May 1, 2004
- No New Ford Engine Heads…yet: According to Robert Yates [#38 and #88 Team Owner] the new generation Ford cylinder head will not be used here at the California Speedway. This fact overrides engine designer Doug Yates’ hopes. The new cylinder head is still several weeks awary from being run in competition; and then only in a limited number of cars. But it has been tested several times at Kentucky Speedway for durability; and returned good results.(Ford Racing)(5-1-2004)
- Schrader wins West race: Nextel Cup veteran Ken Schrader held off Busch Series rookie Clint Bowyer to win Saturday’s King Taco 200 at California Speedway. Schrader, who won by 0.259 seconds following a five-lap shootout, now has three NASCAR Grand National Division, West series, wins and three second-place finishes in seven races at California. Bowyer, who is sharing driving duties with Kevin Harvick in Richard Childress Racing’s #21 Chevrolet this season, started from the pole and was making his first series start. Scott Lynch was third, Scott Gaylord and Kevin Conway completed the top five.(ThatsRacin.com)(5-1-2004)
- Stewart meets with NASCAR: Nextel Cup director John Darby wouldn’t go into specifics regarding his discussion with Tony Stewart on Friday morning, but did say he was confident it was a productive session. “It went real good,” Darby said. “As normal, when we’re up in the front of the trailer with the door shut, that’s where it stays. But we had a real good conversation. We’ll be alright.” The meeting was spurred by what some folks deemed over-aggressive driving by Stewart last weekend at Talladega Superspeedway, including a run-in with Kurt Busch that resulted in the “Big One,” and a post-race collision with veteran Terry Labonte. Stewart, following his Busch Series qualifying run in the #29 Chevrolet on Friday, walked to the #5 hauler and apologized to some of the crewmen, then entered the hauler, presumably to speak with Labonte. Darby doesn’t see it as any issue any longer.(NASCAR.com)(5-1-2004)
- Boris Said gets sponsor for Sonoma race: Centrix Financial, LLC, the Official Auto Finance Company of NASCAR, today announced an agreement to serve as an associate sponsor for the MB2/MBV Motorsports #01 and #10 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup cars, driven by Joe Nemechek and Scott Riggs, respectively. The association will begin at this weekend’s Auto Club 500 race at California Speedway in Fontana. Centrix Financial also announced that it will serve as primary sponsor of a third MB2/MBV Chevrolet, to be driven by road-racing specialist Boris Said, June 27 in the Nextel Cup race at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., and at an additional Cup race to be determined. The sponsorship arrangement comes three weeks after CENTRIX Financial announced its official NASCAR sponsorship status.(MB2/MBV Motorsports PR), Said will run the #36, which is still owned by MB2/MBV Motorsports.(5-1-2004)
- Five lead Half: Five drivers have led more than half of the 1,750 laps raced at California: Jeff Gordon (329), Mark Martin (194), Rusty Wallace (164), Kurt Busch (129) and Matt Kenseth (124).(NASCAR PR)(5-1-2004)
- Tire concerns? Goodyear’s decision to use its Las Vegas-Bristol-Nashville tire for the upcoming Richmond race is being criticized as too conservative a choice by some NASCAR crews who want softer, more aggressive tires for the just-repaved track. Others say that Goodyear’s original choice turned out to be too soft. Teams say that this season’s tires in general aren’t nearly as soft as they had originally expected, and they point to this week’s Sears Point test as one example: “The last laps were faster than the first laps,” one crew chief said. “How can that be a softer tire?”(Winston Salem Journal)
HOWEVER: Nextel Cup Director John Darby said the reviews were positive from Goodyear’s test of Richmond International Raceway’s repaved surface. “It’s got a tremendous amount of grip, a lot like we saw at Homestead last year,” Darby said. “Typically, it takes a couple of years for the asphalt to get to where we [get what] we want out of it.”(Richmond Times Dispatch)(5-1-2004) - New Shock and Sway Bar Rules: NASCAR’s latest tech bulletin, which goes into effect here, covers some left-front spring tricks discovered during post-Texas inspections last month, according to NASCAR sources.(Winston Salem Journal)
AND NASCAR issued a technical bulletin in the Cup series this week prohibiting the pre-loading of sway bars beyond the limits of the driver’s weight in the driver’s seat or on the left door top. Basically, the move will prevent teams from using as heavy a spring on the left-front and left-front will travel closer to the track.(ThatsRacin.com)(5-1-2004) - NASCAR Tech to begin checking students’ driving records: NASCAR Technical Institute officials will begin checking the driving records of its students and will implement mandatory training and presentations on safe driving skills. In a written statement issued Thursday afternoon, Director Mike Fritz of the Mooresville automotive school said, “Although we will not use driving records as an admissions standard, we will use these records as a basis for educating our students on the importance of safe driving. Moreover,” he added, “in cooperation with appropriate local authorities and other relevant organizations, we will provide mandatory training and safe driving skills presentations to our students.” Fritz’s announcement came the day after the Tribune detailed the Florida driving record of former NTI student David Scott Shimp, who is awaiting trial on one count of driving while impaired and two counts of murder in the April 4 deaths of two Huntersville teens. Shimp, 21 of Jacksonville, Fla., is charged with killing two 19-year-old Lincoln County cousins when his Chevy Blazer, topping 85 mph, plowed into their car near Huntersville’s Birkdale Village the early morning hours of April 4. Shimp graduated from NTI the night before. His driving record, obtained by the Tribune this week from Florida’s Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, contains six major traffic charges, including three for speeding, two for reckless and careless driving and another for racing.(Mooresville Tribune)(5-1-2004)
- New #12 Crew Chief UPDATE: Veteran mechanic Kevin Caldwell stepped into the crew chief’s role for driver Tim Fedewa on FitzBradshaw Racing’s #12 Supercuts Chevrolet this week after Gary Cogswell abruptly left the team to go to work at Richard Childress Racing.(NASCAR.com)(5-1-2004)
- TV Ratings for Martinsville: The NASCAR Craftsman Trucks Series race from Martinsville scored a .77 (470,000 households) on SPEED Channel. Ratings for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series are up 61 percent from 2003 (.69 three-race average in 2003, 1.11 three-race average in 2004).(Speed Channel PR)(5-1-2004)
- The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Drivers Association to make Food Donation: The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Drivers Association will make a $1,200 food and cash donation to Harmony House of Mansfield, in Mansfield, Ohio, on Thursday May 13 prior to the opening festivities of the Inaugural UAW/GM Ohio 250 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race. NCTDA president Dave Quay says the association tries to give back something to several of the communities the series visits throughout the racing season. “Mansfield is a new area for us, and we want to leave a lasting positive impression with the people in the area,” Quay said. “We know that for many people, times are tough right now. I have asked each of our 30 members to donate $20 worth of canned goods to Harmony House of Mansfield, which we will present during the autograph session at the Westfield Shoppingtown Richland on Thursday of race week. The Association will match that with a cash donation for a total of $1,200.” Quay has also worked with Mansfield Motorsports Speedway to offer a prize package for the individual that makes the greatest single donation in conjunction with the NCTDA. Fans that would like to make a donation to Harmony House of Mansfield in conjunction with the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Drivers Association should bring nonperishable food items to the parking lot at the Sears store at Westfield Shoppingtown Richland on Thursday May 13, where the transporters will be staged prior to the parade to Mansfield Motorsports Speedway. The individual with the largest single donation will win a prize package including a ride in the team transporter of his or her choice, and four tickets to Clear Channel Pole Day at MMS on May 15. Tickets for the UAW/GM Ohio 250 are sold out. Tickets to Clear Channel Pole Day on May 15 are still available for $10. The general public is invited to come to Mansfield Motorsports Speedway on Friday May 14 to watch the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series teams participate in an open test day, and then stay into the evening for the Pepsi Tailgate Party. Admission for Friday’s events is free. For information on Mansfield Motorsports Speedway, please visit www.mansfield-speedway.com and for information on the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Drivers Association, please visit www.nctda.net.(5-1-2004)
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