May 10, 2004
- Interesting Stat: Sunday’s Mother’s Day break was one of only four such weekends from Feb. 12 to Nov. 21 this season. #99-Jeff Burton seems to make the most of the time off. In the 24 races held following weekends off since 1999, he has four victories. #17-Matt Kenseth and #2-Rusty Wallace have three wins each.(Delaware News Journal)(5-10-2004)
- Benson leaves the #09 team UPDATE tests for PPI: been told that Johnny Benson and Phoenix Racing have parted ways. Benson drove the #1 Yellow Frieght Dodge in the Busch Series and #09 Miccosukee Indian Gaming for the team.
AND it is also posted on the Johnny Benson website.
AND II BGNRacing.com has confirmed that Johnny Benson has been released by Phoenix Racing and Jamie McMurray will drive the #1 Dodge this weekend at Richmond in the Busch Series race. A news release will be sent out Tuesday. Benson was scheduled to driver the #09 Dodge in the Cup race at Richmond, no idea if Joe Ruttman, who also drives the #09 car will drive or if someone else will.(5-10-2004) - Driver to be voted into the All-Star Race: Race fans will take an active role in adding another entry to the May 22 Nextel All-Star Challenge at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, ThatsRacin.com has learned. Following the Nextel Open – a 30-lap, two segment race held prior to the all-star event for drivers not already eligible – fans will be allowed to vote on the Internet and by phone to add another driver to the all-star field in addition to the winner of The Open, sources said. An official annoucement of the change is expected by the end of the week, sources said. Barring a new race winner this weekend at Richmond, Va., that will give the three segment, 90-lap all-star race that pays $1 million to the winner at least 25 entries. The bulk of the entries (23) come from race winners from the previous and current Cup seasons, as well as former winners of the all-star event, if they are not otherwise eligible. Now, two drivers will advance through The Nextel Open, the winner and the highest vote getter. Nextel officials, reached Monday, said it was premature to comment on any further changes to the all-star race. Officials with NASCAR and Lowe’s Motor Speedway, which has hosted the all-star race every year but one since its inception in 1985, all declined to comment on the change. Lowe’s is hosting a news conference Tuesday to promote the race and unveil the all-star race’s “most memorable moments.”(ThatsRacin.com)(5-10-2004)
- Ganassi Racing to have a Busch team in 2005: been told that Ganassi Racing will run a full time Busch program next year in house and possibly a second team for 15 – 20 Busch races also. Supposedly the drivers will be some combination of their current three Cup drivers (Marlin, McMurray and Mears) and possibly David Stremme and/or Reed Sorenson. Ganassi Racing also plans to move into their new building by the Concord [NC] Airport in July.(5-10-2004)
- Hermie to dedicate RIR races to uncle: After picking up sponsorship from the Bank of Southside Virginia and the law firm of Jenkins and Jenkins, Hermie Sadler will attempt to qualify for the Busch and Nextel Cup events at Richmond International Raceway this weekend. Sadler is dedicating both races to his uncle, Bud Elliott, who died Saturday after a battle with cancer. Elliott, a former NASCAR Sporstman driver, was instrumental in jump-starting the racing careers of Hermie and Elliott Sadler.(Richmond Times Dispatch)(5-10-2004)
- Petty Testing engines at Lowe’s: Petty Enterprises broke two engines at California, and they weren’t the first engines to blow this year. The #45 and #44 Petty Enterprises cars will test this week at Charlotte. The #44, a developmental car driven by Christian Fittipaldi [not so far in 2004], will be used strictly for engine work and will be driven by Mark Green, who normally works as the spotter for Kyle Petty and the #45.(FoxSports/Sporting News)(5-10-2004)
- Gordon practices at Indy: Robby Gordon used Sunday’s opening day of practice for the May 30 Indianapolis 500 for minimal set-up laps on both his primary and backup Meijer/Coca-Cola Dallara-Chevrolets. In just six laps, late in the afternoon, Gordon went 215.317mph in his primary car. Earlier, he did a 209.733 mph speed in 11 laps in the backup Meijer entry. Scott Dixon was fastest for the day at 219.760 mph in more than 20 laps. “Today’s goal was to run both cars and not have any problems,” said Gordon. “It was a good function-check day and that was Thomas’ (Knapp, team manager/engineer) plan all along. We tried one new setup on the backup car and then went back to what we learned in the test here a week ago.”(PR)(5-10-2004)
- Ganassi Racing to have a Busch team in 2005: been told that Ganassi Racing will run a full time Busch program next year in house and possibly a second team for 15 – 20 Busch races also. Supposedly the drivers will be some combination of their current three Cup drivers (Marlin, McMurray and Mears) and possibly David Stremme and/or Reed Sorenson. Ganassi Racing also plans to move into their new building by the Concord [NC] Airport in July.(5-10-2004)
- Benson leaves the #1 team: been told that Johnny Benson and Phoenix Racing have parted ways. Benson drove the #1 Yellow Frieght Dodge in the Busch Series and #09 Miccosukee Indian Gaming for the team.
AND it is also posted on the Johnny Benson website.
AND II BGNRacing.com has confirmed that Johnny Benson has been released by Phoenix Racing and Jamie McMurray will drive the #1 Dodge this weekend at Richmond in the Busch Series race. A news release will be sent out Tuesday.(5-10-2004) - Cope Wrecks in practice UPDATES: Derrike Cope was involved in an accident in turn three bringing out the red flag. He was cut out of the car, but is reportedly awake and alert. He was taken to a local hosiptal, via helicopter, for further evaluation. The accident stopped practice for about 30 minutes.
UPDATE: Reports from the hospital are positive, but nothing official has been released yet. A replacement driver for tonight has not been named.
UPDATE 2: Josh Richeson will be in the #49 tonight. Cope is alert.(BGNRacing.com)
See more details at the St Louis Post Dispatch.(5-8-2004)
UPDATE – Sunday: Derrick Cope [#50 Cup, #49 Busch] was injured in a crash Saturday morning at Gateway International Raceway [while practing for the Busch race held Saturday night]. Cope, 45, of Spanaway, Wash., who pilots the #49 Jay Robinson Racing Ford Taurus, slammed into the wall in Turn 3 on the driver’s side in the first of two practice sessions on the 1 1/4-mile oval in Madison. Safety workers had to cut the roof off Cope’s car to remove the injured driver, who was momentarily knocked unconscious by the accident. Cope was wearing a head and neck restraint (which is required). Busch Series spokesman Rick Houston said Cope “was awake and aware” when he was airlifted to St. Louis University Hospital. When he arrived at the hospital, Cope was “awake and alert and responding appropriately,” Houston said. Cope was in stable condition after reportedly suffering a concussion and was kept overnight for observation. NASCAR officials immediately impounded the vehicle, covered it with a trap and were carefully inspecting the engine compartment as well as the cockpit looking for obvious mechanical problems. Cope was practicing for the Charter 250 when his brakes locked up entering Turn 3, causing the car to spin 180 degrees. It went up the track and hit the wall smashing the driver’s side of the car from front to back. “It would be speculation to say why, or how or what caused the crash,” Houston said. “But we are looking into the accident.” Robinson Racing used Josh Richeson, 22, of Davidson, N.C., to drive the team’s backup car. Richeson finished 27th.(St Louis Post Dispatch.(5-9-2004)
UPDATE – Monday: Derrike Cope shook off a rough weekend and is ready to go in the #49 Advil Ford in Friday night’s Funal 250 NASCAR Busch Series race at the .750-mile Richmond International Raceway. Cope was taken to a St. Louis, Mo., hospital following a crash in practice Saturday at Gateway International Raceway. Though his injuries were diagnosed as minor, he was held a few hours for observation and released Saturday evening, about the time of the start of the race. Josh Richeson substituted for Cope, driving the Jay Robinson-owned car. “It was ‘Praise the Lord and pass the Advil,’” Cope said. “The brakes didn’t burn in the way I thought they had. They locked and spun me around, and I hit the wall there pretty hard. I’m grateful everything turned out okay, but I’m ready to get back in the car. You never know how easy you have things. I wanted a good run at Gateway, and didn’t get to drive at all. I thought it was going to be bad enough watching the race on television Saturday night but the hospital didn’t have cable. I was on a flight anyway, so missed hearing any of it. Believe me, I’d much rather have been driving,” he said.(Williams Company PR)(5-10-2004) - David Starr Leaves #50 Holigan Racing UPDATE: Holigan Racing and driver David Starr have parted ways, owner Michael Holigan announced this morning. The new driver for the #50 Enzyte Chevrolet in the NASCAR Busch Series has not been determined. “Because of his responsibilities to his Truck series team, David asked to be released from the rest of the races this year with our team,” Holigan said. “We are great friends with David and, while we are sorry he will not be with our team, we totally understand his need to be with a team running the full season. We wish him the best.” Holigan Racing is beginning discussions with possible successors for the remainder of this year’s partial NASCAR Busch Series schedule and next season’s full schedule. “We are beginning to interview Cup and Busch drivers to finish the season for us and to help us continue to prepare for next year’s full schedule,” Holigan said. “We want to find the right driver to help us continue to build our fleet and to help us in our testing and preparation for next year’s full season.” Team Enzyte, along with its sister Samsung/Radio Shack AMA Motocross team, is the subject of television’s most-watched motorsports reality show, The Reality Of Speed, which airs at 10:30 a.m. Eastern and Pacific times, and 9:30 a.m. Central time, on Spike TV. There has been a new show every single week since it debuted Saturday, Jan. 3.(Williams Company PR)(5-10-2004)
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