April 13, 2007
- Special Paint Scheme for Dale Jr. at Daytona/LMS UPDATE:: Hearing that #8-Dale Jr. will run a special red white and blue Budweiser paint scheme in the Pepsi 400 at Daytona. See an image of the car on my #8 Paint Schemes Page.(4-10-2007)
Special Paint Scheme for Dale Jr. at Lowes Too: Hearing that #8-Dale Jr. will run a special camouflage Budweiser paint scheme in the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. See an image of the car on my #8 Paint Schemes Page.(4-11-2007)
UPDATE: Budweiser and NASCAR’s four-time Most Popular Driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr., are saluting the troops this NASCAR season with two military-themed paint schemes and collectible diecasts, the proceeds from which will provide college educations for surviving dependents of fallen Special Operations soldiers. The cars debuted during a special “One Night Stand with Dale Earnhardt Jr.” event held for more than 1000 fans and many area-based troops last night at the Nokia Theatre at Grand Prairie. Budweiser’s brown and beige Desert Camo #8 Chevy will race Memorial Day weekend during the Coca-Cola 600 on May 27 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. The red, white and blue Stars & Stripes car will run in honor of Independence Day at the Pepsi 400 on July 7 at Daytona International Speedway. Budweiser will donate proceeds from the sale of the two collectible diecast car models to the Special Operations Warrior Foundation (SOWF), which provides full-ride college scholarships to surviving dependents of Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps special operations personnel killed in combat or training missions, and immediate financial assistance to special operations personnel severely wounded in the global war on terror. More than 700 dependents currently benefit from the efforts of the SOWF. For more information, visit www.specialops.org.(fingerprint inc./Budweiser Racing PR)(4-13-2007) - Kurt Busch, Biffle, Petty, Sadler names hosts for PRN’s Fast Talk: The Performance Racing Network announced today a powerful new lineup for Fast Talk, the popular Monday night show now in its 15th year on the air. A star-studded lineup of Nextel Cup drivers will host the show on a rotating weekly basis including:
* Former Nextel Cup champion [2004] #2-Kurt Busch
* Greg Biffle, driver of the #16 Ford for Roush Fenway Racing
* Kyle Petty, driver of the #45 Petty Enterprises Dodge
* Elliott Sadler, driver of the #19 Evernham Motorsports Dodge
* Doug Rice will continue to serve as moderator of the show.
“There was no way we were going to replace Benny Parsons with just one person so we decided to take the show in a new direction. I truly think this is going to be the best racing-oriented show on radio today,” said Rice, president of PRN. “Benny Parsons had been the show’s only host since its inception in 1992. All of these drivers are extremely articulate and will offer great insight. They’re the ideal lineup to carry on Benny’s voice in the sport. The highlight of the show will be having this wonderful dialogue with the race winners. I really am looking forward to all that behind-the-scenes interaction.” Fast Talk on the Performance Racing Network airs at 7:00pm/et on Monday nights and is heard on more that 200 radio stations, XM Satellite Radio and NASCAR.com. Fast Talk is produced by Alicia Lingerfeldt and the technical director is Harrill Hamrick. The Performance Racing Network broadcasts 10 Nextel Cup races and eight Busch Series events, as well as daily news shows, Garage Pass, the Alltel Pit Reporters, Sunday Drive and zMax Racing Country. For more information on PRN and the racing lineup, visit www.goprn.com.(PRN PR)(4-13-2007) - ESPN2’s NASCAR Now Expanding to One Hour on Mondays: NASCAR Now, ESPN’s first daily news and information show totally dedicated to NASCAR, is expanding its Monday evening edition to one hour, beginning April 16. The expanded format will provide more time for recaps and analysis of the weekend’s NASCAR races. The Monday program will air from 6:00-7:00pm/et on ESPN2. NASCAR Now will air on ESPN2 for 30 minutes at its regular 6:30pm/et timeslot Tuesday through Thursday next week, with no Friday edition due to the live NASCAR Busch Series race at Phoenix International Raceway that evening on ESPN2. In addition, the weekend edition will air at 10:00am/et Saturday, rather than its usual day of Sunday, due to the Nextel Cup Series running that night at Phoenix. Reports from Phoenix will be included in Saturday’s program. Sunday night’s edition of the program will air at midnight. NASCAR Now is hosted by Erik Kuselias, Doug Banks and Ryan Burr and originates from ESPN’s High Definition studios in Bristol, Conn., with contributions from reporters Mike Massaro and Shannon Spake. Analysts Tim Brewer, Brad Daugherty, Stacy Compton and Boris Said, along with NASCAR insiders Terry Blount, Angelique Chengelis, Tim Cowlishaw, David Newton and Marty Smith, as well as D.J. Copp, a member of the Dale Earnhardt, Jr., NASCAR team also contribute.(ESPN PR)(4-13-2007)
- Talladega-Texaco Walk of Fame Nominees Named and Voting: Online fan voting begins April 15 for this year’s Talladega-Texaco Walk of Fame honorees, and on Saturday, Oct. 6, two new names will be added to this prestigious list. The Talladega-Texaco Walk of Fame in downtown Talladega is both a focal point saluting NASCAR’s greatest names and a tribute to one of racing’s brightest stars – the late Davey Allison. Developed in 1994, the Talladega-Texaco Walk of Fame has inducted one active driver and up to two inactive drivers since 1995 based on the fans’ vote chosen from a ballot of nominees selected by strict guidelines. Fans may vote for their driver of choice through July 15 by visiting www.talladegawalk.com. Voting is limited to one vote per day. Active driver nominees for 2007 include: Kasey Kahne, Ward Burton, Kyle Busch, Michael Waltrip, Jeff Burton, Morgan Shepherd, Kurt Busch, Robby Gordon, Greg Biffle, Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth, Bobby Labonte, Sterling Marlin, Jeremy Mayfield, Joe Nemechek, Ryan Newman, Elliott Sadler, Ken Schrader and Carl Edwards. Inactive driver nominees for 2007 include: Terry Labonte, Jim Paschal, Bill Rexford, Jack Smith, Rex White, Red Byron and Speedy Thompson. On Saturday, Oct. 7, 2006, Tony Stewart and Rusty Wallace became the most recent drivers to be enshrined.(Talladega Superspeedway PR)(4-13-2007)
- Red Bull Teams to honor slain team member: Team Red Bull celebrates the life of one of its most colorful characters this weekend in Texas. In honor of James “Jimmy” Sprinkle — a test team mechanic who died after an unfortunate altercation at his property on March 31 — the #83-Brian Vickers and #84-A.J. Allmendinger will carry the words “In loving memory of Jimmy Sprinkle: ‘Breakin’ it down’” on the B-post. It has been a tough two weeks around the shop, as one Team Red Bull member admitted, “I don’t know if they can replace him.”(Red Bull Racing PR)(4-13-2007)
- Qualifying Rained Out for the Samsung 500 at Texas Motor Speedway and the field was set by the rules book, so the top-35 in 2007 Owners Pts fill the top 35 spots, then #83-Brian Vickers as a past race winner in 2006-2007 (2006 race winner at Talladega in the #25), #44-Dale Jarrett (past champion/not charged), #21-Ken Schrader (6 attempts/36th in owner points), #10-Scott Riggs (6/37th), #22-Dave Blaney (6/39th), #49-Mike Bliss (6/40th), #15-Paul Menard (6/43rd) and #78-Kenny Wallace (6/44th). #4-Ward Burton is 41st in owner points, but in the Morgan-McClure Motorsports deal to gain Phoenix Racing’s [#09 Chevy] points from Daytona, the team is considered to have attempted to qualify for five of the six events this year because Phoenix skipped California before that deal was completed. After the top 35, teams with the most attempts have priority in making the field once past winners and past champions are placed on the grid. The drivers who will miss the Samsung 500 at Texas are: #4-Burton, #00-David Reutimann [6/45th], #33-Scott Wimmer [1/54th], #34-Kevin Lepage [4/51st], #36-Jeremy Mayfield [6/45th], #37-John Andretti [6/47th], #55-Michael Waltrip [6/50th] and #84-AJ Allmendinger [6/48th]. See the starting lineup on my Texas Starting Lineup/Qualifying Results/Order page.(4-13-2007)
- 3M scheme for Biffle at Texas: This weekend at Texas Motor Speedway, #16-Greg Biffle will run a multi-colored 3M paint scheme with Ameriquest on the hood of his Roush Racing Ford.(Roush Racing)(4-13-2007)
- Johnson helps builds Soap Box Derby Cars: As part of its ongoing commitment to families and children and in support of its sponsorship of the All-American Soap Box Derby (AASBD), the Levi Strauss Signature brand hosted a Soap Box Derby car-building workshop for local boys and girls on Thursday [4/12] at Gateway Park in Ft. Worth, Texas. #48-Jimmie Johnson was on hand to assist underserved youth in building their cars and to share some of his racing expertise. The 2006 NASCAR champion is the national spokesperson for the Levi Strauss Signature brand, the title sponsor of the AASBD World Championship. Boys and girls ages 10 to 17 from Plano-area youth organizations constructed gravity-powered cars with the help of volunteers from the Plano Soap Box Derby chapter, which is in its inaugural year. Throughout the afternoon, Johnson was hands-on in helping each child assemble his / her car and, as a seasoned racing veteran, offered encouraging words to the new Soap Box Derby participants. The Levi Strauss Signature brand partnered with the AASBD to donate car kits to the children, giving them the opportunity to compete in the inaugural Plano Soap Box Derby, which takes place on Saturday, June 2. The 70th AASBD World Championship is scheduled to take place on July 21, 2007, with more than 500 race participants representing more than 40 states and five countries (Japan, Germany, New Zealand, Guam and the Philippines).(Taylor PR)(4-13-2007)
- Best Buy Racing Joins With Ball State University to Teach Kids about Science: Members of the #66 Best Buy Racing Nextel Cup Series team are partnering with Ball State University, Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Best Buy Children’s Foundation to help teach kids about science and engineering. On Tuesday, April 17, driver Jeff Green and crew chief Harold Holly will participate in a live broadcast from the speedway as part of Ball State University’s Electronic Field Trip (EFT) series. “Going, Going, Faster; The Science of Speed,” a 60-minute interactive broadcast, will showcase the science and engineering that goes into racing and give students an opportunity to experience much of the activity that surrounds a day at the races. Classrooms in all 50 states, plus Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Nigeria (a potential audience of 19.5 million students) will receive the broadcasts, which will take place at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. (ET), providing a glimpse into racing at the legendary speedway. Green and Holly aren’t the only racers taking part in the EFT. Former Indy Racing League (IRL) driver Scott Goodyear, now a racing commentator for ABC Sports and ESPN, will host the event, and several IRL drivers will appear via taped interviews.(Best Buy Racing PR)(4-13-2007)
- Kahne joins annual White House Easter Egg Roll: The 2007 Easter Egg Roll was held on April 9, 2007 on the South Lawn of the White House. Special guest readers included NASCAR driver #9-Kasey Kahne and actor Stephen Baldwin – both members of the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation. Shrek, Bugs Bunny, Charlie Brown, Clifford the Big Red Dog, the Official White House Easter Bunnies and many other strolling characters also entertained children.(Evernham Motorsports/Clear!Blue PR)(4-13-2007)
- Harkness Arrested by US Marshalls in NYC: UPDATE: Officials with the U.S. Marshals Service say they have arrested Fatemeh Angela Harkness after she got off a plane from the United Arab Emirates in New York City on Sunday. Harkness is a Round Rock [New York] native who was the subject of an international manhunt by the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force. Marshals say Harkness fled just prior to an April 2004 sentencing in which she reportedly plead guilty to involvement in bank fraud totaling $1.3 million. Harkness made a name for herself by owning a NASCAR team with her co-defendant in the case, Gary Jones. [The team was Angela’s Motorsports. They ran at Homestead in 2002 and had hired Mike McLaughlin to drive in 2003 before the plan unraveled.] Jones is currently incarcerated. Police say Harkness, a former stripper, conspired with Jones, a Wells Fargo vice president to embezzle money that helped fund their NASCAR adventures. The business was run from Harkness’ Round Rock home. Harkness was arrested by authorities with the United Arab Emirates in May 2005 — but due to the fact that the country and the U.S. have no extradition treaty, she had not been accessible to U.S. Marshalls until landing at JFK International Airport on Sunday. Marshals say she will face a judge in New York before being returned to Central Texas for trial.(KEYE TV)(4-8-2007)
UPDATE: A former Yellow Rose stripper who admitted to conspiring to embezzle $1 million to fund a NASCAR auto racing team run out of her Round Rock home is back in Austin for the first time since she fled the country to avoid going to prison in 2004. Fatemeh Angela Harkness, 30, is set to appear before a U.S. magistrate judge at 2 p.m. Friday. She faces up to five years in prison. Her sentencing date has not been set. Harkness arrived in Austin from New York Thursday evening accompanied by U.S. marshals. On Sunday, Harkness flew to New York from the United Arab Emirates — where she has spent the past three years — after contacting U.S. marshals in Austin to arrange her surrender.(Austin American-Statesman)(4-13-2007) - NASCAR.COM And Sprint Team To Stream NASCAR Busch Series Events: The thrills of the Busch Series will hit Sprint handsets as part of NASCAR.COM To Go through a partnership between Sprint Nextel and NASCAR.COM. The live television broadcast of the NASCAR Busch Series races airing on ESPN2 also will air on Sprint Power Vision capable handsets.(NASCAR PR)(4-13-2007)
- Park looking to return to truck: During a Sirius Radio interview Steve Park spoke about wanting to return to the Truck Series as a full-time driver. He said he’s currently working on a couple of deals and is hoping something will be in place within the next five weeks. Park also said that best case scenario would have him in a truck as soon as the Charlotte race. No word on a specific team or sponsor.(4-13-2007)
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