Silly Season

NEWS

*2 Drivers Renewed, Chart Updated*

The Team/Driver Chart has been updated to improve quality and compatibility. The most notable change is that the teams are listed on the chart now as opposed to the owner. This comes right in time for 2 drivers to announce they will return to their current teams in 2002. That being Jimmy Spencer and the #26 and Geoffrey Bodine and the #90 (Sponsorship update will come at a later date).

NEWS

*Haas Carter Adds 2 More Drivers Part-Time*

Hideo Fukuyama and Greg Biffle have been added to the Haas Carter lineup for next season. Fukuyama will run the road courses and Biffle will run the 5 races between as well as the 1st and last races of the schedule. Biffle will be a loan from Roush Racing who hope to add Biffle to their roster full-time in 2003. Both will drive the #26 while regular driver Jimmy Spencer takes over the #66 and regular #66 driver Todd Bodine sits out. Team Sponsor Kmart will also make some changes featuring Kmart School Spirit on the #26 instead of plain Kmart and also feature Kmart Bluelight Special on the #66 instead of Kmart/Route 66.

NEWS

*Leffler Lands 2002 Ride, Team Chart Updated Again*

Ultra Motorsports has announced that Jason Leffler will replace Mike Wallace in the #7 next year. The team also confirmed a new alliance with Evernham Motorsports. The team previously announced a new sponsor in Sirius and a change to Dodge. In addition to that the official team chart has once again undergone some revisions. Free Agents are now listed on the bottom and were Free Agents used to be is a new section to see all of that year's Rookies, Past Champions, New/Returning/Leaving Drivers & Teams. The years have been re-positioned with 2003 being added.

NEWS

*Interesting No Bull 5 Outcome @ Daytona Continues*

Daytona can often be unpredictable, this came to show with the No Bull 5. 3 of the 5 drivers lost the draft in that race and finished together between 38th-40th. After that a few underdog drivers got surprise Top 5's qualifying themselves for the next No Bull 5 Race. The biggest underdog in that group, Dave Blaney, had an event-full weekend. His team actually failed to qualify for the 1st time this year probably when it counted the most. Blaney still got in the race in the #92 as part-time driver K LePage stepped down to give Blaney a shot at the No Bull 5 prize although the team struggled starting 39th and finishing 35th. This does spark a question though and that is if No Bull 5 drivers not in the Top 25 should be given some kind of provisional when they are part of the next contest.

NEWS

*Hornaday Jr. & Skinner Swap Rides*

It has been announced that Ron Hornaday Jr. and Mike Skinner will swap rides effective immediately. Both had signed 2 year deals with the other's team and have mutually agreed to make the change early to better prepare for their next endeavor. Skinner is taking over the iconic A.J. Foyt #14 and Hornaday Jr. will finish the year at RCR in the #31 before swapping rides with teammate Kevin Harvick due to sponsorship obligations so next year Hornaday will drive the new full-time RCR #30. Hornaday Jr. was the top candidate after future teammate and NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt recommended him for the ride. Hornaday Jr. drove for Earnhardt's team from 1995-2000 before leaving for the Cup with Foyt. In that time he won 2 truck championships (1st of 2 drivers to do so) as well as 25 truck races and 2 busch races.

NEWS

*R Gordon & Menards Reunite in Andy Petree #33*

With the departure of Oakwood Homes Andy Petree Racing was looking for a new partner for 2002. They have found that in Menards however they will have to part with Joe Nemechek to allow the sponsor to run with prefered driver Robby Gordon who they have worked with in the past which includes a part-time effort in 2000 with a Menards sanctioned team. Robby Gordon has had several solid runs all year but has not been able to finish most of the off which has led to a low points position and average finish. Robby Gordon has confidence that this is what he needs to succeed since he and Menards have a 3 year deal with their new team.

NEWS

*2002 Rookie of the Year Class All in Last Race*

All 3 drivers who currently plan to run for ROTY next season after partial efforts this year were in the last race. Harvick finished 23rd and Newman and Johnson struggled and wound up loosing a lap finishing 39th and 40th respectively. Despite Harvick seeming to have the edge with those results all 3 rookies have had ups and downs this year and it should be an exciting battle. This year Casey Atwood has dominated ROTY points now standing at an almost 2 and 1/2 race lead over 2nd place Kurt Busch with 7 races left. Jason Leffler and Ron Hornaday Jr. are the only other drivers left competing for the honors this year but both are even further behind and pretty much eliminated from winning the award.

NEWS

*Bill Davis Announces 2002 Plans*

Bill Davis Racing has locked in its 2002 lineup. As expected Ward Burton and the #22 team are back. The #93 previously driven by Dave Blaney who heads to the Jasper Motorsports #77 next year will be renumber #23, and feature new sponsor Hill Brothers Coffee who come from the Donlavey #90, and new driver Joe Nemechek who comes from the Petree #33 which will be driven by Robby Gordon who brought sponsorship. Davis will also add a 3rd part-time entry #27 which will be split by Rookie of the Race Contenders Christian Fittipaldi and Scott Wimmer both of whom hope to run the full 2003 schedule. Siemens will sponsor the #27 in all races in the partial effort.

In other news a 2002 paint scheme preview was held unveiling new looks for next season including big changes for the #6, #10, #28, #48, and #55 paint schemes among others. Next years schedule was also released featuring 5 YouTube Broadcasted Races. The Food City 500 was moved from Race 6 to 16 and switched to Night to better accommodate the YouTube races which will also feature other iconic races like the the Daytona 500, Mountain Dew Southern 500, Ford 400 (which is also the new season finale), and the Aaron's 499. Other small changes and new event sponsors were also unveiled.

nirvanafan wrote:NEWS

*Bill Davis Announces 2002 Plans*

Bill Davis Racing has locked in its 2002 lineup. As expected Ward Burton and the #22 team are back. The #93 previously driven by Dave Blaney who heads to the Jasper Motorsports #77 next year will be renumber #23, and feature new sponsor Hill Brothers Coffee who come from the Donlavey #90, and new driver Joe Nemechek who comes from the Petree #33 which will be driven by Robby Gordon who brought sponsorship. Davis will also add a 3rd part-time entry #27 which will be split by Rookie of the Race Contenders Christian Fittipaldi and Scott Wimmer both of whom hope to run the full 2003 schedule. Siemens will sponsor the #27 in all races in the partial effort.

In other news a 2002 paint scheme preview was held unveiling new looks for next season including big changes for the #6, #10, #28, #48, and #55 paint schemes among others. Next years schedule was also released featuring 5 YouTube Broadcasted Races. The Food City 500 was moved from Race 6 to 16 and switched to Night to better accommodate the YouTube races which will also feature other iconic races like the the Daytona 500, Mountain Dew Southern 500, Ford 400 (which is also the new season finale), and the Aaron's 499. Other small changes and new event sponsors were also unveiled.

May I ask, could Christian Fittpaldi race the 500? I'm also glad you never forgot my suggestion to add him. Hope he sticks around

McBlair wrote:

nirvanafan wrote:NEWS

*Bill Davis Announces 2002 Plans*

Bill Davis Racing has locked in its 2002 lineup. As expected Ward Burton and the #22 team are back. The #93 previously driven by Dave Blaney who heads to the Jasper Motorsports #77 next year will be renumber #23, and feature new sponsor Hill Brothers Coffee who come from the Donlavey #90, and new driver Joe Nemechek who comes from the Petree #33 which will be driven by Robby Gordon who brought sponsorship. Davis will also add a 3rd part-time entry #27 which will be split by Rookie of the Race Contenders Christian Fittipaldi and Scott Wimmer both of whom hope to run the full 2003 schedule. Siemens will sponsor the #27 in all races in the partial effort.

In other news a 2002 paint scheme preview was held unveiling new looks for next season including big changes for the #6, #10, #28, #48, and #55 paint schemes among others. Next years schedule was also released featuring 5 YouTube Broadcasted Races. The Food City 500 was moved from Race 6 to 16 and switched to Night to better accommodate the YouTube races which will also feature other iconic races like the the Daytona 500, Mountain Dew Southern 500, Ford 400 (which is also the new season finale), and the Aaron's 499. Other small changes and new event sponsors were also unveiled.

May I ask, could Christian Fittpaldi race the 500? I'm also glad you never forgot my suggestion to add him. Hope he sticks around

Yes i was planning for Fittipaldi to attempt in the 500 as well as at least the 1st dega race and both rc with Wimmer getting the other 2 plate races and the 2 of them splitting Wimmer's other attempted races irl. They would both then attempt a few additional races to fill out the 7 although I am not exactly sure which ones yet.

NEWS

*Hermie Sadler Announces 2002 Plans*

After finishing up their 2001 schedule not too long ago, Hermie Sadler and Virginia Lottery announced that they will expand their deal into 2002 running not just the 4 races in Virgina but also running an extra 6 races in states that border Virginia being North Carolina (Rockingham and Lowe's) and Tennessee (Bristol). Score Motorsports will be back with Chevrolet but will switch from #13 to #02. Where Hermie Sadler's schedule would make it nearly impossible to win, running the races planned would make him eligible for Rookie of the Year. This team hopes to continue to grow in coming years and this is a nice step forward for the big picture.

NEWS

*Sponsorship Solidifies 2002 Plans for 4 teams*

The 4 teams from this season who had not announced sponsors for next season have unveiled their fates. Brett Bodine's team is the highlight of the group bringing back Hooters to the sport for the 1st time since 1996 in a new 2 year deal as sponsor Ralph's/Red Cell departs. Donlavey Racing has brought in for Eel River sponsor Duke's Mayonnaise after loosing sponsor Hill Brothers Coffee to Bill Davis Racing. Things had not worked out so well for PPI Motorsports who lost McDonald's sponsorship and will shut down the #96 team and Melling Racing who lost Kodiak and will shut down their single car operation. Melling Racing debuted in 1982 with Bill Elliott and the duo scored their 1st win the next year, 11 wins in 1985 including the 3 of the Winston Million races (now No Bull 5) earning driver Bill Elliot the nickname Million Dollar Bill, and the title in 1988. Elliott left the team after 1991 and the team had struggled ever since with not being able to add to their 34 wins with Elliott and only scoring 1 top 5 and and 10 top 10s in the over 10 years since. The team started the season with Stacey Compton before replacing him with Kevin LePage due to poor performance and were they had pick it up slightly with that move, it was not enough to attract a sponsor and save the once great team.

NEWS

*Phoenix Racing Announces 2002 Lineup*

Phoenix Racing will expand from a 7 race schedule to a 12 race schedule in 2002 with 2 drivers splitting the wheel. Busch series regular Elton Sawyer will join the team after loosing his long-time Busch ride due to sponsorship issues. He will only run half of the races with ARCA series regular Bobby Gerhart being chosen to run all the plate races and the races at his hometrack at Pocono.

NEWS

*Raines to Run Cup with 2 Part-Time Teams*

Tony Raines had confirmed that he will run 7 races in Cup this year to prepare for a full 2003 schedule running for Rookie of the Year. Raines's 1st 4 races will be for DEI satellite team Michael Waltrip Racing. The team will run the #00 with their Busch Series sponsor Aaron's. The team will run 2 plate races and 2 normal races and where the team would like to remain involved in Cup it is unknown if they want to pursue expansion or remain where they are at with their Cup program for the time being. Raines's other 3 races will come with Bace Motorsports who will also run 3 races with Chad Little and Watkins Glen with a yet to be name Road Course Ringer. The team will then close their Busch team to focus on bringing their #74 Staff America Chevrolet full-time in Cup next season with Raines.

NEWS

*Final 2 Full-Time Teams Announce Plans*

Morgan McClure Motorsports has confirmed that they will drop the w. Eel River Racing in their name however their acquisitions remain. Despite having a surprising great season with Kenny Wallace staying solidly in the Top 25 through the closer of the #27 and buyout from the #4 the duo have mutally agreed to part ways. Wallace has elected to focus on his quickly growing Busch Series team Innovative Motorsports whom are in line for a Top 10 points effort and won their 1st race at Rockingham recently as well as just signing a big sponsorship deal with Stacker2 for next season. Wallace wants to continue to grow and contend for wins and titles in lower series rather than run mid-pack in Cup for the time being. Jeff Green has been named the replacement in a 2 year deal. After moving from Cup to Busch in 1999 Green has dominated the series finishing 2nd, 1st, and 2nd in points and winning 13 races. He is now ready to make the move back up and this time with a stronger, more stable team full-time.

ARCA team Bam Racing has confirmed that they will be shifting to NASCAR running the full season with the #49 Dodge driven by Shawna Robinson who will compete for Rookie of the Year. The team currently has no primary sponsorship however they do plan to stick to their plans regardless but will need additional support to continue Full-Time after next season. Dodge had also announced at the event that Bam Racing is not the only new team to join their roster. Phoenix Racing and Penske Racing will both switch to Dodge from Ford. Phoenix Racing will make the move immediately and showed off a new paint-scheme to go along with it for next season. Due to their contract with Ford, Penske will have to wait until next season to officially preform the switch. The move will take place on what would have been the 10 year anniversary of Penske joining Ford coming from GM/Pontiac in 1993.

NEWS

*2001 Season Wraps Up*

The 2001 season has officially ended with the son of a NASCAR legend, Dale Earnhardt Jr., bringing home what could be the 1st of many titles after a dominate year that allowed him to lock the title by just showing up to the final race. Just like his father he won his 1st title in just his 2nd season in the sport, a feat only these 2 have accomplished in recent history although unlike his father Jr. did loose ROTY the previous year to Matt Kenseth. He still has 6 title and 73 wins to catch up to his father but he is off to a good start. Meanwhile Jimmy Spencer brought home not only his 1st Cup non-plate win but his 1st win since 1994. He sat on pole and led early but faded mid-pack. The way cautions flew wound up leading to many different pit strategies which brought Mr. Excitement up front again when it counted and also gave good runs to other struggling drivers like Geoffrey Bodine, his brother and Spencer's teammate Todd Bodine. Lastly Casey Atwood collected his ROTY award. He dominated that contest all year and locked up the title with 2 races left, and right on time since he DNQed for the 1 and only time all year the next race after locking the title.

NEWS

*Three Drivers Find Ride for Budweiser Shootout*

Three drivers eligible for the Budweiser Shootout have announced what car they will be driving. Ron Fellows will return to Andy Petree Racing but drive the #55 instead of #33. This is only for the Shootout and Fellows wants to keep his options open for this years road courses although Petree said the #55 is open for Fellows if he wants it. Geoffrey Bodine will drive for his brother Brett Bodine for returning sponsor Hooters after driving his other brother Todd Bodine's car last year. Geoffrey Bodine's normal #90 team has elected to skip this race to focus on points races. Kenny Wallace had won the random draw but had t find ride because like Ted Musgrave who had won last year, he had no ride in Cup for this season. He had found a ride for Richard Childress in the #31.

NEWS

*Haas CNC Racing Moving to Cup*

Busch Series team Haas CNC Racing has announced plan to move up to the Cup Series. They will run the #60 with support from Hendrick Motorsports for 7 races towards the end of the year with Hendrick development driver and 3-time Truck Series champion Jack Sprague before the group goes full-time in 2003.

NEWS

*Earnhardts Dominate Historic Speedweeks*

Dale Earnhardt Sr. has won both the both the Budweiser Shootout and Daytona 500 to quick start his 2002 season. It is the 2nd Daytona 500 win for the driver who came so close so many time throughout the 20 years before his 1st win in the historic event. His son and defending champ Dale Earnhardt Jr. was equally impressive finishing in 2nd just behind his father in both races. Only sweeping the front row in qualifying could have made the weekend even better. This all came in the historic 1st race to have highlights published to popular website YouTube.

#DaleYeah!!!!

NEWS

*Big Changes for #26 & #66 in 2003*

It was announced today that the #26 & #66 (owned currently by Haas Carter Motorsports) will take a big hit at the end of this season as both partner Carl Haas and primary sponsor for both of their entries K-Mart will depart at the end of 2002. Travis Carter hopes to continue his team and is actively looking for new partners for 2003 and beyond. Seeing as how early these changes were decided Carter feels confident he has enough time to find what he needs to keep the team going in its current capacity.

NEWS

*Driver Change After Early #44 Petty Enterprises Struggles*

Petty Enterprises is continuing major changes. It is no surprise the team has struggled recently. Between their 3 entries last season they finished 27th, 41st, and 42nd in points, DNQed 16 times, and finished in last 19 times. The #43 and #45 have showed potential this season however the #44 has so far missed 2 of the 3 races and finished in last in the race they did make. As result driver Buckshot Jones will be replaced by Robert Pressley effective immediately. Pressley had ran for Jasper Motorsports last year but was replaced by Dave Blaney. Without a ride Pressley moved backed to the truck series were he won the opening race driving for fellow driver Bobby Hamilton. Pressley will continue his truck series season while driving for the massively overhauled #44 team.

NEWS

*Petty Extends Sponsorship Deal and Looses Another*

Petty Enterprises has announced that Georgia Pacific has extended their sponsorship through 2005, however they will move to the #45 at the end of this season. That being said current #45 sponsor Sprint will leave at the end of this season. The team hopes to secure sponsorship to keep the #44 racing.

NEWS

*Rookies Finding Success*

This year has seen impressive results from our ROTY contenders. Both 48 Johnson and 12 Newman became our two first time winners so far this season and Newman is even leading the points with Johnson holding a solid 5th place effort thus far. 30 Harvick has also been solid running just outside the Top 10 in points in 13th. They are already outpacing last year's ROTY class of 19 Atwood and 97 Busch who wound up both finished just outside the Top 25 in points and missed a race.

NEWS

*Bill Davis Racing to Remain a 2 Full-Time Car Team in 2003*

Despite previous rumors Bill Davis Racing has confirmed that they will not field the #27 at all next season let alone full-time. The team currently has 4 drivers employed and was expected to expand to keep most of them there long term but that has seemed to change. The team is expected to keep long time driver Ward Burton who is the only one with a contract beyond this season and has been the most successful out of the group. Joe Nemechek has struggled this season so he is not expected back with his ride going to one of the two new drivers hoping to run for ROTY next season being Scott Wimmer and Christian Fittipaldi. Who knows out of those two who gets the ride but it all may come down to their part-time performance in the #27 this year.