April 21, 2004
- Sad News: Robert ‘Bobby’ Laurence Wawak, 64, a retired NASCAR driver, of Midland, NC, died Saturday, April 17, 2004 at his residence. Funeral services will be held at 4:00pm/et Thursday at Hartsell Funeral Home Chapel, Midland, Rev. Stan Johnson officiating. The family will receive friends on Wednesday from 6:00 to 8:30pm/et at the funeral home. Born September 4, 1939 in Chicago, IL, he was a son of the late Hazel Zoe Forrest Wawak and Charles William Wawak. A member of Love’s Grove United Methodist Church, he competed in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series for 23 years and retired in 1988. He was a devoted husband, a loving father, grandfather, and friend. He will be missed by all who knew him. Survivors are his wife of 41 years, Stevi Wawak of the home; daughters, Jaclin Wawak of Midland, NC and Robin Wawak Pemberton of Mooresville, NC; brothers, Allen Wawak of Wayne, IL, and Richard Wawak of Villa Park, IL; sisters, Carole Tarvash of Albuquerque, NM, Joyce Annanie of Plainfield, IL and Marilyn Zmich of Conway, SC; and grandchildren, Lauri Trotter and River Pemberton. Memorials may be directed to Amyloidosis Research Foundation, 4174 Myers Avenue, Waterford, MI 48329. Hartsell Funeral Home of Midland is serving the Wawak Family.(Charlotte Observer)(4-21-2004)
- Busch’s Pit Crew Wins in Martinsville; Increases Points Lead: Kurt Busch’s pit crew increased its points lead in the McDonald’s Drive-Thru Pit Championship fueled by POWERade after taking top honors in Sunday’s Advance Auto Parts 500 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. The Martinsville victory, worth $20,000, was the second of the season for Busch’s pit crew, giving the #97 crew the distinction of becoming the first team to score multiple wins in 2004. The team’s other pit crew victory was the March 7th race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. After eight NASCAR NEXTEL Cup races, Busch’s pit crew leads the McDonald’s/POWERade standings with 312 points, 10 more than the second place crews for Elliott Sadler and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Tony Stewart’s crew is fourth with 280 points. Busch’s IRWIN Industrial Tools Ford spent the least amount of time on pit road in Martinsville — 284.693 seconds. Earnhardt’s Budweiser Chevrolet was second with a time of 289.324. Bobby Labonte’s Interstate Batteries Chevy was third at 290.121. “These Sharpie/IRWIN guys worked really hard in the off-season on our stops,” said Jimmy Fennig, crew chief for the No. 97 team. “We’ve been consistent in the pits and had some good qualifying runs to get favorable spots on pit road which helps too. Kurt has done a great job of keeping the fenders on the car too, which has kept us out on the track for position. It’s a team effort all around, and these guys really keep an eye on the McDonald’s/POWERade Drive-Thru point standings.” Busch’s over-the-wall crew consists of: Scott Ward (front tire changer), Mark Full (front tire carrier), Kevin Gilman (rear tire changer), Jason Binger (rear tire carrier), Doug Newell (gasman), Scott Radel (jackman) and Jim Gaudette (catch can). for the top ten results from Martinsville, season standings see my Pit Crews News page, past results on my 2004 Past Pit Crew News page and also check out my 2004 Pit Crew Chart.(DMF Communications PR)(4-21-2004)
- Carter gets the clock, nice gesture by Rusty: –“It’s a heck of a trophy to remember my first win as a crew chief with,” Miller Lite Dodge crew chief Larry Carter said on Tuesday morning. “Tracy and I will always be appreciative of Rusty and Patti for their thoughtfulness.” Turns out that Rusty and Patti made a surprise visit to the Carter home on Monday night bearing a “thank-you” gift — the grandfather’s clock won at Martinsville on Sunday, along with a special plaque commemorating Carter’s first big league win.(TRPR.com)(4-21-2004)
- Rusty keeps commitment: Rusty Wallace didn’t have to come to Orangeburg, SC on Tuesday night to help raise money for the Indian Waters Council of the Boy Scouts of America at the organization’s “Friends of Scouting” fund-raiser at Buckridge Plantation’s Tourville Lodge. Fresh off his first NASCAR victory in 105 races at Martinsville, Va., this past Sunday, the veteran racer and former Winston Cup champion (1989) has faced a positive whirlwind of activity.(Times and Democrat)(4-21-2004)
- Burton comments on the RCR rumor: “You know, I actually had a conversation with someone about this the other day because I’m curious how it starts. I really don’t read a lot of rumor things on the Internet because when it involves me most of the time they have it wrong. But then there’s an element of it that is right, too. They can say 40 things and there might be three of those that have an element of possibly being correct, but then on other stories they nail it so you have to pay attention to it. If one member of the media reports something, it forces everyone else to report it. The problem I have with what went on last week is that Richard Childress and I have had zero conversations about me replacing Robby Gordon or me replacing Johnny Sauter. We’ve had zero conversations about that and that’s just the truth. One reporter reported that we were having these conversations and then it went very specific on how these things were gonna happen. It was reported kind of as rumor, but the next phase of it went into factual stuff that was fiction, but it was reported as fact. On Tuesday of last week, I had two strangers come up and congratulate me on my new ride. My attorney called me on Tuesday morning and asked me point blank, ‘What in the world is going on?’ I said, ‘What are you talking about?’ He said, ‘I’m in my car and they just said on the radio that sources confirmed that Jeff Burton would replace Johnny Sauter in the AOL Chevrolet at the all-star race in May.’ It was reported as fact. That’s when I start having a problem and that’s when I started to get upset because every member of this team deserves 100 percent effort from me and I deserve 100 percent effort from them. Every member on this team and my car owner and everybody that has anything at all to do with this team deserves to know exactly what’s going on. When these things get going that aren’t true, it puts a little bit of doubt and that’s not right. A lot of people have made the comment and the claim that Roush Racing has done a poor job of getting a sponsor for the 99 car. I’ve had a lot of people walk up to me and say, ‘They’re not taking care of you,’ and things like that. But the fact of the matter is that it hasn’t quit running. They’re running the team out of their pockets. No one has gotten a decrease in pay, so I think Roush Racing deserves some credit for doing the right thing for everybody on this team. Instead, they get negative and they also get people out there talking like the driver is gonna leave and that’s not right. If there was truth to some of it, then I wouldn’t be up in arms about it. I would be trying to avoid it, but when people start reporting stuff that’s factual when it’s not, I have a real problem with that.”(Ford Racing)(4-21-2004)
- Andrews gets Busch Gig: Former Nextel Cup crew chief Paul Andrews has been named to the same position with the NASCAR Busch Series team of driver Kasey Kahne, effective immediately. Doug Stringer, part-owner and general manager of Akins Motorsports and the #38 Great Clips Dodges, said he met with his team at 5:00pm/et Tuesday to notify them of his decision to hire Andrews. Andrews replaces Jamie Jones, who will remain with the team and work with Andrews. “I can tell you I haven’t been this excited about something in a long time,” Stringer said Tuesday night. “Kasey, myself and the team are excited about this. Paul’s knowledge and leadership are going to be a tremendous asset to our organization.” Andrews most recently worked with #99-Jeff Burton and Roush Racing. “We need someone to capitalize on the tremendous assets we have, with Dodge and our relationship with Evernham Motorsports and a talented driver like Kasey Kahne,” Stringer said. “JJ (Jamie Jones) stepped up to the plate when we need a crew chief to be in that position and I appreciate everything he’s done. He will work well with Paul.” In seven races this season with Akins, Kahne is 18th in points with one-top-five and two top-10 finishes. Kahne also runs full-time in the Cup series with Evernham Motorsports.(ThatsRacin.com)(4-21-2004)
- Ganassi Racing and Foyt Racing penalized points for confiscated cars UPDATE Sabates not happy: Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates and A.J. Foyt Racing were issued multiple penalties as a result of NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series cars from those teams being confiscated March 26 during pre-event inspection at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. The #42 Texaco Havoline Dodge entry of Chip Ganassi with Felix Sabates for driver Jamie McMurray was confiscated for a rear window opening that exceeded the diagonal specification and was in violation of Section 12-4-A (Actions detrimental to stock car racing) and 12-4-Q (Any determination by NASCAR Officials that parts and/or equipment in the Event do not conform to NASCAR rules) of the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Rule Book.
As a result, owner Chip Ganassi was penalized with a loss of 25 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series championship car owner points; McMurray with a loss of 25 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series championship driver points; and crew chief Donnie Wingo was placed on probation until Dec. 31.
The #14 Dodge entry of A.J. Foyt Racing for driver Larry Foyt was confiscated for a non-approved roof that did not fit the car templates and was in violation of Section 12-4-A (Actions detrimental to stock car racing) and 12-4-Q (Any determination by NASCAR Officials that parts and/or equipment in the Event do not conform to NASCAR rules) of the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Rule Book. Owner A.J. Foyt was penalized with a loss of 25 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series championship car owner points; Larry Foyt with a loss of 25 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series championship driver points; and crew chief Keith Koppenal was placed on probation until Dec. 31.
Both cars have been held at the NASCAR Research and Development Center since they were confiscated. NASCAR will release the chassis and engines to the teams this week, but the #42 car body and #14 greenhouse will be retained at the center and not returned to the teams.
“The process of gathering data from the two cars we confiscated has been completed,” NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Director John Darby said. “In addition to collecting the data we needed, we have been able to refine the overall process so that we have the ability to react very quickly to this type of situation in the future, specifically if this should occur in the final 10 races.”
McMurray’s championship points total will be adjusted to 939 points as a result of the penalty and will drop from 13th to 14th in the championship standings. Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates also will be adjusted to 939 points with the 25-point penalty and fall to 14th in the owners’ championship standings.
Foyt’s championship points total will be adjusted to 194 points as a result of the penalty, and will drop him from 40th to 44th in the championship standings. A.J. Foyt Racing also will be adjusted to 194 points with the 25-point penalty and drop to 46th in the owners’ championship standings.(NASCAR PR)(4-20-2004)
UPDATE: Chip Ganassi Racing part-owner Felix Sabates lashed out at NASCAR Tuesday for stripping 25 driver points from Jamie McMurray as a result of his car being confiscated March 26 during the race weekend at Bristol. The violation was similar to those of the teams of Tony Stewart and Kyle Busch last season, which resulted in NASCAR confiscating both of those cars. Stewart did not have any points taken. Busch did. However, it was the only Cup race Busch entered in 2003, making the penalty virtually meaningless. “This is pure, unadulterated (BS),” Sabates fumed. “You have got to be consistent in this sport. NASCAR is not too consistent right now. “(Joe) Gibbs (Stewart’s owner) didn’t get any points taken from him when this happened to Tony last year and Tony was in the hunt for a championship.” Sabates said he and primary owner Chip Ganassi asked for an explanation of the penalty from NASCAR President Mike Helton but didn’t receive a satisfactory response. “The only sorry excuse they had was that they took points from Kyle Busch. Well, big (expletive deleted) deal. He was running one race and the penalty came out after the damn season was over,” Sabates said. “We are in the middle of a championship battle with an even greater priority this season with the 26-race deal and we lose points for the same violation as someone else and they didn’t lose points. That is (BS).” Sabates was also livid at the slow response time of the penalty, which came three weeks since the cars were taken. “They told us that day what was wrong. What the hell have they been doing?” he said. “This is just sorry— management, sorry management.”(ThatsRacin.com)(4-21-2004) - Gibson to Dale Jr’s Busch team AND #1 car close to 12 race deal UPDATE: Tony Gibson will return as crew chief for Earnhardt’s Busch racing effort. Gibson will then go back to Dale Earnhardt Inc.’s #1 Nextel Cup team and John Andretti for the races July 3 at Daytona and July 11 at Chicago. Currently, DEI is working on sponsorship that would extend the team to a 12-race schedule.(Foxsports/Sporting News)(4-19-2004)
UPDATE: been told that Tony Eury, Sr. will be the crew chief, as listed in the preliminary entry list put out by NASCAR today, on Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s #81 Taco Bell Chevy and the #8 Cup crew will pit the car – just like it was in Daytona.(4-21-2004)
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