May 2, 2006
- Changes at the #55 team: #55-Michael Waltrip heads into Richmond International Raceway this weekend looking for a little magic to get the #55 NAPA Dodge back into the top-35 in NASCAR owner’s points. This obviously isn’t where we had hoped to be coming into the 10th race of 2006,” said Waltrip. “In an effort to address the situation, we decided to make some changes.” Waltrip has brought in NASCAR veterans Bobby Kennedy, Larry Carter and Jason Oversteet to work on the car and call the race. Derrick Finley will reassume his role as Bill Davis Racing team engineer. “It is extremely important that we use all of the resources we have at both Bill Davis Racing and Michael Waltrip Racing to get our program where it needs to be,” said Waltrip. “Bobby, Larry and Jason have been working on getting our Burger King cars built that we will run with Bill Elliott this year. Getting those guys to the track and working with our NAPA car will not only help us now, but it will also allow them to gather ‘at-track’ data for that effort as well.”(Michael Waltrip Racing)(5-2-2006)
- Boris and Stoddard to Roush? UPDATE 2 No Fear Racing: hearing #36 MB2 Motorsports crew chief, Frank Stoddard has left MC2 Motorsports and gone back to Roush Racing [where is was the crew chief of the #99 and Jeff Burton for years] and that driver Boris Said also signed with Roush Racing. Not sure of the details or specifics yet but hearing the races planned are Infineon Raceway, Pepsi 400 at Daytona, Brickyard 400 and Watkins Glen. Could be in the #06 the Todd Kleuver is supposed to run 6 races in later this year as these four races are not on Kleuver’s Cup schedule. Stoddard mentioned this on the radio show, The Morning Buzz, which Stoddard calls in to give NASCAR reports on Tuesday mornings.(4-4-2006)
UPDATE: Boris Said and veteran crew chief Frank Stoddard have formed their own Nextel Cup team, Yahoo! Sports has learned. They are partnering with long-time Said associate and former driver and team owner Mark Simo. The team, which is slated to run four or five races this season, will work with Roush Racing, which has offered to supply the team with cars, engines and technical expertise. Stoddard recently left MB2 Motorsports and speculation was that he was set to rejoin Roush. But Stoddard, who used to be crew chief for Roush’s #99 car when Jeff Burton was behind the wheel, instead has been working with Roush officials on forming the new team. Said has been frustrated with his inability to find a regular Cup ride this season after running nine races with MB2 in 2005 with Stoddard as his crew chief. After Simo’s No Fear clothing company purchased a building adjacent to Roush Racing headquarters in Concord, N.C., for a planned East Coast distribution center, Said, who has been working as a consultant for Roush’s teams, began talking with Roush about possibly starting a team. The current plan is for the new team to run the Dodge/Save Mart 350 at the Infineon Raceway road course in June, the Pepsi 400 at Daytona in July, the Brickyard in August and the Watkins Glen road course, also in August. The team has secured sponsorship for at least four races, with an announcement regarding sponsorship details to come.(Yahoo Sports)(4-5-2006)
UPDATE 2: Action sports lifestyle brand No Fear, based in Carlsbad, California, has announced its plans to contest four races in the 2006 Nextel Cup schedule. Dubbed “No Fear Racing”, the new effort will run as a satellite operation of Roush Racing, and will be headquartered at the brand’s new east coast corporate headquarters in Concord, NC. Road racing ace and NASCAR veteran Boris Said will drive NFR’s #60 Ford Fusion, with primary sponsorship coming from the SoBe No Fear energy drink. Said will also co-own the team, alongside No Fear CEO Mark Simo and crew chief Frank Stoddard. NFR will debut at the Dodge/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway the weekend of June 24-25. It will then compete in the Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Speedway, the Allstate 400 at The Brickyard on August 6 and at Watkins Glen a week later.(Speed Channel)(5-2-2006) - Rowdy Signs with Cingular: Rowdy, the daily racing radio show you get on your cell phone, announced today that they have signed a deal with Cingular, the nation’s largest wireless company. The deal will allow Cingular customers exclusive access the Rowdy program on their phone for $4.99/month. Every day listeners get the unique Rowdy news feed, featuring Mark Garrow’s report from the garage, along with driver interviews and exclusive expert commentary from regulars like former Cup driver Rick Mast, championship-winning crew chief Barry Dodson, Jayski of jayski.com, and top veteran journalists, David Poole of the Charlotte Observer, Steve Waid of NASCAR Scene, and of course Garrow. Additional regular features include daily racing trivia, a points review with Dr. Marlon Fescue, stories from the old days with Sonny Callahan, and exclusive race previews and wrap-ups. Most important, Rowdy lets fans talk back and make their voices part of the show too. To sign up for Rowdy, Cingular customers can dial #500 or dial *8 on their phone and say “Rowdy.” For more info visit www.rowdy.com.(5-2-2006)
- #21 Crew Chief penalized: NASCAR announced that David Hyder, crew chief for the #21 Nextel Cup Series team, has been fined $5,000 and placed on probation until Dec. 31, 2006 for a rule violation at Phoenix International Raceway. Hyder violated Sections 12-4-A (actions detrimental to stock car racing), 12-4-Q (car, car parts, components and/or equipment that do not conform to NASCAR rules) and 20-10.8.4I (unapproved tire warming by using a portable heater) of the 2006 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Rule Book. The rule violation was discovered during the running of the Subway Fresh 500 on April 22.(NASCAR)(5-1-2006)
- Donnie & Bobby Allison join TV Project: NASCAR driving legend Donnie Allison has joined his brother Bobby as a commentator on the new Reality Racing – The Rookie Challenge network television series. The Reality Racing – The Rookie Challenge combines two of the most prevalent on-air entertainment concepts – stock car racing and reality television – to create a unique, action-packed, 13-week series scheduled to air on a major network later this year. The Series will pit contestants with absolutely no racing backgrounds and from all walks of life against each other in a stock car racing competition format. Helping to judge the competitors will be a panel of select, former stock car racing stars headed by the Allisons. Additional information on Reality Racing, Inc. and the new series can be obtained at www.realityracingtv.com.(PR)(5-2-2006)
- Kahne needs clearance to test at Lowe’s UPDATE: NASCAR officials say Evernham Motorsports driver #9-Kasey Kahne will have to get medical clearance before he’s allowed to test Tuesday at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Kahne talked with Dr. Jerry Petty, a Charlotte, N.C., neurosurgeon, on Monday and has a Tuesday morning appointment with Petty to get clearance. Kahne crashed early in the Aaron’s 499 at Talladega Superspeedway Monday afternoon, and NASCAR officials did not allow him to return to the Nextel Cup race. “The medical people didn’t think it would be good for him to get back in the car again,” NASCAR spokesman Kerry Tharp said, adding that the driver of the #9 Dodge was too “shaken up” to return. Kahne went to the infield care center after the accident and walked to his hauler in the Nextel Cup garage. “I just got checked out, and everything is fine,” Kahne said. Hermie Sadler, also involved in the lap 9 crash, got behind the wheel of Kahne’s No. 9 when it returned on lap 85. By NASCAR rules, Kahne will get the driver points for the team’s finish in the race.(SceneDaily.com)(5-1-2006)
UPDATE: #9-Kasey Kahne will not test Tuesday at Lowe’s Motor Speedway after a hard crash Monday during the race at Talladega Superspeedway. Kahne said he plans to get approval Wednesday to test on the second day of the two-day test in Charlotte. He said he will not go to see Dr. Jerry Petty, a Charlotte, N.C., neurosurgeon, until Wednesday morning. No one filled in for Kahne in Evernham Motorsports’s #9 Dodge as the test on the repaved Lowe’s Motor Speedway track got under way Tuesday morning. The #9 hauler did arrive at the track to get the cars set up.(SceneDaily.com)(5-2-2006) - Knaus Wins WypAll Wipers Crew Chief of the Race at Talladega: In typical Talladega fashion, the Aaron’s 499 played out like a 200 mph game of chess. In the end, it was Chad Knaus’ decision to bring the #48 Lowe’s Chevrolet in for service on the last round of pit stops which proved to be the game winning strategy. Jimmie Johnson’s fresh tires were exactly what he needed to climb through the pack and capture the win. Knaus’ triumphant tactics earned him the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race. With 22 laps to go, Knaus was left with the difficult choice of whether to have his driver pit or stay on the track. Knaus elected to have Johnson reload with fresh tires for the final run. The decision put Johnson in 15th place for the restart, but Johnson had little difficulty storming to the front. A panel of voters; including a member of the local media, Tony Eury Sr. and a Wypall Wipers representative; agreed that Knaus’ strategy earned him Crew Chief of the Race honors. For winning the Crew Chief of the Race award, Wypall Wipers presented Knaus $1,000. At the end of the season, the Nextel Cup crew chief with the most weekly wins will receive $20,000 and be crowned the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Year. This was Knaus’ first Crew Chief of the Race award in 2006, which ties him with Darian Grubb, Todd Berrier and Roy McCauley for second-place in the standings. Robbie Reiser and Kenny Francis are tied for the lead, each with two wins.(Wypall PR)(5-2-2006)
- Foyt to run Indy 500: former Cup driver, Larry Foyt will enter his third straight Indianapolis 500 driving for his famous father A.J. Foyt. The 29-year-old Houstonian will drive the #41 Honda-powered Panoz. Since Foyt has not driven an Indy car since last year’s 500, he’ll take a refresher test this Monday, May 8 during the Rookie Orientation Program (ROP). Once he’s completed the test, which is the final two phases of the ROP speed test, he will continue practicing for the remainder of the day. Last year Foyt was involved in an accident on lap 15. He sustained a lower back injury which sidelined him for six weeks. He has completely recovered.(A.J. Foyt Racing)(5-2-2006)
- Justin Diercks to Make Busch Debut: Justin Diercks and ML Motorsports head to Virginia this week to attempt their first NASCAR Busch Series race. It will mark a few milestones for 26-year-old Rookie Justin Diercks. This will be Diercks first attempt to qualify for a NASCAR Busch Series race and his first time to wheel the #70 Foretravel Motorcoach machine.(ML Motorsports PR)(5-2-2006)
- Foyt in the #14 at Richmond: Following his release from Braun-Akins Racing 3 weeks ago, A.J. Foyt IV makes his return to the Busch Series Friday at Richmond. He will be be driving the #14 for FitzBradshaw Racing.(Scene Daily)(5-2-2006)
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