|
|
|
Let the games begin. As rumors about the status of drivers like Joey Logano and Martin Truex Jr. made minor waves a couple of weeks ago, talk of crew chiefs’ jobs became more than that this week. Wednesday, Richard Childress Racing announced that the entire crews of the No. 29 and driver Kevin Harvick and No. 07 and driver Casey Mears will switch, with the changes taking effect next week at Richmond International Raceway.
The second change of the week occurred at Yates Racing and the No. 96 Hall of Fame Racing team and driver Bobby Labonte. Crew chief Todd Parrot has been moved from atop the team’s pit box and replaced with Ford Racing official Ben Leslie, who also was the crew chief of the No. 28 Yates team before it shut down. Parrot moves to a behind-the-scenes role, helping both the No. 96 and No. 98 Yates Racing teams. Labonte sits 28th in series points, with one top 5 and only three lead lap finishes in eight races for his first season with the team.
The Childress switch intrigue has gained the intrigue of many, because of its extent and implications. Kevin Harvick who had been paired with Todd Berrier since 2003 and also ran successfully with him in the Nationwide Series, gains crew chief Gil Martin and his entire crew, including engineers and specialists, even the transporter driver. Harvick will keep the same spotter he has had through the year. Harvick started 2009 strong, with a win in the Bud Shootout and a runner-up finish in the Daytona 500. After a 4th-place finish in race number four in Atlanta, Harvick has no top 10s and has seen the No. 29 car run horribly several times. Harvick has not won a Sprint Cup points race since the 2007 Daytona 500. He sits 16th in points.
Mears’ first season at RCR has been lackluster at best. The 7th-year driver has zero top 10s and an average finish of 21.4 and only one lead lap finish this season, driving for a team that Clint Bowyer drove into The Chase twice. Mears is racing with his fifth different race team and third different organization in five years, meaning he has had to redevelop chemistry with a crew chief each season. Mears replaced Bowyer, who moved to RCR’s new 4th team, the No. 33, and is enjoying success.
Another rumor that popped up this week, ended up being discounted, but is worth noting. It stated that Hendrick officials were discussing swapping the No. 88 of Dale Earnhardt Jr. and No. 5 of Mark Martin’s pit crews. This was quickly countered, especially since Martin and the No. 5 went to Victory Lane Saturday night at Phoenix International Raceway. Speculation still circles the fate of No. 88 crew chief Tony Eury Jr.; Earnhardt Jr. sits 19th in points and has encountered a variety of problems and mistakes this year.
King of Darlington shows Crown Prince of Gibbs around track
NASCAR champ Cale Yarborough spent more time in a racecar Wednesday, showing 18 year-old Sprint Cup rookie Joey Logano around Darlington Raceway, arguably NASCAR’s most challenging track. Yarborough and Logano suited up in a stock car, with the South Carolina native behind the wheel and student in the passenger seat. Logano has struggled this season at much less difficult tracks than the Lady in Black and likely has a long race ahead of him there next month. Yarborough won a series record five Southern 500s at his home track.
Entry list for Cup Series missing No. 64; not much change in Top 35 standings
Add Gunselman Motorsports to the teams that are now scaling back their schedules. Team owner Larry Gunselman announced this week that the No. 64 team is skipping Talladega, so they can focus on building cars for different tracks, instead of spending too much effort on a superspeedway car. Instead of folding, due to sponsorship, the No. 64 is taking a similar approach to Furniture Row Racing and Wood Brothers Racing – focus on running well at a smaller number of tracks. The difference in the Gunselman team is that it has only announced that it is skipping that race, while the others plan on running only a handful of races this season. The No. 64 Toyota has made only three of eight Cup races this season.
Other part-time entries and driver changes for the race include Regan Smith in the No. 78 National Day of Prayer Chevy, which won the pole in this race with driver Joe Nemechek last season; Eric McClure leading Morgan McClure Motorsports’ return to the series in the No. 4 Hefty Chevy; Max Papis in the Geico Toyota for Germain Racing in their third Cup attempt this year; Brad Keselowski in his 2nd of ten scheduled races in the No. 09 Phoenix Racing Chevy – Keselowski has also run in the Hendrick Motorsports No. 25 Chevy this season; Michael McDowell in for Dave Blaney in the No. 66 for Prism Motorsports for this weekend only – Blaney has a family engagement.
On the Top 35 bubble, David Gilliland and the No. 71 sit just 26 points outside 35th place in points driver and team Robby Gordon in the No. 7. John Andretti and the No. 34 (34th), rookie Joey Logano and the No. 20 (33rd), and Paul Menard and the No. 98 (32nd) all sit within 60 points of the 35th place cutoff. The full-time entries of Scott Riggs, Jeremy Mayfield, Joe Nemechek, and rookie Scott Speed are all over 100 points or more behind 35th and have missed at least one race this season.
Nationwide Series entry list has several changes; Truck Series sees three once full-time teams scale back
Johnny Davis’ teams will see some changes this week at Talladega. Mike Wallace, know for his plate-racing prowess, suits up in place of Mark Green in the No. 0 Chevy, while Green slides over to a third car for the team, the No. 04. Jeff Green returns to Wayne Day’s No. 05 team, after driver Casey Mears was hospitalized following a crash last week in Phoenix. Kerry Earnhardt will make his 2nd attempt in Rick Ware’s No. 31 Chevy and Ryan Newman will pilot Kevin Harvick’s No. 33 Chevy, for his first Nationwide Series attempt this season. David Reutimann will drive Braun Racing’s No 10 Toyota and Dale Earnhardt Jr. will suit up in his own No 5 Chevy. Bobby Gerhart will attempt the race in the No. 75 Chevy and owner Bob Schact. 47 cars are attempting the race.
The Camping World Truck Series is certainly feeling the effects of the ill economy. The Series’ return from hiatus at Kansas Speedway this week will see three teams that had planned on running the full season not make the trip. Key Motorsports and driver Mike Bliss are scaling their schedule in the No. 40 Chevy back to a part-time pace. TRG’s No. 71 and surprising rookie J.R. Fitzpatrick, like the Key team, are scaling back to part-time, due to lack of sponsorship, but are going to the Kansas race. And huge money problems have sidelined and will continue to do the same for Trail Motorsports and the No. 32 team that Chase Austin was supposed to. They have missed the past several races and also withdrew from the Nationwide Series event.
Several different drivers and teams will make Truck Series attempts this week in the Midwest. Dennis Setzer will drive the No. 8 Malcomson Chevy, while Chris Fontaine and Chris Jones attempt the race the No. 22 and No. 23 Gunbroker.com Dodges, respectively. J.J. Yeley will attempt his first NASCAR race in nearly a year, driving the No. 65 Chevy for Ron Crosby. Other entries include Gabi DiCarlo in the No. 90 Toyota for Doug Stringer, Mike Harmon in the No. 89 Chevy for Chris Lafferty, Ryan Hackett in the No 76 Chevy for Ray Hackett, Ben Stancill in Michael Mittler’s No. 63 Ford, and Derrike Cope and Jennifer Jo Cobb in the No. 73 and No. 74 Dodges for Cope’s race team. Brian Ickler will make his series debut in the No. 51 in place of points leader Kyle Busch and other locked-in teams with different drivers include the Nos. 47 and 48 with drivers Marc Mitchell and Brandon Knupp. Only 37 trucks are attempting the race.
Indy tire testing interrupted by weather this week
Trying to avoid the nightmare of tire wear that occurred at last year’s Brickyard 400, Goodyear officials conducted a tire test this week at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but had trouble getting drivers on the track, because of rain. Drivers Reed Sorenson, Matt Kenseth, Brian Vickers and Ryan Newman were all at the track Tuesday and Wednesday, but most of the track time was interrupted by bad weather. Goodyear tested at the track last fall several times and plans a return June 15 and 16, for one last test before this year’s Brickyard race in July.
Said suffers burns in ALMS race
Out of a Sprint Cup Series ride for most of this season, driver Boris Said has dabbled in television commentating and, of course, road racing to occupy his time. At the American Le Mans Series race in Long Beach, California, Said’s GT2 Corvette burst into flames, giving the renowned road races second and third degree burns, including some that cover his right eye. Said expects to make a full recovery and his NASCAR return for the Sprint All-Star race weekend and the No. 08 E&M team. There is no word on the status of his new race partnership he made before the season in Daytona, that was supposed to place him in more races.
Cup banquet officially in Vegas; Nationwide and Truck banquets combined
NASCAR officials announced Thursday that the Sprint Cup Series banquet and Champions Week are officially moving to Las Vegas, beginning this December. The banquet will be held at the Wynn Las Vegas on Friday, December 4th.
The Nationwide Series and Camping World Truck Series banquets are now combined and will be held at the Loews Miami Beach on November 23rd. The top five drivers in points in those series will be honored on-stage, as opposed to the top 10 in the Cup banquet. The Grand-Am Rolex Series banquet will be held at the Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood, Florida on October 12th.
Sorenson scores best run since Daytona in Phoenix; Ragan’s Cup struggles continue
Peachtree City’s Reed Sorenson slowly picked off positions in last Saturday’s race at Phoenix International Raceway, placing the No. 43 Dodge in 12th, his best finish since a top 10 run in the Daytona 500. The finish vaults Sorenson up three spots to 27th in points.
The other full-time Sprint Cup Series driver from Georgia, David Ragan, marked another lackluster Sprint Cup Series run in the books in Phoenix in the No. 6 UPS Ford. Ragan never was a factor and finished 22nd. That finish moves the Unadilla driver down in the points to 30th. The driver he replaced in the No. 6, Mark Martin, won the race.
In the Nationwide Series, Ragan ran 6th and still sits 3rd in series points. Teammate Greg Biffle won that race. Watkinsville’s John Wes Townley wrecked twice in the race, a common occurrence for the No. 09 team, and finished 36th. Ken Butler III in the No. 23 Chevy finished 28th, multiple laps down.
Georgia racing stars on the rise: Chase Elliott and Kyle Fowler
At just 13 years-old Chase Elliott is a few years away from getting a driver’s license, but that is no reflection for how he has run in his first few late model races. The son of NASCAR champ Bill Elliott has finished in the top 10 in each of his four late model races, including a 3rd place finish at Anderson Motor Speedway in Anderson, SC and a runner-up finish Montgomery Motor Speedway last Friday and Saturday in the No. 9 Aaron’s Ford. Elliott plans on running this weekend in Dillon, SC for the ASA/SAT race at Dillon Motor Speedway. Bill Elliott will serve as the grand marshal of that race, after appearing at Chase’s race last Friday in Anderson. Elliott plans on running the full Georgia Asphalt Series (GAS) schedule, as well as other late model races in the southeast. Those around the sport say that Elliott is already learning his father’s smooth driving style and takes care of his equipment well. You can hear GAS race broadcasts on www.racefanradio.com. The next race is Saturday night, May 2nd, at Lanier Speedway in Braselton, Georgia.
Kyle Fowler is having a big breakthrough this weekend, as he makes his first NASCAR Camping World East Series start at Tri-County Speedway in North Carolina on Saturday. Fowler is also running for Ken Schrader’s well-established organization in the No. 4, which Fowler is getting to run, since he gave his longtime number back to Schrader for use. Schrader said he owed the 17 year-old a favor, so Fowler sent him some stats and lined up sponsorship, landing him the ride. That race is scheduled to air tape-delayed on SPEED channel, according to Fowler in an interview Thursday. That interview can be heard in its entirety on Saturday’s Allan Vigil Ford Lincoln Mercury 120 with Captain Herb Emory, on News/Talk 750 WSB in Atlanta and online at wsbradio.com between 2 and 4 p.m.
Car Listings
