May 9, 2001
- Bodine Cancels Charlotte Plans UPDATE 2 with a new owner?: Geoffrey Bodine’s plans to test at Lowe’s Motor Speedway on May 7th & 8th, and to compete in the Coca Cola 600, have been cancelled due to insufficient time to prepare for a competitive run(Geoffrey Bodine Fanclub Site)(5-5-2001)
UPDATE: Bodine was looking to put together a deal with brother Brett to allow him to run the Winston Open and the Coca-Cola 600, but concerns with sponsorship and his engine program have put the plans on hold for a bit. But, as many racing dreams are, the plans were shelved temporarily by the search for the almighty dollar. Bodine said that he is still talking with the sponsor – who he declined to name – for a possible run later in the season(SpeedVision)
AND from Winners Magazine(print), part of an interview (used with permission):
Geoffrey Bodine says he’ll be making an announcement during Charlotte race week:
Transcript: “You’re getting the scoop. We’ll be making an announcement during Charlotte race week of some plans for next season and beyond and it’s going to be really very exciting. I can’t tell you everything now but things are looking really good for the future.”
Does it relate to your brothers? “Ahhh no not directly. You know no…nothing direct. I mean it may be some spin offs from all that but its basically myself and some other people but ah it will put me back behind the steering wheel of a race car which is great news.
On the cup side? “Yes” .”I can’t go any further than that but things are progressing really well and plans are to have an announcement during the Charlotte races.”(Winners Magazine -print not online)(5-8-2001)
UPDATE 2: MRN’s NASCAR Today Radio show reported Tuesday that Bodine was seen with an African-American Couple in the Lowes Motor Speedway garage area who are reportedly buying the #75 Galaxy Motorsports team, Debra Ward is supposedly buying the team and Ward did confirm something is going on. An announcement is scheduled for May 24th. Hear the show via the Internet on NASCAR.com(5-9-2001) - Simo in the #90 at Road Courses: Hills Bros Coffee Racing team owner Junie Donlavey has tabbed Trans-Am Series Champion Brian Simo (SIM o) to run the Hills Bros Coffee Ford at both Sears Point Raceway in June and Watkins Glen International in August. Looking at the opportunity to help his Hills Bros Coffee Racing team gain points in the standings, Stricklin supported the opportunity to put Simo behind the wheel. Simo is looking forward to getting back behind the wheel of the #90 car. “Junie Donlavey is the nicest man in racing,” Simo said. “I appreciate the opportunity he’s given me to get back in a Winston Cup car and I’m looking forward to working with the Hills Bros Coffee crew again. I think it’s great that we’ll be doing some testing prior to the Sears Point race. Hopefully, that will translate into a solid starting position, and then we’ll just work it from there.” Donlavey Racing is hoping to get the team’s road-course car ready to test at Virginia International Raceway (VIR) in Alton, Va., prior to making the trip to Sears Point in June. Simo competed in the BGN events at Watkins Glen in 1997 and 1998. Both times, he was leading the race before suffering engine failure. His first Cup start came at Sears Point last June where he qualified 34th and finished 36th, despite a long pit stop to replace a broken gear(Keystone Marketing)(5-9-2001)
- Autopsy Photos – more: A court order intended to protect the privacy of Dale Earnhardt’s family(and other families) may make it harder for Daytona Beach police to complete their investigation into the crash that killed Earnhardt(at the Daytona 500). The Feb. 22 order issued by Circuit Judge Joseph Will sealed not only autopsy photos of Earnhardt, but also the photos of the inside of his wrecked car that were taken by the Volusia County’s Medical Examiner’s Office. Daytona Beach police may have to go to court to get the photos(Orlando Sentinel)(5-9-2001)
- Chicago Testing UPDATE: #18-Bobby Labonte and #24-Jeff Gordon will be doing a Goodyear tire test at the Chicagoland Speedway on May 7th and 8th(5-7-2001)
UPDATE: Monday and Tuesday, May 7-8, #24-Jeff Gordon and #18-Bobby Labonte, took part in a Goodyear tire test at Chicagoland Speedway. The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, the official provider of tires for NASCAR, tested several tire compounds that will be used in future races at Chicagoland Speedway. In preparation for thc inaugural Tropicana 400 on July 15th, Goodyear also tested tire compounds from several other similar tracks on the circuit that might possibly be used for the July race. The testing session consisted of both cars running 10 to 15 laps, and then returning to the garage to receive their results and tune their car, as well as give feedback to the Goodyear technicians. Both Gordon and Labonte were pleased with the track and commented on its unique design(Chicagoland Speedway PR). No speeds mentioned(5-9-2001) - Lepage Signed? UPDATE 3 YES: Kevin Lepage was scheduled to formally sign a contract with #4 Morgan-McClure Motorsports May 1, a development unaffected by his failure to qualify for the April 29 Napa Auto Parts 500(Winston Cup Scene – need subscrition to read online)(5-3-2001)
UPDATE: Kevin Lepage, who has already agreed to a deal with the #4 Morgan-McClure Motorsports team, will make his relationship with the team official when he signs a contract this week. Lepage, who joined the #4 Kodak Chevrolet team after the it split with former driver Robby Gordon, is expected to sign a contract Tuesday at Charlotte where the team will be testing for the upcoming Winston all-star race and Coca-Cola 600(That’s Racin‘)(5-6-2001)
UPDATE 2: Morgan-McClure Motorsports will make a special announcement in conjunction with the annual Lowe’s Motor Speedway press conference. The media event will take place in the Winston Cup garage at Lowe’s Motor Speedway on Tuesday, May 8th at 3:30pm/et(Morgan McClure PR), could be Lepage named the driver?(5-8-2001)
UPDATE 3: Morgan-McClure Motorsports and Kodak have reached an agreement with Kevin Lepage to drive the #4 KODAK MAX Film Monte Carlo. Lepage stepped into the ride in the Food City 500 at Bristol. Following several weeks of “courting”, the team is ready to make the relationship official. A three-year contract will solidify Lepage as the driver of the familiar yellow Chevrolet. Larry McClure, owner of the #4, and Lepage have eluded to the contract for several weeks. However, time constraints and final negotiations kept the deal on the table. Both parties are ready to move forward for the 2001 season. Lepage and McClure feel the chemistry is present to make successful showings in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. Kevin Lepage, “official” driver of the No. 4 KODAK MAX Film Monte Carlo, quotes: “I am just honored to be named the driver of the #4 KODAK MAX Film Chevy. We had our trial run and liked each other enough to ink a contract. Larry, Ed, Teddy and Jerry McClure and all of the people over at Morgan-McClure are a great bunch. My wife, Donna, and I are looking forward to working with them and being a part of their racing family(Morgan McClure PR)(5-9-2001) - Geico Happy: Ted Ward, Vice-President of Marketing for GEICO Direct, said last Wednesday that he has received a great response since agreeing to the deal with Kenny Wallace. “We have always known what a great opportunity that NASCAR presents and with Kenny Wallace it made it all come together for a perfect fit. We are looking forward to being with Kenny in Richmond this week and getting something put together for the rest of the season.”(KennyWallaceRacing.com)(5-9-2001)
- Cope Gets a Sponsor UPDATE: Derrike Cope announced that he will be driving in the Winston Open for Dee Zee, Incorporated. Dee Zee will sponsor the Quest Motor Racing Pontiac in the Open and will be an associate sponsor throughout the year. Dee Zee, based in Des Moines, Iowa, specializes in quality light duty truck accessories for the truck enthusiast. Cope will be shooting a commercial for Dee Zee, Inc. in June. The #37 Quest Motor Racing Team will participate in open testing at Lowe’s Motor Speedway on May 7 and 8(Derrike Cope Site)(5-5-2001)
UPDATE: Derrike Cope is back in his driving suit as the fledgling Quest Motor Sports team prepares for a run at making its first-ever Winston Cup start. The #37 Dee Zee Pontiac took to the test track for the first time Monday, joining 12 other cars in an open test at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. The team, which is co-owned by five-time NHRA Pro Stock champion Warren Johnson, is running its own engine program and was happy with his early progress(SpeedVision), also see an image of the car on my Paint Schemes Gallery(5-9-2001) - Autopsy Photo Update: An appeals court denied a Web site operator access to Dale Earnhardt’s autopsy photos. Michael Uribe, owner of a DeLand-based Web site, wanted to overturn a lower court’s decision barring the release of photos(That’s Racin’/AP)(5-9-2001)
- Simpson Still Wants Meeting: Bob Horn, an attorney representing Bill Simpson, is trying to finalize a meeting with NASCAR’s top officials, Chairman Bill France Jr. and President Mike Helton, in the days between the running of The Winston (May 19) and the Coca-Cola 600 (May 27) at Lowes Motor Speedway. As of Tuesday, he was optimistic, but had not received a commitment from NASCAR’s chief counsel, Gary Crotty(CNN/SI)(5-9-2001)
- Lowes Testing: #02-Ryan Newman was the fastest in the 2nd day of testing at Lowes Motor Speedway in preparation for the Coca Cola 600 with a speed of 181.208mph. #4-Kevin Lepage was second fastest on the unofficial stopwatches at 181.147 mph, #40-Sterling Marlin was third quickest at 179.700 with #37-Derrike Cope (179.462) and #36-Ken Schrader (179.342) rounding out the top five among the 14 teams. #10-Jeff Green was fastest in BGN testing for the CARQUEST Auto Parts 300 by posting the fastest lap of the day among the 21 teams with a speed of 180.060mph. #7-Randy Lajoie was second fastest at 179.820 mph with #87-Joe Nemechek third at 179.402. #26-Bobby Hamilton Jr. (178.808) and #00-Todd Bodine (176.991) completed the top five. #11-Marty Houston was involved in the only incident of the two-day session when he lost control coming off turn four and hit the wall in the #11 BGN Chevrolet. Houston was uninjured and tested the rest of the day in the team’s second car(LMS PR)(5-9-2001)
- New Hampshire does some work: NHIS officials coated the entire track with sealant. According to track owner Bob Bahre, the procedure is done every three years to help preserve the track and give drivers better handling in the corners. The coating comes following the deaths of NASCAR drivers Adam Petty and Kenny Irwin last season. Both drivers were killed in practice crashes when their cars slammed into the wall in the track’s third turn. Despite the deaths of the two drivers, Bahre said the procedure had nothing to do with the accidents. After the NASCAR test sessions in April, a few of the drivers said they thought there were a few bumps on the speedway. NHIS brought in an engineering firm from Kansas City experienced in racetrack profiling to check the speedway. They detected some insignificant bumps over the tunnel and in Turns 3 and 4. Although the bumps were slight, NHIS officials had them removed(Foster’s Online). No word or mention on the rumor that the walls were being confiured in some of the turns(see my Track News and Link page for past news)(5-9-2001)
- #00 Cuts back: the #00 Buckshot Racing team will ship the races at New Hampshire and Narareth, two races they planned to run, the next race will be at Lowes Motor Speedway(MRN’s NASCAR Today Radio Show)(5-9-2001)
- Hooper to the #73 UPDATE: The #73 Tagsby Racing team has announced that Lance Hooper will pilot #73 beginning with the Darlington Race, May 12. Tagsby Racing is the combined efforts of Joey Sonntag, who has been involved in racing for many years and Oklahoma Lumberman, Ron Crosby. Sonntag had this to say about having Hooper, “We are very happy to have Lance, he is a fine driver and we look forward to what he can bring to our race team.”(Tagsby Racing PR)(5-8-2001)
UPDATE: Lance Hooper brings along major assoc. sponsor Ingles Markets to the #73 Tagsby team for Darlington. Ingles has 208 grocery stores located in NC, SC, and GA. Ingles has been a sponsor for Lance’s racing efforts in BGN, ARCA and now the CTS(5-9-2001)
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