April 28, 2002
- No Indy 500 for Andretti…this year: John Andretti isn’t going to do the Indianapolis 500-Coca-Cola 600 double this year, but he makes it clear that’s not the way he’d prefer it. “Kyle and I sat down and talked and decided we’d wait and talk about it in the future,” Andretti said of Kyle Petty, the CEO of the Petty Enterprises operation that owns Andretti’s #43 Dodges. “It’s disappointing. …I’m not learning to deal with it any better, especially when I could almost see it and then it went away. There were some really good opportunities. This is probably going to be one of the most competitive (Indy) 500s they’ve ever had. …It would be an unbelievable year to go back.” Andretti raced in both events on the same day in 1994, becoming the first to accomplish the Indy-car/stock-car double Tony Stewart did in 1999 and 2001.(ThatsRacin.com)(4-28-2002)
- Pontiac looking for teams: Officials with Pontiac are attempting to gauge interest among Winston Cup teams to see if any are interested in switching manufacturers when the 2003 Pontiac Grand Prix debuts next season [see pictures on my NASCAR Past News page]. The PPI Motorsports team owned by Cal Wells, which fields the #32 Fords for driver Ricky Craven, is apparently at the top of the list, with Pontiac officials already having conversations with Wells about a potential move, sources confirmed Saturday. Craven is in his second season with PPI and is currently 15th in series points with two top-five finishes in nine starts. He earned his first Winston Cup win last season at Martinsville. Currently, five Winston Cup teams run the Pontiac, those of #20-Tony Stewart, #18-Bobby Labonte, #10-Johnny Benson, #36-Ken Schrader and #14-Stacy Compton. The manufacturer had 10 teams as recently as the 2000 season, then dipped to six in 2001 when it lost several teams to the Dodge camp. Pontiac officials elected not to push expansion of their presence in the series until the new model was on schedule to be completed. NASCAR is expected to give final approval to the 2003 Pontiac by early October.(ThatsRacin.com)(4-28-2002)
- Harvick wins IROC at California: Kevin Harvick held off a last-lap charge from defending series champion Bobby Labonte to win the second leg of the 2002 IROC series at California Speedway. Tony Stewart, who won the first IROC race at Daytona this year, maintained the series lead with 35 points to 32 for Harvick and 30 for Labonte.(ThatsRacin.com), see more on my IROC 2002 Page; Saturday’s IROC race is scheduled to air on Sunday, April 28th on ESPN at 1:00pm/et with Bob Jenkins, Scott Goodyear and Jeff Burton calling the action.(4-28-2002)
Main Page | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 | 1998 | 1997