May 3, 2000
- Valvoline/Roush: Valvoline, the Lexington, KY motor oil company, which reportedly pays $8 million a year to be the lead sponsor on the #6 Jack Roush owned Ford, is in contract negotiations with Roush Racing, the company behind driver Mark Martin’s Winston Cup car. The price tag for lead sponsors on a Top 10 Winston Cup car is said to run $8 million to $11 million annually. Though the cost is high, NASCAR observers say Valvoline can’t afford to put the brakes on now. The company has sponsored the car for 11 years, eight as lead sponsor and this year Martin is positioned to win his first Winston Cup title. Valvoline and Roush won’t comment on their talks, which have been in progress since December. Both have said they want to renew their three-year contract, which expires this year, for three to five more years, see full story at the Herald-Leader. Rumor Alert: if Valvoline leaves, Ford(Quality Care) or UPS could end up being the #6 sponsor as mentioned in past stories here and elsewhere(5-3-2000)
- Dallenbach Tests: Wally Dallenbach and the #75 Galaxy Motorsports team tested at Lakeland USA short track on Tuesday in preparation for Saturday night’s Pontiac Excitement 400 at Richmond International Raceway. The team will run the RedCell Batteries scheme at Richmond(Galaxy PR)(5-3-2000)
- Will the Talladega Finishing Order Change? been asked this many times today, so let’s cover it here: NOPE. See the results at NASCAR Online – Diehard 500 Results – Talladega – April 23, 2000. He stays at 14th, gets no points and loses 25 more. What changes is the Drivers Points and the Owners Points(5-3-2000)
- Gordon Walks: On Friday, April 28, Jeff Gordon was inducted into California Speedway’s “Walk of Fame” for the second time in his career. The speedway commemorates each Winston Cup winner at the track with a plaque in the Walk Of Fame the following year. Gordon, also won at California in 1997(Gordonline)(5-3-2000)
- Sadler to test: Elliott Sadler and the #21 Wood Brothers Racing Team will test the #21 CITGO Ford at New River Valley Speedway located in Radford, VA on Wednesday in preparation for this week’s race in Richmond(Cox Marketing)(5-3-2000)
- DW Grand Marshal: Three time, NASCAR Winston Cup champ, Darrell Waltrip will serve as Grand Marshal at the Kentucky Speedway’s inaugural race, “The Kroger 225”. The Craftsman Truck Series event, scheduled for June 17th will have a 7:30pm/et green flag and broadcast live, nationally on ESPN(Kentucky Speedway PR)(5-3-2000)
- Sad News: Retired North Carolina Speedway public relations director Herman Hickman passed away Monday night following a long illness(SpeedVision)(5-3-2000)
- Promo: What are the odds of seeing Jeremy Mayfield, Kyle Petty and Sterling Marlin at the World Series in September? About as good as those of seeing Kenny Irwin, Michael Waltrip and John Andretti during NFL games in October. Those six drivers are leading the NASCAR Winston Cup promotional efforts by FOX Sports as it begins looking towards its new television contract and the 2001 season. The six filmed promotional spots and station “tag lines” for FOX this past weekend during the activities at California Speedway, and several also met with FOX Sports President Ed Goren. See full story at: Six NASCAR Drivers Lead FOX Sports Promotions(Williams Co)(5-3-2000)
- Allen back in the #82: hearing Glenn Allen Jr will drive the #82 ChannelLock Chevy at Richmond. Allen drove the car at California also. No word on what Derrick Gilchrest’s plans are at Richmond, if he will drive the #15, #51 or not at all(5-3-2000)
- Sawyer to Test: The #98 Lysol Racing Team will test at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Charlotte, N.C., May 8-9 for the upcoming CarQuest Auto Parts 300 on May 27(Keystone Marketing)(5-3-2000)
- #46 Scheme: Lewis Motorsports will again run a special paint scheme in honor of late comedian Jerry Clower. The #46 car design will feature frogs, dogs, fish and raccoons. The team first debuted the car last month at Nashville(Keystone Marketing). See the car on the BGN Paint Scheme page(5-3-2000)
- #79 Truck News: R.D. Smith, the driver of the RDS Motorsports Dodge truck, has cleared a tremendous hurdle in major league stock car racing. Smith who participates in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, received word that his team has been accepted as a member of the Dodge Motorsports “Run with the Ram” program. Smith’s #79 truck was one of the ten Dodge Rams that arrived at the Martinsville Speedway last week to qualify for the NAPA 250. Each of the ten Dodge teams made the event on the time they posted during qualifying. The Martinsville race was a landmark for the most Dodge Rams ever in a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event, and Smith was also the youngest driver to secure a spot in the starting lineup. Several personnel changes have also taken place at Smith’s RDS Motorsports team this season. The new crew chief is Ralph Wingfield Jr. Ed Blair has come on board as the team manager, and Mike Congdon is now the Director of Marketing and Public Relations. Smith’s father, Rodney, owns the team and is a real estate mogul in the Burlington, NC and Myrtle Beach, SC areas. “I’m excited about the potential of this team and the factory backing from Dodge. We have great people in place, our goals are mutual and our equipment is excellent. We are now at a point where we can show what we’re made of,” he said.(RDS Motorsports PR)(5-3-2000)
- Drivers Visit Kids: As the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series descends upon St. Louis for the Ram Tough 200 at Gateway International Raceway, there is a special reason a few drivers will head into town a little early. Craftsman Truck Series drivers Greg Biffle, Rick Carelli, Carlos Contrerras, Terry Cook, Mike Cope, Ryan McGlynn, Dennis Setzer, Randy Tolsma, and John Young along with ESPN commentary personalities Dave Burns, Amy East, and Marty Reid are slated to share quality time with approximately 200 children at St. Louis Children’s Hospital Friday afternoon. See full story and info se the full PR at: Craftsman Truck Drivers to Visit St. Louis Children’s Hospital(5-3-2000)
- Testing: #25-Randy Tolsma and #16-Jimmy Hensley tested at Greenville Pickens Speedway(SC) on Tuesday(5-3-2000)
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