Baker looking for sponsor: #28-Brad Baker has missed the first two BGN races as he and his father/team owner Gary search for a sponsor. ”It disappointing, but the economy has affected a lot of teams,” Brad Baker said. ”We haven’t given up. We will run the spring Busch races at Bristol and Nashville even if we don’t get a sponsor. ‘Meanwhile, we’ll keeping looking. We have the cars ready and everything in place to start racing, we just need a sponsor to help with the expenses.”(Tennessean)(2-28-2002)
#49 driver at Vegas: Craig Raudman, the 2001 Featherlite Southwest Series, NASCAR Touring champion, and Yerf-dog, his championship sponsor, announce that they will join Robinson Racing for this Saturday’s BGN race at Las Vegas. Raudman will pilot Robinson Racing’s #49 Ford Taurus in Saturday’s race, marking his first entry in one of NASCAR’s national divisions. Yerf-dog will provide primary sponsorship for the event, sharing space on the car with Robinson Racing associate sponsors Rent-A-Wreck and Blair.com. In addition to the Yerf-dog management who will attend Saturday’s race, Raudman will be working with Robinson Racing crew chief Ron Drake, an old friend from Redding, Calif. where he grew up. Yerf-dog Fun Karts are available at Sam’s Club warehouses throughout the US and at http://www.samsclub.com.(Evans-MMPR)(2-28-2002)
Lepage still looking for sponsor, will run at Vegas: #71-Kevin Lepage is anxious to return to Las Vegas, NV. “This is one of my favorite places on and off the track”, says Lepage. After an 8th place finish in the Daytona 300, Lepage and the #71 Matrix Motorsports team are excited to return to the track. “We’re heading into Las Vegas with good momentum, this is the same Ford Taurus that we sat on the Bud Pole with at the Kansas City Speedway and led 97 laps of the 200 lap event. Matrix Motorsports only ran a limited schedule in 2001, winning two Bud Pole’s and having several strong runs. Lepage is looking to secure sponsorship for a full time or a limited schedule in the BGN.(PR)(2-27-2002)
Ciccarelli to attempt Vegas and others: Glidden Motorsports will run Dion Ciccarelli in six BGN races this year, starting at Las Vegas, other races include both trips to Richmond and Dover Downs, and the season finale at Homestead. Ciccarelli comes with several years of late model experience and in 2000 and 2001 ran in the ARCA Series. He also entered 4 BGN in 2001 with Glidden Motorsports. “We are committed to going to the announced 6 races with or without a primary sponsor,” Glidden said. “If we could find a primary sponsor, this team could be a whole lot more competitive.”(NASCAR.com), the car will be a Ford and run the #84.(2-25-2002)
#23 close to a sponsor UPDATE 2 why no Siemens at the Rock? UPDATE 3, the 17 race sched: #23 BGN owner, Bill Davis is “99 percent” sure that Siemens will replace Jani-King as the primary sponsor of his Busch Series entry for Scott Wimmer.(Winston Cup Scene – need sub to read)(12-6-2001) UPDATE: Siemens announced it is adding the #23 BGN car to its existing Winston Cup sponsorship of Bill Davis Racing. Citing a desire to continue its successful program in Winston Cup and to expand its overall nationwide branding campaign, Siemens will continue as an associate sponsor with Bill Davis Racing’s #23 Hills Brothers Dodge, as well as take on the role of primary sponsor for 17 races with up-and-coming Busch Series star Scott Wimmer.(Bill Davis Racing)(1-18-2002) UPDATE 2: getting asked why no Siemens at the Rock on the #23? as it says here above – 17 races, doesn’t say which races, the team plans to run all the BGN events and hopes to get a sponsor for the rest of the races.(2-24-2002) UPDATE 3: Siemens will sponsor the #23 Pontiac at:
Daytona, Las Vegas, Texas, California, New Hampshire, Lowes Motor Speedway, Dover, Kentucky, Milwaukee, Daytona, Chicago, Michigan(Aug), Bristol(Aug), Kansas, Atlanta(Oct), Phoenix and Homestead(2-25-2002)
Gibbs to make BGN debut: Coy Gibbs who drives the #20 MBNA Chevy in the CTS plans to make his BGN debut at Talladega in April and hopes to run five BGN races in 2002, others include New Hampshire, Kentucky, Bristol (Aug) and Kansas. Gibbs will pilot the # 20 Pontiac and is looking for a primary sponsor for the five races. The #20 Pontiac is part of Coy’s father Joe Gibbs’ racing stable. The operation includes Coy in CTS, #18-Mike McLaughlin in the BGN, plus #18-Bobby Labonte and #20-Tony Stewart in Winston Cup. Craig Lund, who worked with the #20 BGN team (when it was a full ride with Jeff Purvis) last season, is now helping Coy with the transition to the Busch Series. Doug Hewitt, who serves as crew chief for Coy in the CTS, will fill that position in the BGN. Coy said his older brother J.D., who oversees the day-to-day operations at Joe Gibbs Racing, plans to run in the CTS race at Darlington.(NASCAR.com)(2-25-2002)
Keller wins at the Rock: #57-Jason Keller won the BGN race at the Rock with #60-Greg Biffle 2nd and #7-Randy LaJoie third. Pole sitter #21-Jeff Green finished 11th. Keller also assumes the BGN points lead at 340, 2nd is #10-Scott Riggs at 310, is also Keller’s teammate. See ThatsRacin.com for the story: Keller takes control, wins BGN race and for 1-866-RBCTerm.com 200 Results
Jeff Green wins pole at Rockingham: #21-Jeff Green won the pole at Rockingham with a speed of 153.587mph. #47-Shane Hmiel was 2nd at 153.374 (but wrecked on his second qualifying lap and will start from the rear of the field in a backup car) and #60-Greg Biffle at 152.971. Missing the race of the 45 drivers who made an attempt were #84-Cam Strader and #89-Lance Hooper. See ThatsRacin.com for Saturday’s Grand National race lineup and for a column: Jeff Green wins BGN pole.(2-22-2002)
Kenseth to run two more races: #17-Matt Kenseth will add at least two more races to his BGN schedule thanks to his third-place run in the series opener last weekend at Daytona. Kenseth’s team, owned by his Winston Cup crew chief, Robbie Reiser, was planning to run just Daytona and Texas. After a strong finish last weekend, the team picked up additional sponsorship to run this weekend at Rockingham and next weekend at Las Vegas.(ThatsRacin.com)(2-22-2002)
Driver debut: Cam Strader will drive the #84 Chevrolet for Brian Weber & Associates Racing this weekend at the BGN race in Rockingham. Strader won the 2001 NASCAR Dash series race at Daytona and finished fourth in the race this year. “This is a natural fit,” Weber said. “This will help Cam get additional seat time before his Automobile Racing Club of America [ARCA] race in Atlanta.”(ThatsRacin.com)(2-21-2002)
Mike’s Hard Lemonade to sponsor? UPDATE 2: hearing that Mike’s Hard Lemonade will be an associated sponsor on the IMI #47 and #48 cars, and be a full sponsor on Christian Fittipaldi’s #30 for 6 races in 2002(2-6-2002) UPDATE: Mike’s Hard Lemonade will be an associated sponsor on the IMI #47 and #48 cars, and be a full sponsor on Christian Fittipaldi’s #30 for 6 races in 2002.(Kenny Wallace Racing Site)(2-15-2002) UPDATE 2: Innovative Motorsports, Inc.(IMI) is proud to announce that mike’s hard lemonade will be the primary sponsor on the #30 Chevrolet Monte Carlo driven by Christian Fittipaldi in the NASCAR Busch Series in 2002. Fittipaldi will compete in six of seven Busch Series events slated for IMI’s #30 car, starting with the spring event at Bristol, TN. Fittipaldi’s first Busch Series start came last November at Homestead, FL. Mike’s hard lemonade served as the primary sponsor for that one-time effort. Mike’s hard lemonade will be an associate sponsor on IMI’s other two Busch Series entries – the #47 Thomas Pacconi Classics Chevrolet driven by Shane Hmiel, and the #48 STACKER 2 (The World’s Strongest Fat Burner) Chevrolet driven by Kenny Wallace. Both cars will compete full-time in 2002. Mike’s hard lemonade is the best selling alcoholic lemonade in the US. More information on mike’s hard lemonade can be found at www.mikeshardlemonade.com. Background information on Christian Fittipaldi may be found at www.fittipaldionline.com.(Innovative Motorsports PR)(2-20-2002)
Panasonic to sponsor Smith: Panasonic announced that it has become the primary sponsor of the Smith Brothers Motorsports racing team in the BGN. As part of the sponsorship deal, Panasonic will provide a number of its product lines to the #67 car, including Double Feature DVD/VHS decks, Triple Play TV/DVD/VHS units and digital camcorders. “We’re really thrilled about the prospect of running with Panasonic as our sponsor”, said CW Smith, driver of the #67 Pontiac. “With Panasonic, we get to move our program ahead again and continue to gain ground on our goal of competing in the Busch Series on a full-time basis. Our current sponsorship deal with them allows us an opportunity to grow and add races while giving Panasonic a chance to learn all about what makes stock car racing so popular in this country. They are a great group of people and we’re proud to represent them.” The Smith Brothers Motorsports racing team will benefit from the wide variety of electronic gear made by Panasonic. The Panasonic team plans to start their campaign with a select number of races, including last weekend’s Daytona event, the Talladega race in April, and the second Daytona race in July. Other race dates will be officially announced in the weeks to come.(Panasonic PR)(2-20-2002)
#6 team gets Daytona sponsor UPDATE: Volaris Online, the Southeast’s largest independent Internet Service Provider (ISP), has inked a deal to sponsor NASCAR driver David Green and the #6 Dodge prepared by Tommy Baldwin Racing for the BGN event to be held in Daytona. The sponsorship will be the first of its kind for Volaris Online, and supports the company’s efforts to unite more than 50 local ISPs under one brand throughout the Southeastern United States. Volaris Online is the largest Independent Internet service provider focused on the Southeastern United States, with approximately 250,000 subscribers as of December 31, 2001. Volaris Online serves residential and business customers in Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina and Tennessee with services including dial-up Internet access, high-speed dedicated business connectivity, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), Web hosting and server co-location.(Volaris PR)(2-8-2002) UPDATE: Volaris.com was an one race deal, with a possible deal awaiting. Check out the Volaris.com site and let them know they are appreciated.(2-20-2000)
Special Marine’s Scheme: Team Rensi Motorsports will honor the bravery and spirit of the United States Marines who fought in the World War II battle of Iwo Jima, by giving the #25 Team Marines Ford Taurus a new look for the 1-866-RBCTERM.com 200 at North Carolina Speedway on February 23, 2002. It was on Monday, February 19, 1945, that US Marines hit the sands of Iwo Jima. Historians described the US forces’ attack against the Japanese defense as “throwing human flesh against reinforced concrete.” In the end, Iwo Jima was won he by fighting spirit of the Marines. The “Freedom Car” is a patriotic tribute to the spirit of America and to the heroism and commitment of the United States Marines who fought in the Battle of Iwo Jima. Making its first of two appearances during the 2002 NASCAR Busch Series season, the Freedom Car will feature several decals that are symbols of the true spirit of this country, including the American Eagle, the United States Capitol building, the Declaration of Independence, the Liberty Bell, the Statue of Liberty, as well as a prominent display of the Eagle, Globe and Anchor emblem of the United States Marine Corps. Bobby Hamilton Jr., driver of the #25 Team Marines Ford Taurus feels especially honored to be able to pay tribute to the US Marine Corps in such a manner. A die-cast replica of the Freedom Car is being produced by Mattell in 1/64th and 1/24th scale sizes. Production is expected to be completed by early summer.(Team Rensi PR)(2-18-2002)
Earnhardt Jr wins at Daytona: #3-Dale Earnhardt Jr. cruised to victory with #99-Michael Waltrip stuck to his rear bumper, just .162 seconds behind. It is Earnhardt’s first series victory at the historic speedway that claimed the life of his father in a last lap wreck in last season’s Daytona 500 and the first of two races he’s running this season in the #3 – the other is Charlotte in May. See ThatsRacin.com for a Column and Results.(2-17-2002)
Hooper Gets Ride: Lance Hooper will drive the Big Fan Racing Car #89 at Rockingham. Hooper, drove the Big Fan Racing #89 Pontiac last year in Bristol. Hooper will also be behind the wheel at Las Vegas. Team President Mark Watkins stated, “We felt very comfortable working with Lance last year and have a good relationship with him. He is very dedicated to putting out a great effort in the shop and on the track. I guess you would have to work around him to understand. We think Lance will give us more than 100% and hope to give you a good show”.(BigFanRacing.com)(2-17-2002)
Sacks to drive the #96? hearing the former Cup driver, Greg Sacks is looking into driving the #96 BGN car at Rockingham(2-17-2002)
Elton Sawyer News: Elton Sawyer visited the Winston Cup and Busch Grand National garages this week. Sawyer is looking for a ride for this season. Hi team folded after finishing fifth in points last year, and Sawyer was left without a job. “I’m just looking for money,” he said. “There are some good situations where I could go, I’m just trying to get the money to do it so we can be successful at it.”(Richmond Times Dispatch)(2-16-2002)
#12 Sponsor news: FitzBradshaw Racing, co-owned by Armando Fitz and Terry Bradshaw, announced today that 10-10-220, the long distance phone service, is its newest Busch Series primary sponsor. 10-10-220 will be the primary sponsor for four races with driver Kerry Earnhardt on the #12 Chevy: Rockingham, NC, on February 23; Bristol, TN, on March 23; Talladega, AL, on April 20; and Richmond, VA, on May 3. 10-10-220 is also an associate sponsor for the other 2002 FitzBradshaw Busch Series races. Earnhardt, the older son of seven-time Winston Cup Champion Dale Earnhardt, will drive the #12 Chevrolet Monte Carlo in the NASCAR Busch Series for the FitzBradshaw Racing team in 2002. Bradshaw, the Emmy-winning broadcaster and Pro Football Hall of Famer, has been prominently featured in the humorous series of 10-10-220 television commercials that have aired nationally. ALSO: FitzBradshaw Racing’s #12 Chevy, to be driven by Kerry Earnhardt, will feature the decals of five new associate sponsors during the 2002 BGN season. Team co-owners Armando Fitz and Terry Bradshaw made the announcement today at Daytona. Mitel Networks, Llumar Window Film, Little Trees Air Fresheners and Diamond Cut Jeans are full-season associate sponsors. Carolina Beverage Corporation is an associate sponsor for 11 races in its southeastern United States market area.(FitzBradshaw Racing PR)(2-15-2002)
Nemechek on the pole at Daytona: #87-Joe Nemechek won the pole for the Daytona BGN race with a speed of 186.254mph, #6-David Green will start 2nd(185.762) with #7-Randy LaJoie starting third(185.551). Missing the race are: #32-Dan Pardus,#4-Mike Wallace, #67-C W Smith, #44-Mike Harmon, and #22-David Boggs. See NASCAR.com for the Starting Lineup, or the BGN Racing Site.(2-14-2002)
BGN Qualifying Postponed: BGN qualifying for Daytona has been postponed due to rain and will be run on Thursday, Feb 14th at 8:30am/et. Five drivers made qualifying laps with #10-Scott Riggs being the fastest at 183.460mph, followed by #60-Greg Biffle’s 183.303. #12-Kerry Earnhardt, #95-Steadman Marlin and #71-Kevin Lepage rounded out the provisional top five. Forty-eight BGN cars are trying to make the 43-car starting lineup. The qualifying laps ran Wednesday will stand.(2-13-2002)
Fuller fastest Tuesday: Top five in Tuesday afternoon practice were #88-Jeff Fuller, #59-Stacy Compton, #33-Tony Raines, #37-Jeff Purvis, and #1-Jimmy Spencer. See the BGN Racing site for EAS / GNC Live Well 300 Tuesday Afternoon Practice(2-12-2002)
Marlin to race 17 races in the #95 UPDATE 2: Steadman Marlin, 21-year-old son of Winston Cup driver Sterling Marlin, plans to run 17 BGN races this season and also make a bid for the Late Model championship at Nashville Speedway. Steadman will be driving for Nashville-based Sadler Racing. Several drivers got their break driving for Sadler Racing, including Sterling Marlin.(Tennessean)(12-6-2001) UPDATE: hearing the sponsor for Marlin will be Keystone Beer, the car is blue. Keystone is a division of Coors (Sterling Marlin’s Cup sponsor) and hearing the car will be a Dodge(2-8-2002) UPDATE 2: Sadler Racing of Nashville, TN annonces sponsorship of their Ford Taurus driven by Steadman Marlin as Keystone Light Beer comes aboard as the sponsor for 15 Busch series races beginning at Daytona, and also the two ARCA ReMax series events at Nashville Superspeedway.(2-11-2002)
#57 gets an Assoc: Bear Creek Country Kitchens has signed on as the associate sponsor of the #57 Ford Taurus with driver Jason Keller, for the 2002 BGN season. Taking their first jump into the BGN, the #57 Ford Taurus will feature the Bear Creek logo on-board. Bear Creek Country Kitchens was founded in 1991 when word-of-mouth made the founder’s homemade English Wassail recipe a local favorite. What began as a weekend enterprise, blossomed into a full-time business as Bear Creek added several dry mix soups that tasted “made from scratch” to their growing list of products. Today, more than 40 tried-and-true mixes from soups and breads to cakes and dip make up the Bear Creek product line. Bear Creek produces a batch of soup at the rate of five tons an hour. Producing soups with homemade taste in every single serving while manufacturing in large quantities, allows Bear Creek to meet the needs of any size company.(Global Performance PR)(2-11-2002)
Reggie Jackson buys into the #92: Herzog Motorsports and baseball Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson, announced a newly formed joint ownership agreement of the #92 BGN race team. With the new partnership, the team’s name will change to Herzog Jackson Motorsports. Brothers Randy and Stan Herzog, and their father Bill Herzog, formed Herzog Motorsports in 1986 competing initially in off-road racing events. .In 1998, the Herzog Motorsports organization moved to asphalt racing, putting rookie driver Jimmie Johnson in the seat. .The team made the jump to the Busch Series in 2000, and for two years straight finished in the top-10 in owner point standings. .On July 14, 2001 Herzog Motorsports added a Busch Series victory to its list of achievements when Johnson was first to the checkered flag in the inaugural Hills Bros. Coffee 300 Presented by Sam’s Club at Chicagoland Speedway. The 2002 season marks the first year of the Herzog Jackson Motorsports relationship with driver Andy Houston and the second year in which the #92 will sport the red and white colors of Excedrin. .Houston, who spent three successful years in the CTS before moving to the Winton Cup Series in 2001, looks forward to the association with Jackson. To learn more about Herzog Jackson Motorsports, Reggie Jackson, Andy Houston and Excedrin Racing, please visit www.herzogmotorsports.com, www.reggiejackson.com, www.andyhouston.com and www.excedrinracing.com.(Herzog Jackson Motorsports PR)(2-9-2002)
New BGN Team: Pit Pass Publications operating as www.pitpassmagazine.com will be an Associate Sponsor on the White Motorsports #22 NASCAR Busch Series car, starting at Daytona on February 14, 2002. White Motorsports plans to run the full 2002 BGN schedule in the #22 Pontiac Grand Prix with ARCA driver Drew White.(Pit Pass Publications PR)(2-8-2002)
#17 Sponsor? UPDATE: A sponsor, not sure who yet, will sponsor the #17 BGN team and driver Matt Kenseth for Daytona and Texas.(Matt Kenseth site)(2-7-2002) UPDATE: The sponsor for Daytona and Texas will be Jani-King. White car with black hood with black lettering..(Matt Kenseth site)(2-8-2002)
Vickers Website: Brian Vickers, who competes in the BGN, launched his personal Web site, brianvickers.com on Thursday, Feb. 7, 2002. The state-of-the-art, multi-media site will highlight Vickers’ career and his team-BLV Motorsports. Vickers will compete in a minimum of 24 NASCAR Busch Series events in his rookie year. His first start of the season in the #40 Team EMP/U.S. Army National Automotive Center Dodge comes Feb. 23 at North Carolina Speedway.(PR)(2-8-2002)
#16 News: The #16 Day Enterprise BGN team plans to compete in at least 20 races for 2002. Chad Chaffin will be the driver of the #16 Pontiac. 31-W Insulation will be the primary sponsor. The team has five secondary sponsors as of January 2002 for every race they attend. 1st – FMI Fireplaces has signed a deal to be the primary sponsor for the Nashville race on June 8th plus being a secondary [assoc] sponsor; 2nd – AMP (Atlanta Metal Products) has signed a deal for the hood of the car at Atlanta October 26th plus being a secondary sponsor; 3rd – Applegate Insulation (as a secondary sponsor), and 4th – Zurich Insurance and Van Meter Insurance (as a secondary sponsor), and 5th – Alpha Signs of Nashville (as a secondary sponsor).(Day Enterprise Racing PR)(2-5-2002)
Lepage to run at Daytona: Matrix Motorsports [#71] and driver Kevin Lepage plan to enter the Feb. 16, 2002 Daytona 300, Daytona Beach, FL. Matrix Motorsports is still in search of sponsorship for the 2002 season. “We’ve been working all winter on trying to place a sponsor with the team either for a limited or full Busch Grand National schedule”. We’ve had companies interested but feel they still need to wait to see how the economy turns out. We only ran a limited schedule in 2001 with great on track performance so we’re going to Daytona to “Catch Some Eyes”. It’s easy to get forgotten in this sport so I realized that Daytona is where we need to be. We just started preparing our speedway car, the 1st of January and just got finished testing last week at Talladega Super Speedway. Matrix Motorsports had a lot of accomplishments in 2001 and could accomplish more in 2002 with the right funding. I said that I didn’t want to pay for the racing program out of my own pocket but I’m a true racer. I’m willing to do whatever it takes to make this teamwork. We have five Ford Taurus race ready at the shop so if we get lucky at Daytona securing a sponsor we’re prepared for the remaining races. All the cars need is paint and decals. Matrix Motorsports competed in just 16 races in 2001 and received two Bud Pole awards Watkins Glen, NY and Kansas City, KS. The team also, had ten top fifteen finishes.(Matrix Motorsports PR)(2-4-2002)
New Assoc for Innovative: Tiffin Motorhomes has announced that it will be an associate sponsor on the #48 Innovative Motorsports BGN entry driven by Kenny Wallace. The one-year deal could be renewed in the future. “The deal started with me looking for a new motor home and grew from there,” Wallace said. “It’s a privilege to be associated with a company like Tiffan Motorhomes.” The #48 Chevy will have primary sponsorship from dietary supplement Stacker 2 in 2002, while last season’s sponsor, Gould’s Pumps, will be back as an associate sponsor. Wallace, 38, will drive the full BGN schedule again this season after winning two races on the circuit in 2001 and finishing 10th in the overall standings. Tiffin Motorhomes will also be an associate sponsor Wallace’s IM teammates – Shane Hmiel, son of Dale Earnhardt Inc., general manager Steve Hmiel; and open-wheel star Christian Fittapaldi, who will compete in six races for owner George deBidart.(Times Daily)(2-2-2002)
Sad News: former BGN team owner, Larry Lockamy, passed away on Jan 31st at the age of 54. Lockamy founded LAR Motor Sports, and owned and managed a professional Busch Series racing team. Drivers such as Jeff Purvis and Casey Atwood drove many races in the LAR #28 Monte Carlo Chevrolet. Racing was one of Larry’s true passions and lifetime dreams.(Tennessean)(2-1-2002)
