April 17, 2007
- PPI Motorsports to be Auctioned off: The #32 PPI Motorsports Nextel Cup team, owned by Cal Wells III is up for auction for: Race Shop – Fab Shop – Machine Shop – Office Equipment – Race Cars – Chassis Dyno – 5th Wheel Trailer – Motor Coach- Equipment of All Kinds, from Wednesday, April 18th thru Sunday, April 22nd at Sentman Auctions, more info at my #32 Team News and Links page or Part Links page.(4-17-2007)
- #07 Dialed in with DIRECTV at Phoenix: Clint Bowyer’s #07 Chevy will sport a DIRECTV paint scheme this weekend at Phoenix International Raceway (PIR). DIRECTV is the nation’s leading digital television service provider and is also the official satellite television service provider of NASCAR. The team’s customary primary sponsor, Jack Daniel’s, will be featured on the car’s lower-rear quarter panels and deck lid.(RCR PR), see an image of the scheme on my #07 Team Schemes page.(4-17-2007)
- Nextel Cup races where winner led last lap only (since 2000);
Texas: #31-Jeff Burton; 2nd: #17-Matt Kenseth, 4/2007
Las Vegas: #48-Jimmie Johnson; 2nd: #17-Kenseth, 3/2006
Homestead: #18-Bobby Labonte; 2nd: #29-Kevin Harvick, 11/2003
Darlington: #32-Ricky Craven; 2nd: #97-Kurt Busch
(ESPN2’s NASCAR Now and research)(4-17-2007) - Sad News: Joie Ray: On Friday, April 13th, 2007, racing pioneer Joseph “Joie” Ray, Jr. passed away while hospitalized during a brief illness. He was 83 years old. Joie Ray was born in 1923 in Louisville, Kentucky just one year before Chicago businessman William Rucker founded the Colored Speedway Association, the barnstorming circuit where Black drivers would race all over the Midwest. Joie’s inspiration to become a race car driver was fueled by the stories he heard growing up about the drivers and mechanics that competed in the Colored Speedway Association’s “Gold and Glory Sweepstakes”. In 1947, Joie Ray became the first licensed African American to compete in the American Automobile Association (AAA) sanctioning body. At one point, Joie was the only African American driver to hold simultaneously an American Automobile Association (AAA), Central States Racing Association (CSRA) and International Motor Contest Association (IMCA) license, which were the three largest sanctioning bodies in American motorsports during that time. Upon his retirement in 1963, Joie remained very active in motorsports traveling the country enjoying the sport he loved. In 1991, he was very proud to have witnessed Willy T. Ribbs become the first African American to qualify for the Indianapolis 500, and then have Willy appear as his guest at the Hoosier Auto Racing Fans (HARF) Banquet the following January. In recent years, Joie’s accomplishments have been honored and recognized by the following events: ESPN’s 2003 Black History Month special “The Forgotten Race – Where the Finish Line Crosses the Color Line”, as a featured subject for SPEED Channel’s 2004 Black History Month vignettes and in 2006 as a featured guest for Red Bull’s “For the Gold and Glory – Celebration of African American Heritage in Motorsports”. More about Ray at joieray.com
RAY, JOSEPH R. JR., 83, of Louisville, passed away Friday, April 13, 2007. He was a retired tax assessor for Jefferson County, a black pioneer in motorsports and owner of the gift shop at Breckinridge Inn. Survivors: daughters, Carol Bottoms and Susan Mark; a son, William “Billy” Ray (Glendal); nine grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; and a great-great- grandson. Funeral: noon Wednesday, April 18, 2007 at Burnett Avenue Baptist Church, 511 E. Burnett Avenue. Burial: Green Meadows Cemetery. Visitations: 2-4 p.m. Tuesday at Hathaway & Clark, Inc., and 6-9 p.m. at the church.(Courier-Journal)
Ray did make one NASCAR Grand National [Now Nextel Cup] start in 1952 at the Daytona beach course, starting 25th and finishing 51st in a 61 car field.(4-17-2007) - Conner & Zipadelli Penalized by NASCAR: NASCAR announced today that Greg Conner, crew chief of the #59 Ford driven by Marcos Ambrose and Scott Zipadelli, crew chief of the #47 Ford driven by Jon Wood in the NASCAR Busch Series, have been penalized due to rule violations at Texas. Both were fined $2,000 for violating Sections 12-4-A (actions detrimental to stock car racing), 12-4-Q (car, car parts, components and/or equipment used that do not conform to NASCAR rules) and 20A-12A: unapproved rear axle housing (offset) of the 2007 NASCAR Busch Series Rule Book. The infractions were discovered during opening day inspection on April 12.(NASCAR PR)(4-17-2007)
- Beringer Vineyards Sponsoring Braun Racing: Blaney and the #32 Braun Racing team welcome new sponsor Beringer Vineyards, part of Foster’s Wine Estates. Beringer is located in Napa Valley, California. The Bashas’ Supermarkets 200 will be Beringer’s first race as primary sponsor of the #32.(Braun Racing PR)(4-17-2007)
- iLevel to Sponsor Kenseth in Busch: Roush Fenway Racing announced that iLevel by Weyerhaeuser will return in 2007 as a primary sponsor in the Busch Series. Weyerhaeuser’s iLevel brand will appear four times this season as the primary sponsor on Matt Kenseth’s #17 Ford. The first race in which Kenseth’s #17 will feature iLevel as the primary sponsor will be this weekend at Phoenix. iLevel will also be the primary sponsor for Dover in September and Charlotte in October. iLevel will finish out its season at Texas in November.(Roush Fenway Racing PR)(4-17-2007)
- Special Paint Scheme for #27 at Phoenix: The #27 car will sport a special “Scott Shop Towels” paint scheme for the Bashas’ 200 at Phoenix.(Brewco PR)(4-16-2007)
UPDATE: See an image of the car on my Paint Schemes Page.(4-17-2007) - Rookie Notes for Phoenix: David Ragan was the Raybestos Rookie of the Race in the O’Reilly 300 at Texas. Ragan finished fifth, his first top-five finish in 15 Busch Series starts. He took Raybestos Rookie of the Race honors for the second time in three races. Ragan became the first Raybestos Rookie to score a top-five finish in the spring race at Texas since Carl Edwards placed fourth in 2005. Ragan won the pole position for the O’Reilly 300, the first pole position of his Busch Series career. He is the only Raybestos Rookie to win a pole this season. Marcos Ambrose holds a two-point lead over Ragan (78-76) entering the Bashas’ Supermarkets 200 at Phoenix. Two Raybestos Rookies are in the top-10 in the Busch Series championship standings. Ambrose is eighth, best of any Raybestos Rookie, 35 points behind seventh-place Bobby Hamilton Jr. Ragan is in 10th-place, 15 points ahead of 11th-place Stephen Leicht.(Raybestos PR)(4-17-2007)
- Huffman and Earnhardt, Jr. on Air Craft Carrier: Prior to racing at Phoenix, #88-Shane Huffman and JR Motorsports team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. will spend Wednesday aboard the USS Cleveland LPD-7. The vessel is the fourth amphibious transport dock in the Austin class. Commissioned in April 1967, the USS Cleveland is home ported out of San Diego, Calif., as a member of the Pacific Fleet Amphibious Forces. At 569 feet in length, the USS Cleveland has divided her time between operations in the Eastern Pacific and extended deployments to the Western Pacific. It is normally assigned as part of an Expeditionary Strike Group and has performed a wide variety of missions.(JR Motorsports PR)(4-17-2007)
- McClure to Run Special Decal for Virginia Tech: UPDATE: Eric McClure, driver of the #0 HeftynChevy, will pay tribute to the Virginia Tech community this weekend in the running of the Bashas’ Supermarkets 200 in Phoenix. McClure, who lives only an hour south of the Virginia Tech campus, will run a special decal on the #0 Hefty Chevy and wear VT memorabilia honoring those who lost their lives in the tragedy that occurred on Monday in Blacksburg, Virginia.(McClure PR)(4-18-2007)
UPDATE: In honor of the victims of the April 16th tragedy at Virginia Tech University, a commemorative decal will appear on the #7 GEICO Chevy beginning with the April 20th race in Phoenix.(GEICO Racing PR)(4-17-2007) - Mansfield Motorsports Park president resigns: Mansfield Motorsports Park president and general manager Chris Mize has resigned effective immediately. Mize served as the track’s president and general manager since 2004, and oversaw the last two Craftsman Truck Series races at the half-mile Ohio oval. His replacement has not been named. Mize will assume general manager duties of the oval track at South Georgia Motorsports Park. The Ohio 250 at Mansfield Motorsports Park is scheduled for May 24 and 25. It will mark the fourth time the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series has competed at the facility since its debut event in 2004.(truckseries.com)(4-17-2007)
- Mike Skinner delivers Daytona ride-along experience: A crew from CBS News Sunday Morning and national correspondent Tracy Smith visited DIS on Monday with Craftsman Truck Series driver Mike Skinner and his wife Angie. Smith’s visit was highlighted by a ride-along in a Richard Petty Driving Experience race car with Skinner. The RPDE car was outfitted with cameras and the footage will be used in a segment about why NASCAR is appealing to women on CBS News Sunday Morning on May 13.(Daytona Int’l Speedway PR)(4-17-2007)
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