May 8, 2002
- Kenny Wallace in the #10 at the Winston Open for Benson UPDATE make it Nadeau: Kenny Wallace will be driving the Valvoline #10 Pontiac Grand Prix in The Winston Open and hopefully the Winston. “It’s a geat chance to help out a good friend and drive the Winston Open” Wallace said.(Kenny Wallace Racing Site)(5-8-2002)
UPDATE: being told now that Jerry Nadeau will drive the #10 car as Wallace has other commitments.(5-8-2002) - New Team? UPDATE: hearing a new Winston Cup/BGN team is going to be announced next week. Jeff Hammond is heavily involved. Hear they have one of the top people from Haas-Carter Motorsports coming in as crew chief. Understand they are going to run up to four Winston Cup races and at least seven BGN races the rest of this season, setting themselves up for a full run in BGN with a partial Winston Cup schedule in 2003. Sponsorship is in place too.(5-7-2002)
UPDATE: hearing the driver will be Stanton Barrett and the team will use Rosuh cars and engines.(5-8-2002) - Rudd to retire? UPDATE: #28-Ricky Rudd, one race away from breaking the NASCAR record for consecutive starts, might not have too many more events in his future. Rudd, in his 21st season of Winston Cup racing, said Monday he has not ruled out retiring at the end of this season — partly because of the changing face of NASCAR and the way the sport is being marketed. “I have a lot of options, one of them is retirement, and it’s something I’ll give a lot of thought too,” Rudd said while testing his Robert Yates Ford at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. “I’m 45 years old and I certainly don’t see myself doing this when I’m 50, so it’s something I’ll be thinking about.” Rudd is set to make his 656th consecutive start at the Coca-Cola 600 on May 26, which would break Terry Labonte’s Ironman record. He tied the mark Saturday when he started the race at Richmond International Raceway. Rudd’s name has repeatedly come up in a recent rash of rumors concerning driver movement. It started when Elliott Sadler asked for a release from Wood Brothers Racing and Rudd’s #28 is one of the cars Sadler could reportedly end up in. Rudd’s three-year contract with Yates is up at the end of the season. “There’s a lot of stuff being said and I know I’ve been linked to it,” Rudd said. “Half the people have me retiring, have the people have me going to another team. The truth is, I don’t know what I’m going to do.” Retirement is viable because of Rudd’s disenchantment with where NASCAR is headed, he said. He dislikes the toll the schedule takes on family life and knows that as his 7-year-old son gets older, it will be harder to take him on the road for 36 races. “Everyone says NASCAR is a family sport, and for the fans in the grandstands it is,” he said. “But for us, the travel and time on the road, it doesn’t really lend itself to a family life and I guess that’s the way NASCAR wants it.” Rudd is particularly annoyed with the way the sport is now being marketed, pointing out an emphasis TV coverage has given to the young drivers. A group of twentysomethings, led by Dale Earnhardt Jr., Sadler, Kevin Harvick and rookies Jimmie Johnson and Ryan Newman, have burst onto the Winston Cup scene. Rudd thinks NASCAR is steering its image toward them. “I have no problem with the youth movement, I really don’t,” Rudd said. “But I’ve seen with this TV deal older guys getting ignored.”(Sporting News)(5-7-2002)
UPDATE 2: Ricky Rudd says he doesn’t know when he’s going to retire from Winston Cup racing. “Sometime between 45 and 50 I am going to retire,” Rudd said Tuesday at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, where he was testing his No. 28 Ford in preparation for The Winston on May 18 and the Coca-Cola 600. “Is it at the end of this year or next year? I don’t know.” Rudd is 45 and will be 46 at the end of the 2002 season, when his three-year contract with Robert Yates Racing runs out. Rudd said that would be the last multiyear deal he has to drive in NASCAR’s top series. “I am 45 years old and I am at the end of a three-year contract and I’ve fulfilled all of my obligations,” he said. “From here on out, I am going to do a one-year contract at a time. I don’t want to get myself locked in to a point where I’m in an environment that I can’t get out of without fulfilling my obligations. I am taking it one year at a time.” Rudd has 22 victories and 27 poles in 742 career starts – the last 655 of them in succession. If he takes the green flag in the Coca-Cola 600 on May 26, he will break Terry Labonte’s record for consecutive races.(ThatsRacin.com)(5-8-2002) - Crew Chiefs Fined: NASCAR officials announced that crew chiefs Todd Parrott of the NASCAR Winston Cup Series and Marc Reno of the NASCAR Busch Series have been fined $2,500 each for rules infractions that occurred this past weekend at Richmond International Raceway. Parrott, crew chief for NASCAR Winston Cup driver Dale Jarrett, was issued the fine for having an improperly attached weight on the #88 car, which was found during qualifying inspection for the Pontiac Excitement 400. Reno, crew chief for the NASCAR #1 Busch Series entry of Jimmy Spencer, was fined for having hollow rear axle “U” bolts on the car during Friday’s Hardee’s 250.(NASCAR PR)(5-8-2002)
- Johnson fastest at Lowes on Tuesday: #48-Jimmie Johnson posted a lap at unofficial 181.512 mph in the Lowe’s Home Improvement Chevy, claiming the top spot on the speed chart as 18 teams prepared for The Winston on May 18 and the May 26 Coca-Cola 600. Dave Blaney was second fastest in the Jasper Engines Ford at 179.820mph, but his night ended in a shower of sparks against the turn two wall when he cut a right-front tire. #57-Darrell Lannigan looped the #57 Ford coming off turn four early in the evening Winston Cup session, but did not make contact and #85-Carl Long spun and backed into the wall (per ThatsRacin.com). Top unofficial speeds NASCAR Winston Cup Series:
#48-Jimmie Johnson, 181.512
#77-Dave Blaney, 179.820
#31-Robby Gordon, 179.223
#28-Ricky Rudd, 177.281
#6-Mark Martin, 177.049
#9-Bill Elliott, 176.182
#90-Rick Mast, 175.953
#55-Bobby Hamilton, 175.610
#19-Jeremy Mayfield, 175.496
#60-Jack Sprague, 175.325.
(LMS PR)(5-8-2002) - Reiser wins Irwin award: Matt Kenseth and the DEWALT racing team showed their determination and resilience in fighting their way back from adversity early on in Sunday’s rain-delayed Pontiac Excitement 400 to finish in sixth-place. As a result, team crew chief Robbie Reiser takes home this week’s “IRWIN Rough to the Finish” award for the team’s efforts at Richmond International Raceway.Body Dynamic PR)(5-8-2002)
- Marlin to test short tracks: #40-Sterling Marlin said Tuesday that his team plans to test later this season at Richmond and Martinsville because it is not pleased with its short-track performance. Marlin was 11th Sunday at Richmond. He finished 12th at Martinsville and 19th at Bristol in the other short-track races this season.(Roanoke Times)(5-8-2002)
- #31 to skip New Hampshire UPDATE nope David Green in: been told the #31 Whelen Chevy will not run at New Hampshire as planned to allow Johnny Benson’s broken rib to heal, next planned event is Dover on June 1st.(5-6-2002)
UPDATE: change of plans, the #31 Whelen Chevy will run at New Hampshire with David Green driving.(5-8-2002) - McLaughlin closes out Lowes testing as fastest: #18-Mike McLaughlin’s fastest lap came aboard the #18 MBNA Pontiac as 20 teams made final preparations for the May 25 CARQUEST Auto Parts 300. With mid-day track temperatures topping 135 degrees, the unofficial stopwatches caught McLaughlin at 174.193 mph in the Pontiac owned by Joe Gibbs. McLaughlin, winner of the 1998 “Little Trees” 300 NASCAR Busch Series race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, ran several laps in the high 173-mph range in the heat of the afternoon. Dan Pardus was involved in the only incident during Busch Series testing when he lost control and spun coming off turn four. Pardus’ yellow #32 Chevy made several loops through the quad-oval grass, but did not make contact with the wall. Top unofficial speeds NASCAR Busch Series:
Mike McLaughlin, 174.193
Jack Sprague, 174.025
Ricky Hendrick, 173.633
Tony Raines, 173.299
Bobby Hamilton Jr., 172.966
Kerry Earnhardt, 172.634
Casey Mears, 172.358
Jamie McMurray, 171.810
Michael Waltrip, 171.756
Scott Wimmer, 171.103.
(LMS PR)(5-8-2002)
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