April 18, 2002
- Kerry Earnhardt to drive at Talladega Cup race in Oct: FitzBradshaw Racing has secured Racing USA, Inc. as a primary sponsor for the Winston Cup Series race on October 6, 2002 in Talladega. The Racing USA car will be driven by Kerry Earnhardt. The car’s paint scheme is currently being designed by Sam Bass and will boast the #83. The number 8 represents Kerry’s grandfather and the number 3 represents his father. Earnhardt currently drives the #12 Chevy in the BGN. The one-race sponsorship is the first Winston Cup Series sponsorship for FitzBradshaw Racing. Earlier this month, the team announced that the #12 Chevy secured primary sponsors for the entire 2002 Busch Series. The team intends to continue to pursue limited Winston Cup Series race sponsorships for the later part of the 2002 season and for select 2003 races. By 2004, FitzBradshaw’s goal is to be fielding it’s first full-season Winston Cup Series car. “Sponsorship procurement has been progressing as a steady pace. The pace we’re on has FitzBradshaw Racing running full-season Busch and eventually full-season Cup,” stated FitzBradshaw co-owner Armondo Fitz. “Racing USA is a leader in the collectible industry and everybody at FitzBradshaw is excited about the opportunity to run a Cup race, the collectible car and to be able to see Kerry driving the #83 car around one of his favorite tracks, Talladega.” To commemorate this special event, Action Performance will be producing a limited edition diecast collectible of Kerry’s No. 83 Talladega paint scheme to be sold exclusively at Racing USA’s retail store in Birminham’s Riverchase Galleria Mall and on Racing USA’s website at www.racingusa.com. FitzBradshaw Racing is co-owned by Fitz and Pro Football Hall of Fame member and FOX broadcaster Terry Bradshaw.(FitzBradshaw Racing PR)(4-18-2002)
- Sadler in Video: #21 Cup driver Elliott Sadler and Country Music Male Vocalist Blake Shelton spent the majority of Tuesday and Wednesday filming the music video for Shelton’s new release, “Ol’ Red”.. The two met in March of this year when Sadler attended one of Shelton’s concerts in Atlanta.. They began to chat and found they share a common interest in deer hunting.. By the conclusion of the meet and greet, Sadler and Shelton had made plans to shoot the music video and a deer hunting trip to Virginia in December. The filming of “Ol’ Red” began Tuesday morning and “That’s A Wrap” transpired on Wednesday night around midnight.. Shelton’s first major release, “Austin”, soared to No. 1 on the country music charts. “Filming ‘Ol’ Red’ with Blake has been awesome,” stated Sadler.. “I’ve always enjoyed watching music videos and when Blake asked me if I’d like to join him in one of his videos I immediately accepted.. It was a lot of fun and similar to filming a commercial accept it took a lot longer.. I’ve always told everyone that if I couldn’t be a racecar driver I’d want to be a country music singer.. This is probably as close as I’ll ever come.” According to Shelton, “I became a huge NASCAR fan last year in October when I sang the National Anthem at Talladega.. Elliott and I had a great time filming the video and I hope all of the NASCAR and country music fans will enjoy the ‘Ol’ Red’ Video.” To view the lyrics from “Ol’ Red” please click on the link below: http://www.blakeshelton.com/section/audio/olred.htm. The video is scheduled for release in early May.. Shelton plays the role of the inmate and Sadler plays the inmate’s cousin.. Both were instructed to grow beards for their roles in the video.. The attached photo includes Elliott and Blake.(Elliott Sadler Enterprises PR)(4-18-20020
- Sponsor sticks by Harvick: GM Goodwrench Service’s director of brand marketing, Jon Brancheau, says the sponsor understands NASCAR’s one-race suspension of driver Kevin Harvick but continues to support the driver and the Richard Childress Racing team. “We recognize NASCAR’s concern regarding the situation in Martinsville and look forward to seeing Kevin back in the #29 GM Goodwrench Chevrolet Monte Carlo in Talladega this weekend,” Brancheau says. “As the sponsor, we proudly support the entire RCR organization.” For his part, Harvick says he has learned his lesson from the suspension that followed an incident Saturday in which he rammed the truck of Coy Gibbs during the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Advance Auto Parts 250. “Having to miss the [Winston Cup] race in Martinsville definitely got my attention. I’m still learning how NASCAR works and what is involved in the decisions they make. They are trying to create a fair playing field with those decisions, and they’re not out to get anyone.”(Winston Cup Scene Daily Newsletter)(4-18-2002)
- Softwall Testing – Petree ‘loans’ car: #33/55 Cup team owner Andy Petree wanted to help NASCAR’s safety crusade for soft walls, so he donated one of his stock cars for crash research. After the crash test was completed at the Midwest Roadside Safety facility at the University of Nebraska and the car examined from top to bottom by engineers, NASCAR sent the Chevrolet back to its owner. “I’ve never seen a car like that destroyed in my whole life,” said Petree, who has the mangled machine sitting at his Flat Rock, N.C., shop. “I’ll tell you what, if that was a soft wall I’d hate to see it with a hard one.” The good news is that the crash that destroyed Petree’s car was exaggerated beyond a worst-case scenario, and this potentially lifesaving barrier could be in use this year.(more at the Daytona Beach News Journal)(4-18-2002)
- #12 Schemes as reported on the Paint Scheme Gallery, the #12 Ford driven by Ryan Newman, will drive a Sony WEGA scheme at Pocono in June (and aa few other races, possibly Calif) and and a Mobil One scheme at Pocono in July (and possibly some other races in 2002. See the schemes on my Paint Scheme Gallery.(4-18-2002)
- Lake Speed to Team Up With Ernie Irvan UPDATE: Former Winston Cup winner and international karting champion [and Cup driver] Lake Speed has confirmed his participation teaming with another former Winston Cup champion, Ernie Irvan, in the Endurance Karting Charlotte 400, 8-hour race Saturday, April 20, at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Speed’s karting career began in his home state of Mississippi, and soon the young driver was winning national events all over the country, resulting in six U.S. Karting National Championships in single and twin-engine competition. Speed graduated to the international scene representing the USA across Europe and regularly competed with many drivers who became better known in full-size international motorsports like Grand Prix Formula One and World Sportscar racing. Speed was the first American to triumph in the World Championship of Karting at LeMans, France, in 1978. Speed won the championship over no less than future Formula One Champion, Ayrton Senna, who finished second. Speed began a career in Winston Cup in 1980 and in 19 years started 402 races resulting in a win at Darlington in 1988, and no less than 16 top fives and 75 top ten finishes. Irvan’s team is showing tremendous depth with the two former Winston Cup winners joined by Irvan’s ARCA protégé and veteran of ASA and Legends Car competition, Kevin Conway and an unknown, but rumored to be exceedingly fast young driver by the name of Tom.(Endurancekarting.com)(4-17-2002)
UPDATE: One of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers of All-Time, Ernie Irvan, and former NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver Lake Speed have joined together with two up and coming drivers, Kevin Conway and Neal Lewis for the Charlotte 400 Endurance Karting event on Saturday, April 20th. Irvan, a 15-time NASCAR Winston Cup Series winner started his career by racing karts throughout southern California. That foundation launched the career of one of the most popular and successful drivers in the history of NASCAR. “It really is a lot of fun to be able to go back to the roots of my career and do something like this,” said Irvan. Speed was the first American to triumph in the World Championship of Karting at LeMans, France, in 1978. Speed won the championship over no less than future Formula One Champion, Ayrton Senna, who finished second. Speed began a career in Winston Cup in 1980 and in 19 years started 402 races resulting in a win at Darlington in 1988, and no less than 16 top fives and 75 top ten finishes. Irvan’s protégé and driver for his newly formed ARCA ReMax Series team Kevin Conway will be competing on the same team with Irvan and Speed. “It is funny to think that I was born the same year that Ernie won his first track championship and Lake won the World Championship in 1978,” stated Kevin. Conway, a Lynchburg, Virginia native, began racing at an early age and has competed in AMA Motocross, WKA go-karts, NMMA midgets, Legends Cars, NASCAR Late Models, ASA, and the ARCA ReMax Series. For more information on Endurance Karting events, please log onto www.endurancekarting.com.(Ernie Irvan Racing PR)(4-18-2002) - Testing at Sears Point: #28-Ricky Rudd will highlight a group of six drivers who will participate in a two-day NASCAR Winston Cup test session at Sears Point Raceway, April 23-24. Rudd, a four-time pole-sitter at Sears Point, will be joined at the test by fellow Winston Cup drivers #17-Matt Kenseth, #97-Kurt Busch, #48-Jimmie Johnson, #12-Ryan Newman and #87-Ron Fellows. This will mark the first time that rookies Johnson and Newman have tested the 10-turn, 2-mile course that will be used in June for the Dodge/Save Mart 350. The test session will afford drivers a sneak preview of the ‘new’ Sears Point Raceway, which is in the final stages of a two-year $50 million renovation plan that will transform the facility into one of the premier motorsports and entertainment venues in the country. On the track, drivers will see increased runoff at almost every turn on the road course to increase driver safety, as well as a full complement of 43 stalls on pit road, thus eliminating the need for the infamous “Gilligan’s Island” on the inside of Turn 11. Moreover, the drag strip has been permanently separated from the road course at Turns 12-1, which has been a long-time criticism of Sears Point Raceway, and portions of the course have been repaved. The entire circuit will be repaved in September. Off the track, drivers will see improved fan amenities, including a new permanent grandstand at start/finish that has been constructed directly above pit road, as well as two underground pedestrian tunnels at start/finish and Turn 10. The tunnels eliminated the need for the two bridges that were previously used as thoroughfares, which has also opened up dynamic sightlines for fans in the new grandstand. Additional hillside terrace seats have been built above Turns 7-9, and a new system of shuttle roads has been constructed to help get fans around the property more efficiently. The two-day test session will be held in advance of the NASCAR Winston Cup weekend at California Speedway in Fontana, April 26-28.(Sears Point PR)(4-18-2002)
- Earnhardt Fast at MIS: Dale Earnhardt Jr. proved he still may be the man to beat when it comes to qualifying at Michigan International Speedway. Earnhardt, who holds the MIS NASCAR qualifying record at 191.149 mph set in August 2000, notched speeds in excess of 187mph during the second day of a two-day test session at the historic two-mile oval. Chad Little, testing [#74] BACE Motorsports equipment, also completed the two-day session Wednesday. Both will attempt to qualify for the Michigan 400 on Father’s Day, Sunday, June 16, at MIS. The day’s only break in testing came when Little’s engine began smoking at 10:15am, about the same time rain started falling at the Speedway. After a two-hour break to let the track dry, the cars went back out.(MIS PR)(4-18-2002)
- New Heart: Sherman Forrester didn’t have to wait long for a new heart. The motorcoach driver for Jeff Burton received a heart transplant April 12 at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte. On April 14, he was moved into a private room.(Winston Cup Scene – need sub to read)(4-18-2002)
- TRAC Cars UPDATE: TRAC officials will unveil their three new race cars and there will also be several other major announcements followed by a question-and-answer session at Lowe’s Motor Speedway on Wednesday, April 24th. For more info on the series, see my TRAC Page or the TRAC website.(4-17-2002)
UPDATE: hearing the car makes are a Viper, Mustang and a Corvette.(4-18-2002) - Ruttman to run 2nd Phoenix Racing car: Upon learning there were only 42 entries for Saturday’s Aaron’s 312 BGN race, crew chief Marc Reno decided to roll the back-up car off the hauler and attempt to qualifying it as well. Veteran driver Joe Ruttman, who has tested for the team on many occasions including last week at Talladega, is scheduled to attempt a qualifying run in the #51 Yellow Pontiac when the two-lap time trials start at 5:00pm/et today. Jimmy Spencer, like always, will be in the #1 Pontiac. The 58-year old Ruttman has tested for the Yellow Racing Team on many occasions, including last week here at Talladega. He has 13 career CTS wins, the last at Pikes Peak in 2001. He also won Daytona earlier that year. Phoenix Racing was already slated for a double-duty weekend with an entry in Sunday’s Aaron’s 499 Winston Cup race. Driver Geoffrey Bodine will attempt to qualify that car [#09 Ford] Friday. He finished third in the Daytona 500. The back-up car Ruttman will attempt to qualify is the same one Spencer finished second with here last year. Spencer will be driving the car he ran at Daytona to start the 2002 season.(PR)(4-18-2002)
- Fedawa to driver at Talladega: Tim Fedewa, looking for a BGN ride in 2002 and helping out Mike Wallace’s #4 team from the spotter’s tower, got a call to drive in Saturday’s Aaron’s 312. It will be in Wallace’s backup car, the Biagi Brothers Chevrolet. Fedewa will drive a plain white car, likely sporting #41 and no other markings.(Anniston Star)(4-18-2002)
- Light Entry list: NASCAR.com’s BGN Talladega entry list is at 42 cars for 43 spots, not counting #41-Tim Fedawa. #17-Kenseth and #71-Lapage dropped out.(4-18-2002)
- Kirby in Brewco car at Daytona: Brewco Motorsports owner Clarence Brewer is planning to field an entry for driver Andy Kirby in the July 5 race at Daytona.(Winston Cup Scene – need sub to read)(4-18-2002)
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