May 2, 2005
- Morgan Shepherd to air on ESPN show, May 5th: Sixty-three year old Morgan Shepherd, easily the NASCAR Nextel Cup’s oldest driver, survives week-to-week with his two man team and no sponsors. “I’m the last of the Mohicans,” he says, forcing a laugh. ESPN’s Outside the Lines has been chronicling Shepherd’s 2005 campaign since NASCAR’s season-opening Daytona 500 on February 20. He has started just one race – the UAW Daimler Chrysler 400 on March 13 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, starting 43rd and finishing 40th. Outside the Lines will present an inside look at Shepherd’s travails on Thursday, May 5 at 12:00midnight/et [Subject to change depending on breaking news]. Despite struggling, Shepherd refuses to retire in part because of his Christian faith -his team logo is prominently displayed on his #89 Dodge.(ESPN)(5-2-2005)
- Update 2 on RCR Crewman: Josh Yost, the jackman for #31 Jeff Burton’s Cingular Wireless team, suffered torn ligaments and a severe laceration on his right ankle after a pit stop mishap. He was taken to a Birmingham hospital, but flew home with his team Sunday night.(Alabama Live)(5-2-2005)
UPDATE: Injured Jeff Burton jackman Josh Yost was released from a Birmingham, AL hospital Sunday night and flown back to Winston-Salem, NC on one of Richard Childress’ planes. He was admitted to the Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center and will be operated on Tuesday by Dr. David Martin. After getting hit by Rusty Wallace on pit road at Talladega, Yost was thought to have broken his right ankle, but after tests it turned out to be badly torn ligaments. Yost also suffered a severe, deep laceration to his lower right leg.(PRN’s Garage Pass Radio Show)(5-2-2005) - TV Ratings for Qualifying and Trackside at Talladega: Talladega NASCAR coverage was a hit with SPEED Channel viewers last weekend as more than one million households tuned in for coverage of NEXTEL Cup qualifying Friday. Live qualifying coverage on SPEED drew a Nielsen Household Rating of 1.10 (696,000 households), while the replay scored a .56 (354,000 households) later in the day. SPEED Channel’s “Trackside” program went out to more than half a million households, scoring .68 (433,000 households) for its live broadcast Friday night. A same-day replay added an additional .25 (156,000 HH).(SPEED Channel)(5-2-2005)
- Overnight TV Ratings for Talladega Up: Fox’s broadcast of Sunday’s Aaron’s 499 earned a 6.1 overnight Nielsen Media Research rating from the nation’s largest markets and a 14 market share, Street & Smith’s SportsBusiness Daily reports. The rating is up 3.4% from the 5.9 overnight figure for the 2004 Talladega race, which was run a week earlier. This year’s figure, which is the third-highest overnight rating for a race this season, is also up 8.9% from the 5.6 that the 2004 California race drew on the comparable weekend.(NASCAR Scene Daily Newsletter)(5-2-2005)
- Loomis Wins Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race Award: Jeff Gordon scorched the competition at Talladega Superspeedway this weekend. His Robbie Loomis prepared Chevrolet easily weaved its way to the top spot, leading 139 of 190 laps in route to Gordon’s second restrictor plate win of the season, his third win in 2005. Loomis’ dominant car made him the easy pick for theWypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race. The panel of voters; including Mike Szvetitz of Opelika-Auburn News, a Wypall Wipers representative and Tony Eury Sr.; all agreed that Loomis deserved Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race honors. “He (Loomis) got Gordon in first and got him out first,” said Szvetitz. “He kept him up front for almost the whole race.” Loomis collected $1,000 for winning the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race. Collecting his second award in 2005, Loomis is now tied with Doug Richert in the Crew Chief of the Year standings. Scott Miller, Bob Osborne, Alan Gustafson and Pete Rondeau are tied for second place, each with one win. At the end of the season, the crew chief with the most weekly wins will receive $20,000.(SMC 500)(5-2-2005)
- Bridesmaid for Stewart at Talladega: for #20-Tony Stewart, it was his fourth second-place finish in 13 career Nextel Cup starts at Talladega Supperspeedway when he finished 2nd to #24-Jeff Gordon Sunday.(5-2-2005)
- Car of the Future delay? Under pressure from race teams, NASCAR might delay the debut of the “car of the future” until the end of 2007 and the “common” engine until 2008. Many engine builders fear teams could be crushed financially if they’re left with large inventories of obsolete engines. But to even the playing field and prepare for Toyota’s expected arrival in the Cup series, NASCAR is looking at controlling cars from the tires up.(Sporting News)(5-2-2005)
- TV Contract to stay with current partners: NASCAR’s next TV contract, which will begin with the 2007 season, should be completed by year-end, according to a NASCAR source close to the situation. The source said signs are positive that all of NASCAR current television partners will re-up for a second contract. Look for a substantial increase in $2.4 billion rights fee paid over the six years of the first contract, which runs from 2001-2006. The NFL recently signed a lucrative $8 billion contract extension, and that, combined with strong ratings generated by the first NASCAR Nextel Chase for the Championship last fall, should mean more money for NASCAR this time around.(Speed Channel)(5-2-2005)
- Gambling Internet sites want in: When NASCAR lifted the hard liquor sponsorship embargo, did it open a Pandora’s box? The next wave of sponsors pushing to get into the garage are Internet gambling sites, which have approached several teams with big checks but have not yet gotten the green flag from NASCAR.(Sporting News)(5-2-2005)
- Crate Engines at Daytona/Talladega for the Busch Series? Detroit executives have proposed to NASCAR that the sanctioning body switch to crate engines at Daytona and Talladega as a cost-cutting measure for the Busch series. Crate engines would be formula engines built to identical standards, IROC-style; they could be mass produced for maybe $8,000 apiece, considerably less than $60,000-plus Daytona/Talladega Busch engines currently used. NASCAR already hands out identical shocks and springs at Daytona and Talladega.(Winston Salem Journal)(5-2-2005)
- Rusty tapes special message and host fan: One racing fan, who is battling cancer, requested to meet her favorite men: Rusty Wallace and Dr. Phil McGraw. Wallace couldn’t make the taping of McGraw’s show last Thursday, but he taped a spot for the episode, which was to be broadcast this Friday. Wallace also sent his race shoes from Las Vegas and will be host to the fan at the Nextel All-Star Challenge May 21 at Charlotte.(Sporting News)(5-2-2005)
- Marlin has an offer for 2006? liquor company as sponsor? #40-Sterling Marlin already has said he’s “99 percent” sure he won’t be back driving for Chip Ganassi next year. Multiple sources in the garage indicate that a well-known liquor company has contacted at least one established team about putting Marlin in one of its cars next season.(Speed Channel)(5-2-2005)
- #14 Team done? Charpentier goes back to DEI: The #14 ppc Racing Cup team is being dismantled, and it’s not surprising that crew chief Dave Charpentier has returned to Dale Earnhardt Inc. The #14 team was in existence for just a few months, so don’t expect Charpentier to take any of Ford’s secrets to Chevrolet.(Sporting News)(5-2-2005)
- More on Toyota: The key issue in the NASCAR Cup garage at the moment is Toyota’s apparently imminent step up to the Busch series next season, with an expected Nextel Cup debut in 2007. Toyota’s NASCAR model is expected to be the Avalon, though some are looking at the Solara, too. Toyota, according to sources, wants to field two Busch teams next year, with engines provided by the company, as it has done with its NASCAR Truck program. However, NASCAR officials are reported to have told Toyota that it would have to provide support to least five or six teams. Toyota is also reported to be bidding for some big-name NASCAR teams for its Busch effort, the biggest name mentioned being Chevy kingpin Rick Hendrick. GM executives insist they’ve got firm contracts with Hendrick for the next several years. However the Hendrick-Toyota questions have persisted, in part perhaps because Hendrick is one of the country’s biggest Lexus dealers. Adding fuel to the Toyota-NASCAR issue are reports that Toyota plans to drop its IRL support at the end of the season (the company is spending nearly $100 million this year on its Indy-car program) and that Honda executives have indicated to IRL boss Tony George they don’t plan to stick it out either if Honda is to become the only engine supplier to that series.(Winston Salem Journal)(5-2-2005)
- Petty to test at the Rock – TODAY: #45-Kyle Petty is scheduled to test his Darlington car at North Carolina Speedway in Rockingham, NC on Monday, May 2nd. While the track is not holding any races, it still is open for testing and the Buck Baker Racing School still holds classes there.(4-27/5-2-2005)
- Pressley honored: It’s very fitting that Bob Pressley has been commemorated in a manner that will have people thinking of him while they’re gripping a steering wheel. For Bob Pressley, well, when he gripped a steering wheel it meant business. Bob Pressley was a winner on the racetrack, but more importantly off the racetrack. He passed away a little more than a year ago at age 71, but is most definitely not forgotten. Pressley’s resume is impressive. He was the track champion at Asheville Motor Speedway seven times. He worked magic when he seized the steering wheel, winning more than 500 races. Earlier this week the two-mile stretch of Brevard Road/N.C. 191 where he once tooled around in a Model A Ford was officially renamed Bob Pressley Highway. The experience he gained in a Model A Ford translated to a four-decade racing career. He became a legend, and an important part of local history. His is a legacy worth remembering. The Pressley family is an important thread in the fabric of the rich heritage of racing in Western North Carolina. Son Robert Pressley is a NASCAR fixture, and grandson Coleman is carrying the legacy on by racing at Hickory Motor Speedway.(Citizen Times)(5-2-2005)
- No major changes in 2006 schedule? Don’t expect any major changes in next year’s Cup schedule, which likely won’t be released until September.(Sporting News), last year the 2005 schedule was announced on May 14th.(5-2-2005)
- #00 Team in trouble? Kenny Wallace’s #00 team could be in big trouble with NASCAR after inspectors at Talladega Superspeedway confiscated a trick rear-end housing from the team, owned by Michael Waltrip. A fine is expected, and some speculate it’ll be $50,000, because the design might be considered a safety issue.(Winston Salem Journal), the team failed to qualify for the race.(4-30-2005)
UPDATE: Nextel Cup Director John Darby said a major penalty likely will be levied by NASCAR over the offset rear axle that was seized Friday from the #00 Chevrolet owned by Michael Waltrip Racing and driven by Kenny Wallace. The car failed to qualify for Sunday’s race.(Speed Channel)(5-2-2005) - Finch to Chevy? The fallout and hard feelings from the big-carburetor episode at Texas may see #1 Busch Series car owner James Finch switch from Dodge to another manufacturer, possibly Chevy.(AJC)(5-2-2005)
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