May 4, 2005
- #11 Rumors out again: on Speed Channel’s NASCAR Nation, NASCAR.com’s Marty Smith was asked about rumors of Joe Gibbs Racing’s #11 Jason Leffler being replaced. Smith said he contacted the team and was told there is no truth to the rumor, but Smith said garage gossip have possible drivers as Scott Wimmer, who currently drives the #22 CAT Dodge for Bill Davis Racing and Martin Truex Jr., driver for the #1 DEI Cup car in a limited schedule and full time in the #8 Busch Series Chance 2 Chevy.(5-4-2005)
- Eleven Penalties Result from Talladega Infractions NASCAR announced today that 11 penalties have been issued to NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series competitors, as a result of rule infractions this past weekend at Talladega Superspeedway.
Three of those penalties were issued to the #00 Chevrolet team, because of an unapproved rear axle housing, a violation of Section 12-4-A (actions detrimental to stock car racing) and Section 12-4-Q (car, car parts, components and/or equipment that do not conform to NASCAR rules) of the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series rule book. The violations were found during pre-qualifying inspection. Kenny Wallace, driver of the #00, was penalized with the loss of 25 driver championship points; car owner Elizabeth (Buffy) Waltrip was penalized 25 owner championship points; and crew chief Terry Wooten was fined $25,000.
Harold Holly, crew chief for the #32 Chevrolet driven by Bobby Hamilton Jr., was fined $10,000. During opening day inspection, the #32 had unapproved upper rear coil spring mounts, violating Sections 12-4-A and 12-4-Q.
Jimmy Elledge, crew chief for the #41 Dodge driven by Casey Mears, was fined $2,500 because of unapproved use of refrigerant near the fuel system, violating 2-4-A and 12-4-Q. The violations were found during pre-qualifying inspection.
In addition, $1,000 fines were issued to the following six competitors:
Alan Gustafson, crew chief for the #5 Chevrolet driven by Kyle Busch, because of an unapproved right-side window (violating 12-4-A and 12-4-Q); Mike Ford, crew chief for the #88 Ford of Dale Jarrett, was fined for the same violations. In both cases, the violations were found during pre-qualifying inspection.
Four crew chiefs were fined because of unapproved window nets presented at opening day inspection (violating 12-4-A and 12-4-Q). Nets must have a minimum opening of one inch between the ribs. Those four:
Robert (Bootie) Barker, crew chief for the #0 Chevrolet driven by Mike Bliss; Dave Rogers, crew chief for the #11 Chevrolet driven by Jason Leffler; Bob Osborne, crew chief for the #99 Ford driven by Carl Edwards; and Richard (Slugger) Labbe, crew chief for the #19 Dodge driven by Jeremy Mayfield.(NASCAR PR)(5-4-2005) - Toyota to Busch Series in 2006: NASCAR has confirmed that Toyota intends to compete in the Busch Series in 2006 and is an active participant in discussions about the next generation of Nextel Cup cars and engines, which are slated to debut in 2007, or perhaps 2008. Bill Davis Racing, the lead development team in Toyota’s truck project, is likely also developing Toyota’s Busch entry, though little specific information has come to light yet.(Speed Channel)(5-4-2005)
- Shepherd trying to help Darlington track and more: #89-Morgan Shepherd will be a part of this Mother’s Day race weekend by honoring mothers and helping an organization that’s been working to save the racing traditions at his favorite race track. Long ago deemed the “Lady in Black” by the countless racers who’ve grazed the pristine white walls of Darlington Raceway leaving behind black tire and paint smudges, the track finds itself buried in rumors that its newest moniker might be “retired” as well. Undeniably, the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series schedule has been trending toward modern race tracks with huge seating capacities and larger television markets. Fanz to Support the Darlington Racing Tradition has been formed in an effort to save the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race date at the storied track, and use its position in the public eye to raise funds for local charities and the Lyn St. James Foundation. “That the race weekend falls on Mother’s Day weekend offers us a great opportunity to raise money for our charities and honor the mothers in our lives, while continuing to raise awareness for our cause. For a $1 donation, fans can put the name of their mom on Morgan Shepherd’s race car for Saturday night’s race,” said Bob Henry, President of Fanz to Support the Darlington Racing Tradition.(Williams Company) Also, Shepherd is scheduled to appear on ABC’s “World News Tonight” with Peter Jennings at ^:30pm/et and on Thursday is scheduled to by on ESPN’s ‘Outside the Lines’ at 12:00midnight/et.(5-4-2005)
- School Stuff: Chattanooga State Technical College is introducing a curriculum that provides career training in the booming NASCAR industry. The school will offer automotive and mechanical courses as well as instruction in the ”business, regulations, economics and history” of the sport. For information call 423-697-4738.(Tennessean) Info on Driving Schools, College Programs and Diversity, see my Racing Schools/Jobs page.(5-4-2005)
- Testing dates set at Lowe’s Motor Speedway UPDATE – Speeds: Lowe’s Motor Speedway has scheduled 35 hours of open testing for NASCAR Craftsman Truck, Busch and NEXTEL Cup Series teams in preparation for the track’s slate of May races, including the May 21 NASCAR NEXTEL All-Star Challenge and the May 29 Coca-Cola 600.
The testing schedule:
May 3-4, NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series, 3 p.m. to 10 p.m.
May 9-10, NASCAR Busch Series, 3 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Many of the bumps in the track’s racing surface were removed recently during an asphalt grinding process and the testing sessions mark the first, and only, opportunity for teams to experiment with the new surface prior to the May events. Lowe’s Motor Speedway’s frontstretch grandstand will be open free of charge during each testing session. Fans should enter through Gate 5A next to the ticket office on the second floor of Smith Tower.(LMS)(3-22/5-2-2005)
DRIVERS: #01-Joe Nemechek, #0-Mike Bliss, #5-Kyle Busch, #6-Mark Martin, #16-Greg Biffle, #18-Bobby Labonte, #19-Jeremy Mayfield, #24-Jeff Gordon, #25-Brian Vickers, #32-Bobby Hamilton Jr., #36-Boris Said, #41-Casey Mears, #44-Terry Labonte, #45-Kyle Petty, #77-Travis Kvapil, #18-Dale Jarrett, #91-Bill Elliott, #08-Shane Hmiel, #1-Martin Truex Jr., #4-Mike Wallace, #8-Dale Earnhardt Jr., #15-Michael Waltrip, #23-Mike Skinner, #29-Kevin Harvick, #38-Elliott Sadler and #49-Ken Schrader.(LMS)(5-3-2005)UPDATE Vickers fastest, and crashes: Lowe’s Motor Speedway’s renovated racing surface continued to receive rave reviews Tuesday night as 22 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup teams prepared for the May 21 NASCAR NEXTEL All-Star Challenge and the May 29 Coca-Cola 600. With teams focusing on long runs and race set-ups, several drivers consistently posted laps in the mid-180 mph range, just shy of Ryan Newman’s 188-mph track record. Brian Vickers was fastest on the unofficial stopwatches with a lap at 186.130mph in the #25 GMAC/ditech.com Chevrolet fielded by Hendrick Motorsports, but his night ended against the outside wall. With just one minute left in the session, a flat right-front tire sent Vickers’ Chevrolet into the turn-two wall. The car was heavily damaged, but Vickers was not injured. The only other incidents during the six-hour testing session came just before the dinner break when #41-Casey Mears hit the wall in turn two and #88-Dale Jarrett bounced off the SAFER barrier in turns three and four on the same lap. Both were able to drive to the garage area and Mears was able to continue testing. Jarrett, however, was finished for the evening. NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series testing continues Wednesday evening, May 4, with the cars once again on the track from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Fans can attend the final night of NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series testing free of charge. Lowe’s Motor Speedway’s frontstretch grandstand will be open and fans should enter through Gate 5A, located next to the main ticket office.
Showing driver, car #and speed:
1. #25-Brian Vickers, 186.130
2. #18-Bobby Labonte, 185.592
3. #24-Jeff Gordon, 185.554
4. #6-Mark Martin, 185.491
5. #19-Jeremy Mayfield, 185.312
6. #41-Casey Mears, 185.039
7. #01-Joe Nemechek, 184.982
8. #5-Kyle Busch, 184.603
9. #1-Martin Truex Jr., 184.300
10. #29-Kevin Harvick, 184.281.(LMS)(5-4-2005) - New #6 Crew Chief? UPDATE: It was mentioned on Speed Channel’s Busch Series Qualifying that the #6 Team recently hired Trip Bruce as the crew chief, Elton Sawyer was the crew chief, not sure what is up there.(4-22-2005)
UPDATE: Evernham Motorsports and Unilever Foods officially announced today that Trip Bruce has been named Crew Chief of the #6 Hungry Drivers Racing Dodge team and will lead the organization’s NASCAR Busch Series program. Elton Sawyer, will take over as Team Manager, overseeing Evernham Motorsports NASCAR Busch Series program and the day-to-day operations of the #6 Hungry Drivers team. (Hungry Drivers PR)(5-4-2005) - McGriddles on the #35: The # 35 McDonald’s Racing Ford , driven by Jason Keller will run a special McGriddles Paint Scheme the next two races [Darlington and Richmond]. Participating McDonald’s restaurants nationwide now offer McGriddles breakfast sandwiches as permanent menu items. McGriddles breakfast sandwiches provide an innovative way for customers to eat warm golden griddle cakes (with the sweet taste of maple syrup baked right in), and different combinations of savory sausage, crispy bacon, fluffy eggs and melted cheese in a convenient sandwich.(Team Rensi)(5-4-2005)
- Penalties from Talladega: NASCAR announced Wednesday that rule infractions this past weekend at Talladega Superspeedway have resulted in probation for two NASCAR Busch Series competitors. Kevin Lepage, driver of the #71 Chevrolet, was placed on probation until July 6, 2005. Lepage violated Section 12-4-A of the NASCAR Busch Series rule book (actions detrimental to stock car racing) by failing to follow a directive from a NASCAR official while stopped on pit road.
Kenneth Campbell, crew chief of the #23 Chevrolet driven by Mark Green, was fined $10,000 and placed on probation until December 31, 2005 after violating Sections 12-4-A and 12-4-Q (car, car parts, components and/or equipment used that do not conform to NASCAR rules) for an unapproved roof flap modification. The violation was determined during pre-qualifying inspection.
In addition, Gregg Mixon, crew chief of the #7 Chevrolet driven by Greg Sacks, was fined $500. During pre-qualifying inspection the #7 was found to be in violation of Sections 12-4-A and 12-4-Q for an unapproved air directional device.(NASCAR PR)(5-4-2005) - J.J. Yeley to Sport a New Look at Darlington: J.J. Yeley will sport a new look on his #18 Vigoro/Home Depot Chevrolet this weekend for the NASCAR Busch Series race at Darlington Raceway on Friday night. Yeley’s ride will feature a similar decal scheme, but the traditional white and orange paint will become black and orange for Friday evening’s Diamond Hill Plywood 200 at “The Lady in Black”, Darlington Raceway.(Vigoro Racing)(5-4-2005)
- Hemphill out, Green in: Jeff Green, the 2000 NASCAR Busch Series champion and winner of the spring 2001 race at Darlington, will replace Ryan Hemphill in the #4 GEICO Dodge this weekend.(NASCAR PR via BGNRacing.com)(5-4-2005)
- 2nd Braun team? UPDATE 2: hearing there could be a 2nd full time Braun Racing team soon with the American Legion as the sponsor, no word on a driver.(4-7-2005)
UPDATE: Kerry to have a Busch ride? Kerry Earnhardt, who has been a test driver for DEI since being released from his ride in #15 Billy Ballew’s entry in the Craftsman Truck Series, is on the verge of signing a contract to return to the Busch Series, where he was a regular competitor in 2002 and 2003.(Atlanta Journal-Constitution), hearing Earnhardt will be driving the 2nd Braun Chevy, makes sence with the DEI connections.(4-29-2005)
HOWEVER: Kerry Earnhardt has not been in discussion with Todd Braun about driving a second entry for Braun Racing in the Busch Series. There are a number of opportunities under consideration for Kerry to continue racing in both the Busch Series and Truck Series during the 2005 season.(Earnhardt PR via BGNRacing.com)(5-4-2005) - Orleans Racing Reorganization Underway: Following the fifth race of the 2005 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series campaign Orleans Racing has begun a reorganization of key personnel. The changes involved the crew chief and truck chief of the #77 Jasper Engines Dodge. Effective immediately Orleans Racing has announced the departure of crew chief, Billy Wilburn and truck chief, Travis Sharpe. No replacements for the two have been named. “Billy Wilburn is from the east coast,” said team co-owner and driver, Brendan Gaughan. “It was a long way away for him to go to come out here and he really wants to be a Nextel Cup crew chief. So we sat down right before the St. Louis race and it was an amicable decision. It wasn’t anything where I was mad at him for non-performance or he was made at me as a driver,” Gaughan added. “It was personal reasons and he wanted to get back home and take care of some things. So we left on great terms and we went out with a great race, too.” Thanking Wilburn for his contributions, Gaughan offered, “The Orleans Racing team has been working really hard since I came back and trying to get us better race trucks, brand new race trucks. We brought Billy Wilburn in to help clean our shop up and get things dialed in. It was fantastic having Billy Wilburn there because what happened was it let Charlie Wilson get back to the work of crew chiefing. Billy Wilburn came in and started basically cleaning all the pieces and parts up.” Managing Orleans Racing’s technical arm will be Charlie Wilson. Wilson, who has one win already in the 2005 season with driver, #62-Steve Park has the full confidence of Gaughan to continue the reformation of Orleans Racing. Wilson has already taken several steps that should help the performance of both the #62 The Orleans Dodge and the #77 Jasper Engines Dodge. “We just got some great results from the wind tunnel,” notes Gaughan on Wilson’s first assignment. “We found out some big, huge things that the Orleans team was missing. That’s thanks to Dodge for opening up their wind tunnel time. That’s why we’re part of their program. We found huge mistakes on our part that we’re fixing.”(Orleans Racing)(5-4-2005)
- Owner, Two Crew Chiefs Fined for Infractions at Gateway: NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series owner Michael J. Gaughan has been fined $1,500 while crew chiefs Doug George and Doug Howe have been fined $500 for rule violations that occurred during last weekend’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event at Gateway International Raceway, NASCAR officials announced today.
Gaughan, owner of the #77 Dodge driven by Brendan Gaughan, violated Section 12-4-A (actions detrimental to stock car racing) and Section 12-4-Q, determination by NASCAR officials that the truck, truck parts, components and/or equipment used in the event don’t conform to NASCAR rules – unapproved carburetor booster stems.
George, crew chief of the #20 Chevrolet driven by Ken Weaver, violated Section 12-4-A (actions detrimental to stock car racing) and Section 12-4-Q, determination by NASCAR officials that the truck, truck parts, components and/or equipment used in the event don’t conform to NASCAR rules – unapproved front jacking bolt assembly.
Howe, crew chief of the #07 Chevrolet driven by Sean Murphy, violated Section 12-4-A (actions detrimental to stock car racing) and Section 12-4-Q, determination by NASCAR officials that the truck, truck parts, components and/or equipment used in the event don’t conform to NASCAR rules – unapproved front jacking bolt assembly. The infractions were discovered during opening day inspection.(NASCAR PR)(5-4-2005) - Lazier to run the #15 at Texas: Billy Ballew of Ballew Motorsports confirmed Monday afternoon that they have signed Buddy Lazier to their race team. Lazier, the former IRL regular and Indy 500 champion, will compete in at least one Craftsman Truck Series race later this year at the Texas Motor Speedway. The team’s current driver since last year is Shane Hmeil, who has moved on to the Busch Series, but still races for Ballew in the trucks. “We’re very excited to have Buddy aboard for the Texas race and hope to have a deal worked out soon to have him drive more races for us in the future,” Ballew said Monday. Lazier participated in a test at the Lowe’s Motor Speedway last week which was successful. ” We were really very pleased with Buddy’s performance at the test,” Ballew noted. ” For not having much experience in a stock car other than the IROC Series, I must say I was impressed”.(SpeedwayMedia.com)(5-4-2005)
- Tech-Net joins forces with Hamilton: #04-Bobby Hamilton has joined forces with TECH-NET Professional Automotive Service (technetprofessional.com) and the Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics. Hamilton will drive a uniquely designed TECH-NET Professional Auto Service/Law Enforcement Torch Run #04 Dodge created to help raise awareness and funding for the Special Olympics in the UAW-GM Ohio 250 at Mansfield Motorsports Speedway on Sunday May 15th. A special collectors limited edition 1/24th scale die cast of Bobby Hamilton’s #04 TECH-NET/Law Enforcement Torch Run Dodge will be available at CARQUEST Auto Parts stores later this summer.(BHR)(5-4-2005)
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