Musgrave wins at Dover: #1-Ted Musgrave won the MBNA America 200 at Dover after teammate #2-Jason Leffler fell out of contention when he pitted outside his pit stall during an early caution and was penalized a lap. It is Musgrave’s second win of the season – he also won at Darlington – and the ninth of his career. #18-Robert Pressley was 2nd, pole-winner #14-Rick Crawford finished third, #75-David Starr was fourth and #16-Mike Bliss rounded out the top five. Starr took over the series points lead after the race.(ThatsRacin.com)
See results at NASCAR.com.(5-31-2002)
Crawford gets pole at Dover: #14-Rick Crawford won the first pole of 132 CTS race career with a speed of 150.414mph at Dover for the MBNA America 200 at Dover International Speedway (ESPN at 3:3opm/et). 2nd was #1-Ted Musgrave and #2-Jason Leffler with #29-Terry Cook being fourth and #60-Travis Kvapil rounding out the top five. Series points leader Mike Bliss will line up 10th. Missing the race were #86-Donnie Neuenberger, #23-Phil Bonifield, #73-Loni Richardson and #74-Bob Coffey Jr. For lineup/qual results see ThatsRacin.com or MotorsportsOne.(5-30-2002)
Catchfence to sponsor Shepherd: Shepherd Racing and Catchfence.com.announced today their association together as Catchfence.com is named as an.associate sponsor of Morgan Shepherd’s #21 CTS Truck. Sponsorship with Shepherd Racing will begin with the MBNA America 200 held May 31st at Dover International Speedway, and will continue indefinitely. “We are pleased to be associated with Catchfence.com,” said Morgan Shepherd, driver of the #21 Ford.. “They have been a great support to this organization, and to my beliefs as a born-again Christian.” Morgan Shepherd is enjoying his fourth season in the CTS. With 20 races under his belt heading in to the 2002 season, and a wealth of knowledge on the track, Shepherd certainly has the experience to run competitively in this series.. While the search continues for a primary sponsor, Shepherd Racing remains dedicated to performance. A veteran of the Winston Cup Series, Morgan Shepherd holds 4 NASCAR Winston Cup victories, and 168 top-10 finishes. He spent several years with Wood Brothers Racing where he finished 11th in the point standings in 1995.. He recently returned to the Wood Brothers ride to film a movie for Daytona USA. Catchfence.com, located in Chesapeake VA, is a credited news organization on the internet, recognized for its professionalism by other media outlets, tracks, teams and drivers. Catchfence is currently working on their fourth year in the industry.(Catchfence PR)(5-30-2002)
IHOP helps out: #86-Donnie Neuenberger continues sponsorship with IHOP – International House of Pancakes. The Washington based franchisees sponsor their second season in the Dover Downs race competing in the CTS. The Washington IHOP stores are utilizing the race events to raise funds for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Stop by one of the 29 store locations in Washington, D.C. and Northern Virginia to purchase an IHOP Racing Donation Card. Each card will be posted in the store recognizing the donor while receiving a 2002 NASCAR pocket schedule of the top three-premier NASCAR racing levels – Winston Cup, Busch Grand National, and Craftsman Truck.(Catchfence)(5-30-2002)
Drivers Visit School: Bill Lester [#8 Dodge] spoke to students of Woodrow Wilson High School on May 22 in Washington D.C. Lester also was in Philadelphia on Wednesday when Sears officials made a major presentation to 160 students of the Urban Youth Racing School. Jason Leffler #2 Dodge] and Ted Musgrave [#1 Dodge] will represent Ultra Motorsports at Poly Tech High School on Friday in Dover, Del. Both visits seek to help greater numbers of young people get into automotive technology and motorsports careers.(Daytona Beach News Journal)(5-30-2002)
Pit Crew Challenge All three Bobby Hamilton Racing Teams will be visiting the DaimlerChrysler plant in Newark, Del., this week. The plant builds the Dodge Durango. While at the plant, the No. 4 BHR team will face off against the No. 5 Ware Racing Dodge Team in the Dodge Pit Crew Challenge. Each team performs three pit stops. The team with the fastest time in two out of three stops wins Dodge Motorsports leather jackets and a trip to Las Vegas for the finals.(Daytona Beach News Journal)(5-30-2002)
Bliss wins at Pikes Peak: #16-Mike Bliss earned his first win since returning to the CTS at Pikes Peak. Pole sitter #2-Jason Leffler was 2nd, with #60-Travis Kvapil third, 4th was #29-Terry Cook and #75-David Starr was fifth. See ThatsRacin.com for Race Results.(5-19-2002)
Leffler wins pole at Pikes Peak: #2-Jason Leffler won the pole position for Sunday’s CTS race at Pikes Peak with a lap of 132.460mph, Lefflers second pole this season. Teammate #1-Ted Musgrave was second-fastest at 131.047. #16-Mike Bliss was third at 130.900. For the lineup, see ThatsRacin.com or or MotorsportsOne.(5-18-2002)
#4 Looking for a sponsor UPDATE 2: Sunclear Energy has been Brian Rose’s sponsor on the #4 Bobby Hamilton Racing Dodge truck since he entered the sport of NASCAR, and have been more than happy with the results. Sunclear Energy has been rumored to have received more exposure than any other sponsor in the truck series in 2002, and have been more than pleased with Rose’s performance on and off of the track. Rose receives mass media exposure before, during and after every race by being one of the most requested interviews in the series. Rose has been portrayed on numerous occasions as the next Jeff Gordon or Tony Stewart, who amass millions of dollars each year for their sponsors. Due to business matters regarding the future of Sunclear Energy, the company has decided that it will discontinue sponsorship for the #4 CTS truck driven by Brian Rose. Sunclear Energy is currently reviewing its options for turning the privately held business into a publicly traded stock. It is in the company’s best interest to focus its marketing interest in areas outside of racing. Therefore, Rose is looking to provide a new sponsor with the opportunity to participate in using his truck as a marketing and sales tool. For more information on sponsoring the sports next major star, contact Brian’s agent via mail at ProTrust Management Group, Inc., 424 Church Street #1300, Nashville, TN, 37219, or via email at [email protected].(4-22-2002) UPDATE: There is a certain amount of activity swirling about the Bobby Hamilton Racing complex in Nashville, Tenn. The team’s third truck, the #4 Dodge that has been driven by Brian Rose, has gone through some sponsorship travails that led former backer Sunclear Energy to broker a deal with the Arkansas architectural company, the Perry Connection, to sponsor the #4 for nine races, including Gateway.(NASCAR.com)(5-1-2002) UPDATE 2: Brian Rose Speaks Out Brian Rose is having the “Time of his Life” right now in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. The second year standout has scored three top tens in just four races this season, with the best finish coming at the season opener at Daytona International Speedway where Rose drove his Bobby Hamilton Racing Dodge to a career best third place finish. Rose enters Sunday’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series as as strong threat to capture his first NASCAR victory with new sponsor The Perry Connection. “I can not be more thrilled to have The Perry Connection on board with us for at least nine more races this season.” said the Bowling Green KY native. Rose who finished eighth in last weekend’s race from Gateway also said “We had a great run at Gateway, I could not be any happier to give The Perry Connection their first top ten, in only their first race.” Rose also stated “We have a great team, we are growing strong, we are all working well together, we have great equimpent and now we have a great sponsor The Perry Connection to support this Bobby Hamilton Racing Dodge.”(5-17-2002)
Norick gets a sponsor: #90 driver/owner, Lance Norick and his father, fellow L&R; Motorsports principal Ron Norick, have inked a deal with Express Personnel Services to back their #90 Chevys for the rest of the season. The Oklahoma City native took his career to another level in the latter half of the 2001 season, after signing veteran crew chief John Monsam. The pair scored Norick’s best career finish, third, at Chicago Motor Speedway and ended the year a career-best 11th in the standings. With L&R;’s sponsorship uncertainty entering the 2002 season, Monsam moved to another team after helping Norick to boost his average start and average finish drastically the year before. L&R; signed another veteran, Gary Showalter, as its crew chief for this season. That immediately paid off and Norick’s 2001 roll has continued. In four races, he has not started outside the top 20, with a best of 20th at Daytona. He has two top-10 finishes, including a best of ninth. More importantly, his worst finish is 13th and that has kept him 10th in the driver standings. Express Personnel Services, an international company with more than 400 offices in the United States, Canada and South Africa, came aboard in a trial run before the Daytona season opener and soon decided to continue. While under a previous sponsorship deal with Aventis Behring, L&R; Motorsports began its involvement with Victory Lane Kids, a program allowing seriously ill children to experience race day excitement at Craftsman Truck Series events. Express Personnel Services has served as a national sponsor of Children’s Miracle Network since 1991, raising more than $2 million to help seriously ill children throughout North America.(NASCAR.com)(5-14-2002)
Dokken out/Ritch in? hearing Michael Dokkin was released from Ware Racing and that Michael Ritch will assume the driving duties.(5-9-2002)
Terry Cook wins at Gateway: Terry Cook broke an 88-race CTS victory drought Sunday, winning the Dodge Ram Tough 200 at Gateway International Raceway. Cook, who went to the emergency room with flu symptoms on Wednesday, recovered sufficiently to bring his #29 Ford from the eighth starting position to the lead by the 91st of 160 laps. #2-Leffler was 2nd, followed by #16-Bliss, then #14-Crawford and #75-Starr.(NASCAR.com), see results at NASCAR.com.(5-5-2002)
Truck Series Stays: NASCAR vice president for corporate communications Jim Hunter heard the rumors and read the stories about the uncertain future of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. This weekend Hunter paraphrased a famous statement by a former Missourian as a response. “As Mark Twain once said, the reports of the demise of the Craftsman truck series are greatly exaggerated,” Hunter said. He said the series will be around for the foreseeable future, and it is scheduled to receive increased attention from NASCAR in the near future. Hunter said that Gary Nelson, NASCAR’s managing director of competition, was scheduled to be at Gateway International Raceway this weekend to observe the series. “The reason,” Hunter said of Nelson’s visit, “is to have a look and get a better handle on what NASCAR needs to do for the Craftsman truck series.” What NASCAR won’t do, Hunter said, is shut down the trucks. “There is no doubt that the Craftsman truck series is here to stay,” he said. “The reason we started the series was because so many Americans drive some type of truck. They still do. So we’re excited. We think it is gaining momentum.” The series’ future came into question recently when a racing trade paper ran a story that alleged the demise of the trucks was not exaggerated. The story indicated the series was beset with problems and the garages were filled with disgruntled people. Hunter also points to improved television ratings, higher race attendance and bigger truck counts as proof that the series is thriving. The series’ title sponsor, Craftsman tools, also seems content with the trucks series. Craftsman, which has been with the series since its inception, last year signed on for five more years as title sponsor. “Sears and Craftsman are extremely proud of the series,” John Lebbad, Sears director of event marketing and sales promotion, said. “We feel the sport continues to grow. We are very happy with our sponsorship.” Hunter reiterated that the truck series “is not going down the tubes.” “We see a great future for the trucks series and we are going to support it,” he said. “We think it is the coming series for NASCAR.”(Kansas City Star)(5-5-2002)
Bliss wins pole at Gateway: #16-Mike Bliss edged #46-Dennis Setzer to win the pole Saturday for the Dodge Ram Tough 200 at Gateway International Raceway. Bliss qualified his Chevy at 129.549mph, and will start on the pole Sunday for the first time since May 16, 1999. It was his 15th career pole, matching Mike Skinner for third in series history. #1-Ted Musgrave was third-fastest in the 36-truck field in a Dodge at 129.403. #14-Rick Crawford’s Ford qualified fourth, followed by #2-Jason Leffler. #81-Angie Wilson qualified 30th. Mike Wallace qualified Winston Cup driver Ken Schrader’s #52 Chevy 14th. Schrader plans to race Sunday after competing Saturday night in the Pontiac Excitement 400 in Richmond(unless it gets rained out). He will be forced to start at the rear of the field Sunday because of a driver change.
For the starting lineup see ThatsRacin.com or NASCAR.com.(5-4-2002)
