May 6, 2003
- Positions Changed: When the finals results came out today for the Richmond race, nine finishing places were changed, #10-Benson from 14th to 15th, #74-Raines from 15th to 14th, #16-Biffle from 16th to 17th, #24-Gordon from 17th to 16th, #54-Bodine from 22nd to 23rd, #42-McMurray from 23rd tro 22nd, #45-Petty from 28th to 27th, #41-Mears from 29th to 28th, and #23-Wallace from 27th to 29th. Why did the positions change? No idea. NASCAR reviews the video and scoring results Monday mornings and makes adjustments as necessary.
For the official results from NASCAR, see my Jayski’s Pontiac Excitement Results page, for points, see Jayski’s Driver/Owners Points standings after Richmond page. This is why I wait until the Official Results come out to do most my Stats.(5-6-2003) - More Green Comments: Jeff Green says he probably shouldn’t have gone to Kevin Harvick’s pit following.Saturday night’s on-track incident in Richmond.involving his former RCR teammate, however he said. “To do it over again I’d.probaby do exactly the same thing…I don’t have any regrets for it.” Green says he hates it for sponsor AOL and the crew, but the way the year has gone it’s been mounting. “To have teammates you gotta be able to work together and you’ve gotta want to help each other and some of the things I’ve seen.throughout the last year and half things.wasn’t going that way so.it’s just time for a change.” .What also concerned Green was that he felt car owner Richard Childress didn’t see.the 30 team as important as his other Winston Cup teams. Green says he and Childress talked and that he can see both sides of the situation and hopes Childress can see his side. Green said the two years with RCR are two years he’ll always remember and be grateful.Richard Childress gave him the opportunity.(PRN’s Garage Pass Radio Show)(5-6-2003)
- Biffle to run Truck race UPDATE deal squashed: Winston Cup rookie and former NASCAR Truck series champion Greg Biffle has entered the inaugural Truck race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, ThatsRacin.com has learned. Biffle, the 2000 series champion, will drive the #7 Dodge for Ultra Motorsports, which fields Dodges for #1-Ted Musgrave and #7-Jason Leffler. Biffle, 33, is expected at the speedway Tuesday and Wednesday for an open test in preparation for the May 16 Hardee’s 250, sources said. Biffle’s last appearance in the series came in November 2001, when he won the race at Phoenix driving the #99 Ford for Roush Racing. He now drives the #16 Ford for Roush in Winston Cup. In 80 career Truck starts, Biffle has 16 wins, 12 poles, 42 top-five and 53 top-10 finishes.(ThatsRacin.com)(5-5-2003)
UPDATE: Greg Biffle’s one-race deal to run the inaugural Truck series race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway has come to an abrupt end. Unforeseen sponsor conflicts will prevent Biffle from driving the #7 Dodge for Ultra Motorsports in the May 16 Hardee’s 200, team officials confirmed Tuesday.(ThatsRacin.com)(5-6-2003) - Green relased from RCR #30 ride UPDATE 2 Green reacts; Hornaday in?: Richard Childress Racing (RCR) has ended the contract of Jeff Green as the driver for RCR’s #30 AOL NASCAR Winston Cup program, effective immediately. “Our relationship was not where we had hoped it would be at this point so we decided to make this move now,” said Richard Childress, president and CEO of Richard Childress Enterprises, Inc. “Jeff is a very good race car driver but sometimes change can be good for everyone involved. I’ll always be grateful to him for what he accomplished for RCR in both the Winston Cup Series and the Busch Series.” Green was the driver for the #30 America Online team since its inception for an eight-race schedule in 2001. He finished 17th in the 2002 NASCAR Winston Cup Series final point standings and is currently in 32nd place after the first 11 races this season. He earned two pole positions during his tenure at RCR, for this season’s Daytona 500 and the August 2001 race at Bristol. He also earned two Busch Series victories for RCR’s #21 team in 2002. A replacement driver will be announced at a later date.(RCR PR)(5-5-2003)
UPDATE: Jeff Green will reunite with his former championship crew chief, Harold Holly, to try to win his third straight CARQUEST Auto Parts 300 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway later this month and will race a car for Team Amick Motorsports. The deal with team owner Amick, who has a great reputation as a Busch Series engine supplier, was a ray of sunshine for Green, who struggled to find a feel at RCR similar to what he had known at ppc. “I don’t know if it’s the latest step in a great, big chemistry experiment at RCR,” Green said, chuckling, of his demise. “I think all of us have tried to do the best job we could, to win races, and I’ve tried to do the darnedest job I could in the seat. Things just got in our way to be able to reach our goals, and I guess Richard wanted to make a change. It’s very surprising (because) we’ve had some good moments, but we had some bad ones, too, and it was time to try something different. I don’t think the drivers are the problem why they’re not winning and I don’t think it’s the crew chiefs,” Green said. “It’s not any body else — it’s just a combination of everything and competition is tough.” An RCR spokesperson said the team had until The Winston weekend, May 16-17 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, to settle on a driver. Green isn’t sitting still, either, as his deal with Holly displayed. He acknowledged his frustration at having his potential season best finish eliminated when teammate Kevin Harvick ran into him from behind after 267 of 400 laps in the Pontiac Excitement 400 at Richmond International Raceway. He said he’d had no indication his job was in jeopardy, prior to the blow-up after that wreck, in which he confronted Harvick on the race track while his teammate circulated under caution, then went to the pits to berate Harvick’s crew chief Todd Berrier. Green said he had not had a chance to talk with Harvick since Saturday night — at least not on the level that he expected. “No, I guess he does all his talking with his bumper, I don’t know,” Green said, chuckling again. “Any time that I’ve got into somebody and was sorry for it I’ve tried to call them and at least give them an opportunity to hear their side of it. I don’t know — I guess that’s just part of it. I’ve had some good teammates in the past that I enjoyed being around and I enjoyed being around Kevin and Robby (Gordon). It’s not like they’re going anywhere and hopefully we’ll be racing together soon and not miss a beat — just a little bit different perspective.” Green said he was sensitive to the issue surrounding the concern over Jerry Nadeau’s recovery after his serious crash last Friday during practice at Richmond, which leaves MB2 Motorsports and its general manager, Jay Frye in need of a driver at least for the short term. However, he said he would be working the phones, as well. “I’m not going to sit back and wait for them to call me (because) everybody knows about it, now,” Green said. “I’ve already talked to a few people and I would love to drive for Jay and those guys over there would be a great opportunity — to be associated with the U.S. Army would be pretty awesome. But we’re all thinking about Jerry and I don’t want to overshadow what he’s got going on in the next no-telling how long to get back to where he needs to be.(more at NASCAR.com)
UPDATE 2 so who is in the #30 car for the Winston Open? hearing it could be RCR Busch Series driver Ron Hornaday [which makes sense] or Mike Skinner [which makes no sense]
UPDATE 3: Ron Hornaday says he has not been contacted about the #30 AOL ride and is Busch testing at Chatlotte.(XM Satellite- NASCAR Radio – Subscription Required)(5-6-2003) - Gordon moves up the speed charts at Indy; Herta to stand by: #31-Robby Gordon was 8th fastest in Tuesday Indy 500 practice with a speed of 227.735mph in his Dallara-Honda. Tora Takagi was the fastest at 229.019.(Indianaplis Star)
AND Andretti Green Racing got two replacements in one driver Monday when it hired former Championship Auto Racing Teams driver Bryan Herta. Herta will be the backup for Robby Gordon, who is Dario Franchitti’s fill-in at the Speedway, should rain delay the start of the 500 and Gordon have to leave early for the NASCAR race in Charlotte. The team’s plan is to test Herta on Wednesday. After the 500, Herta will be Franchitti’s replacement in the IRL’s races at Texas and Pikes Peak. He will test at the two tracks in the next two weeks.(Indianapolis Star)(5-6-2003) - Realtree and the #29? UPDATE 2: hearing Realtree, who sponsored Dave Marcis for years on the #71 car, will be on Kevin Harvick’s #29 GM Goodwrench as the primary or co-primary at an upcoming race.
UPDATE: This special paint will run August 23rd at Bristol under the lights.(3-14-2003)
UPDATE 2: now have an image of the scheme, see my 2003 Winston Cup Paint Schemes – Cars #’s 24-99 page for the image.(4-10-2003)
UPDATE 3: hearing this scheme has been cancelled.(5-6-2003) - More Keller and DEI: Jason Keller has been linked to DEI’s #1 Chevrolets, currently driven by Steve Park. Park has not performed well since returning from a head injury, and Keller’s name has been mentioned as a replacement if Park is booted. Keller and DEI officials deny that any such move is planned, but the fact that both drivers’ contracts expire at the end of the season only adds fuel to the fire of speculation. “I would love the opportunity to drive a DEI car for more races,” Keller said. “If you ask anybody in this (Busch) garage, they’d tell you the same thing. I would love to do that, but I still say it’s premature that people are thinking it’s going to happen.” DEI official Ty Norris said there has been no discussion about Keller and the No. 1 team.(Greenville News)(5-6-2003)
- Action Problems: After a string of disappointing financial results, NASCAR merchandiser Action Performance Cos. is out of the winner’s circle on Wall Street. Analysts and investors who cheered the Tempe company’s strong rebound and bid up the stock early last year now are questioning management’s credibility and the strength of the souvenir boom for stock-car racing. The most nagging issue has been production delays on 2003 replica cars because of body-style changes in the Pontiac and Monte Carlo. The so-called retooling hurt results in three quarters. The company says the retooling is complete. A big concern now among investors is with demand, especially for Action’s line of lower-priced souvenir NASCAR cars sold in stores such as Wal-Mart. The company shocked analysts last week when it reported a significant drop-off in orders from retailers for its fiscal third quarter.(Arizona Republic)(5-6-2003)
- Marcis Racing plans to race: hearing that #71 Marcis Racing has a car currently at Richard Childress’s shop having the body put on. No driver, track or sponsor has been finalized as of yet.(5-6-2003)
- Benson Returns To Michigan For Fan Club Open House, Late Model Race: Johnny Benson will attend the annual Johnny Benson Fan Club Celebration at Berlin Raceway with more than 2,000 fan club members who will meet for the first time since Benson’s his first career victory at Rockingham in October. The 6,700-member fan club run by Benson’s sister is one of the largest in the Winston Cup Series. Benson’s father John Benson, a Michigan Racing Hall Of Fame member, will join his son at the fan club meeting. See more info (many appearances at tracks on May 10th) on my Driver Appearances/Chats/TV page.(5-6-2003)
- Sadler leaving #54? hearing that Hermie Sadler asked for and was given his release from his contract to drive for #54 Team Bristol Motorsports. No word on his future plans or those of Team Bristol Motorsports.(5-6-2003)
- New Driver for the #63 at Charlotte: Blake Mallory, a 23-year old World of Outlaws driver, will pilot the #63 Summer Bay Resort.com/Dave Porter Truck Sales Ford during testing May 6 & 7th and the May 16th race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Mallory, over the past 7 years, has shown his versatility by running races in the World of Outlaws, IMCA Dirt Sprint cars, Legend cars, IMCA Modifieds, and the American Truck Race Series, accumulating 36 feature wins. In 2002, Blake competed in the Truck Series at IRP and Phoenix, finishing 21st and 27th respectively.(Catchfence)(5-6-2003)
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