April 20, 2002
- Little E wins the The Aaron’s 499 at Talladega: #8-Dale Earnhardt Jr won the Aaron’s 499, his first win (and Chevy’s first) of 2002. It is Earnhardt’s 6th career win and first win since Talladega last Oct. Nice run by #45-Kyle Petty 10th, his first top 10 since he finished 9th at Talladega in April 2000. The top 10 Unofficial Finishers:
#8-Earnhardt Jr (133 laps led)
#15-Waltrip (14 laps led)
#97-Busch
#24-Gordon
#40-Marlin (2 laps led)#88-Jarrett (2 laps led)
#48-Johnson (8 laps led)
#2-Wallace
#99-Burton (1 lap led)
#45-Petty
#98-Kenny Wallace crossed the stripe 5th, but Fox is reporting that Wallace will be dropped to 21st, last car on the lead lap. Wallace went below the yellow line, rule is if a driver does that and increases his position, he will be penalized. Wallace said he was forced down below the line by #40-Marlin, Wallace comment: “Sterling body slammed me and I cant do nothin else, this is drama. NASCAR is the greatest in the world, what ever happens I finished 5th, Sterling turned left and I moved to the left, in my heart I finished 5th:(KennyWallaceRacing.com)Lap Leaders: #48-Johnson; #8-Earnhardt Jr; #15-Waltrip; #19-Mayfield; #40-Marlin; #17-Kenseth; #12-Newman (3); #6-Martin; #99-Burton; #88-Jarrett;
Drivers on the lead lap: 21
Cautions: 3 for 19 laps
Off the track/DNF: #12-Newman (engine); #43-Andretti(accident); #10-Benson(accident); #21-Sadler(accident); #18-Labonte(accident); #33-Wallace(accident); #6-Martin(accident); #20-Stewart(?);Caution 3 – lap 181 – 183 (and a red flag): #6-Martin brought his damaged car on the track and it died on the track and oil has been found on the track.
Caution 2 – lap 164 – 175: huge wreck many cars involved: #’s 09,1,2,4,5,6,7,9,10,17,18,19,20,21,28,29,31,32,33,41,43,44,55,77 and Fox reports 24 cars, a new record for a wreck at Talladega. Looks like #33-Wallace and #20-Stewart got together, Stewart was basically squeezed against the wall, no place to go after Wallce got turned around a bit. #10-Benson was quickly repaired but when he went to go back out, his car caught fire and the track/other crews put the fire out and Benson was a bit overcome by the extinguisher fumes/powder, he is be attended to but is awake and alert. No injuries reported.
Caution 1 – lap 116-119: debris on the trackNOTEs: #20-Stewart sent to the garage due to leaking oil on lap 182. #12-Newman has dropped a cylinder and has taken the car to the garage on lap 141. #25-Nadeau was in the garage on lap 114 with a broken shock mount, is back on the track. #14-Compton has slowed, possible valve spring problem on lap 65 but is still out there down a lap. 1st green flag pit stops occurred between laps 50-55. #44-Grissom blew a front tire on lap 50, no caution. #55-Hamilton fell off the pace around lap 38 came in and took tires. Also around the same time #26-Kimmel went to the garage with a shock problem, fixed and back on the track. #36-Schrader started falling back around lap 14 when a roll bar cusion fell off inside the car and hit the ignition switch. #25-Nadeau has a potenial engine problem, maybe a spark plug problem, but he got off to an ok start and seems just fine.
For results, see ThatsRacin.com or NASCAR.com. See Drivers standings at ThatsRacin.com or NASCAR.com.(4-21-2002)
- No more trucks for Harvick? (as a driver): While cars were going through inspection Friday [at Talladega], car owner Richard Childress said that he might prohibit Kevin Harvick from driving in the truck series again. “I don’t think I’ll let him do that,” Childress said. “We haven’t discussed it, but I don’t think so.”(High Point Enterprise). Harvick could still own the team and run with other drivers.(4-20-2002)
- Mobil 1 Schemes for the #12: ExxonMobil Corporation’s Mobil 1 brand serves as a major associate sponsor this season for both Penske Racing South Teams; the #2 Miller Lite Ford Taurus of veteran driver Rusty Wallace and the #12 ALLTEL Ford Taurus of rookie Ryan Newman. In addition, a marketing agreement has been reached whereby Newman’s ALLTEL Ford will feature a special Mobil 1 and Speedpass paint design in five races this season, beginning with the April 20 NAPA Auto Parts 500 at California Speedway (and also at Chicago 7/14; Pocono 7/28; Michigan 8/18; and New Hampshire 9/15).. ExxonMobil Corporation will develop local and regional promotional programs to support the special design used in those markets.(Tom Roberts PR)(4-20-2002)
- A 5th Hendrick team? UPDATE 3 Sprague/#60: been told that Hendrick Motorsports BGN driver, Jack Sprague, will drive the #60 Haas Chevy in the Coca Cola 600 at Lowes Motor Speedway in May and possibly up to six more Cup events. See an image of the car on my Paint Schemes Gallery.(3-19-2002)
UPDATE: Dr Jerry Punch interviewed Jack Sprague on ESPN2’s RPM 2 Night and it was mentioned that the team just got the new #60 car in the shop and plans to test at Charlotte/Lowes Motor Speedway in a few weeks. Other races include New Hampshire, both Lowes races and Homestead. Rick Hendrick will be part owner of the team.(4-9-2002)
UPDATE 2: Three-time CTS champ Jack Sprague will run five Cup races this season with a new team owned by Haas Automation. The team will use engines and cars built by Hendrick Motorsports, who Sprague currently drives in the BGN. The team will move full-time to Winston Cup in 2003. The team will debut at the Coca-Cola 600 next month in Charlotte. Other races scheduled are: New Hampshire in September; Charlotte in October; Atlanta in October; and Homestead, Fla., in November. Additional races may be added. “I have been waiting a long time to get the right opportunity to go Winston Cup racing,” Sprague said. “I’ve had opportunities in the past, but they just weren’t structured in a way that would give me and the team all the ingredients needed for success.” “This new association with Haas Automation has everything needed to make the deal go, both on and off the track. This deal is worth the wait.” Sprague’s current and long-time crew chief, Dennis Conner, will also serve in that capacity with his Cup team. Joe Custer will serve as the team’s general manager.(ThatsRacin.com)(4-19-2002)
UPDATE 3: Haas Automation, one of the leading manufacturers of industrial tools worldwide, announced today that it has formed a Winston Cup Team that will run a select-event schedule of races this season with driver Jack Sprague. Sprague and the team will then enter the Winston Cup ranks on a full-time basis beginning with the 2003 Daytona 500 at Daytona Beach, FL. Haas Automation, a long-time sponsor of Hendrick Motorsports, will receive assistance from the five-time Cup championship organization in making this new team possible. According to Sprague, the #60 Haas Automation Chevy will make its debut at Charlotte in the Coca-Cola 600, Sunday, May 26. “I have been waiting a long time to get the right opportunity to go Winston Cup racing,” said Sprague, the three-time CTS champion now racing in the BGN. “I’ve had opportunities in the past, but they just weren’t structured in a way that would give me and the team all the ingredients needed for success. This new association with Haas Automation has everything needed to make the deal go, both on and off the track. This deal was worth the wait.” Located in Oxnard, CA, Haas Automation is the largest, most modern machine tool manufacturing operation in the United States. The company manufactures four major product lines and has nearly 750 employees. Haas Automation builds a full line of CNC vertical machining centers, horizontal machining centers, CNC lathes, rotary tables and 5C indexers. Haas machine tools and rotary products are built to deliver higher accuracy, repeatability and more durability than any other machine tools on the market. Haas Automation, which also serves as a major associate sponsor on Sprague’s #24 NetZero Chevy BGN entry this season, has sold more than 40,000 rotary tables and 32,000 CNC machines throughout the world. The company ships more CNC machines per month than any other U.S. manufacturer. In addition to the Charlotte Winston Cup event in May, Sprague and his #60 Haas Automation Chevy will compete at New Hampshire (Sept. 15), Lowe’s Motor Speedway (Oct. 13), Atlanta (Oct. 27) and Homestead- (Nov. 17). Additional races are also being considered at this time. The effort will be fielded out of HAAS CNC RACING headquarters located in Harrisburg, NC. Joe Custer is the team’s General Manager, while Sprague’s current and long-time crew chief, Dennis Connor, will also serve in that capacity for the new Winston Cup team. Hendrick Motorsports will provide cars, engines and technical assistance for the team.(Motorsports Management Group PR)(4-20-2002) - Parts seized during inspection Friday Morning: NASCAR confiscated some parts Friday morning during inspection, including an unapproved fuel cell container, rear spoiler and braces from Kyle Petty’s #45 car; unapproved window braces from Jeff Burton’s #99 car; unapproved rear window braces from Kevin Harivck’s #29 car; a disallowed “underpan” – used to add downforce under the car – on Jerry Nadeau’s #25 car; an unapproved fuel cell vent from Casey Atwood’s #7 car; and unapproved fuel cell filler neck from Brett Bodine’s #11 car.(ThatsRacin.com)(4-19-2002)
UPDATE: NASCAR officials confiscated several items during Friday’s inspection. NASCAR took a fuel cell and an unapproved spoiler from #45-Kyle Petty ‘s team. #2-Rusty Wallace, #12-Ryan Newman and #99-Jeff Burton each had roof spoilers that did not meet specifications. #7-Casey Atwood ‘s car had a fuel cell vent that was removed. #29-Kevin Harvick ‘s team lost an unapproved brace for the rear window, and #11-Brett Bodine ‘s team had a fuel filler that was not legal.(Roanoke Times)(4-20-2002) - Sad News: during an interview on FX’s tape delayed qualifying show from Talladega, Dr. Dick Derggren interviewed Geoffrey Bodine, driver of the #09 Miccosukee Indian Gaming Ford (qualified 23rd) who said (paraphrasing as best as I can) – “This is really a tough time for me Dick. I had a birthday yesterday, but I also had a tragedy in my life, my fiancée of 6 years died last week. So I’m.standing here with mixed emotions, such a good car, and a good run and a lot of opportunity here, but my heart’s really hurting right now, but we will get through the weekend. Angela would want me to be here, so we’re here. But, we’re gonna miss her. Going to be hard to get through this, but we will.” That is all I know and have seen nothing on the Geoffrey Bodine Fanclub site (besides stuff on the forum in response to this interview).(4-20-2002)
- Keller wins wreck fest at Talladega: #57-Jason Keller won the Aaron’s 312 at Talladega on Saturday, his second BGN wins of the season and 7th of his career, holding off #59-Stacy Compton by .163 seconds in a race that saw just three of 43 cars on the lead lap at the finish. On Lap 14 of 117, rookies #10-Scott Riggs and #47-Shane Hmiel started a chain-reaction accident exiting Turn 2 that eventually collected a total of 29 cars. With cars on the fastest area of the track, it was difficult for many to slow in time to miss the melee. “I had a run on Kenny (Wallace) on the outside and I got about two or three feet on him there and he hit my front end and I had to check up and catch it, and I did,” Riggs said. “I just got hit from behind. You can’t check up when you run these kinds of speeds.” Pole-winner Johnny Sauter’s #2 Chevy flipped on its hood and then rolled side-over-side. Mike McLaughlin’s #18 car ended up on top of two others. “I saw them all wrecking and I figured my hole was going to close up sooner or later, but I didn’t know it was going to close up from above,” said #99-Michael Waltrip of the number of airborne cars in the accident. The race was red-flagged for more than 40 minutes while the track was cleaned. Despite the scale of the accident, no drivers were injured. When the race restarted, 14 cars were running, 13 of them on the lead lap. The top three in BGN points now stand at: #24-Sprague, 1,169; #57-Keller, 1,147; #7-R.LaJoie, 1,079. See ThatsRacin.com for a column, Keller misses BGN melee, wins, and for Aaron’s 312 race results.(4-20-2002)
- Mears crashes in Happy Hour: #66-Casey Mears wrecked during Happy Hour and will have to go to a back up car.(BGN Racing). #59-Compton was the fastest at 192.000mph.(4-20-2002)
- Hamilton’s Qualifying lap no good UPDATE: #25 Bobby Hamilton Jr.’s qualifying speed for Saturday’s BGN race at Talladega was disallowed after his #25 Ford was found to have shock absorbers that did not comply with NASCAR rules. The team had to use a provisional to get in the field and will start 37th. No fine was issued. NASCAR officials seized the parts.(ThatsRacin.com)(4-19-2002)
UPDATE: During the BGN inspection process after Thursday’s qualifying for the Aaron’s 312 at Talladega, the #25 Ford (driven by Bobby Hamilton, Jr.) was found to have shock absorbers that did not comply with NASCAR rules. The #25 car’s original fifth-place qualifying time was disallowed. The car will use a provisional spot, and will start 37th in the field Saturday. The #25 was found to have piston bleed holes that were too small for the shock body diameter being used by the car. Per subsection 20A – 12.3 in the NASCAR Busch Series rule book, shock body diameters between 1.771-1.820 inches are required to use .031-inch diameter bleed holes. The No. 25 was found to have .030-inch bleed holes. No fine was issued; NASCAR officials confiscated the illegal parts.(NASCAR PR)(4-20-2002)
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