NEWS
Benny Parson dies at age 65
The 1973 Cup champion lost his battle to lung cancer on Tuesday at the Carolinas Medical Center. BP was a great guy and will be missed by many people.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bobby Hamilton loses his battle to cancer
It was announced Sunday afternoon that veteran racer Bobby Hamilton died of complications from his 11 month battle with cancer. The 49-year-old driver comes off being the 2004 Craftsman truck champion and well liked among the entire NASCAR circuit. Hamilton always had time to talk about racing. He will surely be missed. God’s speed Bobby.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Martin moves to Chevy for 2007
Friday, Oct. 6,2006 - For most Mark Martin fans, the thought of driving anything but a Ford would be unthinkable. Well....think again.
Earlier today, Martin announced the end of a 19-year long
relationship with Jack Roush beginning next year.
Martin has decided to take up with MB2 Motorsports and drive 22 Cup races...in a
Chevy and help 23-year-old Regan Smith for 11 shows.
This also puts a halt to the idea of Martin driving a No. 6 Ford truck for Roush, which is really a mind blower.
He still has a Chase to concentrate on, but this latest news comes as a real surprise to most race fans.......rs
__________________________________________________________
Concept Challenger going into production?
This is great news for all you Mopar fans. Chrysler has announced Saturday that the Concept Challenger is going into production either late next year or early 2008.
_________________________________________________________________________
GRUBB back in action in Nashville
June 7, 2006 - Kevin Grubb has been reinstated and will be able to compete in the Busch series race in Nashville, a NASCAR official confirmed Wednesday afternoon. Grubb had been suspended two years ago for failing certain drug testing programs. The Virginia driver deserves a second shot. Let's hope there is no Shane Hmeil sydrome attached. Hmeil failed NASCAR regulations recently (for the third time!) resulting in a permanent ban from NASCAR competition. Too bad....what a waste of talent.....rs
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Waltrip fails to make the Coke 600...buying Cope ride to run
race: #55-Michael Waltrip’s string of 261
consecutive Cup appeared to come to a halt Thursday night, when he failed to qualify for
the Coca-Cola 600, turning in a dreadfully slow qualifying lap more than 8 mph off the
pole speed. He last failed to qualify for a Cup race in Oct. 1998 at Phoenix. But he
apparently will purchase a starting spot from #74-Derrike Cope, with details expected to
be announced later.(Speed
Channel)
AND Michael Waltrip's consecutive start streak of 261 races will get to 262.
Waltrip's Waltrip-Jasper Racing has bought the ride of the #74 McGlynn Racing Dodge and
driver Derrike Cope for the Coca-Cola 600, according to a Waltrip team spokesman. The car
will have the NAPA logo on the car and might carry the #55. The owner points goes to
McGlynn and not to Waltrip, whose team sits 36th in owner points and likely will drop
following the race. Waltrip likely will put a new engine in the car but must use the car
Cope qualified in the event. Waltrip ranks sixth in consecutive starts among NASCAR Nextel
Cup drivers [see list on my stats page].(SceneDaily.com)(5-26-2006)
Courtesy of Jayski.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Indy 500 getting brighter!
March 21, 2005 - It was great to hear another name from the past to be included in this year's Indy 500, that being Al Unser Jr. The two-time Indy 500 champ has had a tough time sitting on the sidelines watching his 'buds' compete in the IRL.
Unser will join a couple of other seasoned veterans such as Michael Andretti and Eddie Cheever in this year's big Memorial Day event.
There has been some flags thrown up in the air to indicate the possibility of not having enough racers to fill the normal 33-car field. But, I feel when push comes to shove, the field will be full if they have to roll out a few relicts to make it happen. Relicts in the form of drivers or cars.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Three strikes....you're out!
Feb 25, 2006 - They warned him...even gave him a second chance, but obviously the desire to get behind the wheel of a NASCAR racer was not important enough to stay away from recreational drugs for 26-year-old Shane Hmeil. NASCAR officials recently announced a lifetime ban for Hmeil after the foolish young man failed a third and final drug test.
This is truely a shame for a talented person that has been given enough chances to straighten himself out and get back on track. During his brief stint last year among the top three NASCAR divisions, his efforts netted him nearly a half million dollars in winnings.
Now he is relagated to anything but NASCAR racing and should certainly affect his potential earnings in the millions of dollars.
What was he thinking?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tracy fills in and Elliott fills out
January 5, 2006 - Well, speaking of Paul Tracy (see story below), the open wheel driver will get his next shot behind the wheel of a Cup car, that being Robby Gordon's Chevy next week while Gordon is wrapping up the final stages of his competing in the Dakar Rally overseas. We'll see if Tracy can mind his p's and q's during testing or.....will someone have to get in his face for chopping someone off.
and Bill Elliott has signed on to drive the MB Motorsports No. 36 Chevy which will help fill out the field for this year's Daytona 500. Imagine that...Bill in a Chevy after competing for the past few years in a Dodge and many years in a Ford. Ordinarily, the 36 would be driven by Boris Said, but the team has decided in favor of the Georgia veteran.
------------------------------------
Check back for the latest news in auto racing.
Questions?
Comments? Advertise?
E-mail racinwithruss@adelphia.net