July 2001 CTS Archive

• 2nd CTS race at Daytona? Teams from the CTS were scheduled to test at Talladega Superspeedway the week of July 23, utilizing the 390 cubic inch carburetor and special aerodynamic packages in an attempt to avoid using restrictor plates in 2002. Rumor has it the trucks will run at Daytona in July as well as February next year, meaning all three of NASCAR’s top series could be at Daytona for the July Fourth weekend. A race at Talladega is also a strong possibility(Winston Cup Scene – need sub to read online)(7-26-2001)
• Next #10 Rumor UPDATE 3 Official it’s Riggs: hearing CTS points leader Scott Riggs is in the hunt to take Jeff Greens place as the driver of the #10 ppc Racing Ford in 2002(7-13-2001)
  UPDATE #10 Announcement: Nestlé USA and ppc Racing will be announcing the new driver for the No. 10 Nestlé Nesquik Ford Taurus for the 2002 BGN season on Tuesday, July 24, 2001 at their shop in Mooresville, NC(7-16-2001)
  UPDATE 2: “He’s already signed with the Busch Series,” his father Russell said. “They’re going to announce it Tuesday.” Riggs recently signed with PPC Racing to take over for defending series champion Jeff Green, who is moving on to Winston Cup. A formal announcement will be made at a Tuesday press conference. “I think I could probably start knocking on doors and go Winston Cup racing, but not with competitive teams,” said Riggs, 30. “We’ve talked about driving the 7 car, but I’m not ready. My move needs to be to Busch racing first.”(Concord Monitor) AND NASCAR Truck series points leader Scott Riggs will be the new driver of the No. 10 Fords for ppc Racing in the Grand National series next season, ThatsRacin.com has learned(That’s Racin’)(7-20-2001)
  UPDATE 3: Scott Riggs, current points leader in the CTS, has signed on as the new driver for ppc Racing and the #10 Nestlé Nesquik Ford Taurus for the 2002-2003 NASCAR BGN seasons.. The driver’s seat was vacated when Jeff Green announced earlier this month he was moving to the Winston Cup Series to drive full-time for Richard Childress Racing starting in 2002. Crew Chief, Harold Holly, will remain at the helm of the Nesquik Racing team and all team members will remain intact for the 2002 season.. Riggs was the number one choice of Holly, considered one of the best crew chiefs in NASCAR. Nestlé USA will also return as primary sponsor with their Nestlé Nesquik brand for the 2002-2003 seasons.. They were big supporters of Scott Riggs being named as the new driver and are thrilled to have him as a spokesperson for their organization.(Tailwind PR)(7-24-2001)
• Sprague wins at New Hampshire: #24-Jack Sprague led 183 of 200 laps to win the New England 200 at New Hampshire International Speedway, Sprague’s second NASCAR Truck series win of the season. Sprague bested rookie #60-Travis Kvapil by 0.932 seconds. #46-Dennis Setzer was third, rookie #17-Ricky Hendrick fourth and #1-Ted Musgrave fifth. #2-Scott Riggs, despite his 24th-place finish, retains his points lead, but is just eight points ahead of Joe Ruttman. Sprague is third, 11 behind the leader. See That’s Racin’ for the Saturday race results(7-21-2001)
• Sprague on pole at NHIS: Jack Sprague will start from a familiar position in Saturday’s New England 200 NASCAR Truck series race at New Hampshire International Speedway winning the pole with a speed of 128.091mph. #21-Morgan Shepherd was 22nd fastest, let’s see if he has a putcrew this week or does it himself(see story below). See That’s Racin’ for New England 200 Truck series lineup(7-21-2001)
• Rescued dogs hitch ride with NASCAR: When the NASCAR haulers roll into New Hampshire this week, one of them will be carrying two special passengers — Casey and Lacey — a pair of rescued golden retrievers. The 13-month-old golden retrievers are arriving in the Featherlite trailer which hauls the CTS #75 trucks driven by rookie Billy Bigley. Tim Clancy, who drives the rig, is picking up the once abandoned dogs in Staley, N.C., which is just south of Greensboro, tonight and is expected to arrive at NHIS sometime Wednesday. There, the dogs will be met by their new owners, Pine Grove Drive residents Ann and Roger Copp and their 4-year-old daughter Alexandria. “Hopefully, everything will be all right. He is going to call us from the road,” Ann Copp said as she excitedly talked about the arrival of the family’s newest pets and how they hooked up with a NASCAR driver. Clancy works for Spears Motorsports, which owns the number 75 truck Bigley, who ranks 13 in points standings, drives. The Copps wanted a non-aggressive dog for their daughter. They tried the Yankee Golden Rescue League, but were told it might be eight to nine months before they could obtain a dog. “We looked all over the United States and finally hooked up with Bill Mitchell, who runs the Happy Hill Animal Foundation in Staley,” Ann Copp said. After an initial interview and a house visit by a rescue league member, the Copps were approved for the adoption of a golden retriever. However, Mitchell had two, Casey and Lacey, a brother and sister, which had been abandoned by the previous owners. The Copps agreed to take both of them. Mitchell, who has been running the rescue league for the past five years, said the dogs are usually delivered by volunteers through what is called the “canine underground railroad.” Each person will drive the dog for 100 miles before it is transferred to another volunteer who takes the animal the next 100 miles. This is continued until the final destination is reached. Mitchell said the volunteer group was about to deliver the two retrievers this weekend but were cautioned against it by Mrs. Copp who told him this is race weekend and traffic would be heavy. “A light bulb went off in my head,” Mitchell said. One of the volunteers who helps him works for NASCAR. The word was spread in NASCAR circles and Tim Clancy volunteered to bring Casey and Lacey north. Mitchell said these are not the first rescued retrievers to be sent to New Hampshire but it is a first to have them delivered by someone connected to NASCAR. The North Carolinian said he has no problems allowing the Copps to adopt the dogs. “Thanks to the Internet, I feel like I know the Copps,” Mitchell said. The Copps will head to the speedway once they learn that Clancy’s rig is close to it. “We are looking forward to having the dogs here,” Ann Copp said.(The Citizen/Gordon King)(7-19-2001)
• Shepherd Changes his own tires UPDATE: many readers had told me this and it was confirmed on ESPN2’s RPM2Night that #21-Morgan Shepherd changed his own tires during a pit stop at the Kentucky CTS race. I was told by a source that it was done for two reasons: one was that Shepherd had a few volunteers on his crew who had never changed tires before and another reason was he deliberately got out and change the tires to illustrate the fact that he needs a sponsor. He supposedly had hooked it up with the TV crew to be there but then something else happened or he didn’t time it right. Shepherd also plans to go to New Hampshire this week and supposedly is going to rent a Winston Cup crew for the race(7-16-2001)
  UPDATE: Morgan Shepherd was a one-man pit crew during the July 14 truck race at Kentucky, a feat made much more difficult because he was driving the entry. On Shepherd’s lone pit stop of the race, he got out of the truck, jacked up the right side and changed both tires. Before getting back inside, he sat down on pit wall to eat some chips and drink a soda(Winston Cup Scene – need sub to read online)(7-19-2001)
  AND Shepard could be seen working on his truck in his old CITGO driver’s uniform. Shepherd asked the #89 CTS team (Stan Boyd) if they could loan him one impact gun, nitrogen cylinder, hose and jack for the race, which we did. It was Shepherd’s intent to attract attention to his needing sponsorship that he WANTED to pit himself. The #89 team had offered to pit his truck for him, but he had spoken to ESPN, and MRN about his intention and declined the offer. While MRN did mention it on the air, ESPN declined to show it(7-19-2001)
• Sprague Staying in CTS: Jack Sprague emphasized at Kentucky Speedway that not only was he not looking to get out of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series — it was quite likely that he would end his career there. “I’m going to stay in this truck as long as this truck is running unless a good Winston Cup deal comes along — and a good deal would be with Rick or very few others,” said Sprague. “That hasn’t happened. I love what I am doing. I have a great team. Dennis (Connor, crew chief) and I have been together for seven years and that’s very rare.”(NASCAR.com Buzz)(7-15-2001)
• Riggs wins at Kentucky: #2-Scott Riggs won second annual Kroger 225 at Kentucky Speedway before 41,229 fans. Riggs scored his third victory of the season in the #2 Team ASE Dodge when he took advantage of an engine problem on Jack Sprague’s truck. See RacingOne for Kroger 225 Results(7-14-2001)
• Sprague on the Pole at Kentucky for the Kroger 225. #24-Jack Sprague wins the pole at Kentucky with a speed of 167.115mph, a full mph faster then his teammate #17-Ricky Hendrick who is on the outside pole with a speed of 166.072. See NASCAR.com for the Kroger 225 Starting Lineup(7-13-2001)
• Irvan to run a BGN or CTS team? UPDATE looks like CTS: rumors are circulating that retired Cup driver Ernie Irvan is planning on starting a BGN or CTS team with Kevin Conway who drove in the ASA last season. Some sources have the CTS team running as soon as Richmond, another says BGN in 2002
  UPDATE: indications are that it is the CTS/truck series NOT the BGN. Conway is presently working with the Richard Petty Driving Experience and has been running a Vehicare sponsored Legends car in the Pro division during the Summer Shootout series at Lowes Motor Speedway. Conway drove in ASA last year his sponsor was USA Meats.com his number was 61, Conway was going to run ASA in 2001 but a sponsor backed out. Supposedly Conway will run the ARCA race at Charlotte in October and plan on running the rest of the 2001 CTS schedule from Richmond on and the entire 2002 CTS Schedule. AND Hearing that Irvan has a Monday night spot on Winston-Salem’s NBC WXII at 6:00pm/et called Racing With Ernie and comments were made about Conway being Irvan’s protege and to look for Irvan (as owner, not driver) to go racing soon with Conway in BGN & CTS(7-12-2001)
• Roush Lineup forRoush Racing announced that rookie Roush drivers Jon Wood and Nathan Haseleu will drive the #50 Eldon Ford F-150 and the #99 Eldon Ford F-150, respectively. The teams head to Sparta, Kentucky, for the Kroger 225 scheduled for Saturday, July 14. Race time is set for 8:00pm. Coming off of the best Roush finish this season, the decision to put Haseleu and Wood in the trucks was made in an effort to continue the development of the two rookie drivers along with the crews.(Roush Racing PR) AND RacingOne is reporting that Roush Racing has released CTS driver Chuck Hossfeld. Hossfeld hasn’t raced in more than a month as Roush has tried to sort out its truck program, and general manager Max Jones said the team wanted to give Hossfeld a chance to drive for someone else. A Roush spokesman said the team will uphold the terms of Hossfeld’s contract, but he’s free to drive for another owner. The decision was made Monday night(7-11-2001)
• Hendrick wins first CTS race: #17-Ricky Hendrick won his first truck race at Kansas Speedway, #1-Ted Musgrave was the runnerup. See story and results at SpeedVision(7-7-2001)
• Setzer on pole at Kansas. #46-Dennis Setzer won the pole at Kansas Speedway with a speed of 162.411mph. Outside pole goes to #17-Ricky Hendrick with a speed of 162.250mph. See NASCAR.com for the O’Reilly Auto Parts 250 lineup(7-6-2001)
• Kansas Race Info: at NASCAR.com and the Kansas Speedway track site(7-5-2001)
• Kentucky News: Kentucky U.S. Senator Jim Bunning (R) has agreed to serve as Grand Marshal of the “Kroger 225” NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race July 14 at Kentucky Speedway. The race will be televised live coast to coast by ESPN with a green flag at 8:00pm(Kentucky Speedway PR)(7-7-2001)
• Small Carb Back: teams will be required to compete with a 390-CFM carburetor in this week’s inaugural race at the 1.5-mile Kansas Speedway. The reduced-flow carburetor was used June 8 at Texas. Teams also will be allowed to use a hose to vent fresh air from the truck’s nose to the air filter. That’s expected to compensate some of the loss of horsepower and give drivers greater throttle response than they experienced in Texas(Daytona Beach News Journal)(7-5-2001)
• #86 News: Olathe, KS based Lifter 1 Automotive Products will be making their debut in Motorsports with Randy Briggs, during the CTS race, July 7th at Kansas Speedway. Lifter 1 will have a major presence on the #86 Ford, which Randy will be piloting around the Kansas City track. They have been an associate partner, with Briggs during his limited ARCA Re/Max starts, in 2001. “We are very excited to have such a fine company such as Lifter 1 for a primary partner for this race, their automotive cleaning products are the best, ” said Briggs. Lifter 1 will be among fourteen local companies on the #86 Ford, other major partners are, AmeriSuites of Kansas City and Central Harley-Davidson of Shawnee, KS(PR)(7-5-2001)