Silly Season

Here is were you can find the team chart, schedule, as well as news and rumors regarding team and schedule changes.

Links: Team Chart, Schedule

NEWS


Two Drivers Find Ride For Budweiser Shootout

All drivers who have qualified for the Budweiser Shootout will now participate. Despite previously announcing that he won't participate due to his new electing to focus efforts on a partial points race schedule, Geoffrey Bodine has signed a 1 race deal to take over the #66 for his brother Todd Bodine whom is not qualified for this event. Additionally Ted Musgrave had won the random draw out of several competitors from last year but did not have a Cup ride this year. However he did join Ultra Motorsports in the Craftsmen Truck series whom have a program in Cup with Mike Wallace. With Mike Wallace also not qualified, it was an obvious choice for Musgrave to take over the #7 for this race only.

NEWS


Qualifying Format Modified

Changes have been announced for NASCAR's qualifying and provisional rules. Previously all drivers would qualify together with the Top 36 being set by the results and the remainder being set by provisionals from the teams highest in owner points not already in the race plus either a past champion not already in or the next team in line. Each team had 4 available provisionals to use with a 5th added later however the Top 25 teams would not be charged a provisional. Now the Top 25 teams will sit out of the 1st qualifying group. This group will then run against each other trying to qualify in the Top 17. These 17 plus either a past champion not qualified or the 18th fast driver will then join the other 25 for a total of 43 and then qualify again between each other for starting position. That being said only Past Champions will be charged provisionals with the new limit being 4 without a later added 5th. There is a little concern about the Top 25 loosing that little track time however NASCAR has stated that if anything it should make things more interesting since the team outside the Top 25 are the ones who need some type of advantage.

NEWS

Phoenix Racing Has Big Plans

James Finch announced that his team has big plans for the future in the Cup Series. After a solid Top 25 at the Daytona 500, the team plans to run the next 3 races with hopes of staying there locking a spot into the field when this year's owner point take into effect which Finch hopes can lead to additional support to run the full year. Even if this does not happen the team still will attempt the remainder restrictor plate races this year and will expand their schedule a bit each year for the next several years in hopes to eventually go full time. Despite being absent from the Cup since 1996 this team still is just as strong and ambitious as ever.

NEWS

Burton Brothers Make History

With Ward Burton's Daytona 500 win and Jeff Burton's Dura-Lube 400 win these siblings have finally joined NASCAR legends such as the Flocks, Allisons, and Labontes as back-to-back winners. They also sit 1 and 2 in points.

NEWS

09 & 90 Swap Owner Points w/ Geoffrey Bodine moving to the 90

After DNQing in half of the opening races and finishing 43rd and 35th in the races he did make, Hut Stricklin had been released from the Donlavey team. Things are looking up for the team though as they have hired Phoenix Racing driver Geoffrey Bodine and have swapped owner points with the #09 which moves them from 46th to 29th with a shot to get inside the top 25 to earn a lock into the field. Phoenix Racing will be shifting to the planned part-time effort after failing to crack the top 25 and secure additional funding. Phoenix Racing will compete in the remaining Restrictor Plate races with a new driver to be announced at a later time.

NEWS

Hermie Sadler Forms New Team

Hermie Sadler, brother of full-time cup driver Elliott Sadler, has formally announced that he has formed his own team. With support from the Virginia Lottery, Hermie will drive his self-owned #13 Chevrolet at all 4 races in his homestate of Virginia (which includes both Richmond and Martinsville races). Hermie hopes to expand his schedule greatly in 2002 before going full-time in 2003.

NEWS

No Bull 5 Fan Contest Expanding

NASCAR has announced an expansion of the No Bull 5 contest. Fans will now enter the order in which each driver will finish. There will be a points title on the line now with 1 pt. awarded for each driver being guessed correctly and 2 bonus pts. if the driver who the fan thought would get the highest finish wins. Each fan will get 1 bonus pt. for submitting a unique list 1st come first serve. The fan with the most pts. at the end of the year will have there name as the title sponsor for the next year's spring Martinsville race.

NEWS

Phoenix Racing Names New Driver

Phoenix Racing has officially announced that they will be reuniting with Jeff Purvis for the remainder of the 2001 schedule which would be the 3 Super Speedways. Purvis ran with the team off and on at both the Cup and Busch Series from 1989 to 1998 before leaving for Joe Gibbs Racing were he continues to drive in the Busch series.

NEWS

Ultra Motorsports Names New Sponsor

Ultra Motorsports has officially announced that Sirius Satellite Radio will be the team's new primary sponsor in the Cup Series for 2002. Nations Rent currently has that role but they are now expected to leave the sport at this season's end. The team will also switch to dodge to match the Truck program they have. A driver will be announced at a later time.

NEWS

Blaney To Jasper Motorsports in 2002

The first team change for 2002 was confirmed today as Dave Blaney, who currently drives the #93 for Bill Davis Racing, announced that he will take over Robert Pressley's #77 for Jasper Motorsports for 2002. No word yet on Pressley or Bill Davis's #93 future plans.

NEWS

Houston to leave 96 Team

Andy Houston has confirmed that he will part ways with his #96 team following the Coca-Cola 600. This team has struggled all year only making 6 out of the 11 races and having the 2nd worst average finish out of full time competitors being 34.67 (50 Mast is lowest with 36.78). Another influence in his departure was that Houston wants to keep his rookie status. Houston sits last in the ROTY battle out of the official competitors almost 1 full race behind his next competitor (14 Hornaday) and 5 races behind the leader (19 Atwood) in the rookie standings. Needless to say his chances of winning are slim and Houston wants to give it another try with a new opportunity which is possible thanks to NASCAR's policy of officially running for ROTY requiring 8 or more starts in a single season. No replacement for Houston has been named at this time.

NEWS

Hendrick and Johnson team up with Lowe's

It has been confirmed at Lowe's Motor Speedway that Lowe's will shift there sponsorship from Richard Childress Racing to Hendrick Motorsports for 2002. This deal will allow Hendrick to get a 4th car on the track which will be the #48 with Busch Series driver Jimmie Johnson. Jeff Gordon has been linked to this whole deal and is expected to remain a big part of getting this new team up and going. In order to prepare for next season Johnson and Lowe's will compete in the #48 for 7 races in 2001 starting with the MBNA Platinum 400 in 2 weeks at Dover.

NEWS

R Gordon to replace Houston

Robby Gordon has been named as Andy Houston's replacement in the #96 McDonald's Ford following this weekend. Robby has struggled this year running lowest out of the drivers who have qualified for each race with the worst average finish of of that group at 32.36. Despite this Robby has showed promise runs that fell apart late. Considering teammate Ricky Craven has been competitive and is in a fierce battle for the highly sought after Top 25 position Robby believes this group can give him what he needs to finish off his races and run more like Craven. Robby's replacement in the #4 has not been named.

NEWS

K LePage Returns To Cup

Kevin LePage will return to Cup in the next race as the replacement of R Gordon in the Morgan-McClure #4 as R Gordon moves to the #96. LePage drove the Roush #16 fulltime from since mid-1998 before being released after that team lost sponsorship from FamilyClick.com/TV Guide. LePage has since driven part-time in the Busch Series in his self-owned #71.

NEWS

Newman to Replace Mayfield

Roger Penske has announced today that Ryan Newman will replace Jeremy Mayfield in the #12 next year with Alltel/Mobil 1 splitting the sponsorship. Previously Penske was hoping to have Newman's part-time #02 go full-time but the team was unable to secure the support for that especially with Mobil 1 scaling down their support. That being said Penske will stay a 2 car organization next year with the part-time #02 shutting down at the end of this season.

NEWS

Road Coarse Ringers Gearing Up for Sears Point

Several teams will have road coarse specialists behind the wheel of their mach in 2 races and here is what to expect. Scott Pruett will be in the #01 in place of Jason Leffler, Anthony Lazzaro will be in the #7 in place of Mike Wallace, Brian Simo will be in the #32 in place of Ricky Craven, Ron Fellows wil be in the #33 in place of Joe Nemechek, Dorsey Schroeder will be in the #44 in place of Buckshot Jones, and Boris Said will be in the #77 in place of Robert Pressley.

NEWS

27 Team Needs Additional Support

The #27's future remains a mystery. Duke's Mayo is only going to sponsor the 1st 18 races leaving the team with no support for the 2nd half of the year. Despite running in the Top 25 pretty much all year earning them a lock into the field each race the team has not found much interest to help keep them going. The team could be forced to shut down and sell their equipment if things do not pull through in the next 2 races.

NEWS

2 Teams in Trouble & 2 Drivers Retired

The #27 team is not the only team that has fell on hard time for it has been announced that the next race will be the last for the #50 team that debuted in 1998, running a little more than 1/3 of 1999 schedule before attempting every race since 2000. Rick Mast has also stated that he will not pursue another ride. The 44 year old made a name for himself in the Busch Series running most races from 1982-1992 (excluding 1991) winning 9 races. Mast debuted in Cup in 1988 and has ran most of the year since 1989. Mast has stated that very few teams have been interested in him lately which made him realize it was time to retire. He is not alone for Hut Stricklin has also confirmed that he would not pursue anymore rides after settling for an internal role at Bill Davis Racing. The 40 year old debuted in Cup in 1987 and had ran most of the year from 1989 to 2000 before being released after 4 races this season.

NEWS

Morgan-McClure Buys Out 27 Team

The #27 will be purchased in its entirely by Morgan-McClure following the next race. As result Jack Birmingham will take a new internal role at the team while Kenny Wallace takes over the #4 which will switch from Chevrolet to Pontiac (which is what the #27 used). The remainder of the team will consist of a mix of the best the #4 & #27 have to offer. The #4 team has struggled all year but is looking toward a brighter future especially since they now have the #27's owner points which gets them a Top 25 spot and a lock into each race. Previous #4 driver Kevin LePage will be released and is searching for new rides.

NEWS

Harvick & Cingular Wireless to the 31, 30 & AOL Will Still Go Full-Time

Richard Childress has announced some changes to his team for 2002. Kevin Harvick, who was slated to drive the #30 full-time with AOL will be moved to the #31 with new sponsor Cingular Wireless. With that being said Mike Skinner will leave the team at this season's end and the #30 AOL team will still go full-time with a new driver who has yet to be determined. Harvick has a lot to prove going for rookie of the year against Newman who has one of Cingular Wireless's competitors in Alltel backing him and also going against Johnson who has his team's former sponsor Lowe's.

NEWS

Target Extends Ganassi Partnership to NASCAR

Target has announced that they will take over sponsorship for Chip Ganassi's 2nd Cup team with the recent news that Cingular Wireless would leave. Target and Ganassi will enter their 18th year together in 2002. Leffler will not return to the ride next year and a replacement will be named at a later time.

NEWS

Mayfield to Drive Ganassi/Target 41

Coming right off the recent sponsorship announcement Chip Ganassi has confirmed today that driver Jeremy Mayfield will replace Jason Leffler in the #01 which will be renumbered #41 with the new partnership with Target. Mayfield began running for Kranefuss/Haas in mid 1996. In 1998 Kranefuss and Haas split with Kranefuss bringing over most assets including Mayfield to Penske while Haas joined the Carter team. Since then Mayfield had won 4 races with the team but was announced to be replaced by rookie Ryan Newman next season.

NEWS

92 Driver Change

After missing an 8th race this season last race S Compton and the Melling team have parted ways. The team had struggled missing the most races and running last in points out of the remaining full-time drivers and teams. R Pressley who normally drives the #77 will drive the #92 at Watkins Glen since his car will be driven by road-course ringer B Said. After that K LePage will take over for the rest of the year. LePage had previously replaced R Gordon in the #4 before that team bought out the #27 and obtained driver K Wallace. LePage has also driven a part time Busch Series effort with his self-owned team.

NEWS

R Fellows Shows Road Coarse Ringer Power

R Fellows put together quite the run at Watkins Glen. He sat on pole allowing him to enter next year's Budweiser Shootout if he chooses to. He also came home with a Top 5 which was the #33 team's 2nd best run of the year (1st was a 3rd with primary driver Nemechek at Martinsville). He is just 1 of the 5 road course ringer in that race and 1 of 6 of the year (D Schroeder who placed lowest out of these drivers in race 1 elected to not run race 2). This run continues to build excitement for these drivers running in NASCAR which has an overall benefit for all.One thing is sure and that is watching these drivers is always fun and will continue for years to come.