With NASCAR on a temporary hiatus, news is going to be slow in the coming weeks. To help fill the NASCAR void, we plan on taking you on a daily trip down memory lane spanning the years since the Jayski’s site inception. Using our news archives pages, here’s a look back at what’s happened on this date through the last 23 years in NASCAR:
This day in NASCAR history: April 17
Years we have pulled today’s main items from: 2018, 2014, 2012, 2009, 2008, 2005, 2000, 1999
Top see everything from this date over previous years: Main Page | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 | 1998 | 1997
Note: Many links on older stories don’t work. There’s not a lot of the same websites around anymore.
To see previous articles covering “Today in History”, click here.
2018:
- Ricky Stenhouse, Jr’s sponsors renew through 2021: Roush Fenway Racing has announced a deal that will solidify its partnership of Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and the No. 17 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series team through 2021. Fastenal will continue to serve as the anchor partner of the No. 17 and will increase its number of primary races with Stenhouse and the team. SunnyD and Fifth Third Bank will each continue to play a major role with the team, serving as primary partners with the No. 17 in multiple events over the next four seasons.[More](4-17-2018)
2014:
Lack of sponsorship could shut down Swan Racing: Swan Racing [#26-Cole Whitt & #30-Parker Kligerman] issued the following statement Thursday afternoon: “Swan Racing is in the process of reviewing its current situation and the ability to continue to compete in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The team has been unable to secure the kind of sponsorship required to effectively operate the team. As a result, the team management is exploring every available option. We hope to be in position to provide a detailed update in the near future.”(Swan Racing)(4-17-2014)
2012:
- Go Green Racing to make Sprint Cup debut: #79-Go Green Racing plans to make its NASCAR Sprint Cup
Series debut at Kansas Speedway for the STP 400 on April 22 with driver Tim Andrews. Calling the shots will be former NSCS Champion crew chief, Paul Andrews. The team will run the #79 BBI / Bestway Disposal Ford Fusion. Go Green Racing has purchased their NSCS cars from Roush Fenway Racing and will run the Roush / Yates FR9 engines. “Tim proved to us last year that he can get a car into the show, and at this level, that is what it is all about,” said Archie St. Hilaire, Team Owner for Go Green Racing. “The chemistry between Paul and Tim is outstanding. I think that Tim has shown us that he deserves a shot and I have always been a believer in giving a guy an opportunity.” Kansas Speedway will also mark the first Sprint Cup attempt for Tim Andrews. “I feel very fortunate to get this opportunity,” said Tim Andrews. “I have dreamed about being in a Cup car and to do it with my father’s help is unbelievable. I believe in him and he believes in me, it just gives us that much more confidence. I’ve raced at Kansas before and can’t wait to go back.”(Go Green Racing PR), see an image of the car on my #79 Team Schemes page.(4-17-2012)
2009:
- J.D. Gibbs gives Joey Logano vote of confidence: Rumors earlier this month that Joe Gibbs Racing considered replacing #20-Joey Logano with Martin Truex Jr. didn’t reach Logano until Joe Gibbs told the rookie they weren’t true. “I like this saying: the brighter the spotlight on you, the more bugs it attracts,” Logano said. “The more people are going to talk about you, the more all that’s going to happen. … If people want to make stuff up that’s fine.” Since then, the organization has emphasized its confidence in the 18-year-old’s future. “Watching everything he’s done up to this point, he’s really gifted,” said J.D. Gibbs, president of Joe Gibbs Racing. “He’s the guy; we feel like he’s the guy of the future.” Tony Stewart’s departure from JGR one season before his contract expired caused the vacancy in the #20 Toyota. Gibbs said there was talk of keeping Logano longer in Nationwide, but Cup and Nationwide cars are too different. They knew 2009 would be a challenging year. “Before the year’s out we expect to be out front challenging, and next year we’d like to come out of the box and grow,” Gibbs said. “I don’t care who you are in this sport, you have to perform as a team or you won’t be here. There’s no franchising to guarantee a spot.”(Orlando Sentinel)(4-17-2009)
- RPM locks up Allmendinger UPDATE: Richard Petty Motorsports has picked up the option on #44-AJ Allmendinger’s contract, locking up the driver through 2010. According to multiple sources, Joe Gibbs Racing had
inquired about Allmendinger’s status as they consider starting up a fourth team. RPM had an Aug. 15 deadline to pick up Allmendinger’s option for 2010.(FoxSports)(4-17-2009)
UPDATE: Richard Petty Motorsports announced today AJ Allmendinger will race for the team in the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. “This was an easy decision for Richard Petty Motorsports,” said Tom Reddin, the team’s chief executive officer. “AJ has done a superb job, both on and off the track in 2009. We want to let everyone know that he’s going to be a vital part of Richard Petty Motorsports for what we believe will be a long-term, winning relationship.” The Petty team signed Allmendinger before the start of the 2009 season with plans to run the Bud Shootout and the first eight point races. Allmendinger finished fifth in the preseason Bud Shootout, and posted a third-place finish in the Daytona 500 and a ninth-place finish at Martinsville. He was the only driver without a guaranteed starting spot to qualify for all of the races in 2009. Sponsorship from Dodge, Hunt Brothers Pizza, Valvoline, Harrah’s, Super 8, the Paralyzed Veterans of America and Charter Communications extended Allmendinger’s schedule through the Sept. 12 Richmond race. Reddin said he is confident the team will secure the sponsorship needed to extend the number of races the 27-year-old Californian will run in 2009 for the full season. Allmendinger is 20th in points but only 104 points out of the 12th and final “Chase” position. “I’m thrilled about this,” Allmendinger said. “Racers are no different than anyone else. We like to know we have a job. I’m very thankful to be where I am and I expect we will keep running better and better each weekend. I think I have found a long-term home at Richard Petty Motorsports.”(RPM PR)(4-17-2009)
2008:
- Chevy pushing for alternative fuels in NASCAR: Chevrolet is continuing its effort to have NASCAR make alternative fuels a priority. “We’re pushing hard – we probably are the instigators a little bit,” Chevrolet Vice President Brett Dewar said during the Texas race weekend. “We believe in green racing, and we believe it is very appropriate to do that … We believe it’s time. We think racing can also be green, and we would like it to be biofuels.” NASCAR executives have indicated that alternative fuels are a priority. “They’re definitely receptive,” Dewar said about NASCAR. “They’ve got fuel providers, and it’s a transition, and I don’t want to mitigate the fact that some work has to get done. There’s modifications to the engines, but we do it to our vehicles today. … We have to reduce our dependency on petroleum products. We just have to. Economically we need to do it, and we’re willing to do it.” General Motors is building cars that can be run on alternative fuels as well as electric vehicles. Dewar said the chairman of General Motors has been among those who has talked with NASCAR officials about alternative fuels. Could that happen in two or three years? “It could be sooner if we all rode together and worked together,” Dewar said. “It’s just a matter of bringing each other [together]. We’re going to meet with them soon to see how their development is coming. but we’re invited to this party. We’re proud to be a member with them from the beginning, General Motors with NASCAR, and we’re very supportive of that. We have to make good decisions.”(SceneDaily)(4-17-2008)
2005:
- Leffler out of the #11? Ward in? UPDATES – DENIED Motorsport.com reports it has learned that the #11 Fedex Joe Gibbs Racing Chevy team may be planning on replacing Jason Leffler with Ward Burton as soon as Darlington. While denied by team officials, insiders say Burton would fill the seat for the remainder of the season before a permanent driver [Yeley?] would be named to take over the ride. Burton stated that he has not been spoken to in regards to the #11 car but currently had several other offers in play.(Motorsport.com)(4-16-2005)
UPDATE – more on Ward, Indy 500?: With rumblings that the Nextel Cup Series “Silly Season” of driver hirings and firings could be ready to kick into gear, Ward Burton made an appearance at Texas Motor Speedway
yesterday. The South Boston, Va., native was announcing a new marketing partnership between his wildlife foundation and Beretta that will promote firearm safety for kids, but he also spent several minutes answering questions about his NASCAR future. An Internet report yesterday linked the 43-year-old with possibly replacing Jason Leffler in the #11 Chevrolet of Joe Gibbs Racing. With the impending retirements of Rusty Wallace and Mark Martin, and the expected departure of veterans such as Sterling Marlin from established teams, several other quality rides could be open by the end of the year. Burton, who has stayed busy managing his Halifax County preserve, doing charity work and developing an outdoors show for TV, said he wasn’t in serious discussions with any team. He reportedly has been offered rides in the Cup, Busch and Truck series. “I won’t come back if the right situation isn’t there,” he said. “I won’t say Cup is my only choice, but it’s the only one I’m considering.” Burton said he also had been contacted about attempting the Indianapolis 500.(Richmond Times Dispatch)(4-17-2005)
UPDATE 2 DENIED: Joe Gibbs Racing President J.D. Gibbs on Sunday denied published reports that Jason Leffler is on the way out of the #11 Chevrolet and Ward Burton is on the way in. Gibbs called Leffler on Saturday night at Texas to give a vote of confidence. “I called Jason and kind of laughed,” Gibbs said. “We have a multi-year deal with Jason and with FedEx, so there is no truth to that. “I said, ‘You don’t have to worry about that,’ and he said, ‘I know.’” Joe Gibbs Racing has never released a driver on the Nextel Cup Series level in its history, and Gibbs said that Leffler has a three-year deal to drive the car. “We like long-term relationships with sponsors and team drivers,” Gibbs said. “He’s has been great, everything off the track. We have got to finish first and show improvement, which we have been doing.” A source close to Burton also denied the rumor.(NASCAR.com)(4-17-2005)
2000:
- Slow Down at ‘Dega UPDATE 2: Richard Childress and Jack Roush have prepared cars for a special test here Monday in an effort to slow Winston Cup cars down enough so they won’t need a carburetor restrictor plate. Nelson said teams came to him with some ideas, and he decided to try them out on the race track. One of the ideas is a bigger “greenhouse,” the size and shape of the rear window area(Total Sports). Ned Jarrett’s idea is to stand the windshield up, like the trucks, that’ll slow them down(4-15-2000)
UPDATE: NASCAR has closed the test to the media except for long-distance photography, and there are indications that NASCAR officials aren’t very enthusiastic about the test. See full story by Mike Mulern at PitNow
UPDATE 2: On RPM2Nite the two cars being tested were shown. The #6 Ford was driven by Matt Kanseth and had some sheet metal modifications done around the nose and hood. The #3 Chevy was driven by Dave Marcis and supposedly had a raised roof(by one inch) and widened by 2 inches. Also it was speculated on the show the the windshield was being tested at different angles. The cars with present restrictor plates and modifications were slowed down by 3 seconds. Using a larger restrictor plate (unknown size) the 3 seconds were regained. More testing will be done on Tuesday(RPM2Nite)(4-17-2000)
1999:
- Ricky Rudd selling team? UPDATE 2: Ricky Rudd’s NASCAR team is for sale, and Larry McReynolds, crew chief for the Richard Childress-Mike Skinner team, has made an offer to buy it, McReynolds has confirmed. Rudd
could not be reached for comment(PitNow) — UPDATE 1: Ricky Rudd said Friday he is not trying to find someone to buy out his team, despite the rash of rumors recently to the contrary. Rudd denied Friday he has talked to CART owner Chip Ganassi. Sources confirmed Friday, however, that Larry McReynolds had made Rudd an offer on his team. McReynolds has said that if he found proper funding and the right sponsor, that he would resign his position at Richard Childress Racing and form his own team for the 2000 season. But Rudd emphasized Friday what he is looking for is a partner who would run the day-to-day operations of the team, while Rudd would remain as the driver. See quotes and more at the That’s Racin’ story – Rudd denies rumors of team’s sale(4-16-1999) — UPDATE 2: Following qualifying on Friday, Larry McReynolds said Ricky Rudd had declined the offer to sell his team to McReynolds and John Dangler, McReynolds partner(NOL) and from PitNow: Ricky Rudd says he will definitely restructure his team this season, because he’s finding it increasingly difficult as a small single-team owner-driver to compete against the giant teams dominating the Winston Cup tour today. But he says he won’t sell more than 50 percent of his team to anyone(PitNow)(4-17-1999)
Click a link below for a full listing of news from each year:
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