May 10, 2006
- #88 Team facing penalty? UPDATE penalties/suspension..Appeal: The situation surrounding #88-Dale Jarrett Saturday night was murky [supposedly the rear away bar was taken], but NASCAR said it might issue penalties this week. Jarrett’s crew apparently made some pre-race chassis adjustments that NASCAR didn’t like, so NASCAR forced Jarrett to start from the rear of the field.(Winston Salem Journal)(5-8-2006)
UPDATE – Penalties/Suspension: NASCAR issued penalties Tuesday to the #88 Nextel Cup Series team for a rule violation committed last weekend at Richmond International Raceway. Richard “Slugger” Labbe, crew chief for the #88 Ford driven by Dale Jarrett, was fined $25,000 and suspended from NASCAR until June 7, 2006 [thru race at Dover], for violating Sections 12-4-A (actions detrimental to stock car racing); 12-4-Q (car, car parts, components and/or equipment used that do not conform to NASCAR rules); and 20-12.2D (unapproved rear sway bar mounting for use other than anti-roll) of the 2006 NASCAR Rule Book. The violation was discovered during pre-race inspection on May 6. Also, Jarrett has been penalized 25 driver championship points, while team owner Robert Yates has been penalized 25 owner championship points as a result of the violation.(NASCAR PR), the penalty drops Jarrett from 11th in Drivers Points to 12th, #31-Burton moves up to 11th, Jarrett had been just 2 points out of 10th.(5-9-2006)
APPEAL: “Obviously, in this case, we interpreted the rules differently from NASCAR,” Robert Yates, who vowed to appeal the punishments, stated. “But because of the lack of a clear-cut understanding on our part, we believe we have grounds for appeal and have started that process.” Since the appeal won’t be heard before next week, Labbe will be present at the upcoming Darlington race this weekend. “If our interpretation is wrong, we did wrong,” Yates added. “Like most, we’re pressing the envelope to the highest degree to get the best performance. We pushed reading the rules to the edge.” In the wake of the Chad Knaus’ ejection from the Daytona 500 in February, Yates was quoted as saying he would have fired a crew chief that cheated deliberately like in the case of the illegal rear window found Jimmie Johnson’s #48 Hendrick Chevy. The veteran team owner declined to comment on Labbe’s future with RYR in case the #88’s appeal is denied.(Speed Channel)
UPDATE 2: the appeal is scheduled to be heard on Wednesday, May 17th, if held up, Labbe would miss Pocono instead of this weeks race in Darlington.(PRN’s Garage Pass Radio Show)(5-10-2006) - Richmond TV Ratings: FX’s official debut of regularly scheduled NASCAR NEXTEL CUP RACING earned a 3.5/7 (5.633 million viewers) for the Richmond 400 this past Saturday. That is up +3% over last year’s 3.4/7 and ranks as FX’s highest rating for the Richmond race ever. These are national figures that will not change.(FOX/FX), see past TV Ratings and a 2006 Chart on my TV Ratings page.(5-10-2006)
- #29 Team Takes Pit Crew Honors at Richmond: Kevin Harvick’s race team scored its first win of the season in the weekly Checkers / Rally’s Double Drive-Thru Challenge competition by spending the least amount of time on pit road in Saturday night’s Nextel Cup race at Richmond International Raceway. The GM Goodwrench crew, which spent 164.225 seconds on pit road during the Crown Royal 400, helped propel its driver to a third-place finish in the event. Harvick also led the most laps, 272 of 400. “It was a great race for our entire GM Goodwrench crew,” said Todd Berrier, crew chief for the No. 29 Chevrolet. “Our guys did an excellent job on pit road. We had good, clean, fast pit stops all night that helped keep Kevin up front.” Harvick’s over-the-wall crew consists of: Nick Terry (jackman), Josh Mick (front-tire carrier), Jason Pulver (front-tire changer), Matt Krueter (rear-tire carrier), Clint Pittman (rear-tire changer), Brian Englehart (gasman), Scott Naset (catch can), Rick Tulbert (2nd gas can) and John Goodwin (eighth-man). The team’s pit crew coach is Corrine Mauldin. The #29 Richard Childress Racing crew will be awarded the weekly $10,500 prize. A bonus of $105,000 will be presented by Checkers/Rally’s to the team with the most pit crew challenge wins at the completion of the 36-race schedule. After 10 Nextel Cup races, the pit crews for Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart and Elliott Sadler are tied for first place in the Checkers/Rally’s Double Drive-Thru Challenge standings with two wins each. Checkers/Rally’s is the Official Burger and Drive-Thru Restaurant of NASCAR, more info at checkers.com.(DMF Communications PR)(5-10-2006)
- Labonte’s final Darlington start: Terry Labonte, driver of the #44 Kellogg’s Chevy, will make his 54th and final Darlington Raceway start Saturday evening. Racing a limited schedule in his last NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series season, Labonte will enter eight more events for Hendrick Motorsports in 2006, including the last of his career in November at Texas Motor Speedway. Darlington Raceway president Chris Browning will present Labonte with a one-of-a-kind memento during pre-race driver introductions Saturday evening. The piece includes souvenir program covers from significant Darlington races throughout Labonte’s career, including his first start, first win, most recent win and final start. Although Labonte has 53 career starts at Darlington, Saturday night’s race will mark his first under the lights at the South Carolina track. Labonte, whose career now spans 29 seasons, did not compete there in 2005 while running a part-time schedule for Hendrick Motorsports. Following Darlington, Labonte will next race for Hendrick Motorsports at Lowe’s Motor Speedway on May 28.(Hendrick Motorsports PR)(5-10-2006)
- Menards & Moen on the #7 this week: #7-Robby Gordon will again be sponsored by Menards this weekend during the 103rd race at Darlington Raceway while Moen takes center stage on the #7 Chevrolet hood. Moen Incorporated is the No. 1 brand of faucet in North America. In addition to stylish and affordable faucets, Moen also offers residential and commercial sinks and a full range of tub and showering packages. Jim Beam, Harrah’s and CarLoan.com will serve as associate.(Robby Gordon Motorsports PR)(5-10-2006)
- Blaney to Drive Limited Schedule for Braun Racing: Braun Racing announced a new driver alliance with NASCAR NEXTEL Cup regular Dave Blaney. Blaney who currently drives full-time for Bill Davis in the #22 Caterpillar NEXTEL Cup car has been assigned to drive the #32 Braun Racing Chevy in a limited amount of Busch series races this year.(Braun Racing PR)(5-10-2006)
- Kertus Davis in the 34?: UPDATE 2 Hearing that Kertus Davis tested the #34 Frank Cicci Chevy today at Lowe’s and will be behind the wheel of the #34 this weekend at Darlington and again at Lowe’s in two week. Jason Keller is reportedly exploring other options.(5-8-2006)
UPDATE: Starting this weekend in Darlington and continuing to next weekend at Lowes Motor Speedway, Kertus Davis will be driving the #34 Chevy for Frank Cicci in the NASCAR Busch Series. “We’re very excited that Frank is giving us this chance,” Kertus said of the opportunity, “and we hope that we can make the best of it and give them a couple of good runs.” Davis is hoping that the opportunity will open more doors to allow him to continue his sophomore season in the best equipment possible. His best effort this season brought him a 10th place starting position at Talladega, driving the #0 RaceGirl Chevy for Davis Motorsports.(KertusDavis.com)(5-9-2006)
UPDATE 2: Sport Clips has once again joined Frank Cicci Racing to be the primary sponsor for this weekend’s race.(Sport Clips PR)(5-10-2006) - FBR to Enter One Car at Darlington: FitzBradshaw Racing will field only one car in Friday’s Diamond Hill Plywood 200 NASCAR Busch Series race at Darlington Raceway. Joel Kauffman will drive the #12 Dodge, which will have sponsorship from Olympia Steel Buildings.(NASCAR Scene Daily)(5-10-2006)
- Sadler Stepping Out of #90 to Give Development Drivers More Races: A source with Robert Yates Racing said Tuesday during the test session at the Lowe’s Motor Speedway, that the team has been informed that Elliott Sadler is stepping out from behind the wheel of the #90 for a while to allow the development drivers, Stephen Leict and Matt McCall to get more seat-time. Both Leicht and McCall are hoping to run the Carquest 300 at LMS at the end of the month. McCall however had a tough day testing on Tuesday after wrecking his machine. Leicht is entered in Darlington this weekend while McCall will run the ARCA event in Kentucky.(BGNRacing.com)(05-10-2006)
- MIS June race to be named Con-Way Freight 200: Ann Arbor-based Con-way Freight Inc., and Michigan International Speedway (MIS) have announced that the less-than-truckload freight transportation company will be the title sponsor of the Saturday, June 17 “Con-way Freight 200” Truck Series race at MIS. In addition to its title sponsorship of the race, Con-way Freight Inc. is the primary sponsor of Truck Series driver and Michigan native Jack Sprague, who is piloting the #60 Con-way Freight Toyota Tundra throughout the 2006 season for Wyler Racing. (Michigan International Raceway)(5-10-2006)
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