May 9, 2002
- Long to help out UPDATE: Team Will Carry “Jaret’s Angels” Logo in Charlotte To Help Raise Awareness of Juvenile Diabetes. Carl Long doesn’t want the space on his # 85 Dodge to go to waste, so while the Roxboro, NC native continues to pursue sponsorship opportunities for a full NASCAR Winston Cup Series ride, he will carry the “Jaret’s Angels” logo on his cars beginning in Charlotte for the BGN race, the Winston Open and the Coca-Cola 600. The logo, a family emblem designed by artist Jim Hunt in support of 3-year-old Charlotte resident Jaret Arneson, who was diagnosed with juvenile (Type 1) diabetes in December of 2000, will be accompanied by the logo and Web site address for the national office of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation — www.jdrf.org. At Charlotte, Long will try to qualify the #64 Dodge of owner Rick Glenn, with team owner Thee Dixon and Mansion Motorsports providing the #85 Dodge for entry in the Winston Open and the Coca-Cola 600. SR Racing of Lebanon, TN, supplies the team’s engines for all of Long’s cars.(Carl Long Racing Site)(4-12-2002)
UPDATE: see an image of the car on my Paint Schemes Gallery and a story at ThatsRacin.com: Long’s paint scheme boosts juvenile diabetes efforts.(5-9-2002) - CIngular Scheme: hearing the #31 Cingular Chevy will run the Special Olympics Logo in conjunction with a promotion the month of June and July. Cingular did a similar promotion in 2001.(5-9-2002)
- Rudd Special Scheme for Coke 600? UPDATE: hearing #28-Ricky Rudd will have a special paint scheme for the Coca Cola 600 at Lowes Motor Speedway in May.(4-3-2002)
UPDATE: Rudd will run an Iron Man scheme in the Coca Cola 500, see an image on my Paint Schemes Gallery.(5-9-2002) - Roush Drivers Locked In thru 2003 UPDATE 3 But: Roush Racing President Geoff Smith says all his drivers are under contract through next season. The only negotiations he’s involved in now are with Matt Kenseth’s sponsor, DeWalt. And those talks are proceeding without any outside interference – the two have a “good faith” negotiation policy in effect until May 31. After that, each becomes a free agent. Smith was involved in the original contract between Elliott Sadler and Wood Brothers Racing. He said that contract can only be dissolved if it is beneficial to both.(Richmond Times Dispatch)(5-5-2002)
UPDATE: hearing a bit ‘out there’ rumor from many sources saying Jeff Burton currently driving the #99 CITGO Ford and his crew chief may move to the Hendrick #25 Chevy. BUT last I heard Burton is signed thru 2005 with Roush.(5-6-2002)
UPDATE 2: Rumors had Jeff Burton possibly taking over in the #25 car after reports of Burton being spotted at Hendrick Motorsports. Burton told reporters Wednesday he’s confused about where he’s supposed to be because the day he was supposedly seen at Hendrick he was in Boca Raton, Florida. Burton says he’s 100% committed to Roush racing and sponsor CITGO. “Rick Hendrick and I have had no sit down conversation about me driving his cars nor anyone else. I’m committed to where I am. I have a true dedication for Roush Racing which I’ve shown over the period of time, and to give all that away would be stupid. Where I am is where I need to be and that’s where I intend to stay”. Noting that all of the Roush cars are currently top-10 in the point standings, Burton said “For me to say that I need to go some place else and race doesn’t make any sense”. Burton spent part of Wednesday pumping gas and giving away Coca-Cola at a Citgo station near Lowes Motor Speedway as drivers lined up around the block waiting for Burton to fill-up their cars.(PRN’s Garage Pass)(5-8-2002)
UPDATE 2: When the Winston Cup Series arrived at Richmond, Jeff Burton and Matt Kenseth were part of a rumor mill that has cranked up just 10 races into the season. According to garage-area gossip, both drivers are talking to Hendrick Motorsports about replacing Jerry Nadeau on the #25 team, with each taking their crew chiefs with them. Both were also mentioned as possible replacements for Ricky Rudd at Robert Yates Racing if Rudd retires. Like Smith, Burton and crew chief Frank Stoddard shrugged off the rumors as nothing more than gossip. “The truth is, I’ve had absolutely no conversation about driving the 25,” Burton says. “I have not been to Hendrick Motorsports to sit down and talk. That’s what I heard yesterday, that I was over there the other night. None of that’s true.” According to Kenseth, neither has he. “That’s the first time I heard that one,” he said. “I don’t really pay too much attention to all that stuff to tell you the truth. The same thing happened to me last year and I’m still in the same place that I was last year, so I don’t really get too concerned over it.” For the record, Kenseth has a contract with Roush through 2004. Burton, meanwhile, has a long-term contract that was just extended two years ago, Smith said. Burton’s sponsor, Citgo, is signed through 2003, but the agreement for DeWalt Tools to sponsor Kenseth ends after this season. Smith says, however, that he is in negotiations with DeWalt on a new deal.(Winston Cup Scene – need sub to read)(5-9-2002) - Nadeau and Hendrick Part Ways: Hendrick Motorsports and driver Jerry Nadeau on Wednesday agreed to part ways, effective immediately, ending Nadeau’s tenure with the #25 team. Sources said Joe Nemechek, who lost his ride earlier this season with Travis Carter Enterprises when sponsor Kmart filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, is the top candidate to replace Nadeau for the remainder of the season. Hendrick said no one has been chosen to fill the vacancy, although a search is under way. Nadeau, 31, scored the only win of his Winston Cup career in November 2000 at Atlanta at the conclusion of his first full season with Hendrick. In 150 starts, he has one win, eight top-five and 18 top-10 finishes. Just last week, the 25 team replaced crew chief Tony Furr with Ken Howes. “Both Hendrick Motorsports and myself as a driver are dedicated to the same goal – winning races,” Nadeau said. “But after we sat down and evaluated the situation, it was obvious that we were not making the kind of progress we owe our fans and sponsors and decided it would be best to go our separate ways. Driving for Hendrick Motorsports was a great experience for me. At the end of my first season with the team, I really felt that we were on our way, but the results we were capable of just weren’t there.”(ThatsRacin.com)(5-8-2002)
UPDATE: Jerry Nadeau, who parted ways with Hendrick Motorsports Wednesday says he’s in no rush to jump into a situation right away. With the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte coming up, Nadeau if he has to sit in the stands with his wife at Charlotte he’ll do that and watch a good race. As for the UAW-Delphi Monte Carlo team, Nadeau said Hendrick gave him a heck of an opportunity, but unfortunately things just didn’t work out. “We just seemed like we’ve always had tons and tons of bad luck. I was really discouraged and I think they were discouraged at their side because we didn’t have a crew chief in line for the team, but things were starting to fall apart. I was not happy because I really felt that team should be a lot better than it is and I felt there were areas in which we could improve but we never had a lot of good luck. I hate to say that as a team, but we just seemed like we always had situations happen to us and it never really seemed like it happened to a lot of other teams. I’m not here to gripe about it, but it was a matter of everything working together and obviously there was some situations that just wasn’t working right. Nadeau also says it’s disappointing because he got his first win his first year there and “then it just seemed like it started downhill from there”. They were really good to me…they were like family to me, but things just didn’t happen. I’m sad to go for sure because they’re great people.(PRN’s Garage Pass)(5-8-2002)
UPDATE 2: hearing the new driver will be be Joe Nemechek.(5-9-2002) - Sadler in video: #21-Elliott Sadler will make his music video debut this Thursday, May 9, on CMT Most Wanted Live at 7:00pm. Sadler joined country music vocalist Blake Shelton in the filming of his new release “Ol’ Red”. “I’m going to call some of my friends and kick back in the living room and watch the debut,” stated Sadler. “I always enjoy listening to music so it’s pretty cool that I’m actually going to be in a video. I haven’t seen the video yet but have heard many good things about it. Hopefully all of the CMT viewers tomorrow night will enjoy it. If they enjoy the video, they’ll be able to visit CMT.com and vote to see the video again each night on CMT Most Wanted Live.”(PR)(5-9-2002)
- Hamilton in Video: #55-Bobby Hamilton, who owns the #’s. 4, 8 and 18 Dodge trucks, is expected to make a cameo appearance in country music singer Jo Dee Messina’s music video for Dare To Dream, which will be shot at the Fairgrounds Speedway in Nashville, Tenn., formerly known as Nashville Speedway. (Daytona Beach News Journal)(5-9-2002)
- Special Bayer Scheme at NHIS: The May 11th race at the New Hampshire International Speedway will provide Busch Series driver Tony Raines with the chance to sport a new look aimed at impressing women. Raines and his sponsor, Bayer Consumer Care, have teamed up to run a special paint scheme that promotes the release of Bayer’s newest product for women, Bayer’ Women’s Aspirin plus Calcium. Bayer Women’s Aspirin plus Calcium is the only analgesic specifically designed to provide aspirin to help fight heart disease and calcium to help prevent osteoporosis. The Bayer Consumer Care sponsorship consists of the brands of Bayer Aspirin, Alka-Seltzerâ, Alka-Seltzer Plusâ and Aleveâ. Bayer Consumer Care is currently celebrating its 10th season as a Busch Series sponsor and has contributed to the racing efforts of Tony Raines and the #33 Chevrolet since the 2000 season. In addition to the new scheme, the #33 car will also feature an in-car camera that will be used to promote a special auction that Raines will hold in conjunction with Bayer Consumer Care to benefit the Busch Series Ladies Association. Raines will hold an auction at his personal web address, www.tonyraines.net, which will allow fans to bid on the actual drivers gloves he will be wearing throughout the race. The auction will be run through the assistance of the bgnracing.com website. In addition to receiving the autographed pair of driver’s gloves, the winning bidder will also take home a Tony Raines fan pack(PR), see an image on my BGN Paint Schemes page.(5-9-2002)
- More races for the #38 and Green: In order to strengthen their team for both the present and the future, Akins Motorsports and Great Clips are adding some 2002 races for Mark Green with an accelerated test schedule for Christian Elder. Green and Elder will roughly split the remaining races on Akins Motorsports 2002 schedule in an effort to better prepare Elder and the team for a full 2003 BGN schedule, while seeking a sponsorship for a second team with Green for 2003. Mark Green started running in the NASCAR Busch Series in 1995 and made his 150th start at Richmond Friday night. Elder ran his first Busch Series race in 2001 and has 22 starts in Busch Series competition.(5-9-2002)
- Dokken out/Ritch in? hearing Michael Dokkin was released from Ware Racing and that Michael Ritch will assume the driving duties.(5-9-2002)
Main Page | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 | 1998 | 1997