April 27, 2003
- Busch wins the Auto Club 500 at California. #97-Kurt Busch won at California Speedway, the first multiple winner of 2003. #18-Bobby Labonte ended up 2nd, fighting #2-Rusty Wallace, who ended up 3rd. #17-Matt Kenseth ended up 9th and holds on to the points lead. #43-John Andretti had his first top 10 of 2003 and first in 29 races [Sonoma 2002, his last top 5 was 65 races ago in Bristol, Mar 2001]. See my California Race Info Page for my race rundown, lap leaders, cautions and notes.
Race Re-Air: The race will be re-aired on Speed Channel, Wed, April 30, 8:00pm/et (enhanced) and Thurs, May 1st, at 1:00am/et and at 3:00pm/et.
Results Jayski’s – California Results Page and at:
ThatsRacin.com, Sporting News/AP, MotorsportsOne, NASCAR.com.(4-27-2003) - Billy Ray Cyrus Pays Tribute to Earnhardt UPDATE: Billy Ray Cyrus will pay tribute to the late race car driver Dale Earnhardt in an upcoming episode of “Doc.” He said Earnhardt, who was killed in a last-lap crash at the Daytona 500 two years ago, was king in his house. Cyrus said his stepfather was such a fan of the Intimidator that he requested in his will to be buried in his Dale Earnhardt T-shirt, something the family honored. The Earnhardt tribute episode, which Cyrus called “emotional” to make, will air in May. He hopes a lot of people who loved Earnhardt tune into the show because it was “an honest effort at paying tribute to the man.” “Doc” is on PAX.(Yahoo/AP)(2-28-2003)
UPDATE: the show, titled “the checkered flag” airs tonight, April 27th at 8:00pm/et/pt [re-air 9:00pm on May 7th], on PAX, the description: Clint helps stock-car racer Scotty Redfield stay physically healthy to compete, but wonders if he can help him regain his spirit to drive. Everyone worries that Dr. Crane will veto expanding the clinic into the vacant offices next door – but when he decides he loves the idea, it’s time to worry even more.” More info at the PAX site.(4-27-2003) - Tragic News – Crash at auto track kills spectators: Two sprint cars crashed during an auto race Saturday night at Perris Auto Speedway, sending one hurtling into the stands and the other into the track’s infield, where two bystanders were struck and killed, authorities said. The driver of the car that flipped into the stands suffered minor injuries, said Jeff Delahunty, a spokesman for the Riverside County Fire Department. The two people killed in the infield were identified as Paul Bagley, 74, of Hesperia, and his wife, Helen, 72. “`It is just a terrible accident,” said Riverside County sheriff’s Deputy Dennis Gutierrez. The Perris Auto Speedway, which features dirt track racing, is about 40 miles east of Los Angeles.(Guardian Unlimited/AP and Press Enterprise/AP)(4-27-2003)
- NASCAR, Flash in the Pan? who is this guy? David D’Alessandro, the chairman and CEO of John Hancock life insurance, isn’t one of the corporate leaders who has jumped aboard the NASCAR bandwagon. In a conversation with the Boston Globe about his company’s choices for sponsorship money, D’Alessandro said NASCAR wasn’t in his final three. “It’s a growing sport, but I think it’s a flash in the pan,” he said. “It’s a pure consumer product. It has 1,000 sponsorship symbols, so there’s no distinction. The fatter your driver is, the more symbols he can have on his jumpsuit.” D’Alessandro isn’t high on golf, tennis, pro football or pro basketball, either. His top three? The Olympics, major league baseball and the Boston Marathon.(Press Enterprise)(4-27-2003)
- Two businesses report scam: Two local businesses have been taken in by a fraudulent offer of an advertising opportunity at the Brickyard 400. The perpetrators appear to be working in Lawrence and Monroe counties [Indiana], according to Lawrence County Sgt. Lonnie Johnson. Johnson said a marketing and promotions company from Bloomington is offering business names placed on a #77 Jasper Engines and Transmissions race car for the NASCAR Brickyard 400. The two businesses signed contracts and paid money to the company. However, Jasper Engines and Transmissions denied any such promotion. Anyone with information about the scam should call the Lawrence County Police Department at 812-275-3316.(Hooiser Times)(4-27-2003)
- Supercuts on the #74: looks like the #74 BACE Motorsports Chevy with Tony Raines driving has Supercuts as the sponsor on the car at California Speedway. #83-Kerry Earnhardt was to drive the #83 Supercuts Chevy, but failed to make the race. See an inage of the #74 car on my Paint Schemes Gallery,(4-27-2003)
- Medical Liasons: NASCAR, which focused much of its attention on the mechanized end of stock-car racing, now has keen interest in the human part of the equation. While the sanctioning body has always had a team of officials to measure car bodies and engine specs, it now has a medical liaison for each of its three major touring series. The original primary function of this medical staff, all registered nurses, was to transport records from event to event as Winston Cup, the Busch Series and Truck Series skipped around the country. The three nurses — Robin Morrisey (Cup), Denese Meeks (Busch) and Lance Davin (trucks) — were hired in February, 2002, and integrated into NASCAR’s regular at-track staff. Kevin Triplett, NASCAR’s managing director of business operations, oversees the program. Because of confidentiality concerns, the nurses are not allowed to speak to media.(Daytona Beach News Journal)(4-27-2003)
- Biffle Injured: #16-Greg Biffle is driving with a cast on his left arm after he sprained his wrist Tuesday when he slipped and fell out of his motorhome on Tuesday. “It doesn’t hinder me to drive or anything,” he said. “I’ll be good by Richmond [next week].”(Roanoke Times)(4-27-2003)
- Portenga beats Schrader; Herta debuts: Steve Portenga passed Winston Cup veteran Ken Schrader with eight of 100 laps remaining at California Speedway and held on for his first Winston West series victory. Portenga won by 2.429 seconds over Schrader to win Saturday’s Pontiac Grand Prix 200. Kevin Richards was third. Portenga remains the only driver in the series with three top-five finishes in as many starts this season.(ThatsRacin.com) Former CART driver Brian Herta drove in the race, his first stock car race, starting 16th and finishing 5th.(4-27-2003)
- More on McDonald’s as the Title Sponsor for the Cup Series: McDonald’s has confirmed a Bloomberg Report that they’ve seen a presentation by NASCAR to sponsor its elite national touring series, but a deal that could consume 20-30% of the fast food chain’s total advertising and marketing budget hasn’t gone very far up the corporate ladder. McDonald’s has been downsizing its racing programs for some years and just turned in the first-ever quarterly loss for the restaurant company. One source close to the McDonald’s A&M program says a potential $40 million annual payment to NASCAR for title rights and similar payment to the television partners is likely not in the cards. The representative added, “But I’m not sure who has that kind of money to invest in a single program — NASCAR or not.” McDonald’s would need the support of its national franchisees to write the estimated $80 million annual investment to NASCAR. However, many franchises stores are closing with others downsizing.(Ford Racing)(4-27-2003)
- New McDonald’s/NASCAR Commercial: McDonald’s will launch its newly-created NASCAR advertising campaign during Sunday’s FOX telecast of the Auto Club 500 Winston Cup race. The new series of commercials is an enhancement to the inaugural McDonald’s Drive-Thru Pit Championship fueled by POWERade. Tony Stewart and Kyle Petty are featured in three different versions of the 30-second commercials, produced by DDB Chicago, McDonald’s national advertising agency. Stewart, driver of the No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet and the reigning NASCAR Winston Cup champion, has firsthand knowledge of the similarities between a NASCAR crew and a McDonald’s restaurant crew. As a teenager, Stewart worked as a McDonald’s crew person [as did Jayski].(PR)(4-27-2003)
- Odd Andretti Comment: John Andretti flipped idly through a newspaper, not really wanting to talk about his cousin Michael’s decision to appoint Robby Gordon as substitute driver in Andretti Green’s #27 cars for this year’s Indianapolis 500. Andretti, son of Aldo Andretti (Mario’s twin brother) and cousin of team owner/driver Michael Andretti, who will retire from driving after the 400, expressed off-the-record bitterness toward his cousin’s choice. “I’ll be there that Wednesday, and I’ll qualify the car, because [Gordon] will be in the hospital by then,” John Andretti said. See the full story at Speed Channel: John Andretti Puzzled by Gordon Decision(4-27-2003)
- Kenseth Tosses Bottles: When Matt Kenseth emerged from his winning car after the Busch race, his first actions were to throw two bottles of Powerade into the crowd. He then took a swig from his Gatorade bottle. It was a move that brought a rebuke from a NASCAR official. Powerade is the official sports drink of the sanctioning body; Gatorade is a Kenseth associate sponsor. A similar incident took place Friday at the pole sitter’s press conference. Bottles of Aquafina water were place in front of those scheduled to speak, but Steve Park quickly replaced his bottle with a smaller one carrying the Desani brand. Aquafina is supplied by the track through its Pepsi sponsorship but Park is sponsored by Coke, which bottles Desani, NASCAR’s official water.(Inland Valley Daily Bulletin)(4-27-2003)
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