April 2000 News Archives

(4-30-2000)

The Winston: #12-Jeremy Mayfield’s win, knocks out #28-Ricky Rudd and #4-Bobby Hamilton from the 2000 The Winston. See my The Winston 2000 page for rules and who is eligible(4-30-2000)
New Yates Sponsor in 2001? UPDATE 3: Dale Jarrett will apparently have a new sponsor next season on the #88 Robert Yates owned Ford. UPS(United Parcel Service), supposedly a $15 million or $16 million sponsorship deal, sources said. Ford’s Quality Care sponsorship would likely move to a Jack Roush team, according to PitNow sources(PitNow)(4-3-2000)
UPDATE: I hear from a good source that Robert Yates Racing(RYR) is working with Ford to continue it’s relationship/sponsorship with the #88 and are working with UPS on an associate sponsorship on the #28 Texaco Ford(4-4-2000)
UPDATE 2: Rumors recently surfaced that Robert Yates was considering a switch from Ford Credit to UPS as primary sponsor for the Dale Jarrett #88 race team in 2001. The more likely scenario here is that UPS, who has been itching to get into Winston Cup racing with a strong team for about a year, will come on board as an associate sponsor on one or BOTH Yates Racing Fords(Inside Motorsports)(4-9-2000)
UPDATE 3: This weeks Winston Cup Scene Magazine reports that UPS is talking to Yates and Roush Racing about sponsoring a car. #28 and #88 owner Robert Yates confirmed he is talking to UPS but wouldn’t say if it was for an associate or primary deal for one or both cars. Yates deal with Ford Quality Care is done at the end of the 2000 season. Roush Racing said they had informal talks but that was it and that Roush Racing is working on renewals with Valvoline and John Deere for the #6 and #97 teams(4-14-2000)

UPDATE 4: #88 owner, Robert Yates also used Saturday’s press conference to address reports that Ford Quality Care may be leaving as the sponsor of Jarrett’s team at the end of the 2000 season. Reports have linked United Parcel Service, which came on as an official NASCAR licensee this season, to Yates’ #88 Fords next season, with Ford Quality Care moving on to back another team, possibly one of Jack Roush’s teams. Yates says they have talked to a few sponsors, including one that has just joined NASCAR as well as talking to Ford to continue with the team and that no deals are done. See the story at goracing: Notebook: Parrott’s Sticking With Jarrett, Yates and a story at SpeedVision
UPDATE 5: in part from the Times-Dispatch – The UPS group is joining Yates, but at what level remains a question. The company is believed to be replacing the credit group on Jarrett’s car with a $16 million-a-year sponsorship(Times-Dispatch)(4-30-2000)
Spencer/Said UPDATE 2: Boris Said says he’ll run five races in a Jimmy Spencer-owned ride – one in the Truck Series (Portland), two in Busch (Vegas and Fontana) and two in Winston Cup (Sears Point and Watkins Glen)(Speed Magazine)(2-5-2000) — UPDATE: Jimmy Spencer has put together a five-race deal with Federated Auto Parts to field a car(Chevy) for Boris Said in a pair of Winston Cup races, a Craftsman Truck road race and two Busch races. Said is set for the two Cup road races at Sears Point and Watkins Glen, plus the Busch races at California and Las Vegas and the Truck race at Portland International Raceway(SpeedVision)(2-8-2000)
UPDATE 2: Jimmy Spencer will play car owner for three Winston Cup races this season, and will have SCCA Trans Am veteran Boris Said behind the wheel. Boris will get behind the wheel of a Ford Taurus for Spencer at both road courses of Sears Point Raceway and Watkins Glen and at Homestead-Miami(Catchfence)(4-30-2000)

(4-29-2000)

Parrott free to look? UPDATE 5: word out that Todd Parrott, championship crew chief with Dale Jarrett, has been told he’s welcome to look for another job. No comment from the horse, but many consider that very unlikely(SpeedVision)(4-17-2000)
UPDATE: Winston Cup Today Radio(RA) interviewed Dale Jarrett, driver of the #88 Quality Care/Ford Credit Ford, and Jarrett says Parrott is not going anywhere and both are happy with Robert Yates Racing(4-19-2000)
UPDATE 2: Robert Yates and the #88 team will hold a Press Conference on Saturday morning to ‘clear up’ the rumors about the #88 team. Some reports have Parrott going to Petty Enterprises, others have him staying with Yates as he is under contract there. Also it could be the UPS sponsorship involvement with the team(see the #88 Team News and Links page for the UPS rumor)(4-27-2000)
UPDATE 3: from the Dale Jarrett Online site: Question: Is Todd Parrott leaving the Robert Yates Team? Answer: No, Todd is not leaving the Yates team. There will be a press conference held on Saturday in California, in which Todd will make the announcement that he has re-signed(renewed) with the Yates team and he has no plans to go anywhere(4-28-2000)

UPDATE 4 More Yates: RPM2Night reported that the #88 Robert Yates team will have a Press Conference to discuss the Todd Parrott rumors, but that the sponsorship situation will not be addressed at this time. Quality Care/Ford Credit sponsorship runs out at the end of the 2000 season on the #88. Supposedly the team is negotiating with Ford to continue the sponsorship. Other rumors have UPS signing up as the primary sponsor of the #88 and Quality Care/Ford Credit moving to a Roush car, possibly the #6 where Valvoline’s sponsorship runs out at the end of the season and Valvoline has been downsizing it’s Motorsports sponsorships in other series such as CART and IRL. UPS has also been rumored to be a major associate with the #28 Texaco Ford Yates team but indications are that UPS is looking for a primary sponsorship deal(4-28-2000)
UPDATE 5: Parrott Stays – Todd Parrott will remain with Robert Yates Racing and the #88 Quality Care/Ford Credit Taurus team, after agreeing to a “lifetime contract” with Robert Yates Racing. Driver, Dale Jarrett has formally agreed to a contract with Yates through the 2004 season. See full story at NOL: Parrott announces lifetime deal with Yates(4-29-2000)

A CUP Dodge at Gateway? hearing that #43 CTS Dodge driver Steve Grissom will drive the #19 Dodge Intrepid Nascar Winston Cup car for several exhibition hot laps during the Ram Tough 200 Craftsman Truck Race Weekend May 6-7, 2000 at Gateway International Raceway. The car will be on public display in the Missouri Illinois Dodge Dealers Association tent behind the main grandstand when not on the track. Ray Evernham will be the grand Marshall of the Ram Tough 200 Presented by Pepsi(4-29-2000)

Dodge Templates: NASCAR still hasn’t approved templates for the Dodge Intrepid that will join the Winston Cup series in 2001. Ray Evernham is leading the Dodge effort and has built some cars for testing, due to start in May. NASCAR got together with Evernham and essentially gave him a preliminary set of templates(Total Sports)(4-29-2000)

#41 News: Speedway Scene is reporting: “The now plucked Larry Hedrick team may be taking the California and Richmond races off but don’t count them among the deceased just yet. Hope looms large for the struggling team after primary sponsorship with Big Daddy’s BBQ Sauce apparently didn’t yield much more than 11 million shares of worthless paper posing as shares of stock in the mysterious company that’s left a trail of wake of worthless motorsports sponsorships over the past few years. The hopeful news for Hedrick’s #41 comes from a large sponsorship that will push the nearly defunct team into the class of “well funded” on the Winston Cup tour. Expect the team to return to action at Charlotte after the lofty sponsorship news is released in the next couple of weeks.”(Speedway Scene). NOTE: one rumor a few weeks ago has New Holland as the sponsor, but it is probably part of the sponsorship package(4-29-2000)

Earnhardt Inspection Troubles: For the second straight race, Dale Earnhardt and the Richard Childress Racing team had problems going through the inspection line Friday morning at California Speedway. NASCAR officials made Earnhardt’s crew redo the rear quarter panels and rear end of his #3 Chevrolet, much like they did two weeks ago at Talladega Superspeedway(goracing)(4-29-2000)

Some Stats: Highest in points without a Top 5: Ricky Rudd, 11th place (highest, 6th place at Rockingham). Highest in points without a Top 10: John Andretti, 21st place (highest, 11th place at Talladega). Highest in points having missed one or more races: Johnny Benson, 18th (8 races). Highest in points with no races led: Tony Stewart, 13th place. Lowest in points having run all races: Darrell Waltrip, 36th place(NAPA Auto Parts 500 Race Stats from TNN)(4-29-2000)

(4-28-2000)

NASCAR Comments: on the 2001 Schedule, Restrictor Plates, Dodge Templates – see the stories at That’s Racin’ – NASCAR’s Helton addresses tracks, templates, more by David Poole; AND from SpeedVision: Larger Plate a Possibility This Season and 2001 Schedule Expected by Summer by Ben Blake with comments by Mike Helton and Gary Nelson(4-28-2000)

Rudd/Andretti on the hotseat? SpeedFX is reporting “rumor is that both John Andretti and Ricky Rudd are on thin ice with their respective owners, although no one will confirm anything. According to (SpeedFX) sources, team owner Robert Yates is very disappointed with Rudd’s efforts in 2000.” “Andretti and Petty Enterprises have had a cooling relationship for some time. With support from General Motors dwindling, and the team focused on making a fresh start with Dodge in 2001, Andretti will probably find himself moved aside in favor of a new driver before year’s end.”(SpeedFX). Jayski Note: Robert Yates was on RPM2 Night recently and seemed happy with the #28 and thinks they will come around. Rudd is signed to a 2 year deal, and the season is only a little over a 1/4 done. As for John Andretti, he has said he is happy at Petty Enterprises and Kyle Petty has gone out of his way to praise Andretti, who is signed thru 2001 and hasn’t even started the full Cheerio’s sponsorship in the #43 yet. Guess time will tell(4-28-2000)

#12 Fuel?? UPDATE 4: RPM2Nite reports that NASCAR found something added to the fuel of the #12 Mobil One Ford. A fuel sample was taken and it was reported that the fuel is not up to specification. NASCAR will take no further action until all test result are in(ESPN2 RPM2Nite)(4-18-2000)
UPDATE: hearing some fines will be announced and handed out soon, no dollar amounts know, but rumor has it that they are substantial(4-20-2000)
UPDATE 2: from SpeedVision – NASCAR is keeping a tight lip on allegations that the #12 Penske-Kranefuss team was found to have questionable fuel during the race at Talladega. NASCAR communications director John Griffin said Thursday that NASCAR officials were investigating the matter but that no official word on the subject was expected this week. Reports surfaced early this week that the fuel in the #12 car was found to be not according to standard. The variance was discovered, reports say, in a random sampling of fuel in the team’s catch can during the race. See full story at SpeedVision: NASCAR Mum on 12 Car’s Fuel by Ben Blake(4-21-2000)
NOTHING: have heard nothing new on this and know nothing more then what is posted here, when something is reported, it will be posted(4-24-2000)
UPDATE 3: hear the team met with NASCAR today and some sort of announcement is forthcoming in the next few days(4-25-2000)
UPDATE 4: On Thursday NASCAR will announce it’s findings on the fuel sample tested after Talladega(RPM2Nite) AND see the story at That’s Racin’(4-26-2000)
NOTHING: RPM2Night reported that nothing has been announced yet concerning the situation and the Winston Cup Today Radio show says their will probably not be any announcement this weekend either(4-27-2000)
hearing NASCAR has scheduled some sort of Press Conference at the California Speedway sometime today, not sure if it is about the #12 Fuel situation or something else
UPDATE 5: In a press conference at California Speedway on Friday, NASCAR Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Mike Helton made a statement urging patience on the Mayfield decision. It is hoped that the situation can be “wrapped up early next week”, see the full stories at NASCAR Online and at SpeedVision(4-28-2000)

Steele Returns: Tim Steele, who tried going from ARCA to three of NASCAR’s top divisions, returns Sunday to the ARCA series for the Kentuckiana Ford Dealers 200 at Salem (Ind.) Speedway. Personal and team finance concerns kept Steele from ARCA’s season-opening event at Daytona in February. Since taking his third ARCA title in 1997, Steele and his quest to become a NASCAR regular have been beset by injuries and sponsor snafus. Steele also shaved off his mustache(Detroit Free Press)(4-28-2000)

(4-27-2000)

#21 News: Chris Rice has joined Wood Brothers Racing as shock specialist for the #21 CITGO Ford. Rice formerly served as shock specialist for Buckshot Jones in the BGN series(Cox Marketing)(4-27-2000)

On This Date in Wood Brothers History: The year was 1972 when the Wood Brothers Racing Team won the Miller High Life 500 from the pole with driver A.J. Foyt at Ontario, California. The win marked the 25th superspeedway win for the Wood Brothers and Foyt’s fourth and final win with the team. Foyt and the Wood Brothers won a purse of $25,595(Cox Marketing)(4-27-2000)

#75 Sponsors: TBS Superstation Dinner and a Movie along with Pepcid AC will be the sponsor on the #75 Ford with Wally Dallenbach driving at California(PR)(4-27-2000)

Bill Davis Notes: Bill Davis Racing hopes to move into their new facility within the next three weeks. The new facility will house both NASCAR Winston Cup operations and the existing facility will become the new NASCAR Busch Series operation. Ward Burton will compete in the NASCAR Busch Series event at California Speedway in the No. 22 Polaris Pontiac. He will utilize the same car that competed at Texas Motor Speedway(BDR PR)(4-27-2000)

Jarrett/PowerBar: PowerBar Inc. announced the launch of limited edition Dale Jarrett PowerBars® in honor of the 1999 NASCAR Winston Cup Champion. Jarrett’s name, likeness and signature, along with the Robert Yates Racing #88, will appear on PowerBar energy bar wrappers beginning in May. This marks the first time PowerBar has placed an athlete on the packaging of its energy bars. See the full PR along with info on a contest at: Dale Jarrett Becomes First Athlete To Be Featured On A Powerbar Wrapper(4-27-2000)

Wells 2000 Plans? UPDATE: Cal Wells, who is a rookie owner in the NASCAR ranks, is not ready to commit to a pair of Winston Cup teams for 2001 and plans to have it all sorted out by October. Wells fields a Cup(#32 Tide team with Scott Pruett) and Busch team(#97 McDonald’s with Anthony Lazarro). The original plan was to run one Cup team and elevate the Busch team after the 2000 season(Daily Bulletin)(4-26-2000)
UPDATE: Clarification From PPI Motorsports. To eliminate any confusion resulting from Tuesday’s (April 25) NASCAR Winston Cup Series weekly teleconference, Cal Wells III and PPI Motorsports will field two Winston Cup teams in 2001 with primary sponsorships from Tide and McDonald’s. When asked about the status and timetable of his McDonald’s-sponsored Busch team, Wells said, “It’s in its infancy. We’ll have it all sorted out by October.” Wells was referring to the team and driver being sorted out by October to complete his implementation of elevating the McDonald’s Busch team to a Winston Cup program in 2001(PPI Motorsports)(4-27-2000)

(4-26-2000)

Sears Point Testing: Dale Earnhardt Jr. made his first trip to Sears Point Raceway this week for a NASCAR Winston Cup Test Session, and he won’t soon forget it. Earnhardt Jr., who was joined in the Tuesday-Wednesday session by #18-Bobby Labonte, #43-John Andretti and 31-Steve Park, survived several spins on the twisting 10-turn, 1.94-mile road course and came away with much-needed experience. NASCAR comes to Sears Point Raceway June 22-25 for the Save Mart/Kragen 350. Earnhardt Jr. turned one of his best laps in the Wednesday morning session at 1 minute, 13.4 seconds(95.150mph). Park reported the fastest time of the session at 1:12.12(96.839mph), followed by Andretti (1:12.55 – 96.265mph) and Labonte (1:13.1 – 95.540mph). Andretti has placed third the last two years at Sears Point, while Labonte was 27th a year ago. Earnhardt Jr. prepared for the test session by using a simulator, but still found the terrain tough. He twice suffered spins exiting Turn 7, both times landing in the gravel trap. Boris Said, who won the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Sears Point in 1998, served as a personal coach to both Earnhardt Jr. and Park during the session(Sears Point PR)(4-26-2000)

Evernham says…: Ray Evernham said in an interview broadcast on a Charlotte, NC, radio station that he has a second driver to join his two-car Dodge entry for next season. Evernham didn’t say who his driver will be, but he has said that he wanted to sign BGN driver Casey Atwood to join Bill Elliott(who signed weeks ago). Evernham said in the interview that an announcement would be made next month when the series is at Lowe’s Motor Speedway(Roankoe Times)(4-26-2000)

AJ Crew Chief UPDATE 4 Engines: Crew chief Terry Wooten was released from the #14 A.J. Foyt/Conseco team after the team failed to qualify at Martinsville. Foyt and general manager Waddell Wilson will serve in the crew chief’s role this weekend at Talladega. The team is looking to hire a crew chief next week(Roanoke Times)(4-12-2000)
UPDATE: a new crew chief is expected to be hired soon, possibly as early as Monday(Times-Dispatch)(4-16-2000)
UPDATE 2 – New #14 Crew Chief: Philippe Lopez has been named the crew chief for the #14 AJ Foyt Conseco team. Lopez was the crew chief for the #41 Hedrick Motorsports team and follows Mast over from there. Other changes in the team are expected to be announced within the next week(RPM2Nite). Hearing the changes may include team manager Waddell Wilson leaving the team and changing to an engine supplier such as Hendrick(4-18-2000)
UPDATE 3 – Engines: Crew chief Phillipe Lopez and engine builder David Evans followed driver Rick Mast to A.J. Foyt’s operation(Times-Dispatch), well it’s not Hendrick engines, but a new head engine builder for the team(4-25-2000)
UPDATE 4: Foyt finished his housecleaning by releasing Waddell Wilson as general manager of the #14 team and bringing nephew Tommy LaMance on board. LaMance has been with Foyt since 1994 when he served as team manager with A.J. Foyt Enterprises. Foyt also hired engine builder David Evans away from Hedrick Motorsports(#41), along with much of his engine crew(SpeedVision) AND current engine builder Greg Wilson(Waddell’s son) remains to work with Evans and several of Evans’ other co-workers have joined him at Foyt’s, from NASCAR Online and another story at TNN(4-26-2000)

No #50? UPDATE: even though on the NOL Entry list, I hear that the #50 Midwest Transit Chevy and driver Ricky Craven will not be going to California for the NAPA Auto Parts 500
UPDATE: the team will skip California and test at Greenville Pickens Speedway in preparation for the race at Richmond(Midwest Transit Racing Site)(4-26-2000)

(4-25-2000)

No #41 at California UPDATE: Larry Hedrick’s #41 Chevy team is not planning to make the trip to California Speedway this weekend. Gary Bradberry has been driving for the team since Rick Mast left after the race at Bristol on March 26. Crew chief Phillipe Lopez and engine builder David Evans followed Mast to A.J. Foyt’s operation. The former crew chief, Donnie Disharoon has been named crew chief for Hedrick. The team is taking the weekend off to regroup(Times-Dispatch)
UPDATE: hearing that the team may have closed up shop due to lack of sponsorship. Supposedly many of the crew has gone with Lopez to the #14 team(4-25-2000)

Testing? hearing that #94-Bill Elliott, #12-Jeremy Mayfield and #4-Bobby Hamilton were testing at Pocono today(4-25-2000)

California Notes: All three Winston Cup Series races at California have been won from a top-five starting position. Darrell Waltrip posted his most recent top-five finish in the 1998 California 500 when finished fifth. Jeff Gordon and Terry Labonte have both posted three top-10 finishes at California, the only drivers to do so. Brett Bodine and Kyle Petty have finished 26th or worse in all three races at California(Speed Magazine)(4-25-2000)

Little SW Sponsor: RacingOne.com, an online community of Web sites that caters to auto racing fans by providing them with unfiltered motorsports news and information, has announced that it will be the primary sponsor of Chad Little’s car in upcoming NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Series races(RacingOne)(4-25-2000)

(4-24-2000)

#33 Special Paint Scheme: Akzo Nobel Coatings has been the official paint supplier to Andy Petree Racing since Andy purchased the team from Leo Jackson. The paint on the #33 Chevy that Joe Nemechek will drive in the NAPA Auto Parts 500 at the California Speedway is a special effects version of Sikkens Autobase basecoat. Manufactured by Akzo Nobel Coatings, it was developed in conjunction with Flex Products, Inc. and utilizes their ChromaFlair Light Interference Pigments. The paint appears to change color depending on the angle from which it is viewed. This new Sikkens Autobase basecoat will be available in the Fall of 2000. The scheme will also be used at Sears Point in June(Andy Petree PR) See images of the car on the Paint Schemes page(4-24-2000)

Guess Melling Racing’s new #: A fan with the right guess will win a trip to a driving school from racingschools.com, and another good guesser will be an honorary member of the Melling Racing pit crew at the August Winston Cup race at Michigan Speedway. Here’s the deal… In the next few weeks, NASCAR will assign the Melling Team a new number for the 2001 season (remember that Mark Melling gave the #9 to Bill Elliott for Ray Evernham’s new Dodge team). If you can correctly guess the number NASCAR assigns to the team, you could be one of the two lucky winners. We will draw two entries from a pool of all the correct entries, and we will announce who the winners are Friday, June 9th at Michigan Speedway. Complete contest rules are online at Mellingracing.com. You can also find lots of information about Stacy Compton and the Melling team on the site(Melling Racing PR in part)(4-24-2000)

Trickle to drive #60? UPDATE yep: hearing Dick Trickle will drive the #60 Power Team Chevy, giving Geoffrey Bodine another week to heal from the injuries he incurred at Daytona in February in the CTS crash
UPDATE: Bessey Motorsports has announced that Dick Trickle will drive the #60 Power Team Chevrolet in the NAPA 500 at the California Speedway on Sunday. The #60 team’s regular driver, Geoffrey Bodine, is continuing his successful recovery from injuries sustained in a February NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series wreck. Bodine is scheduled to return to the Power Team Chevrolet next weekend at Richmond. The team tested at the 3/4-mile track on Wednesday and Thursday with positive results. The #60 team decided that it would be best to give Geoffrey one more week to recover from his injuries. See full story at the Power Team Site(4-24-2000)

California Testing Correction: Tyler Jet Motorsports did not test the #10 Winston Cup car at the California Speedway in Fontana, CA as I previosuly reported but tested the #50 Winston West car Johnny Benson will be driving there on Saturday. The car will be fielded by us at Tyler Jet, with the normal crew, including crew chief James Ince, with a sponsor to be announced later this week. The #50 was assigned to the team by NASCAR for the Winston West races they run in 2000(4-24-2000)

Martin Honored: #6 Valvoline Ford driver, Mark Martin earned first-quarter honors in 2000 Driver of the Year voting at ESPN. Martin combined his Winston Cup success and domination of the Busch Series edge Formula One driver Michael Schumacher in the first-quarter voting by a 16-member panel of national motorsports media representatives and ESPN.com users. Martin received seven first-place votes and 101 points to Schumacher’s seven first-place nods and 90 points(ESPN)(4-24-2000)

More Martin: Mark Martin’s on-track performance in the #6 Valvoline Ford, combined with contributions from Valvoline and NASCAR fans, has brought the current total raised for Big Brothers Big Sisters since 1999 to $291,938. Valvoline is donating $5,000 for every Winston Cup race Martin wins, $2,500 for each pole, $1,000 for a top-five finish, and $20 per lap Martin leads in this “Caring Hands” program. The next trackside fundraiser, where fans can put their handprints on a canvas wall, receive a commemorative button, and make donations, will be April 29, 8 a.m.-noon, at the California Speedway(Valvoline PR)(4-24-2000)

Sad News from NOL – Dorothy Beech, who became one of NASCAR’s first employees in 1951 and rose to become the sanctioning body’s assistant treasurer, died Saturday. She was 87. See full story at NASCAR Online(4-24-2000)

Winston West: Ken Schrader ran the Winston West race at Las Vegas this past weekend. He started 2nd and finished 23rd in the Orleans 150 won by part time BGN/CTS driver David Starr. See story and results at RacingWest, a site dedicated to the Winston West series(4-24-2000)

(4-23-2000)

(4-22-2000)

Conseco Troubles? a few readers have voiced concern over the sponsor of AJ Foyt’s #14 Cup team, Conseco. Since the company announced in April 1998 that it was buying Green Tree Financial Corp., the stock has lost 88 percent of its value, closing this week at $6.62 a share. How this effects the sponsorship of the team, I don’t have a clue. Have heard absolutely nothing concerning any problems with the sponsorship. See the full story at SpeedNet: Area takes stock of Conseco, execs’ gifts, basically talks about charity gifts and such(4-22-2000)
Other Paint Schemes: Also noticed that there will be two #36 M&M’s schemes, a peanut butter M&M’s scheme(red?) and a green M&M’s scheme(??). The #42 Chevy will have a special scheme not named directly, the #24-Jeff Gordon as we all know will be something at the Winston, not Pokemon, I hear it will be announced three days before the Winston and they are doing their best to keep it quiet, but I hear it will a sort of reverse DuPont scheme with different stripes of some sort(4-22-2000)
#8 Scheme? UPDATE: see a few diecast sites are listing a #8 Michelob diecast for sale, this may be the rumored Winston scheme. Michelob is of course owned by Anheuser-Busch, who make Budweiser
UPDATE: have been told by a Budweiser rep, that the will be no special paint scheme for the #8 Bud Cehvy and they don’t know what the Michelob deal is all about and are looking into it(4-22-2000)

(4-21-2000)

Pearson honor: The city fathers of Spartanburg, SC decided awhile back that they wanted to honor one of their own, racing legend David Pearson, with his own day. Then they thought, why don’t we honor a lot of them? So they’re building a racing museum, too. See full story at The State: Pearson Day is in May; museum set and another at the Greenville News(4-21-2000)

California Testing UPDATE 2: #75-Wally Dallenbach is at the California Speedway testing this week(Wally Dallenbach Site)(4-19-2000)
UPDATE: #32-Scott Pruett and BGN driver #97-Anthony Lazarro are also testing. Heard that Dallenbach ran a fast lap of 183.908mph(4-20-2000)
UPDATE 2: #4-Bobby Hamilton and #32-Scott Pruett both tested above the track record of 183.753mph held by Greg Sacks in 1997. Hamilton and Pruett both ran laps of 184.143mph(39.1 sec) on Thursday. #11-Brett Bodine ran a lap of 182.973mph and #13-Robby Gordon was at 183.720mph. #9-Stacy Compton also tested during the two day test. #75-Wally Dallenbach and #10-Johnny Benson tested on Wednesday(SpeedVision)(4-21-2000)

Racing for Relief: With a second place finish and 188 laps completed this week in Talladega, Mike Skinner raised $5,828 for the American Red Cross’ disaster relief fund as part of the “Racing for Relief” program. To date, Skinner has raised a total of $42,620. With one race remaining, Skinner has already made a significant contribution that we hope you will consider using in your post-race coverage. Again, as part of the “Racing for Relief” program, Lowe’s donates $31 (Skinner’s number) to the Red Cross disaster relief fund for every lap Skinner completes and $1,031 for every lap lead during April, the beginning of severe weather season(PR)(4-21-2000)

Musgrave to Test Dodges: Ted Musgrave will help out with testing for Ray Evernham and his Cup Dodge team that will enter the series in 2001. Musgrave will also test with the #32 PPI Motorsports team. Musgrave ran the #15 Fenley-Moore Motorsports Ford at Talladega as a favor to owner Bud Moore(Winston Cup Scene)(4-21-2000)

(4-20-2000)

#13 Engines? UPDATE 2 hearing #13 Team Gordon will use Yates Engines at Talladega and California(4-12-2000)
UPDATE: have confirmed this, so far it is just for these two races(4-16-2000)
UPDATE 2: This weeks Winston Cup Scene reports that Team Gordon has switched to Yates Engines for the rest of the season(4-20-2000)

#16 Paint Scheme UPDATE and CORRECTION: hearing the #16 Familyclick.com car will have a Clemson University paint scheme at Charlotte/Lowes for the Coca-Cola 600.
UPDATE: On May 20, Roush Racing will run its #16 Kevin Lepage car decked out in one-day-only Clemson colors and insignia in the Winston Open in Charlotte. Part of the proceeds from the sale of related merchandise will be used to create the Jack Roush Motorsports Scholarship Fund. The car will not run in the Coca-Cola 600 as reported(4-20-2000)

Texaco and Yates: Texaco, Roberts Yates Racing and NASCAR Winston Cup driver Ricky Rudd today unveiled a fully equipped #28 Texaco/Havoline Ford to North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. Presented at a luncheon held in honor of the installation of Chancellor James C. Renick, the car will be used as a unique “laboratory” by engineering students. It also marks the beginning of a new partnership between Texaco and N.C. A&T’s College of Engineering, which includes the title sponsorship of the University’s Intercollegiate Auto Racing Association (ICAR) Racing Team. Texaco, in conjunction with Robert Yates Racing, also established the Texaco/Havoline Racing Team Scholarship and Internship Program. Students associated with the University’s ICAR program will be eligible to apply for a scholarship and summer internship with Robert Yates Racing(Business Wire)(4-20-2000)

RIR Testing UPDATE: Testing at RIR – Richmond International Raceway was rained out today. Some team supposedly there were #36-Kenny Schrader, #90-Ed Berrier, #91-Todd Bodine, #16-Kevin Lepage, #22-Ward Burton and #93-Dave Blaney. Teams are expected to return Wednesday. No new on if #60-Geoffrey Bodine was there or not as reported before. Also a few BGN teams were there to test: #24-David Green(yes, helping out), #18-Jason Leffler, #21-Mike Dillon, #2-Kevin Harvick, #45-Adam Petty and #98-Elton Sawyer(4-18-2000)
UPDATE: Twentysome teams tested Wednesday at RIR including #’s 91, 22, 36, 16, 90, 93, 60, 55 from CUP and BGN cars #’s 98, 21, 2, 18, 45, 20, 24, 82, 19, 44, 11, 63, 50, 74, 83, 92, 33 and a 2nd #18 team(what will be the #29 car with Curtis Maekham). The #50 Dr Pepper and #63 Superflo cars crashed. #50 driver Tony Roper was taken by ambulance to local hospital. No word on his condition or injuries. Only unofficial speed I heard was #91-Todd Bodine at 123mph, last years pole was is 126.499mph by Jeff Gordon. Testing continues on Thursday, is open to the public, and there is no charge for admission. Update on Roper on the BGN site(4-20-2000)

DW Tests at Lowes: Darrell Waltrip tested his #66 Big Kmart/Rt 66 Ford at Lowes Motor Speedway on Wednesday and will again on Thursday(NOL) AND Darrell Waltrip found himself with a little time to kill Wednesday at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, so he wound up being part of a news conference to announce the $6,262,701 total purse for the track’s May events(That’s Racin’)(4-20-2000)

Sears Point Testing: Budweiser and Sears Point Raceway will host a Media Luncheon on Wednesday, April 26, to introduce NASCAR Winston Cup rookie driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. to the Northern California media. This will mark the first-ever Northern California appearance for Earnhardt Jr., who will be participating in a two-day test session on the 10-turn, 1.94-mile road course in preparation for the Save Mart/Kragen 350, June 22-25. Other drivers participating in the test session include #18-Bobby Labonte, #43-John Andretti and #17-Matt Kenseth(Sears Point PR)(4-20-2000)

Talladega Testing UPDATE: NASCAR’s testing session at Talladega ended Monday without any concrete decisions. Some of the things NASCAR tried during the test was to increase downforce with a 65-degree spoiler on the car, raising the valence from 3 1/2 inches up to six inches and adding a one-inch wicker to the rook of the car near the windshield. See full story at the Anniston Star(4-19-2000)
UPDATE: Full story on some of things tried and comments at SpeedVision: NASCAR Tinkers At Talladega(4-20-2000)

Bodine test moved up UPDATE 2: The Geoffrey Bodine fanclub is reporting that #60 Power Team driver, Geoffrey Bodine, injured in a Daytona CTS race wreck, will move up his test at Richmond from the 25-26th of April to this week, the 18-19th, owner Joe Bessey is scheduled to test a 2nd car at Richmond(4-16-2000)
UPDATE: Tuesday test was rained out but Winston Cup Today Radio(RealAudio) reports Bodine will test at RIR on Wednesday and Thursday(4-19-2000)
UPDATE 2: Bodine tested on Wednesday and says he is ready for Califrnia. See the full story at NASCAR Online and another at the Times Dispatch. Bodine ran a hand-timed 121.185mph in race trim(4-20-2000)

(4-19-2000)

Dale Earnhardt Jr and Rolling Stone: The latest edition of Rolling Stone Magazine hits the streets Friday, April 21 with a major feature story focusing on Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. The story, which covers seven pages, chronicles Earnhardt’s climb to the Winston Cup series and examines his love of music, his life away from the race track and growing up as the son of seven-time Winston Cup champion Dale Earnhardt. See the full Press Release at: Rolling Stone Magazine Features Earnhardt Jr. (fingerprint.inc)(4-19-2000)

2nd Morgan McClure car? #4 Kodak Chevy owner Larry McClure says he hopes to have a second car in place by the July Daytona race. McClure feels they are close to putting it together but it has to be all the way before it happens. As for a driver, McClure — who owns the team for Bobby Hamilton — said, “Who knows, Bobby (Hamilton) Jr. ran real good (in Saturday’s BGN race at Talladega), I might put him in the car.”(Roanoke Times) Also Loy Aleen has recently tested for the team(4-19-2000)

Melling Gets A Dyno: Melling Racing, who field’s the #9 Cougar/Kodiak Ford, new chassis dyno arrived last week. The team built an addition to the shop since the start of the season to accommodate the dyno. The dyno should be operational within a few weeks(Melling PR)(4-19-2000)

(4-18-2000)

Atwood and Dodge? hearing from a few sources that Casey Atwood’s signing with Ray Evernham and Dodge for the 2001 Winston Cup season is almost if not already, a done deal. Pretty much a given anyway(4-18-2000)

#75 Crew Chief? UPDATE 2: another name rumored as a possible crew chief for the #75 Galaxy Motorsports team and driver Wally Dallenbach — Newt Moore, former crew chief for Kenny Wallace when the #81 Filmar team was still around and also the #77 Jasper Engines team(4-15-2000)
UPDATE: Wally Dallenbach was asked Sunday morning about his team’s crew chief situation and told SpeedVision that good reporters with their eyes open could figure it out. SpeedVison saw Newt Moore and Walter Ballard atop the team’s pit box, running the show(SpeedVision)(4-17-2000)
UPDATE 2: After nearly four weeks without a crew chief, the #75 Galaxy Motorsports team permanently hired Newt Moore as the new crew chief. Moore, who last year served as crew chief for several organizations, is the team’s first crew chief since Wayne Orme stepped down in March. Wally Dallenbach is the driver of the mult-sponsored Ford with RedCell Batteries, Rotozip, Cartoon Network/WCW/Dinner and a Movie as sponsors(RMI/Atlanta PR)(4-18-2000)

Sad Story – Two Die at Talladega Superspeedway: Two NASCARS fans died during this past weekend’s racing at the Talladega Speedway. The sheriff of Talladega County says a 69-year old man from Bismark, Arkansas was found in his tent on Sunday. A 26-year old man from Tennessee was also found dead, when his friends tried to wake him up for a race. Investigators say both men apparently died from heart-related natural causes(WSFA channel 12)(4-18-2000)

Schrader in Vegas: This weekend’s major-league event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway got a boost by the entry of NASCAR Winston Cup regular Ken Schrader in the Winston West stock car race(Las Vegas Review Journal)(4-18-2000)

(4-17-2000)

Slow Down at ‘Dega UPDATE 2: Richard Childress and Jack Roush have prepared cars for a special test here Monday in an effort to slow Winston Cup cars down enough so they won’t need a carburetor restrictor plate. Nelson said teams came to him with some ideas, and he decided to try them out on the race track. One of the ideas is a bigger “greenhouse,” the size and shape of the rear window area(Total Sports). Ned Jarrett’s idea is to stand the windshield up, like the trucks, that’ll slow them down(4-15-2000)
UPDATE: NASCAR has closed the test to the media except for long-distance photography, and there are indications that NASCAR officials aren’t very enthusiastic about the test. See full story by Mike Mulern at PitNow
UPDATE 2: On RPM2Nite the two cars being tested were shown. The #6 Ford was driven by Matt Kanseth and had some sheet metal modifications done around the nose and hood. The #3 Chevy was driven by Dave Marcis and supposedly had a raised roof(by one inch) and widened by 2 inches. Also it was speculated on the show the the windshield was being tested at different angles. The cars with present restrictor plates and modifications were slowed down by 3 seconds. Using a larger restrictor plate (unknown size) the 3 seconds were regained. More testing will be done on Tuesday(RPM2Nite)(4-17-2000)

Cope Talks: Saying he was misled by the Fenley/Moore Motorsports owners, Winston Cup driver Derrike Cope left the Spartanburg race team to make himself available for any empty seats which may lead to a full-time ride. “I don’t feel like they lived up to what they promised,” Cope said Sunday. “They said we would run a full schedule. That didn’t happen. Team Owner Fenley said the team is still looking at a limited schedule for the rest of the season, but would not say whether Musgrave is in those plans. See full story at GoUpstate/Herald Journal(SC): Cope: I was misled by Fenley/Moore by Todd Shanesy(4-17-2000)

Marathon UPDATE: Michael Waltrip participated in Monday’s Boston Marathon
UPDATE: Michael Waltrip completed the Boston Marathon in four hours, forty-two minutes and 20 seconds and finished 14,315 out of 17,813 entrants(Williams Company PR)(4-17-2000)

Gordon the Youngest Cup driver to reach 50 career wins. #24-Jeff Gordon is the youngest driver to reach the 50 career win mark at 28 years 8 months old. Richard Petty was a year older when he won his 50th in 1967. Lee Petty was the oldest at 46. And the fastest too, Gordon won his 50th in only 232 races, Dale Earnhardt did it in 369(not 278) races, Richard Petty did in 332 races(4-17-2000)

Bad Parts: The NASCAR Winston Cup hauler has a table that holds all of the items that are confiscated each week-end. Normally it’s big enough to hold all the illegal items taken from the various teams. This week, at Talladega, the table is overflowing. The following is a partial list of the items. #32-Scott Pruett, oversized throttle plate, carburetor was pulled; #16-Kevin LePage, irregular rear spoiler; #44-Kyle Petty, rear spoiler too thick; #43-John Andretti, rear spoiler too thick; #17-Matt Kenseth, spoiler made of unapproved material; #97-Chad Little, spoiler made of unapproved material; #6-Mark Martin, non-approved rear hubs; #21-Elliott Sadler, non-approved rear hubs; #40-Sterling Marlin, unapproved spring. Plus dozens of teams had to cut away area’s of their cars and reshape using Bondo or similar type material(Insider Racing)(4-17-2000)

Did ya Know? The last three winners at Talladega have started 17th or worse. In the previous 50 races here, only two winners started further back than 15th and Not only have nine different drivers won the nine races this year, but nine different drivers have led the most laps each race(News and Observer)(4-17-2000)

One More Lap: #22 Car owner Bill Davis said the reason Ward Burton dropped from second to 10th on the final lap was that Burton thought the race ended when one lap actually remained(Roanoke Times)(4-17-2000)

More #7 Sale Stories UPDATE once again, no sale: For the last couple of weeks, Michael Waltrip has heard the rumors that the team he drives for is about to be sold or has been sold by car owner Jim Mattei(rumored to #2 CTS owner Jim Smith). See the stories at the Roanoke Times and Total Sports and Speed Magazine and Alabama Live. I keep hearing both rumors, some say the team has been sold, others say no, so….???(4-16-2000)
UPDATE: Jim Mattei, owner of the #7 team, said Sunday that contrary to rumors he has no plans to sell the team. He is interested, however, in allying or merging with another team, saying single-car teams have no real chance in the present environment. Mattei said he had talked with Tim Beverley, owner of the #10 Lycos team, and Nelson Bowers, co-owner of the #36 M&M’s Pontiac, among others. He also said he has received calls from other people interested in buying the team or becoming a partner in it. Mattei insists, however, that an alliance with another team is a more likely alternative. He also said he has had talks with Jim Smith, owner of the#2 CTS team, with Smith showing interest in fielding a Cup team, but probably no time soon(SpeedVision)(4-17-2000)

Dodge Templates OK’d UPDATE um…nope: Dodge has received NASCAR approval for its Intrepid model, due for debut in 2001 at the Daytona 500, and templates have been made, Dodge program director Ray Evernham said Friday at Talladega. How about the engine program? Evernham did not say whether all parts have been approved, but he indicated Dodge’s engine has been cleared at least for development(SpeedVision)(4-15-2000)
UPDATE: NASCAR officials denied a report that appeared that said NASCAR had approved body templates for the 2001 Dodge Intrepid. The report said those templates have been used to build the cars Dodge car owner Ray Evernham will use in upcoming testing sessions(That’s Racin’)(4-17-2000)

Yates OK: #28 and #88 owner Robert Yates was uninjured in a pit-road incident. Dave Blaney entered the pits too fast and lost control of his #93 Amoco Pontiac, spinning almost the entire length of pit road and bouncing off the wall. A startled Yates fell from his pit wall, (hitting his head) and an ambulance was called over by the team. He shooed away emergency workers and returned to work(Times-Dispatch)(4-17-2000)

Interesting Money Stuff: At the Goody’s 500 in Martinsville a week ago, the alleged purse was $2,288,867. The actual payout was $1,748,540, meaning that the percentage of the “posted awards” that were paid, as opposed to “posted,” was 76.4 percent(Gaston Gazette)(4-17-2000)

Ganassi/Sabates? No: Felix Sabates denied rumors that he might sell his Cup operation, possibly to CART owner Chip Ganassi, who appears poised to join Winston Cup next season. He admitted he had talked to Ganassi last year and had advised Ganassi on such a move, but had no interest in selling(SpeedVision)(4-17-2000)

Trickle and LaJoie OK: Dick Trickle will drive the #60 Power Team Chevy in the Cup race at Talladega after a hard wreck in Saturday’s BGN race there. Trickle suffered a bruised foot when he was hit on the driver’s side by Randy LaJoie. LaJoie was temporarily knocked unconscious, regained alertness and was taken to Caraway Methodist Medical Center for a CAT scan. No other serious injuries were reported in the race(Speed Magazine)(4-16-200)
UPDATE: Randy LaJoie was scheduled to be released Sunday night from Carraway Methodist Medical Center in Birmingham, AL. LaJoie suffered a mild concussion in a crash during the BGN race at Talladega. Results from a CAT scan didn’t turn up any problems, so LaJoie will be sent home(Total Sports)(4-17-2000)

(4-16-2000)

Wow, what a race: #24-Jeff Gordon wins at Talladega and his 50th career Winston Cup win, the 11th driver in history to do so. It was #24 crew chief, Robbie Loomis’s first win with the #24 team. Gordon who started 36th(almost had to take his first career provisional), breaks the record for the worse starting spot to win a CUP race at Talladega. Gordon snaps a 13 race streak of not winning a race, the first since Charlotte last October. #31-Mike Skinner was close to his first win but ended up 2nd, his career best finish. #6-Mark Martin is now the point leader over #18-Bobby Labonte. See results at NASCAR Online(NOL)(was incorrect but seems ok now), Racin’ Network and Total Sports(4-16-2000)
Nine Different Winners: Jeff Gordon is the ninth different Winston Cup winner in the first nine races in 2000. This extends the NASCAR all time record of nine, beating last weeks eighth. The old record was seven that happened in 1991 when the first seven winners were Ernie Irvan, Dale Earnhardt, Kyle Petty, Ken Schrader, Ricky Rudd, Rusty Wallace and Darrell Waltrip. Also happened in 1964 when Ned Jarrett, Fireball Roberts, Wendell Scott, Richard Petty, Dan Gurney, Junior Johnson, Bobby Isaac won the first seven races that season. The 2000 winners: Dale Jarrett, Bobby Labonte, Jeff Burton, Dale Earnhardt, Ward Burton, Rusty Wallace, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Mark Martin and now Jeff Gordon. The record only for the start of a season. A different driver won 13 races in a row back in 1961. The “modern-era” record, covering the years since 1972, is 11 different winners in a row in 1985(4-16-2000)
Noticed during the race at Talladega: while using #10 Johnny Benson’s in car camera, noticed the web address www.learnframe.com, so I chekced it out and they are a new associate sponsor for the team, supposedly started three races ago(4-16-2000)
#13 Engines? hearing #13 Team Gordon will use Yates Engines at Talladega and California(4-12-2000)
UPDATE: have confirmed this, so far it is just for these two races(4-16-2000)
Greg Ray almost…. Greg Ray, the 1999 IRL champ, was offered a one-race deal with A.J. Foyt’s #14 Winston Cup Pontiac at Texas last month but declined the invitation. Instead, Rick Mast replaced rookie Mike Bliss on a permanent basis and drove the car to a 20th-place finish. Ray almost took the ride then decided against it(Speed Magazine)(4-16-2000)

(4-15-2000)

Ray’s 2nd Driver UPDATE: Ray Evernham said Friday he hopes to be able to announce the driver for his second Dodge Winston Cup team for the 2001 season during the circuit’s visit to Charlotte at the end of May(That’s Racin’)
UPDATE: Ray Evernham doesn’t know where the recent round of rumors started, but he’s focusing on only one driver to team with Bill Elliott on his two-car Dodge team next season — BGN driver Casey Atwood. On Friday afternoon, Evernham talked with Atwood and his BGN team owner Clarence Brewer. Evernham admits he is talking with Brewer about a possible BGN team for 2002 but has no intention of keeping the 20-year-old Atwood in the series next season(Times-Dispatch)(4-15-2000)

Cope: Derrike Cope left the #15 Moore-Fenley Motorsports team on Thursday and is being replaced by Ted Musgrave this weekend. “I had an opportunity to leave and felt like that was in my best interest to do so,” Cope said(Times-Dispatch)(4-15-2000)

Benson to F1? naaaa….. what does Johnny Benson plan to do on his first off weekend since the NASCAR Winston Cup teams reported to Daytona on Feb. 9? Benson plans to go to a Winston West test in Fontana, CA on Tuesday and Wednesday then fly to Silverstone, England to attend Sunday’s British Grand Prix Formula One race. Benson attended the Spanish Grand Prix in 1998. Benson will run in the Winston West race at California the same weekend as the Cup race in the #50 Tyler Jet Motorsports Chevy. Crew Chief james Ince thinks it is a good way to learn the track. Benson is going to the F1 race for fun(see full PR at the Tyler Jet Motorsports site)(4-15-2000)

Common Templates: Winston Cup series director Gary Nelson said Friday NASCAR was “backing off” the idea of common body templates in favor of continuing to keep all manufacturers as equal as possible aerodynamically on the track. See full story at That’s Racin’: Nelson says common templates on back burner by Jim Utter(4-15-2000)

Top 25: #24-Jeff Gordon qualified outside of the top 25 for the first time since Oct 1998 in Charlotte, a streak of 47 races. Also failing to qualify for the top 25 for the first time this year(making all the races) are #18-Bobby Labonte(46th) and #25-Jerry Nadeau(28th). Only two drivers have made ALL nine Cup races and qualified for all the races in the top 25: #8-Dale Earnhardt Jr and #31-Mike Skinner(4-15-2000)

Rookies do Good: Six of the Rookie of The Year candidates made the field in 1st round qualifying: #8-Dale Earnhardt Jr.(6th), #32-Scott Pruett(15th), #92-Dave Blaney(16th), #27-Mike Bliss(18th), #9-Stacy Compton(22nd) and #90-Ed Berrier(23rd). Only #17-Matt Kenseth failed to qualify on day one, he was 35th(4-15-2000)

Talladega Speed: Jeremy Mayfield’s pole speed at Talladega was the fifth slowest pole speed in the history of Talladega and the first at less than 190 mph since 1976(NOL/ESPN2 Qualifying) and was the slowest pole-winning speed at Talladega since David Pearson drove his Mercury to the top spot at 184.926mph — in 1974(News and Observer)(4-15-2000)

M&M’s: Ken Schrader is relaying a message to his competitors for this weekend’s race at Talladega Superspeedway via Red, the M&M Character on the back of his No. 36 Pontiac. Red is holding a sign with a simple but clear message for the other 42 cars racing side-by-side at the Winston Cup Circuit’s fastest track. Red’s words of advice: “Don’t Read…Draft!”.(IMG Motorsports-Charlotte)(4-15-2000)

(4-14-2000)

New Yates Sponsor in 2001? UPDATE 3: Dale Jarrett will apparently have a new sponsor next season on the #88 Robert Yates owned Ford. UPS(United Parcel Service), supposedly a $15 million or $16 million sponsorship deal, sources said. Ford’s Quality Care sponsorship would likely move to a Jack Roush team, according to PitNow sources(PitNow)(4-3-2000)
UPDATE: I hear from a good source that Robert Yates Racing(RYR) is working with Ford to continue it’s relationship/sponsorship with the #88 and are working with UPS on an associate sponsorship on the #28 Texaco Ford(4-4-2000)
UPDATE 2: Rumors recently surfaced that Robert Yates was considering a switch from Ford Credit to UPS as primary sponsor for the Dale Jarrett #88 race team in 2001. The more likely scenario here is that UPS, who has been itching to get into Winston Cup racing with a strong team for about a year, will come on board as an associate sponsor on one or BOTH Yates Racing Fords(Inside Motorsports)(4-9-2000)
UPDATE 3: This weeks Winston Cup Scene Magazine reports that UPS is talking to Yates and Roush Racing about sponsoring a car. #28 and #88 owner Robert Yates confirmed he is talking to UPS but wouldn’t say if it was for an associate or primary deal for one or both cars. Yates deal with Ford Quality Care is done at the end of the 2000 season. Roush Racing said they had informal talks but that was it and that Roush Racing is working on renewals with Valvoline and John Deere for the #6 and #97 teams(4-14-2000)

#75 Crew Chief? UPDATE 2 no Talladega? Hearing Mike Hillman will assume the crew chief duties on the #75 Galaxy Motorsports Ford and driver Wally Dallenbach. Hillman has been working with the #91 Joe Falk team(4-10-2000)
UPDATE: Mike Hillman was supposedly offered a job by the #75 team BUT turned down the job and is staying with the #91 LJ Racing team(4-13-2000)
UPDATE 2: This weeks Winston Cup Scene Magazine reports that if no crew chief is in place, the team MAY skip the race at Talladega and regroup for Califnornia in two weeks(4-14-2000)

New Fire Suit: Bill Simpson, one of racing’s top safety experts, is looking at some new firesuit material called CarbonX, a fireproof carbon fiber lightweight weave(PitNow)(4-14-2000)

A few notes: The #15 Ford with Ted Musgrave driving is White with a light blue stripe down the center of the car and light blue numerals on the doors. #6-Mark Martin has the Eagle One scheme as noted before, mostly black with some orange(4-14-2000)

#13 New GM: #13 Team Gordon and Robby Gordon announced that Richard Buck has been hired as General Manager, effective with this weekend’s Die Hard 500 at Talladega. Buck fills a much-needed position at Team Gordon, bringing 20 years of experience in the CART IndyCar Series with him, the most notable of which, his years at Team Penske Racing where as crew chief he amassed 25 pole positions, 22 race victories, 5 Indy 500 victories, 2 CART Series Championships, 6 pit stop championships, as well being awarded “Chief Mechanic of the Year” honors twice. Buck will take care of all the day-to-day responsibilities at Team Gordon. Before this week, Buck had been working with Team Gordon on an exploratory level, getting to know the team and the areas in which he needs to focus. And while he’s spent his career in the open-wheel ranks, Buck is quick to acknowledge that racing is racing and the challenge of orchestrating a successful operation is the same no matter what series a team competes (Team Gordon PR)(4-14-2000)

(4-13-2000)

Dodge Testing Dates and Venues UPDATE: Dodge team owner Ray Evernham and Dodge Motorsports are about to embark on the first on-track testing for the Winston Cup Dodge Intrepid. All dates are tentative and additional dates will likely be added.
May 2-3 Homestead
May 18-19 Michigan
June 5-6 Las Vegas
June 12-13 Talladega
June 26-27 Texas
July 4-5 Indianapolis
July 18-19 Atlanta
July 25-26 Daytona
August 8 Atlanta
August 21-22 Talladega. No idea if this is an open/public or closed test(4-12-2000)
UPDATE: see an additional story at SpeedVision on the testing: After Delay, Dodge Ready for Testing by Ben Blake(4-13-2000)

Atwood to Cup? hearing Casey Atwood will drive a Ford in five Winston Cup races this year for Evernham Motorsports(4-13-2000)

Musgrave in the #15: The Ted Musgrave site is reporting: Musgrave Motorsports announced today that Ted Musgrave has accepted the position of driving the #15 Ford Taurus for the Fenley/Moore team. Musgrave will race in the DieHard 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on April 16(Ted Musgrave Site)(4-13-2000)

Did Ya Know? Six drivers – Lenny Pond, Richard Brickhouse, Dick Brooks, Bobby Hillin, Phil Parsons and Ron Bouchard – won their first and only Winston Cup Series race at Talladega(Augusta Chronicle)(4-13-2000)

(4-12-2000)

#58 Auction: Moecker Auctions, Inc., have been retained to conduct the auction in regards to the S.B. III Motorsports (was the #58 Ford) racing team. They filed an Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors on April 7, 2000. An auction of their cars, hauler, equipment and parts is going to be held on May 11, 2000 at 11:00am/et on their premises at 103 Center Lane, Huntersville, NC. The auction is open to the public. For more ingo see the site: www.moeckerauctions.com, didn’t see the auction listed there yet(4-12-2000)

NASCAR TV? Will the new unified NASCAR television contract be good for Speedvision?… YES… Will Speedvision be the new all-NASCAR channel?… NOT… says Speedvision founder president Roger Werner. Asked about the much-discussed creation of an all-NASCAR channel, Werner said, “Speedvision has been involved in conversations with NASCAR since the summer of 1999 regarding the creation and development of a NASCAR channel. Contrary to rumors, those discussions have in no way been related to converting Speedvision into a NASCAR channel, nor has there been any discussion of NASCAR purchasing Speedvision for that purpose. See full story by Bill King at SpeedVision: Roger Werner On the Future of Speedvision(4-12-2000)

Hall of Fame REPOST and TV coverage: The International Motorsports Hall of Fame announced it’s 2000 inductees: Indy car champs, Mario Andretti and A.J. Foyt. F1 title-holders, Aryton Senna and Nelson Piquet(as well as Andretti). Don “The Snake’ Prudhomme from Drag Racing and Craig Breedlove who has set several world land speed records. The half-dozen inductees, dubbed the Y2K class by the hall of fame, was announced at a news conference on Thursday in Birmingham. The honorees will be inducted at a formal ceremony at the hall of fame complex outside Talladega Superspeedway next year, kicking off activities for the DieHard 500 race weekend on April 13(Alabama Live)(10-30-1999)
UPDATE: The 2000 International Motorsports Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will be held on April 13, 2000 beginning at approximately 5:30pm/ct(4-12-2000)
TV Coverage: Hall of Fame Inductions will be covered by SpeedVision at 8pm/et on Thursday April 13th(4-13-2000)

#7 Team for sale? UPDATE 3: PitNow is reporting that #7 owner, Jim Mattei is apparently trying to sell his race team, according to Michael Waltrip, his driver(4-8-2000)
UPDATE: Hearing the team has been sold, supposedly to a CTS(truck) team owner(4-10-2000)
UPDATE 2: hear that the #7 team is NOT sold and the rumor about CTS owner having bought it is not true. The team may be looking at a partner, but not a buyer(4-11-2000)
UPDATE 3: It was reported on RPM2Nite Tuesday night that owner Jim Mattei had a meeting with the team and said it was NOT for sale but they are considering a partner(4-12-2000)

(4-11-2000)

No #91 at ‘Dega: Todd Bodine and the LJ Racing crew will make their next race at Richmond International Raceway, in the Pontiac Excitement 400 on May 6. The team will be testing an LJ Racing designed and built car at RIR on April 18 and 19, in preparation for the race. The team is still seeking sponsorship that will allow them to run the full season(LJ Racing). Andy Hillenburg will not run the #91 at Talladega as reported(4-11-2000)

Another Martin Scheme: Mark Martin will debut the 2000 #6 Eagle One Taurus at Talladega. This is the third straight season that Martin has driven a car featuring Eagle One colors. In May, 1998, Martin won The Winston in an Eagle One car. (J-Mar Express Newsletter) See images of this years car at my Paint Schemes Gallery(4-11-2000)

Bessey 2nd team tests and Talladega driver UPDATE 3: #60 Power Team owner Joe Bessey, tested a #61 Power Team Chevy at Daytona on Monday in anticipation of launching a second team later this summer, possibly for the Pepsi 400 at Daytona. Bessey participated in the first day of a two-day test along with #6-Mark Martin, #77-Robert Pressley and ?-Brad Teague(BGN car) in preparation for Pepsi 400. After Geoffrey Bodine was injured in the Daytona 250 CTS race in February, Bessey has used Ted Musgrave, Dick Trickle and Rich Bickle to drive the #60(NASCAR Online)(4-10-2000)
UPDATE driver at Talladega: hearing that Dick Trickle will drive the #60 Power Team Chevy at Talladega this weekend
UPDATE 2: it’s official: Bessey Motorsports has announced that Dick Trickle will return to the #60 Power Team Chevrolet this weekend in the Diehard 500 at the Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama. He will substitute for regular driver Geoffrey Bodine, who was injured in a February CTS event(Power Team PR)
UPDATE 3: if all goes to plan, Bessey may debut his second car at Richmond next month. Bessey stressed all those plans are tentative(Speed Magazine)(4-11-2000)

Talladega Testing? UPDATE: Teams will run with a smaller restrictor plate at Talladega next week and will be allowed to use their own shock absorbers on the fronts of their cars. Supposedly, NASCAR is not through looking for ways to improve the racing at the circuit’s two restrictor-plate tracks and will test a high-drag car on the Monday following the DieHard 500. The car would have a taller “green house,” the term used for the compartment in which the driver sits, and be a bit wider than the slicked-down aerodynamically honed cars now in use by top teams. That kind of car would create a bigger “hole” in the air as it races down the straightaway, increasing drag and thereby slowing speeds somewhat. The bigger hole in the air would also increase the effects of the draft on cars running in line and might eventually even allow the use of restrictor plates with bigger holes, increasing both horsepower and throttle response (paraphrased from That’s Racin’) no idea if this will be one team, which make, or if all teams who wish to test at Talladega next Monday will be allowed to. Also see another story at PitNow: Uncommon Sense: Speeds were lowered at wrong speedway(4-9-2000)
UPDATE: Roush Racing, Childress Racing and Morgan McClure Motorsports have been invited to Talladega next Monday for a novel NASCAR test at Talladega to find new ways to make disgruntled Winston Cup drivers happier at the tour’s two biggest tracks. Drivers have long complained about being bunched too tightly without enough horsepower to break away at Daytona and Talladega. So NASCAR officials will try to figure out how to add enough aerodynamic drag to these cars to allow drivers a lot more horsepower, while still keeping speeds around 190 mph. Roush and Childress are building special cars for the test. It is unclear who will test/drive the carsPitNow)(4-11-2000)

Irvan at Martinsville: Ken Schrader, driver of the #36 M&M’s Pontiac, mentioned on SpeedVision’s TV show Inside NASCAR Winston Cup that former #36 driver, Ernie Irvan, now retired, was in the team’s pits over the weekend at Martinsville(4-11-2000)

(4-10-2000)

Penalties UPDATE a rundown: Five teams got caught by NASCAR’s new rules concerning tires left on pit road at Martinsville. #24-Jeff Gordon, #22-Ward Burton, #16-Kevin Lepage, #44-Kyle Petty and #36-Ken Schrader – all were forced to start at the end of the longest line on caution-flag restarts(goracing). NASCAR had penalized #99-Jeff Burton and #25-Jerry Nadeau for disregarding a stop sign from an official posted at the pit exit(Gaston Gazette). Jeff Gordon, Ward Burton, Kevin Lepage, Kyle Petty and Ken Schrader served penalties for the tire infraction. NASCAR officials also handed out 10 more penalties for speeding in the pits, pitting too soon, running the pit-road stop sign, passing on the left too soon, passing the pace car and trying to beat the pace car out of the pits(Daily Press)
UPDATE: here are a rundown of the penalties accessed at Martinsville: 14 total – Five teams noted above with the new tire rule: #24-Jeff Gordon, #22-Ward Burton, #16-Kevin Lepage, #44-Kyle Petty and #36-Ken Schrader each had to go to the end of the longest line on the restarts for the violation. #26-Jimmy Spencer was caught for speeding on pit road. #26-Spencer, #33-Joe Nemechek, #11-Brett Bodine and #13-Robby Gordon for entering the pits too soon. #1-Steve Park for passing on the left on a restart. #42-Kenny Irwin for passing the pace car. #99-Jeff Burton and #55-Kenny Wallace each were penalized a lap for disobeying the NASCAR official at the end of pit road and entering the track when signaled to stop. Most others were penalized by being sent to the end of the longest line(News and Record)(4-10-2000)

Records: After 500 laps on Martinsville’s 1/2 mile paperclip-shaped oval the Goody’s Body Pain 500 records show there were 14 lead changes among 8 different drivers and 14 cars finished on the lead lap. There were also a record 17 caution flags totaling a whopping 111 laps run under yellow due to the short time even caution laps require to complete. After all this Mark Martin’s margin of victory was still only 1.5 seconds over teammate Jeff Burton(Speedway Illustrated) check out their first issue cover at the site(4-10-2000)

Waltrip finish: Michael Waltrip had his best finish (3rd at Martinsville) since he was 3rd at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in May of 1995. It was his first Top-5 since last year’s Daytona 500, and just one spot off his career-best of 2nd at Pocono in 1988(Catchfence-Rumblings)(4-10-2000)

Cautions at Martinsville: The 17 cautions broke the event record and tied the track record for yellow flags(Total Sports)(4-10-2000)

Skinner/Lowes/Red Cross: Mike Skinner and Lowes generates more Red Cross funds, leading ten laps and running 498 of the 500 on Sunday, helping him raise $23,438 for the American Red Cross Racing for Relief program. Lowe’s, Skinner’s sponsor, is donating $31 for every lap he completes and $1,031 for every lap he leads in April’s races. After two races, the total contribution is $34,792(That’s Racin’)(4-10-2000)

2nd Morgan McClure car? UPDATE: Loy Allen is testing for the Morgan McClure team(#4 Kodak Chevy) at Greenville-Pickens(SC) with regular driver Bobby Hamilton in preparation for the upcoming Martinsville and Talladega races. The way things look right now, they might run a second car at Talladega with Loy Allen as the driver(Morgan McClure PR)(4-4-2000)
UPDATE: Morgan-McClure Motorsports owner Larry McClure has decided not to enter Loy Allen as a second car at Talladega. Allen had tested a car last week at Talladega for McClure. McClure, owner of the #4 Kodak Chevys for driver Bobby Hamilton, said Sunday it is still likely he will field a second car at some point this season, but he has set no timetable for its debut(That’s Racin’)(4-10-2000)

Attendance: The estimated attendance of 84,000 was a track record at Martinsville on Apr 9th(Total Sports)(4-10-2000)

(4-9-2000)

Eight Different Winners: Mark Martin is the eighth different Winston Cup winner in the first eight races in 2000. This breaks the NASCAR all time record of seven that happened in 1991 when the first seven winners were Ernie Irvan, Dale Earnhardt, Kyle Petty, Ken Schrader, Ricky Rudd, Rusty Wallace and Darrell Waltrip. Also happened in 1964 when Ned Jarrett, Fireball Roberts, Wendell Scott, Richard Petty, Dan Gurney, Junior Johnson, Bobby Isaac won the first seven races that season. The 2000 winners: Dale Jarrett, Bobby Labonte, Jeff Burton, Dale Earnhardt, Ward Burton, Rusty Wallace, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and now Mark Martin(4-9-2000)
Gordon Streak is over: Jeff Gordon had gone 12 races without a Top-Five finish, but his 4th place at Martinsville ends that streak(4-9-2000)
Elliott #600: #94-Bill Elliott should make his 600th Winston Cup start at Talladega(SpeedVision)(4-9-2000)
Fenley-Moore Motorsports: #15-Fenley Moore Motorsports and driver Derrike Cope skipped Martinsville due to a lack of sponsorship. It’s the third straight week the team has skipped a race, but it hopes to compete in next Sunday’s DieHard 500 at Talladega(Speed Magazine)(4-9-2000)
Pardus to skip Talladega: The #65 team and driver Dan Pardus who attempted the Daytona 500 has decided not to attempt qualifying for next Sunday’s DieHard 500 at Talladega becasue if of the costs of running a restrictor plate car. Pardus says the team might attempt to qualify for the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Charlotte(Speed Magazine)(4-9-2000)
Backup Cars: #16-Kevin Lepage, who wrecked in practice and #13-Robby Gordon who wrecked in 2nd round qualifying will both go to backup cars and fall to the rear of the 43 car field at Martinsville on Sunday. Both took provisionals and will not have to fall too far behind their original starting spots(Gordon was 42nd and Lepage was 39th)(many sources in cluding SpeedVision)(4-9-2000)
Petree to quit crew chief? Andy Petree says juggling car owner and crew chief responsibilities is almost too much. He says he’s considering stepping down as the crew chief for #33-Joe Nemechek before the season ends(Roanoke Times)(4-9-2000)
Skinner and Petree: Andy Petree Racing announced that Cup regular Mike Skinner will take over driving duties of the #15 Albertson’s Chevy in the BGN beginning with California on April 29. Following his debut with the team at California, Skinner will race at both Lowe’s Motor Speedway events, both Dover events Phoenix on November 4. Derrick Gilchrist will drive the #15 Albertson’s Chevy at The Milwaukee Mile on July 2 while Skinner fulfills his Winston Cup duties in Daytona(IMG Motorsports PR) Jack Sprague will no longer drive the car(4-9-2000)

(4-8-2000)

The Winston: been asked this a few times this week, this story from That’s Racin’ should clear it up too: “Jeremy Mayfield, Ricky Rudd and Bobby Hamilton, who each won their last race in the 1998 season, are on the bubble to make the field for The Winston all-star race next month at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. As of this week, all three are in the 22-car field. Should another Winston Cup driver post his first career victory, or a driver who has not already qualified for The Winston post a race win before the May 20 event, all three would be bumped from The Winston field and moved into The Winston Open qualifying race. Should Mayfield, Rudd or Hamilton win before The Winston, that driver would bump the other two from the field.” See the rules, who is in, the Winston Open etc at my The Winton 2000 page(4-8-2000)

#13 Crew Chief: Fred Graves has left Robby Gordon’s #13 team as crew chief. Jerry Baxter has assumed those duties. Baxter has been Graves’ assistant for the first seven races of the season(That’s Racin’) ANDFred Graves had left the team to help Brandon Gaughan’s start up Winston West / Cup team. Replacing Graves will be Jerry Baxter, who was already with Gordon’s operation. Coming in to handle the general manager role is Richard Buck. Buck is from the CART side of the fence and was most recently employed by Cal Wells in the role of manager of Wells’ CART operation. Buck had worked for several weeks with Gordon and finally decided that the Cup garage is a fine place to work(Speedway Scene)(4-8-2000)

#75 News UPDATE 2: The #75 Ford driven by Wally Dallenbach has lost its general manager, but picked up a new consultant. The change for the team came when Jimmy Johnson stepped out of his role as GM and into the role of consultant. This is just the latest change with the team as only a week before crew chief Wayne Orme was relieved off his duties with the team(Speedway Scene) Also hearing rumors or a driver change?(4-2-2000)
UPDATE: from Wally Dallenbach on his official site www.wallydallenbach.net(link fixed): “NO truth to the rumor of my losing my seat”. So put that rumor to bed(4-6-2000)
UPDATE: Despite failing to make the field at Darlington, Bristol and Texas with his new team, Wally Dallenbach and owner Darwin Oordt are far from throwing in the towel. The team is operating under a three-way sponsorship agreement with RotoZip, Red Cell batteries and the Turner TV networks, but Dallenbach said he and Oordt are reasonably close to signing a new contract that will carry them through the next three seasons(Gaston Gazette)(4-8-2000)

Petty Honored: Look for a number of other cars in Sunday’s Goody’s 500 to join the seven teams that have already committed to running a sticker honoring the memory of Lee Petty, who died this week. Michael Waltrip, Jeremy Mayfield, Sterling Marlin, Kenny Irwin, Elliott Sadler, Kyle Petty and John Andretti have already agreed to run the Petty blue decal, which simply says, “Lee Petty 1914-2000” with his car #42 on it(That’s Racin’)(4-8-2000)

Measuring Device? Word is that NASCAR is examining a laser system to fix certain dimensions and contours on the cars. Teams reportedly have learned to “bend” the bodies of the cars for aero and handling reasons, the result being that the front end is as much as 2in out of line with the rear. See full story at SpeedVision(4-8-2000)

(4-7-2000)

Sponsor Exposure: Valvoline topped NASCAR in network TV exposure for the seventh straight year in 1999, with Mark Martin’s #6 Ford accumulating nearly $49 million in value. According to research by The Sponsors Report, which documents advertising exposure on national sports telecasts, total value for all Winston Cup sponsors topped $1.4 billion, up from $1.2 billion in 1998(That’s Racin’/AP)(4-7-2000)

Some Qualifying Notes: #42-Kenny Irwin crashed in practice and had to go to a backup car. #32-Scott Pruett has engine problems in practice and changed an engine before qualifying. Geoffrey Bodine is at Martinsville this week, he got the cast off his wrist and plans to test at Richmond Apr 24-25th and race at California on Apr 30th(4-7-2000)

Bliss full-time: Dr Jerry Punch mentioned during ESPN2’s qualifying coverage that crew chief Barry Dodson of the #27 Viagra Pontiac says that current driver of the car, Mike Bliss, will be in the car for the remainder of the season(4-7-2000)

Sadler to run Martinsville: Elliott Sadler plans to go the full 500 laps this Sunday at Martinsville Speedway in the #21 CITGO Ford, a week after suffering cuts on his left shoulder after a crash at Texas. No plans to have a relief driver(Total Sports)(4-7-2000)

Rookie Win UPDATE: Dale Earnhardt Jr. won in only his 12th Winston Cup start. Ron Bouchard won a Cup race in his 11th start in 1981 at Talladega, Mark Donohue won in his 5th Winston Cup start in 1973 at Riverside, the earliest in the ‘modern era’ of Winston Cup, he would only make one more Cup start. Others: Morgan Shepherd won in his 15th start (Martinsville) in 1981, but wasn’t named Rookie of the Year. Several other drivers won in their first year, but weren’t considered ROTY candidates: Dan Gurney at Riverside in 1963 in his third race and Mario Andretti at Daytona Beach in 1967 in his fifth start(Daily Press)(4-4-2000)
UPDATE: Looks like the ‘record’ for an earliest win is a rookie who is running a full season, not a one time or part time driver. Seems Bouchard is credited with holding the record. See a nice chart on this at That’s Racin’: Rookies running to Victory Lane(4-7-2000)

Talladega Testing on Thursday. #27-Mike Bliss, #3-Dale Earnhardt, #18-Bobby Labonte, #1-Steve Park and #31-Mike Skinner spent Thursday preparing for the April 16 DieHard 500. Also Loy Allen tested the Morgan-McClure Motorsports Chevy(Talladega Site)(4-7-2000)

(4-6-2000)

Sad News: NASCAR Legend Lee Petty passed away this morning. Condolences and thoughts out to the Petty family. AP story at the WRAL site also a story at SpeedVision. A private graveside service for family members only has been scheduled this week. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested donations to the Level Cross United Methodist Church Building Fund, 10142 U.S. Highway Bus. #220 North, Randleman, N.C. 27317.(Williams Company)(4-5-2000)
UPDATE: see a nice tribute at the Official Petty Racing Site. Some stat pages at Total Sports: Lee Petty’s career stats and Winston Cup’s 50-win club. And from a Keystone Marketing PR: Statement by W.C. “Junie” Donlavey RE: Lee Petty – “Lee Petty was one of the finest drivers that ever sat in a race car, and he was one of the true pioneers of the sport. He taught the drivers what it meant to really devote your time and effort to racing because he was very successful at it. He was just a fine fellow and very tough competitor. It was an honor to have known him and to have been a part of the series when he raced in it because it brings back a lot of memories. He was one the first ones to really make racing a career. When he started, he really went at it and made it a full time deal when others were just playing. I always admired him for really putting an effort in it to make the sport what it is today. He was one of the ones that devoted lots and lots of time to making it a true profession.”(4-6-2000)

Made in the USA: A Monroe, N.C., apparel company is fighting foreign competition by appealing to customers where they live – at the track. Encore Textiles has launched a billboard campaign aimed at getting NASCAR fans to think twice about buying foreign-made T-shirts and other apparel from trackside vendors at speedways around the Winston Cup circuit. See full story at the Charlotte Observer: `Made in U.S.A.’ goes trackside(4-6-2000)

Sad News: Dover Downs Founder Passes Away. John W. Rollins Sr., the trucking magnate who became a behind-the-scenes force in American politics, died Tuesday while napping at his office. He was 83. See stories at the Delaware News site: Void is left in ‘Big John’s’ wake and Self-made man earned it the old-fashioned way and the NOL story(4-6-2000)

(4-5-2000)

Good News: Bill France celebrated his 67th birthday Tuesday buoyed by good news about his health. France, diagnosed with cancer in December, has made significant progress with treatments to defeat the life-threatening disease. He stopped short of saying he was completely cured. See full story at Speed Magazine(4-5-2000)

Bliss News/Foyt Driver UPDATE Bliss in Fuller Out: SpeedVision reports that Dick Trickle apparently will drive AJ Foyt’s #14 Conseco Pontiac at Texas. The team is looking at candidates for the ride. Looks like Mike Bliss, who started the year in the Foyt cars, will not return. Meanwhile, talk bubbled that Bliss could end up in the #27 Eel River Racing Viagra Pontiac if rookie Jeff Fuller’s fortunes do not improve. Bliss and team manager Barry Dodson worked well together in CTS and Bliss drove the car late in 1999 and was to be their 2000 driver when he opted for the Foyt ride before Ell River found a sponsor(3-27-2000)

UPDATE: Eel River Racing Team owner Jack Birmingham announced that Mike Bliss will drive the team’s #27 Pontiac at Martinsville(Keystone Marketing) no idea if this is long term or just at Martinsville(4-5-2000)

Martin Paint: Mark Martin will again carry the colors of MaxLife in this Sunday’s Goody’s Body Pain 500 at Martinsville, VA on the #6 Valvoline Ford. MaxLife is a new motor oil from The Valvoline Co. intended for high-mileage vehicles(Valvoline Newsletter)(4-5-2000)

TV Ratings: The DirecTV 500 at Texas ratings on Sunday were a solid 6.0 overnight with a 15 share for the CBS Sports telecast. According to Nielsen Media Research, that rating represented an 11-percent increase over last year’s 5.4 with a 14 share(SpeedVision)(4-5-2000)

Bodine on Montel: #60-Power Team’s Geoffrey Bodine will be in New York City on Wednesday to appear as a guest on an upcoming episode of the Montel Williams Show. The nationally televised talk show is hosted by Montel Williams, the 1996 Emmy winner for “Outstanding Talk Show Host”. Bodine will be on the show to talk about his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series wreck at Daytona. Bodine suffered multiple injuries in the wreck and is currently undergoing physical therapy. He is expected to return to the driver’s seat of the Power Team Chevrolet within the next month. One of the major topics of discussion during the show will be the safety of the cars and trucks used in NASCAR competition. A show truck will be on hand at the taping to allow Bodine to explain in detail the safety features of a race vehicle. The episode of the show that Bodine will appear in has not been assigned an airdate as of yet. However, it is expected to be aired within the next two to three weeks. Please consult your local listings for more details(PowerTeam Page)(4-5-2000)

Burton Honored: Ward Burton, whose Wildlife Foundation supports and encourages the preservation of the natural habitat on both private and state-owned land throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia, is the first quarter nominee for the NASCAR True Value Man of the Year Award. True Value, the Official Hardware Store of NASCAR, is once again sponsoring the NASCAR True Value Man of the Year. The award is designed to honor a driver not only for their accomplishments on the track but for their community service contributions and charitable efforts(Ward Burton Site)(4-5-2000)

(4-4-2000)

2nd Morgan McClure car: Loy Allen is testing for the Morgan McClure team(#4 Kodak Chevy) at Greenville-Pickens(SC) with regular driver Bobby Hamilton in preparation for the upcoming Martinsville and Talladega races. The way things look right now, they might run a second car at Talladega with Loy Allen as the driver(Morgan McClure PR)(4-4-2000)

Musgrave Info correction: The Ted Musgrave site is reporting that they- “are hoping for an announcement within the next two weeks” on Musgraves plans for the future. Also of note, Musgrave has not worked with the #32 PPI Racing team and driver Scott Pruett since he spotted for them at Daytona(4-4-2000)

Shav Honored: Shav Glick, motorsports writer for the Los Angeles Times, was honored at the Times’ annual anniversary celebration, see full story at NOL(4-4-2000)

Did ya Know? Three drivers collected their first Winston Cup starts at Martinsville: Dale Jarrett (4/29/84 – started 24th and finished 14th), Mike Skinner (4/27/86 – started 27th and finished 22nd) and Stacy Compton (4/21/86 – started ninth and finished 33rd). And….Lee Petty holds the record for the driver that started the farthest back at Martinsville to win a race. He started 24th in the 1959 Virginia 500(Speed Magazine)(4-4-2000)

Get Well: Walter Ballard, who was the 1971 NASCAR Grand National (Now Winston Cup) Rookie of the Year was seriously injured in a motorcycle accident near his home in Charlotte on March 24, 2000. He is still in intensive care at Carolina’s Medical Center in Charlotte. He was the owner of one of the first “CUP” cars that Dale Earnhardt drove(4-4-2000)

(4-3-2000)

Tire Rules UPDATE: Starting next week at Martinsville teams will be penalized for leaving tires from the middle of the pitbox out during a pitstop. The first penalty will be a stop and go and if it happens again there will be harsher penalties(NASCAR2Day on ESPN2)(4-2-2000)
UPDATE: See two stories that cover this as well: Teams must remove right-side tires from pits from That’s Racin’ and Notes: NASCAR orders tire corral from Total Sports and also a story at ESPN last week by Ray Dunlap: I’m ‘tired’ of all the loose rubber in the pits(4-3-2000)

#60 Driver at Martinsville? UPDATE 3: hearing that CTS driver Jimmy Hensley will drive the #60 Power Team Chevy at Martinsville next week(3-31-2000)
UPDATE: #60 owner Joe Bessey said a decision will be made Monday on who will drive the car at Martinsville. Bessey says he’s considering a few drivers, including Jimmy Hensley and Rich Bickle and he is considering driving the car himself(Roanoke Times)(4-2-2000)
UPDATE 2: Being told that the driver won’t be Jimmy Hensley
UPDATE 3: Rich Bickle will drive the #60 at Martinsville(Winston Cup Today Radio – real audio)(4-3-2000)

NASCAR Interns: Companies have joined NASCAR in an eight-week Diversity Summer Internship Program for 21 college students. The multi-ethnic coed program is for students in good standing who have completed at least their junior year studies. Interns will be paid by the 19 participating companies. Each company has designed its own program that will involve immersing the intern in some aspect of the motorsport industry. See the full story at SpeedVision: NASCAR Summer Internships(4-3-2000)

Rusty’s 500th: Rusty Wallace, driver of the #2 Miller Lite Taurus, will be making the 500th start of his Winston Cup career this weekend in the Goody’s Body Pain 500 at Martinsville Speedway(Ford PR)(4-3-2000)

France Better UPDATE: According to Mike Helton, chief operation officer of NASCAR, Bill France has rounded the corner in regards to his recent cancer diagnosis. France, age 67, had been undergoing treatments for some time for an undisclosed form of cancer but learned he was “clear” this past Monday(Speedway Scene)(4-1-2000)
UPDATE: See another story on France’s condition at Roanoke Times – Racing Notes(4-3-2000)

Little E gets his first CUP win UPDATE: In his 12th start, rookie Dale Earnhardt Jr won his first Winston Cup race at Texas in the DirecTV 500, the same place he won his first BGN race. It’s the first time a father and son have won a CUP race in the same season since 1988 when Bobby and Davey Allison won. Another note mentioned by the CBS crew during the race, Both Dale Sr and Jr won their first CUP race on April Fools weekend, Dale Sr in 1979. Also it’s the first time a father and son have won their first CUP race in their rookie season. It’s the first win for Dale Earnhardt Inc(DEI), plus Dale Jr had the flu. Results of the DirecTV 500 at NOL(4-2-2000)
UPDATE: Earnhardt Jr won in his 12th start, besting his Dad who won in the 16th start in 1979, Davey Allison who won in his 14th start in 1987 and Tony Stewart last year who won in his 25th start. Also the win makes Earnhardt Jr only the 2nd rookie to win his way into The Winston, Davey Allison also did it in 1987. Tony Stewart had to win the Winston Open to get into the field last year. Also it is Budweisers first win since Bill Elliott won in 1994 while driving Junior Johnson’s #11 Bud Ford(4-3-2000)

Texas Penalties: #17-Matt Kenseth was penalized a lap for pitting outside his pit stall Sunday. #20-Tony Stewart was penalized after his team let a tire get away during a stop. #3-Dale Earnhardt, #93-Dave Blaney, #97-Chad Little and #14 Rick Mast each were penalized for pit-road speed violations(Roanoke Times)(4-3-2000)

Dyno Testing: NASCAR officials tested the cars of #18-Bobby Labonte, #8-Dale Earnhardt Jr. and #99-Jeff Burton on the chassis dyno following the DirecTV 500(Times-Dispatch)(4-3-2000)

Little/Lepage Situation: since this was somewhat confusing to folks, thought I’d post this info and link, well explained by David Poole: At one point during Sunday’s race at Texas it appeared that #16-Kevin Lepage and #97-Chad Little were the only two cars on the lead lap. That actually was true, but the sometimes confusing rule that stacks up cars on the tail end of the lead lap then came into play. Here’s what happened, see this story: Lepage, Little nearly had field a lap down(That’s Racin’)(4-3-2000)

(4-2-2000)

TV and Texas: from my understanding the BGN race will not be shown on TNN or CBS. Also I have found nothing to indicate that the DirecTV 500 Cup race will be re-aired(4-2-2000)
The Winston and the Winners Circle: With Dale Earnhardt Jr’s win at Texas, he is now in The Winston All Star Race at Charlotte on May 20th. The win also puts the #8 DEI team in final wild card spot in the 2000 Winners Circle Program(4-2-2000)
Sadler OK: As reported on CBS during the race, #21-Elliott Sadler, who wrecked early in the race, was ok after hurting his shoulder. The left shoulder is bruised and x-rays were negative. Kyle Petty who failed to qualify for the race, subbed in the car for a while, and finished 39th. Petty drove for the Wood Brothers back in the mid 1980’s(4-2-2000)
Gibbs to Ford? UPDATE no: Pontiac driver Tony Stewart may be in a Ford or Chevrolet by the time the Winston Cup tour hits California in three weeks, crew chief Greg Zipadelli said yesterday, unless NASCAR gives Joe Gibbs’ two teams some aerodynamic relief. See the full story by Mike Mulhern at PitNow(3-27-2000)
UPDATE: TNN’s Raceday reports that the team has purchased a few Ford bodies in case NASCAR goes to common templates based on Ford as is rumored, but has NO intention of running Fords this year(4-2-2000)
Lap Leaders: #32-Scott Pruett led his first Winston Cup laps at Texas. #5-Terry Labonte, #26-Jimmy Spencer, #33-Joe Nemechek and #42-Kenny Irwin all led their first laps in 2000. #4 drivers now have led a lap in 2000. To see who has led laps and who leads in the bonus points, see my Bonus Points Leaders Page(4-2-2000)
Gordon Streak continues: Jeff Gordon has gone 12 races without a Top-Five finish. This is the longest that Gordon has gone without a Top-Five in his 230-race NASCAR Winston Cup Series career(4-2-2000)
Adam does ok: #45-Adam Petty, making his CUP debut, was running in the mid 20’s when he lost an engine and ended up finishing 40th(4-2-20000
Andretti milestone: #43-John Andretti made his 200th Winston Cup start at Texas in the DirecTV 500(4-2-2000)
BGN TV: For the third year in a row, rain delays at Texas Motor Speedway forced CBS into a backup plan for its coverage of the Busch race Saturday. The network showed a condensed version of this year’s February Busch race from Daytona won by Matt Kenseth. Because CBS was under contract to carry the NCAA Final Four from Indianapolis, it was forced to switch from Texas Motor Speedway at 4pm. Plans to carry the race on CBS-owned cable network TNN were also scrapped when the rain delay lasted longer than four hours. “We’re disappointed,” said CBS technical manager Steve Stum. “You don’t like to set all this up for nothing. Anytime you do an outdoor sport, though, you have to have a plan for rain.”(Dallas Morning News) – folks who wish to complain, don’t email me, go to my TV/Media page and contact CBS and or TNN via email, phone, fax or regular mail(sorry postal workers, no insult intended calling it snail mail)(4-2-2000)
Stats: Only five times in NASCAR’s modern era(1972-present) has the eventual champion not won by the sixth race of the season. Those champions were Benny Parsons in 1973, Terry Labonte in 1984 and 1996, Darrell Waltrip in 1985 and Dale Jarrett in 1999. Winners after the first six 2000 races were Dale Jarrett, Bobby Labonte, Jeff Burton, Dale Earnhardt, Ward Burton and Rusty Wallace(4-2-2000)
Ingle Returns to the CTS. Former Winston Cup crew chief, Bill Ingle, has been named to the crew chief job with the #46 truck and driver Rob Morgan. Ingle replaces Tim Murphy who had been the crew chief since the beginning of the 1999 season. Ingle has worked with many Cup teams in the past including: Junior Johnson, Alan Kulwicki, Hendrick Motorsports, Rixky Rudd(twice) and Diamond Ridge Motorsports(NASCAR Online)(4-2-2000)
Little to the BGN UPDATE 2: Hermie Sadler has been released from his #30 Innovative Motorsports BGN ride, Chad Little will run the #30 Little Trees Chevy at Texas and probably for the rest of the 2000 BGN season when there are no conflicts with the CUP schedule and the team will run an un-named rookie the remaining races
UPDATE: also see the story on NOL, along with another BGN driver getting released, Shame Hall from the #00 Alumni Motorsports car. The team will skip Texas and return at Nashville with an un-named driver(NOL: Sadler/Hall Lose Rides)(3-28-2000)
UPDATE 2: RJR Enterprises, Inc., an established race team owner of 5 years, announced a five race deal with Winston Cup driver Chad Little for the 2000 season. Races will include both Winston West and Featherlite Southwest Tour dates throughout the season. The #9 car of RJR Enterprises will make its debut in the Winston West Series on Friday, April 21, 2000 at Las Vegas with CUP driver Chad Little behind the wheel. The remainder of the dates will be on the Featherlite Southwest Tour, and include Sears Point on June 24, the Los Angeles Street Race on July 16, and the season ender at Phoenix on November 3. Little will also be driving in the Copper Classic at Phoenix in 2001(RacingWest)(4-2-2000)

(4-1-2000)

Petty Ill UPDATE: Richard Petty is not at the track this weekend as his father Lee has taken a turn for the worse. Lee Petty had an operation for a stomach aneurism back in early February(PRN Qualifying Coverage). Get well Lee(3-31-2000)
UPDATE: The elder Petty, 86, had surgery on a stomach aneurysm on Feb. 9 and has not fully recovered. Richard Petty, Lee’s son and Adam’s grandfather, has stayed back home in North Carolina this weekend while Adam and Kyle are in Texas trying to make Sunday’s field(That’s Racin’)(4-1-2000)

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