GMAC will sponsor the car that resembles the Piedmont Airlines paint scheme Labonte drove from 1984-1986.(RacingOne see image there or on my #44 Team Scehemes page)(4-7-2005)
- Kyle Busch in People: Kyle Busch, driver of the #5 Kellogg’s Chevrolets, is profiled in the April 11 edition of People magazine. The issue, featuring Jennifer Aniston on the cover, is on newsstands this week.(Hendrick Motorsports), Busch will also be a presenter on the Country Music Television Awards, see my TV Listings page for more info.(4-7-2005)
- Scooby Doo on the #25 UPDATE Johnny Bravo on the #5: #25-Brian Vickers is scheduled to run a Scooby Doo scheme at Bristol Motor Speedway in August. See an image on my #25 Team Schemes page.(4-6-2005)
AND #5-Kyle Busch will run a Johnny Bravo scheme at Bristol in August. See an image on my #5 Team Schemes page.(4-7-2005) - VA Governor backs HOF: During the second annual Motorsports Day at the Capitol, Gov. Mark Warner enthusiastically pledged his support for Henrico County’s bid on a NASCAR Hall of Fame that reportedly could cost at least $60 million and attract hundreds of thousands of annual visitors. “You can’t underestimate what it would mean to bring it here,” Warner said, standing before a white Ford donated by team owner Junie Donlavey and stamped with a “Virginians Racing for the Hall of Fame” logo. “It’d probably be as big an economic stimulus to the region as anything we’re looking at.” Richmond is competing against Atlanta; Charlotte; Kansas City, Kan., Daytona Beach; and the state of Michigan for NASCAR’s first officially sanctioned museum.(Richmond Times Dispatch)(4-7-2005)
- Testing at Sonoma coming up: Three NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series drivers are scheduled to attend a two-day test session at Infineon Raceway, April 19-20. This will be the first of two test sessions planned for the Sonoma Valley road course in advance of the Dodge/Save Mart 350 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup weekend, June 24-26. The other test will take place June 7-8. Drivers schedule to participate in the April test are Kasey Kahne (#9-Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge); Carl Edwards (#99-Office Depot Ford); and Travis Kvapil (#77-Kodak/Jasper Engines Dodge). Kahne is the only driver attending the test with prior NASCAR NEXTEL Cup experience on the 10-turn, 1.99-mile road course, having taken 31st last year as a rookie. It will be the first visit to the Sonoma Valley for Edwards and Kvapil. The test session will span from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. (Pacific) each day.(Infineon Raceway), testing it is free and open to the public.(4-7-2005)
- 2nd Braun team? hearing there could be a 2nd full time Braun Racing team soon with the American Legion as the sponsor, no word on a driver.(4-7-2005)
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