April 11, 2005
- Martinsville TV Ratings: Fox’s broadcast of Sunday’s Advance Auto Parts 500 from Martinsville Speedway earned an overnight rating of 4.6 and an 11 share from Nielsen Media Research, Street & Smith’s SportsBusiness Daily reports. The 2004 spring race at Martinsville, which was run a week later and was not aired against CBS’s coverage of the 2004 Masters golf tournament, drew overnight figures of 4.4/11 for the first portion from 1:30 to 3:45 p.m. before the race was red-flagged after the track surface broke up. It earned a 5.4/11 for the portion from 5 to 6:45 after repairs were made. There was no race on a comparable weekend in 2004, when Easter fell on April 11.(NASCAR Scene Daily Newsletter)(4-11-2005)
- Loomis Leads Gordon to Amazing Comeback, Wins Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race: #24-Jeff Gordon recorded one of the most stellar comebacks in NASCAR history this weekend at Martinsville Speedway. Along with crew chief Robbie Loomis, Gordon turned a three-lap deficit into a win for the Rainbow Warriors. For leading his team to victory lane, Loomis won Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race honors.
Most people counted Gordon out after a wheel vibration forced Gordon to make an unscheduled green flag pit stop on lap 46. The #24 Chevrolet was scored three laps down to the leaders, but through solid pit stops, the right chassis adjustments and an amazing driving display, Gordon collected his second win of the season. “When we ran into trouble, my first thought was that we had 450 laps to get into victory lane,” said Loomis following the race. “I knew we had a great car. We all believed in each other and I knew that Jeff (Gordon) could get the job done.”
The panel of voters selecting the Crew Chief of the Race; including Mike Mulhern of the Winston-Salem Journal, a Wypall Wipers representative and Robbie Reiser; all agreed that Loomis’ come from behind victory earned him top accolades. Loomis won $1,000 for winning the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race award. He joins Scott Miller, Bob Osborne, Alan Gustafson, Pete Rondeau and Doug Richert in a tie for the Crew Chief of the Year award. At the end of the season, the crew chief with the most weekly wins will receive $20,000. For more information, visit www.wypall.com.(SMC500 PR)(4-11-2005) - DuPont looking to re-up with the #24: DuPont is close to extending its sponsorship of Jeff Gordon’s #24 team of Hendrick Motorsports. DuPont’s contract expires after this season.(News and Record)(4-11-2005)
- Atlanta Dyno ‘results’: Dodge’s #42-Jamie McMurray has surprised everyone by winning NASCAR’s post-race chassis dyno testing at Atlanta two weeks ago. The test is designed to compare engine power at the rear wheels, using cars fresh from the track. Among the highlights: McMurray’s car topped the charts, #38-Elliott Sadler’s Ford was better than winner #99-Carl Edwards’ Ford, and #48-Jimmie Johnson’s Chevrolet was noticeably off from last year’s dyno testing at Michigan.(Winston Salem Journal)(4-11-2005)
- Sad News: Clifford (Cliff) Timberman, a member of the Goodyear Racing team for 33 years, has died on Sunday from cancer. He was 71 years old. Timberman was a employee of Huggins Tire Company and worked for Goodyear in the NASCAR garage before retiring a couple of years ago. He was a NASCAR member since 1954. He also worked for race teams such as the NASCAR legend Tiny Lund in the 1960’s. Visitation is Monday April 11 at the Powles Funeral Home in Rockwell, North Carolina from 7:00-8:30pm/et. The Funeral is 11:00am/et on Tuesday [April 12th] at St. Lukes United Church of Christ, Salisbury, NC.(4-11-2005)
- Johnson’s streak continues: #48-Jimmie Johnson finished 8th at Martinsville and has scored five victories and 12 top-10 finishes in the 12 races since Charlotte last October. Johnson is the only driver to score top-10 finishes in all six races in 2005.(NASCAR Statistical Services)(4-11-2005)
- #14 team in trouble? The new team John Andretti has been driving [#14 ppc Racing] for this season may be in more trouble than anticipated. Last week the team announced it was cutting back to a limited schedule of Cup events, indicating sponsorship issues, and about a dozen men were reported let go. Now the team has been hit with a second round of crew cuts.(Winston Salem Journal)(4-11-2005)
- Petty’s son accepted to Military school: Austin Petty, the 23-year-old son of #45-Kyle Petty, has been accepted to Virginia Military Institute.(Richmond Times Dispatch)(4-11-2005)
- Indy Goodyear test pushed back over asphalt concerns: The new pavement at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – its first repave since 1995 – has presented unexpected problems. Firestone abruptly cancelled its Indy 500 tire test after one day when drivers ran into trouble last Tuesday, and track officials asked Goodyear to postpone this week’s scheduled Brickyard 400 tire test while the problems are addressed. Indy officials say they plan to grind the asphalt to make it smoother. According to sources, the track was too bumpy at the entrance to the corners, creating excessive tire wear in the turns. Firestone is the sole tire supplier for the Indy 500; Goodyear is the sole supplier for the Brickyard 400. Dodge’s #12-Ryan Newman, Chevy’s #24-Jeff Gordon and Ford’s #170Matt Kenseth are scheduled to run the Goodyear test, which has been rescheduled for the last week of April. However, that will be cutting it close for the NASCAR drivers, because Indy 500 rookie testing is also scheduled then.(Winston Salem Journal)(4-11-2005)
- Joe Gibbs Racing Drivers Make History on Saturday: With three Joe Gibbs Racing drivers winning their three respective races, April 9 marked yet another milestone in Joe Gibbs Racing’s ongoing 14-year history. Bobby Labonte, driver of the #18 Interstate Batteries Chevrolet in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series, won the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series undercard race at Martinsville Speedway. Following Labonte’s Saturday triumph were Joe Gibbs Racing’s diversity drivers Chris Bristol and Aric Almirola. The two Late Model drivers competing in the NASCAR Weekly Racing Series won their respective races at Hickory Motor Speedway and Motor Mile Speedway in Radford, VA. Bristol, in his #92 MBNA Chevrolet with associate sponsorship from Rockwell Automation and Cintas, started fifth in Hickory’s 50-lap Late Model race and ended the race in first, becoming the first African-American driver to win in Hickory’s 55-year history. The win also placed the 27-year-old Bristol in a three-way tie for first in the track’s championship point standings.
Almirola, in his #92 Home Depot Chevrolet with associate sponsorship from Rockwell Automation and Cintas, started sixth in the Motor Mile’s 150-lap Late Model feature and finished first. It was the 20-year-old’s first win of the 2005 season and his second top-three finish at Motor Mile. The Hispanic driver from Tampa, Fla., finished third in the March 19 Doughton Racing Products 300. Both cars are carrying the number 92 in tribute to the late Reggie White, co-founder of Joe Gibbs Racing’s diversity program. The #92 is the number White wore throughout his football career, playing at the University of Tennessee before becoming a Hall of Fame defensive end in the National Football League. Also of note on Saturday was the seventh-place finish of 23-year-old Woody Howard in Saturday night’s USAR Hooter’s Pro Cup race at South Boston Speedway. Howard, Joe Gibbs Racing’s recently signed development driver, started his first career Hooter’s Pro Cup race in his Dean Motorsports entry from the outside pole before finishing a solid seventh in the 250-lap race. (True Speed Communication/Joe Gibbs Racing)(4-11-2005) - Didn’t even make it to the track, LR2 Motorsports dissolves, Cline still plans to race: LR2 Motorsports, the Busch Series partnership between Les Lyons and Rick Russell, has been dissolved. Conflicts developed while preparing to field the #01 Chevrolets for driver Troy Cline in the NASCAR Busch Series this year, and Lyons and Russell have mutually agreed to terminate the partnership. Despite this setback behind the scenes, Cline and Russell still plan to compete in 2005. ”We still have a race team,” Russell noted. “We still have Troy Cline as our driver, we still have Haas Chevrolets with Hendrick engines, and we still have Bill Ingle as our crew chief. The desire to compete is still there, and Troy is raring to go. What we don’t have right now are primary sponsors.”
Driver Troy Cline shares Russell’s disappointment, but sees the big picture. “Naturally, I’d prefer to be on the track every week,” said Cline, “but I understand the team’s approach. Rick Russell and all the folks at Haas are determined to put a program together that will be competitive, week in and week out. It may take us a little longer to put everything in place now, but we plan to get it right.” Although no primary sponsors have yet stepped forward, there has been plenty of interest. “I’ve talked with several people who are legitimate possibilities,” noted Russell. “Even our associate sponsors are beating the bushes and trying to make some things happen. There has been a lot of fan interest in our efforts thus far, and we all appreciate the encouragement.” Cline, Russell, and the team will re-evaluate their planned 2005 schedule and make adjustments as sponsorship materializes.(Racing Underdog)(4-11-2005) - Mayfield/Kahne to share #6 ride for next 3 races: Unilever Foods and Evernham Motorsports announced today that Kasey Kahne and Jeremy Mayfield will share driving duties of the #6 Hungry DriversT Dodge Charger for the next three events on the NASCAR Busch Series schedule including Texas, Phoenix and Talladega. Mayfield will drive the #6 Dodge in Texas while Kahne will take over for Phoenix and Talladega. After evaluating the #6 Hungry DriversT team’s performance after the first four races of the NASCAR Busch Series season, Ray Evernham, President and CEO of Evernham Motorsports, felt it was necessary to make a driver change in order to bolster the team’s performance. Evernham Motorsports and Unilever Foods are in the process of evaluating their options for the remainder of the season and will determine long-term plans for the Hungry DriversT team in the coming weeks. They will continue to look for talented young drivers to be a part of the Hungry DriversT program and Evernham Motorsports driver development program throughout the 2005 season.(Hungry Drivers Program)(4-11-2005)
- #19 Scales back to part-time sched: Xpress Motorsports team owner Dave Fuge announced last week that the #19 Silverado driven by Regan Smith will run a limited schedule the remainder of the 2005 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season. The decision to reduce the number of events is due to unfulfilled sponsorship commitments. “This is a tough decision to make,” said Fuge. “Regan has proved himself as a driver and is certainly deserving of an opportunity to compete at the level of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. We were able to bring exceptional crew people on board and felt like we were going to be serious contenders for the Rookie of the Year title with Regan. Unfortunately, sponsorship commitments promised by the original owner of the team did not materialize as promised. This late in the year, it is very difficult to find companies who have uncommitted budget to put together a program for the remainder of this season. We are by no means going to give up our efforts to put together a full-time program but for the time being, we will go on a race-by-race basis.” The team did not make an attempt to qualify for the Kroger 250 at Martinsville Speedway. Xpress Motorsports also fields the #16 Chevy Trucks Silverado driven by three-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion, Jack Sprague.(Xpress Motorsports/GM Racing)(4-11-2005)
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