April 20, 2006
- Sad News – Bill Ellis: Bill Ellis, 42, of Mooresville, NC, passed away on Tuesday, April 18, 2006, at Lake Norman Regional Medical Center, Mooresville. Born August 20, 1963 in Danbury, CT, he was a son of William and Barbara Ellis, of Bethel, CT. Mr. Ellis was a metal fabricator for Chip Ganassi Racing. He was a member of St. Therese Catholic Church, Mooresville, and a former baseball coach for the Lake Norman Youth Athletic Association. In addition to his parents, Bill is survived by his wife, Karen Joan Reilly Ellis; children, Brianna Ellis, of Danbury, CT, Alec and Raymond Ellis, of the home. The family will receive friends from 6 – 8 PM, Thursday, April 20, 2006, at Cavin-Cook Funeral Home, Mooresville. Funeral and burial will take place at a future date in Danbury, CT. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Donor Services, P.O. Box 4072, Pittsfield, MA 01202 or the Christopher Reeve Foundation, 636 Morris Turnpike Suite 3A, Short Hills, NJ 07078.(Charlotte.com)(4-20-2006)
- New Burton/Cingular Commercial: Cingular Wireless, primary sponsor on Jeff Burton’s #31 Chevy, will debut a new commercial during the Subway Fresh 500. The new spot titled ‘Golf Cart’ features Burton and was shot earlier this season in Las Vegas. It highlights Media Net, a new service which provides Cingular subscribers access to all things racing like insider info, driver stats and racing updates. Burton rides in on a customized high-speed golf cart carrying the same paint scheme as his Cingular Chevy.(RCR PR)(4-20-2006)
- Kurt Busch makes amends for traffic violations: #2-Kurt Busch, cited last year by Maricopa County sheriff’s deputies for reckless driving, offers a word of advice: Dangerous driving belongs on racetracks, not public roadways. That’s the gist of a public-service announcement that Busch did Wednesday with Sheriff Joe Arpaio at the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving, south of Phoenix. The PSA is expected to air on Valley television stations in May or June. The NASCAR driver was stopped Nov. 11. He was fined $580 and ordered to perform 50 hours of community service after pleading guilty Feb. 10 to a reduced charge of speeding, a misdemeanor, and admitting responsibility for following too closely and passing in a no-passing zone. The time spent on the PSA is expected to count toward the 50 hours. Arpaio said that he was “pleasantly surprised” Wednesday “at how gracious this man was” despite the controversy.(Arizona Republic)(4-20-2006)
- #2 Crew Chief to miss Phoenix race: Roy McCauley, crew chief for driver Kurt Busch and the #2 Miller Lite Dodge team out of the Penske Racing stable, will not be making the trip out West for this weekend’s Subway Fresh 500 at Phoenix International Raceway. He will be absent per doctor’s orders. McCauley experienced some mild chest pains and went to the hospital Monday for diagnostic tests. He successfully underwent minor surgery yesterday (Tuesday) to treat a small blockage. “The procedure was 100 percent effective in alleviating the problem, but my doctor advised me to take it easy and spend this weekend relaxing at home,” said McCauley, who will return to work – and Talladega – next week.(Tom Roberts PR)(4-20-2006)
- Red Bull Hire: Red Bull Racing has hired John Probst from Ford Racing Technology, a team spokesman confirmed Tuesday night. Probst will serve as the new team’s technical director. A mechanical engineer with a degree from Penn State, Probst was the vehicle systems supervisor for Ford. The Red Bull operation, owned by the energy drink company, will field two Toyota teams in Nextel Cup in 2007. Probst joins a management team that includes recently hired Elton Sawyer as director of competition, Marty Gaunt as general manager and Guenther Steiner as a technical advisor. Steiner comes over from Red Bull Racing’s Formula 1 team.(SceneDaily.com)(4-20-2006)
- Phoenix Qualifying Notes:
• Kyle Busch won the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Bud Pole for the Subway Fresh 500, lapping Phoenix International Raceway in 26.917 seconds at 133.744 mph. Ryan Newman holds the track-qualifying record of 26.499 seconds, 135.854 mph – set Nov. 5, 2004.
• This is Busch’s second career Bud Pole and came in his 50th NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race.
• This is Busch’s fourth top-10 start this season – all in the past four races. It is his first start better than 15th in three races at Phoenix.
• Busch became the 13th different driver to post a Bud Pole at Phoenix – the fourth different one in the past four races.
• Greg Biffle posted the second-quickest qualifying lap of 26.990 seconds, 133.383 mph – and will join Kyle Busch on the front row for the Subway Fresh 500. Biffle has posted seven top-10 starts this season – failing to start in the top-10 in only the season-opening Dayton 500. It is his third top-10 start in five races at Phoenix – all in the past three races here.
• This is the third Bud Pole for Chevrolet in 2006. Dodge also has three Bud Poles and Ford has one. Qualifying was canceled at Bristol.
• Tony Stewart (third) posted his fourth top-10 start of the season – all third or better. It is his best start in nine races at Phoenix – bettering his previous best of sixth, which he had posted three times.
• Matt Kenseth (fourth) posted his best start of 2006 in posting his fourth top-10 start this season. It is his career-best start at Phoenix and first start better than 12th in his eight races here.
• Carl Edwards (fifth) posted his third top-10 start this season and his second in four races at Phoenix.
• Three Raybestos Rookie-of-the-Year candidates qualified in the top-10 for the second straight race this season: Denny Hamlin (sixth), Clint Bowyer (eighth) and Martin Truex Jr. (ninth). Last race (Texas) J.J. Yeley joined Hamlin and Truex in starting in the top-10. This is the career-best start for Bowyer.
• Brandon Ash (40th) became the 55th driver to make the field for at least one race this season.(NASCAR Statistical Services)(4-20-2006) - Ramblings – Phoenix: Kyle Busch sped around the one mile oval that is Phoenix International Raceway tonight in 26.917 (133.744 mph) to grab his second ever Bud Pole for Saturday Night’s Subway Fresh 500. The only other driver under 27 seconds was Greg Biffle and they’ll lead ’em to the green two nights hence. Kyle Busch also becomes the 6th qualifier for next February’s Budweiser Shootout at Daytona. His only other career top-spot came at California in February of 2005.
Matt Kenseth (4th) has his best starting spot since he lined up 3rd at Texas last November.
Clint Bowyer (8th) has his career-best starting spot this weekend. His previous best was 12th two weeks ago at Texas.
Kenny Wallace (31st) has his best starting spot since he qualified 17th when we were here last November (he was subbing for Kurt Busch in the #97 that day).
Scott Wimmer (33rd) has his best starting spot since he lined up 27th at Homestead last November.
Welcome Back Brandon Ash (40th). He’ll make his first start since Kansas last October when he qualified 18th and finished 42nd.
STREAKIN….Greg Biffle has 7 Top-10 starts in a row.
Kurt Busch has 7 Top-10 starts in a row.
Hard to believe we’ve had 19 races here already….seems like just a couple years ago we started coming out here (a sure sign of old-age). Anyway, this place has pretty much been a Ford track (they’ve won 12 with Chevy only 5 and Pontiac with 2). We’ve had 16 different winners in those 19 races with Davey Allison, Jeff Burton, and Dale Earnhardt Jr as the only repeaters.(more at Stock Car Fans)(4-20-2006) - Unleaded Fuel for Busch, Trucks This Year?: Before the end of the 2006 racing season, NASCAR officials hope to have both Busch and truck series teams using unleaded fuel. And if all goes well, it’s likely that unleaded gas will be used in the Nextel Cup Series beginning in 2007.(NASCAR Scene)(4-20-2006)
- Fort McDowell Resort Destination “Yavapai Pride” to Sponsor Braun Racing: Braun Racing announces a continued relationship with the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation in the 2006 NASCAR Busch series. The Fort McDowell Resort Destination logo will adorn Braun Racing’s #32 Chevy with driver Jason Leffler for three races this year.(Braun Racing PR)(4-20-2006)
- Bliss Back in the #34 at Phoenix: Veteran NASCAR driver Mike Bliss, who has made three starts with Cicci Racing this year, will return to the #34 Chevy for this Friday’s Bashas’ Supermarkets 200 at Phoenix.(Elmira Star-Gazette)(4-20-2006)
- Gateway announces pre and post race shows: Gateway International Raceway will kick off its 10th Anniversary major event schedule next Saturday, April 29 with the Missouri/Illinois Dodge Dealers Ram Tough 200. Fans are encouraged to arrive early for Charter qualifying at 4:00 pm and a pre-race show including a special tribute to the 124 fallen soldiers from Missouri and Illinois that have lost their lives in the war in Iraq. Following the Truck Series race will be a concert by Charlie Daniels and a fireworks show to be highlighted by a tribute to Dale Earnhardt on what would have been his 55th birthday.(gatewayraceway.com)(4-20-2006)
- Ragan set to take over #6 at Gateway: Truck Series point leader Mark Martin will sit out his first of 11 races in 2006, giving driving duties of the #6 Scotts Ford F-150 to David Ragan for the April 29 race at Gateway International Raceway. Ragan was initially to compete in 18 Truck Series events in 2006, driving the Scotts Ford when Martin was not entered. Roush Racing made the decision to field a third truck for Ragan beginning with the Atlanta race in March, in an effort to afford the 20-year old additional seat time in preparation for his driving duties in the #6 F-150. The #6 team currently leads both the driver and owner championship point standings, but will focus their efforts on the owners championship beginning with the event at Gateway. They enter the event with a 55 point lead over Bob Germain’s #9 team. (roushracing.com)(4-20-2006)
- Evernham Motorsports names team director, engineer for #98: Beginning this week, Patrick Donahue will take the lead as the Team Director of Evernham Motorsports 98 Cheerios/Betty Crocker truck team. Scott McDougal, will now serve as the team’s engineer. Ronnie Hornaday will continue his duties as truck director and front tire carrier.(evernhammotorsports.com)(4-20-2006)
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