April 11, 2000
- No #91 at ‘Dega: Todd Bodine and the LJ Racing crew will make their next race at Richmond International Raceway, in the Pontiac Excitement 400 on May 6. The team will be testing an LJ Racing designed and built car at RIR on April 18 and 19, in preparation for the race. The team is still seeking sponsorship that will allow them to run the full season(LJ Racing). Andy Hillenburg will not run the #91 at Talladega as reported(4-11-2000)
- Another Martin Scheme: Mark Martin will debut the 2000 #6 Eagle One Taurus at Talladega. This is the third straight season that Martin has driven a car featuring Eagle One colors. In May, 1998, Martin won The Winston in an Eagle One car. (J-Mar Express Newsletter) See images of this years car at my Paint Schemes Gallery(4-11-2000)
- Bessey 2nd team tests and Talladega driver UPDATE 3: #60 Power Team owner Joe Bessey, tested a #61 Power Team Chevy at Daytona on Monday in anticipation of launching a second team later this summer, possibly for the Pepsi 400 at Daytona. Bessey participated in the first day of a two-day test along with #6-Mark Martin, #77-Robert Pressley and ?-Brad Teague(BGN car) in preparation for Pepsi 400. After Geoffrey Bodine was injured in the Daytona 250 CTS race in February, Bessey has used Ted Musgrave, Dick Trickle and Rich Bickle to drive the #60(NASCAR Online)(4-10-2000)
UPDATE driver at Talladega: hearing that Dick Trickle will drive the #60 Power Team Chevy at Talladega this weekend
UPDATE 2: it’s official: Bessey Motorsports has announced that Dick Trickle will return to the #60 Power Team Chevrolet this weekend in the Diehard 500 at the Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama. He will substitute for regular driver Geoffrey Bodine, who was injured in a February CTS event(Power Team PR)
UPDATE 3: if all goes to plan, Bessey may debut his second car at Richmond next month. Bessey stressed all those plans are tentative(Speed Magazine)(4-11-2000) - Talladega Testing? UPDATE: Teams will run with a smaller restrictor plate at Talladega next week and will be allowed to use their own shock absorbers on the fronts of their cars. Supposedly, NASCAR is not through looking for ways to improve the racing at the circuit’s two restrictor-plate tracks and will test a high-drag car on the Monday following the DieHard 500. The car would have a taller “green house,” the term used for the compartment in which the driver sits, and be a bit wider than the slicked-down aerodynamically honed cars now in use by top teams. That kind of car would create a bigger “hole” in the air as it races down the straightaway, increasing drag and thereby slowing speeds somewhat. The bigger hole in the air would also increase the effects of the draft on cars running in line and might eventually even allow the use of restrictor plates with bigger holes, increasing both horsepower and throttle response (paraphrased from That’s Racin’) no idea if this will be one team, which make, or if all teams who wish to test at Talladega next Monday will be allowed to. Also see another story at PitNow: Uncommon Sense: Speeds were lowered at wrong speedway(4-9-2000)
UPDATE: Roush Racing, Childress Racing and Morgan McClure Motorsports have been invited to Talladega next Monday for a novel NASCAR test at Talladega to find new ways to make disgruntled Winston Cup drivers happier at the tour’s two biggest tracks. Drivers have long complained about being bunched too tightly without enough horsepower to break away at Daytona and Talladega. So NASCAR officials will try to figure out how to add enough aerodynamic drag to these cars to allow drivers a lot more horsepower, while still keeping speeds around 190 mph. Roush and Childress are building special cars for the test. It is unclear who will test/drive the carsPitNow)(4-11-2000) - Irvan at Martinsville: Ken Schrader, driver of the #36 M&M’s Pontiac, mentioned on SpeedVision’s TV show Inside NASCAR Winston Cup that former #36 driver, Ernie Irvan, now retired, was in the team’s pits over the weekend at Martinsville(4-11-2000)
- Team Marines Honor at Talladega: Hank Parker Jr.’s BGN entry at Talladega will honor the 19 Marines who lost their lives during a nighttime training mission Saturday at Marana Regional Airport, about 30 miles northwest of Tucson, AZ. Parker drives the #53 Rick Rathbun’s Team Marines Racing Chevrolet in the NASCAR Busch Series. Rathbun, a former Marine, wanted to “give something back to the Corps,” and initiated Rick Rathbun’s Team Marines Racing last year. RRTMR began sponsoring Hank Parker Jr.’s NASCAR Busch Series team late in the 1999 season, and the driver, race team and show cars have been tapped by the United States Marine Corps to bolster its recruiting efforts. “There is no such thing as an ex-Marine,” Rathbun added. “Once you become a Marine, you are a Marine for the rest of your life. Each and every Marine, no matter where you are, is your brother. I feel as though I lost – and our whole team lost – 19 brothers Saturday night in that tragedy. Our Talladega car will honor those Marines who lost their lives in that accident and will carry each of their names. In this gesture, we will extend our heartfelt condolences to their families and fellow Marines.” The Marine Corps aircraft – an MV-22 tilt-rotor Osprey — was attempting to land during a nighttime training mission and crashed, killing all 19 aboard. The four crewmembers who perished in the crash were from a task force headquartered in Quantico, VA. They are:
Maj. John A. Brow, 39, pilot, Marine Helicopter Squadron 1, California, MD
Maj. Brooks S. Gruber, 34, pilot, Marine Helicopter Squadron 1, Jacksonville, NC
Cpl. Kelly S. Keith, 22, aircraft crew chief, Marine Helicopter Squadron 1, Florence, SC
Staff Sgt. William B. Nelson, 30, aerial observer/mechanic, Marine Tilt-Rotor Training Squadron 204, Richmond, VA
The following passengers were from Camp Pendleton, Calif. — 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division:
Sgt. Jose Alvarez, 28, machine gunner, Uvalde, TX
Pfc. Gabriel C. Clevenger, 21, machine gunner, San Antonio, TX
Pfc. Alfred Corona, 23, machine gunner, San Antonio, TX
Lance Cpl. Jason T. Duke, 28, machine gunner, Sacramento, CA
Lance Cpl. Jesus Gonzalez Sanchez, 27, assaultman, San Diego, CA
Lance Cpl. Seth G. Jones, 18, assaultman, Bend, OR
2nd Lt. Clayton J. Kennedy, 24, platoon commander, Clifton Bosque, TX
Lance Cpl. Jorge A. Morin, 21, assaultman, McAllen, TX
Cpl. Adam C. Neely, 22, rifleman, Winthrop, WA
Pfc. Kenneth O. Paddio, 23, rifleman, Houston, TX
Pfc. George P. Santos, 24, rifleman, Long Beach, CA
Pfc. Keoki P. Santos, 24, rifleman, Grand Ronde, OR
Cpl. Can Soler, 21, rifleman, Palm City, FL
Pvt. Adam L. Tatro, 19, Brownwood, TX
From Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif.:
Cpl. Eric J. Martinez, 21, field radio operator, Marine Wing Communications Squadron 38, Marine Air Control Group 38, Flagstaff, AZ(Team Marines PR)(4-11-2000) - Waltrip and Christopher: Michael Waltrip mentioned on Speedworld’s Inside NASCAR Winston Cup that his BGN team would run Ted Christopher in a few races this year with LesCare Kitchens as the sponsor(4-11-2000)
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