April 9, 2004
- Garone leaves NASCAR gig: Joe Garone has left as Director of Officiating for NASCAR and told Claire B. Lang of XM Satellite NASCAR Radio: “It’s been a great experience to be on the NASCAR side with such great people but you just can’t get the asphalt out of the racer’s blood I guess would be the way to say it. I took some time away from auto-racing as far in the garage area and had a great time at NASCAR to start the research and development center and then move on with the officiating program. I miss being in the garage, I miss the guys, I miss the pit crews, I miss being on the box involved in the game and it just will not go away and I’m going back in the garage and that’s where my heart lies. I’ve decided to resign from NASCAR and make that move.”
Garone says he’s been really fortunate being involved in so many aspects of the sport and he’s not sure whether he’ll lean towards a crew chief or team manager position. Garone also told CBL that his view of the sanctioning body changed from the time he was a crew chief to the time he was the director of officiating: “I have a huge respect for the work that goes into enforcing the letter of the rule book and the work that goes into being equal and fair across the board and I didn’t use to have that respect when I was on a team before but I do have it now. Theres no question NASCAR’s competition side has been an eye-opening experience as to the effort that’s put into it to make sure it’s fair across the board.”(XM Satellite NASCAR Radio)(4-9-2004) - So….What’s Up with Dave Marcis? from the marcisracing.com site: Dave “Marcus” continues to prove that “retirement” is a relative term. So far this year he’s been occupied with running the race team in North Carolina, Camp 28 in Wisconsin, testing Crown Royal IROC cars, and even a polar bear jump! Dave jumped in a lake frozen with a 2 foot layer of ice to raise money for Big Brothers Big Sisters. This took place in January in front of Camp 28 in Rib Lake, WI. A total of $8,500 was raised that day. What do you wear for a sub-freezing polar bear jump? Well if you’re Dave Marcis, a Goodyear hat of course. Rumor is that pictures of this event exist, but they’re closely guarded from this website… so far. With activities like this, Dave may have been safer when he was racing!(4-9-2004)
- Lepage not happy with release from the #4: Kevin Lepage’s “full-time ride” with Morgan-McClure Racing is over, just six races after it was announced. And according to Lepage, he couldn’t be happier. Lepage was handed his walking papers by the Abingdon, Va. team last week, after managing a best finish of 22nd in six NASCAR Nextel Cup Series starts this year. Veteran Jimmy Spencer took over the ride last weekend at Texas, finishing 29th, six laps down. Contacted this week at his home in North Carolina, Lepage’s thoughts on the split can be summed-up in two simple words. Good riddance.
“After watching that fiasco in Texas, I’m happy to be out of there,” he said. “Apparently, Jimmy Spencer isn’t the miracle-worker they hoped for. (Morgan-McClure) had no set-ups on the cars, none at all. I went around the garage and begged favors from guys I knew on other teams, asking them to help us out. People put their jobs at risk to do that, but the minute we got the chassis straightened out, the motor would blow. Or we’d come out of the pits with three lug nuts missing. It was a disaster. (Team owner) Larry McClure kept asking me – over and over again, `What do we need to do to fix it?’ I told him, but apparently, honesty wasn’t what he wanted to hear.”
Enter Spencer, who according to Lepage had been “wearing Larry out since Daytona trying to get in the car. He brought along a little bit of money, and told Larry what he wanted to hear. So I’m out, and he’s in. Good luck to him, he’s going to need it.” After seeing the Morgan-McClure team from the inside, the Vermont native said he will be surprised if Spencer – or anyone else – can turn things around anytime soon. “Beginning with Robby Gordon in 2001, they have now had 13 drivers in three years,” he said. “Robby couldn’t help them, Mike Skinner couldn’t help them, Stacy Compton couldn’t help them, and apparently, neither could I. It’s one thing after another with them; one problem piled on top of another.” What’s next for Lepage? he said he is working to put his own Busch Series Fords back on track for a schedule of 10-20 races, beginning next month at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. “We’re beating the phones for sponsorship right now,” he said, “and I’m about 95-percent sure we’ll get a deal done with at least one of the two companies we’re talking to. For every door that closes, another one opens,” he said. “And in all honesty, my next opportunity won’t have to be much to be better than where I just was. I would rather sit home and watch the race on TV than run like that.”(Barre-Montpelier Times Argus)(4-9-2004) - Driver of the Year 1st 1/4 Nominees: Whether it’s “young guns” or veteran gunslingers the nominations for Speed Channel Presents the DRIVER OF THE YEAR for the first quarter 2004 are all top guns. In the first vote of the year auto racing fans will get to participate via an online ballot of the year, which is part of the process to recognize the best driver in this young season. This quarter’s nominees show that drivers of any age can be competitive not only in their own series, but in the minds of experts and fans alike.
The drivers, some of whom are repeat nominees, include Greg Anderson (NHRA), Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (NASCAR), Sam Hornish, Jr. (IRL), Tony Kanaan (IRL), Kasey Kahne (NASCAR), Steve Kinser (World of Outlaws), Matt Kenseth (NASCAR), and Tony Schumacher (NHRA). In its 38th year, the DRIVER OF THE YEAR’s award for this quarter will be determined by an independent vote of the 18-member panel of blue ribbon auto racing journalists and broadcasters and one vote based on the cumulative tally of fans’ voting at www.speedtv.com – click to vote. At the end of the year a special separate vote will be held for the 2004 DRIVER OF THE YEAR.(DOTY PR)(4-9-2004) - Busch Test Drives Hybrid in NYC: Kurt Busch, driver of the #97 Sharpie/IRWIN Ford Taurus in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series stepped into a much different Ford Tuesday morning in New York. Busch had the opportunity to test drive the all-new Ford Escape Hybrid, on sale later this year, on the streets of Manhattan as part of a 36-hour endurance test for the vehicle. Making the epic Manhattan drive particularly impressive is the fact that the Escape Hybrid’s gas tank holds just 15 gallons of fuel. The Ford Escape Hybrid is the first “full” hybrid to be built in North America. It combines near-zero emissions and the fuel economy of a full hybrid-electric system with the go-anywhere capability, toughness and cargo capacity of the Ford Escape, America’s best-selling compact SUV. The 2005 Escape Hybrid is the world’s cleanest, most fuel-efficient SUV, able to travel 35 to 40 miles on a single gallon of gasoline in stop-and-go city driving, where the benefits of its “full” hybrid powertrain clearly outpace the fuel efficiency of even the smallest conventionally powered cars. On the highway, Escape Hybrid is expected to approach 30 mpg, thanks to its efficient Atkinson Cycle gasoline engine, when it receives EPA fuel economy certification. At the same time Ford is working to minimize the environmental impact of the vehicles it produces, the company is pursuing innovative solutions in manufacturing. The refurbished Ford Rouge Center complex in Dearborn, with its acres of “living roof,” the nation’s largest porous parking lot and special wetlands that cleanse storm water runoff, is an example of how a vast manufacturing complex can actually improve environmental quality. The 2005 Escape Hybrid will be built at Ford’s Kansas City, Mo., assembly plant, on the same mass-production assembly line used for other Escape, Mazda Tribute and European Ford Maverick models. For consumer information on the Escape Hybrid, visit www.fordvehicles.com/hybrid.(see full pr at the Roush Racing site)(4-9-2004)
- NJ Mayor wants his Speed TV: Mayor Glen Gilmore of Hamilton Township, NJ wants SPEED Channel available to township residents. In a recent article in the Trentonian, Gilmore asked the local cable provider to add SPEED to its program lineup, saying: “Motorsports is a big part of Hamilton history, and there is a large demand for NASCAR and other racing coverage among our residents.” Gilmore was acall-in guest Wednesday on SPEED Channel’s viewer participation program Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain.(Speed Channel PR)(4-9-2004)
- Truex Jr. wins pole at Nashville…BUT goes to the rear: #8-Martin Truex shattered the Nashville Superspeedway track record with a lap of 166.515mph Friday and won his second Busch series pole of the season. A total of 21 drivers topped the qualifying record of 163.324 set by Randy LaJoie before last year’s Pepsi 300, starting with #23-Kenny Wallace in the second car out on the 1.33-mile concrete oval. But Truex, third-fastest in the first practice session, added another pole to the one he took at Daytona after #1-Johnny Benson came up just short of matching his pace. They were the only drivers to top 166 mph with Benson coming in at 166.475 in his Dodge. Benson will start second, followed by #25-Bobby Hamilton Jr.[moves up to the pole spot], #22-Jason Keller and #27-Johnny Sauter. Defending race champion and series points leader #37-David Green qualified 10th. Some Nextel Cup regulars who took advantage of the off weekend didn’t fare as well. #55-Robby Gordon will start 11th, and #99-Michael Waltrip 22nd. [Also #38-Kahne starts 6th and #60-Biffle 16th]. 11 drivers failed to make the race.(ThatsRacin.com/AP)
AND to the back: pole sitter #8-Martin Truex, Jr. wrecked early in Happy Hour and pulled out the backup car. He will have to go to the rear of the field for the start of the race.(BGNRacing.com)
For qualifying results/starting lineups see:
ThatsRacin.com
BGNRacing.com
NASCAR.com.(4-9-2004)
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