Jayski's® Silly Season Site - 1999 Past NASCAR News

1999 Past NASCAR news and rumors

France has Cancer: International Speedway Corporation announced that its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, William C. France, has been diagnosed with cancer and is currently pursuing additional diagnoses and treatment. The treatment is not expected to prevent him from continuing in his roles as Chairman and CEO of ISC and President of NASCAR. Doctors have told France the illness is treatable(Yahoo Biz/Reuters/Business Wire)(12-20-1999)

NASCAR Rumor UPDATE: hearing that Dennis Huth, VP of Administration (and works with the CTS) will leave NASCAR, hearing an announcement will be made on Monday(Dec 20th)(12-18-1999) -- UPDATE: Dennis Huth, NASCAR's vice president for administration, will leave the company by the end of the year, NASCAR officials confirmed Monday morning. Huth's intentions were not made clear, although NASCAR communications manager Kelly Malone said Huth would continue as a consultant with the company on various issues. Huth's primary job had been to direct and oversee the Craftsman Truck Series as well as NASCAR's nine touring series(Racer Magazine)(12-20-1999)

NASCAR and CART.....no... an update to a post last week concerning NASCAR buying CART(see my Dec 6-12th Past News Page): "There was something fishy about recent reports that certain Champ Car team owners have made overtures to Bill France, Jr. regarding the possibility of NASCAR acquiring CART. In the past few days Racer Magazine contacted several prominent CART owners to gauge their reaction to the story. CART team owner Pat Patrick said, "It's bull...." and soon after the original story came to light, another one made the rounds suggesting the whole thing was a plant by a "disgruntled" former team owner (conceivably in an effort to boost the price of his CART stock) — a rumor that has since been confirmed by another leading CART team owner(Racer Magazine)(12-16-1999)

CART and NASCAR? UPDATE: From Forrest Bond's RaceFax Online(in part with permission): France Reportedly Discussing CART Takeover - We have it on good authority that CART and NASCAR's Bill France are at least feeling each other out, with an eye toward France acquiring the series. Whether there are serious, if preliminary conversations going on, or there's merely been a first overture depends on who one gets the story from, but regardless of the source -- and there are several -- all versions have CART people making the overture to France, rather than the other way around. We are led to believe that many within CART are beginning to seriously question the viability of the series even in the short-term. This evidently became apparent at a Dec. 2nd team owners meeting, which we are told was poorly attended. We are told that several hard questions, some involving the series' inept television coverage, were put to CART honcho Andrew Craig, who is said to have been evasive in many of his answers, to widespread dissatisfaction. Some people within CART have told RaceFax they believe France represents the only salvation for the open-wheel series, but how widespread that belief may be is not certain(Forrest Bond's RaceFax Online)(12-10-1999) -- UPDATE: On Friday (12/10), a CART spokesman told us the item had them, "scratching our heads," because it was, "the first time we had heard of this." We were then provided with a prepared statement attributed to CART chief executive Andrew Craig, to wit: "CART has had no such discussions with Bill France or any other NASCAR representatives. Further, this idea has never been discussed by CART's Board of Directors." As much as anything, that established just how far outside the loop CART's management has been kept. While the official statement is, as far as it goes, apparently accurate, we nonetheless believe that CART board members indeed have, individually, had private discussions with France. And we know that some individual CART team owners -- and chiefly former (since Fontana) team owner Carl Hogan -- have been in discussions with France. Hogan, we are led to believe, was the first to broach the subject to France. What makes the CART statement correct is the fact that Craig evidently has not been told about the discussions, and the matter hasn't been discussed by the board members in a formal board meeting, though we can only assume they've conversed with each other about their overtures to France outside such formal settings. So this is absolutely clear, we have no reason to believe there have been discussions, either formal or informal, between France and CART's management. Informal discussions -- one-on-one between individual owners and France -- have definitely taken place. Whether or not these discussion are continuing is not known, but we are led to believe that they have not progressed to the point of a formal proposal, and have instead been rather general in nature. Whether or not anything will come of this is anyone's guess. If we had to place a bet on the outcome, at this point we'd give odds nothing will happen, because we suspect there's a lot more smoke than fire here(Forrest Bond's RaceFax Online)(12-12-1999)

NASCAR Water: Director of Special Projects Barry Richards today that Millennium Spring Water is now the water of choice for 16 Winston Cup and 31 Busch Series teams! Also announced was the completion of a deal with Winston Cup driver, Rusty Wallace to market a signature edition of Millennium Spring water featuring the Champion's signature and photo. This product is expected on store shelves before year end. Fans and consumers are encouraged to visit the company's website at: www. millenniumspringwater.com, photos from the recent Phoenix races and pictures of the Signature Series bottles may be viewed under the NASCAR heading displayed on the home page. Richards welcomed The Wood Brothers into Team Millennium as their newest member after discussion at PIR and was pleased to note they were supplied with spring water for the Homestead festivities. Barry and company officials were at Homestead this past weekend to visit with the teams personally and explore marketing opportunities(Millennium Spring Water PR)(11-26-1999)

New Title Sponsor? PitNow reports that NASCAR has been negotiating with AT&T to possibly replace R.J. Reynolds(Winston) as the sponsor for NASCAR's premier stock-car racing series, according to sources. Coca-Cola is also said to be in the running for a major sponsorship role in what has been called the Winston Cup series since 1972(PitNow)(11-14-1999)

A Campers Dream: Coleman, the outdoors equipment company, announced a three-year partnership with NASCAR in which it will repair appliances and deliver water to fans who camp out at NASCAR events(St Petersburg Times)(11-13-1999)

Club NASCAR? NASCAR has broken new sponsorship ground by signing time-share giant Club Sunterra as the "Official Vacation Clubs/Destination of NASCAR." The four-year deal involves an annual rights fee of approximately $1.5 million, according to a Club Sunterra official who said the company will probably spend at least an additional $3 million each year on NASCAR-related marketing(SportsBusiness Journal)(thanks Ryan for the heads up)(11-9-1999)

NASCAR and TV: from the TV Sports section of the USA Today by Rudy Martzke: Dick Ebersol, along with officials of other networks, were involved in meetings with NASCAR negotiators Tuesday. Meetings will be held Nov. 7-8, with rights fees likely tripling to about $300 million a year. This could be the start of a huge month for NBC, which could wind up with half the NASCAR package, renew Wimbledon and possibly announce the launch of its summer football league with Turner beginning in 2001. Fox wants to buy the entire package starting in 2001 in conjunction with FX. NASCAR, though, probably will have two packages. CBS/TNN are favored to gain rights to the first half over ABC/ESPN for possibly $160 million a year because ABC can't televise as many races as CBS. NBC/Turner are favored for the second half of the year for about $140 million annually(USA Today)(10-28-1999)

Tire News UPDATE: Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. is expected today to announce it's pulling out of the Indy Racing League(IRL) and Championship Auto Racing Teams(CART). Supposedly there will be a press release issued this morning from headquarters in Akron, Ohio, and it will state Goodyear is ending its 36-year run in Indy cars(SpeedNet) -- UPDATE: in part from the Goodyear PR: As a result of the withdrawal, 18 engineering associates will transfer to other positions within Goodyear’s Akron Technical Center while approximately 60 manufacturing positions will be eliminated. Goodyear is presently involved in the largest expansion period in the company’s 101-year history and is focusing its efforts and resources on growing the company’s business activities on numerous fronts. As part of those expansion plans, Goodyear recently became the world’s largest tire manufacturer following a strategic alliance with Japan’s Sumitomo Rubber Industries and the company’s Dunlop tire brand. As a result of the integration, Goodyear’s annual sales are expected to increase by $2.5 billion in 2000, see the complete PR at TNN's Motorsports Site, plus Goodyear will not supply tires to the ASA circuit as BF Goodrich will supply the tires and become the series title sponsor(SpeedVision)(10-26-1999)

Business: Action Performance Companies announced that its goracing.com inc. subsidiary acquired Fantasy Sports Enterprises Inc., which operates Fantasy Cup Auto Racing through its Web site at www.fantasycup.com. Fantasy Cup Auto Racing allows subscribers to assemble an eight-car Winston Cup ``team'' and compete for prizes based on actual race results. Television racing commentator and two-time NASCAR champion Ned Jarrett serves as the spokesperson for Fantasy Cup Auto Racing. For the year ended Sept. 30, 1999, Fantasy Sports Enterprises Inc. had revenue of approximately $2.2 million(Yahoo Business)(10-26-1999)

Shocks: The new shock combination, proposed for the superspeedways, was tested by Chevy drivers at Talladega last week and results were encouraging to NASCAR officials. Speeds at the 2.66 mile track were down almost 10 mph. With speeds again creeping up near the forbidden 200 mph range at Talladega, NASCAR again was hit with the importance of looking into the outrageously soft qualifying setups currently being used by Winston Cup teams. Setups now for qualifying at the two superspeedways have cars using shocks with so little rebound that the cars tend to bottom out during qualifying runs, leaving the vehicles on the very edge of control. NASCAR also has some concern about the roof-top wind flaps used to keep a car from becoming airborne at high speeds. There is a possibility that they may not function as designed when a car stays out of the airstream with soft shocks. Officials have said they may allow for different restrictor plates, allowing a little more speed, at Daytona and Talladega, should the new shocks be approved(Inside Motorsports)(10-26-1999)

Wind Tunnel UPDATE: Reynard Motorsport Inc. announced today that it has joined forces with Roger Penske to construct a purpose-built, NASCAR-specific wind tunnel in Mooresville, N.C., for the development of vehicles in the Winston Cup, Busch Grand National and Craftsman Truck series. See full story at Racer Magazine(10-25-1999) -- UPDATE: GM has been promising for two years to build a wind tunnel near Rick Hendrick's shop in Concord for NASCAR teams' use. Now, Chrysler's Dodge operation is planning to build a wind tunnel in the heart of stock-car country, somewhere near Mooresville. Chrysler has no high-speed wind tunnel such as the Lockheed tunnel near Atlanta. The company is building one, but it won't be ready until probably 2001 or 2002. Building a wind tunnel is a $20 million-plus proposition, and it's unclear how long it might take Dodge to get such a NASCAR project completed(PitNow)(10-26-1999)

Closing in on 500: Jeff Burton's win at Rockingham gave Ford its 498th all-time victory in the Cup series. Ford is close to clinching the manufacturers championship and holds a 15 point lead over second-place Chevrolet with only three races remaining. Ford has 213 points compared to 198 for Chevrolet and 178 for Pontiac. How is the championship calculated? The rules and other info on my Manufacturers Championship Standings page(10-26-1999)

The Dyno: NASCAR brought its chassis dynamometer to the Rockingham track and tested six cars after Sunday's race. The cars tested were the Pontiacs of Ward Burton(#22) and Bobby Labonte(#18), the Fords of Jeff Burton(#99), Dale Jarrett(#88) and Rusty Wallace(#2), and Sterling Marlin's Chevrolet(#40)(That's Racin')(10-25-1999)

Shock Rules: Chevy drivers were nearly 10 mph slower in qualifying setup during this week's NASCAR shock tests, according to Chevy crew chiefs. NASCAR may go to a slightly larger restrictor plate for the Daytona 500 if its planned shock rules go through. Current plate holes are 29/32nds of an inch in diameter. If the plans don't go through, then NASCAR could go to an even smaller plate. NASCAR officials told teams at Talladega they will probably order the same "stock" shocks for the Daytona 500 as for Daytona qualifying(PitNow)(10-23-1999)

Taurus OK'd: Ford's revised Taurus model, which differs in a few minor ways from the present Ford entry, has received approval from NASCAR, and teams can begin to construct cars for the 2000 season. Most of the changes will not be noticeable, with some flattening of the back glass and deck and a somewhat more streamlined nose(Racer Magazine)(10-23-1999)

2000 Chevy Test UPDATE: Most Chevy teams are expected to test the 2000 Monte Carlo on Monday and Tuesday at Talladega. Sterling Marlin will drive for Team Sabco. Hendrick Motorsports will use Jeff Gordon, Terry Labonte and Jerry Nadeau. Kenny Wallace will drive for Andy Petree. Dale Earnhardt and Dave Marcis also will test, among others(Roanoke Times)(10-17-1999) -- UPDATE: The new 2000 Chevy Monte Carlo was tested at Talladega on Monday. Driver/Teams on hand were Sterling Marlin, who represented Team SABCO. Gordon, Labonte and 2000 teammate Jerry Nadeau for Hendrick Motorsports. Earnhardt was joined by Richard Childress Racing teammate Mike Skinner, while Earnhardt's own driver Steve Park was also on hand along with his 2000 teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. Among others who took part were Bobby Hamilton for Morgan-McClure, Kenny Wallace for Andy Petree, Geoffrey Bodine for Joe Bessey/PowerTeam and Andy Hillenburg, who drove Larry Hedrick's Chevrolet. The test continues on Tuesday. No speeds were released(NOL) hearing Dale Earnhardt Jr went just above 194mph(10-19-1999)

2000 Taurus: Winston Cup director Gary Nelson said Sunday NASCAR was ``very close'' to approving the templates for the 2000 Ford Taurus. NASCAR met with Ford officials at Charlotte last weekend to go over the latest modifications. Ford first presented the changes, deemed by the manufacturer as simply ``style changes,'' in August when it unveiled the car at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis. Once the templates are approved, teams can begin building cars for next season(That's Racin')(10-18-1999)

More UPDATEs: R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company has decided that its Winston brand's NASCAR sponsorship cannot continue to include the NASCAR Winston Racing Series, the weekly short-track racing program that it has been primary sponsor of for 26 years, after the conclusion of the 1999 season(NOL) I am hearing Exide Batteries may step in as the sponsor(10-12-1999) -- UPDATE: NASCAR is talking with five companies about sponsorship of the Winston Racing series in the future. One of those companies is Exide, which decided to cease sponsoring the Richmond fall Winston Cup race after this season. The sponsorship includes a $1.4 million championship fund(Times-Dispatch)(10-13-1999) -- UPDATE 2: Exide representatives said the company is not currently planning to take over sponsorship of the former Winston Racing Series, but that it would consider it if NASCAR offered. The company is currently planning to sponsor a different NASCAR short track series(Times-Dispatch)...BUT... I am hearing Exide Corporation has entered into an agreement with NASCAR to sponsor the Exide ShorTrack Series next year, the second tier of the NASCAR Weekly Racing Series (NWRS), the premier short track racing series in the nation. The Exide ShorTrack Series, which is a part of the NWRS, competes at nearly 100 short tracks, both dirt and asphalt, on a weekly basis, nationwide, reaching 39 states, including Alaska. The Exide ShorTrack Series has no regulation playing field. The tracks will range in size from the tight .250-mile Riverhead Raceway on Eastern Long Island, NY, to the spacious .626-mile LaCrosse (WI) Fairgrounds Speedway. There are 10 regions throughout the country that will feature drivers competing for track, regional and national honors and recognition. With more than $1.423 million in posted point fund awards available in the first tier, drivers in the second tier will now be vying for the Exide ShorTrack Series national championship(10-17-1999)

Not NASCAR but TMS: Eleven people were injured yesterday in a pit-road accident minutes before the end of the final practice session for the Mall.com 500 Pep Boys Indy Racing League race at Texas Motor Speedway. The accident occurred when a car driven by Swedish rookie Niclas Jonsson spun into the pitted car of driver Tyce Carlson as Carlson's crew was working on it. Jonsson withdrew from the race, Carlson said he would like to be ready to race Sunday(full story at the Star-Telegram)(10-17-1999)

NASCAR Sues: NASCAR has sued a Chicago man claiming that he is infringing on their trademark by operating an Internet site called nascarstore. NASCAR, which filed the suit on Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Chicago, says in the suit that Robert Freeman of Chicago is misleading people who visit the site into believing that it's owned and operated by the stock-car racing association. It claimed the defendant is making money on their name(Full story at: Tennessean)(10-16-1999)

TV Stuff: Indications are that NASCAR is close to reaching initial agreements on its unified broadcast package with a major network or networks. But NASCAR officials remain very guarded about what might be coming down the pipe, and when. Asked about reports that the deal could be going to final in the next two or three weeks, NASCAR vice president Mike Helton admitted that negotiations were nearing time for serious talk with broadcast partners, but would say little more(Racer Mag Site)(10-16-1999)

Shocked UPDATE: NASCAR'S Proposed new Daytona-Talladega shock rules, as expected, aren't setting well with the tour's top shock specialists. Winston Cup teams don't even know the specifics of what NASCAR has planned, and Chevy teams will be at Talladega for three days after next weekend's DieHard 500. Over the past few years, teams have used trick shocks to lower their cars to improve aerodynamics for qualifying, but the downside is a harsh ride on a chassis that digs into the pavement, leaving a trail of sparks. The proposed rule would require a standard shock to be used by each team for qualifying next season at Daytona and Talladega. NASCAR plans to ask Chevrolet teams to test some of the new shocks at Talladega next week during three days of testing after Sunday's DieHard 500(PitNow)(10-11-1999) -- UPDATE: NASCAR very likely will outlaw the bone-jarring shock-and-spring packages teams have used in qualifying at the restrictor-plate tracks the past couple of years. Other concerns are driver safety and costs to the teams. Shocks with hand-made internal parts are designed to compress quickly (against very soft springs) and rebound almost not at all, allowing the cars’ bodies virtually to sit on the frame and drag the ground during time trials at Daytona and Talladega. The idea is to get the car body as low in the airstream as possible in order to gain speed. The solution, NASCAR vice president Kevin Triplett said, will be to specify minimum spring rates (350 to 400 pounds) and to hand out a spec shock for qualifying, in the manner of the restrictor plates used on the engine intake manifolds. The shocks would be used only for qualifying, as the trick packages are not used in the races. NASCAR plans to test this idea here Monday and Tuesday, which coincides with the first big-track test of Chevrolet’s new Monte Carlo model, due in competition next year. The new shock package, if it works as planned, would be introduced at next year’s Daytona 500(Racer Magazine Site)(10-16-1999)

Spoiler Change? UPDATE 2 NOT: Not in the angle but I hear NASCAR will issue a bulletin on how the braces on the rear spoilers are placed. Basically it tells the teams where the support braces go, how many, and exactly where to put them. From what I understand, teams could put them at angles or more than three per side so the tool used by NASCAR could only be hung on the spoiler where the team wanted it, usually in the center. Then they would turn the corners back a couple of degrees. Less downforce(7-29-1999) -- UPDATE: will be effective as of October 13th, 1999(before Talladega). An addition to the rule book covering the Rear Spoilers, concerning the Spoiler Braces. There can be a maximum of six, three per side, evenly spaced(7-30-1999) REPOSTED(10-13-1999)

RJR sponsorship UPDATE 2: R.J. Reynolds(Winston) is reportedly considering dropping its sponsorship of the Winston Racing Series(NOT THE CUP SERIES), the nationwide weekly track sponsorship package that has been a key marketing part of its development of the Winston Cup tour, according to NASCAR sources. The Winston Racing Series has been an effort to tie together the hundred or so NASCAR short tracks around the country with a cohesive marketing plan, despite the diverse nature of the various tracks and racing divisions involved. Reynolds' move would likely be tied to government settlements of tobacco issues. NASCAR officials have been shopping the series around to other potential sponsors(PitNow)(10-11-1999) -- UPDATE: R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company has decided that its Winston brand's NASCAR sponsorship cannot continue to include the NASCAR Winston Racing Series, the weekly short-track racing program that it has been primary sponsor of for 26 years, after the conclusion of the 1999 season(NOL) I am hearing Exide Batteries may step in as the sponsor. Tobacco sponsors are leaving in droves it seems the #'s 23,33 and 41 teams all are losing their Tobacco based sponsors at the end of 1999(10-12-1999) -- UPDATE 2: NASCAR is talking with five companies about sponsorship of the Winston Racing series in the future. One of those companies is Exide, which decided to cease sponsoring the Richmond fall Winston Cup race after this season. The sponsorship includes a $1.4 million championship fund(Times-Dispatch)(10-13-1999)

Shocked: NASCAR'S Proposed new Daytona-Talladega shock rules, as expected, aren't setting well with the tour's top shock specialists. Winston Cup teams don't even know the specifics of what NASCAR has planned, and Chevy teams will be at Talladega for three days after next weekend's DieHard 500. Over the past few years, teams have used trick shocks to lower their cars to improve aerodynamics for qualifying, but the downside is a harsh ride on a chassis that digs into the pavement, leaving a trail of sparks. The proposed rule would require a standard shock to be used by each team for qualifying next season at Daytona and Talladega. NASCAR plans to ask Chevrolet teams to test some of the new shocks at Talladega next week during three days of testing after Sunday's DieHard 500(PitNow)(10-11-1999)

Crew Member Numbers? Humpy Wheeler, president of Lowe’s Motor Speedway, wants to put uniform numbers on the crewmen as a means of identifying their roles in the lightning-fast pit stops that mark NASCAR events. Under Wheeler’s plan, crewmen would be assigned numbers from 1-12 based on their positions. As an example, all crew chiefs would wear the No. 1, and on the other end of the order, four utility members and potential replacements would wear Nos. 9-12.(Gaston Gazette) AND another story, even has images: Claire B. Lang takes a look at new NASCAR uniforms proposed by Humpy Wheeler(GoCarolinas)(10-8-1999)

New Taurus OK'd? UPDATE: Ford's new body for its 2000 Taurus has been all-but-approved by NASCAR for competition. After further questioning around the Ford teams, the TNN website folks has found out that there is a meeting with Ford crewchiefs and NASCAR officials tomorrow(Friday) at 10:30am/et at a local Concord template-making shop to all-but-sign-off on the new templates(TNN Motorsports Site)(10-8-1999) -- UPDATE: NASCAR met with representatives from each Winston Cup Ford team Friday morning, Oct. 8, plus a number of the independent body hangers to discuss the bodywork for the 2000 Taurus that Ford has presented to NASCAR. Ford's Preston Miller said that the purpose of the meeting was “to see how the templates that NASCAR has prepared to fit that car actually do fit that car."(Racer Mag)(10-9-1999)

TV? NBC is favored to team with cable's Turner for half of the lucrative NASCAR deal starting in 2001, along with CBS/TNN(USA Today/Rudy Martzke) Can't imagine ABC/ESPN getting shut out(10-5-1999)

Rules Change? NASCAR officials are saying they may be handing out general-issue Daytona shocks next February like they hand out carburetor plates. How teams might react to not being able to run their own special shocks has yet to be gauged. NASCAR tried to implement shock rules at Daytona this season only to meet stiff resistance(PitNow)(10-4-1999)

NASCAR Video: National Geographic Home Video takes a look at one of America's fastest growing sports in its newest video release, "Stock Car Video." The video take fans on ride-alongs with three-time Winston Cup champion Jeff Gordon and current series points leader Dale Jarrett. The release of ``Stock Car Fever'' marks National Geographic's first documentary in the field of motorsports. The video is currently available in stores for $12.95.(That's Racin')(10-2-1999)

2000 Taurus test and an IMAGE: The 2000 Ford Taurus made its inaugural speedway run this evening(Tuesday 9-28) at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Mark Martin handled the chores for the closed testing session. Among the gathering for the test session from NASCAR were President Mike Helton and Winston Cup Series Director Gary Nelson. Ford Racing's contingent included Operations Manager Greg Specht, NASCAR Winston Cup Program Manager Jay Novak and NASCAR technical consultant Preston Miller. The ivory white Ford Taurus with the bright blue Ford emblem on the hood backed out of the garage area at 4:40pm for the first of four runs by Martin. Each time the car came in, Martin consulted with his crew chief Jimmy Fennig, while NASCAR and Ford staffers along with Roush Racing crew members recorded data and made slight adjustments. At 6:10pm Martin parked the test model in the garage for the final time and the car was loaded in its hauler for its trip to the wind tunnel in Marietta (GA). Also see an image of the car and the rest of the story with quotes at the: Atlanta Motor Speedway Site(9-29-1999) -- UPDATE/IMAGE: got an image sent to me of the car, see it in my Paint Scheme Gallery(10-1-1999)

Banquets: The NASCAR Winston Cup Series banquet will be held on Friday, Dec. 3, at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City. The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series banquet will be at The Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco on Friday, Dec. 10 and the NASCAR Busch Series Grand National Division banquet will be held on Friday, Jan. 7, at The Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif.(NOL) The Cup banquet is private and closed to the public(10-1-1999)

Cowboys and NASCAR: The NFL Dallas Cowboys are negotiating to have two cars bearing their colors and logo race in next April's Direct TV 500 at the Texas Motor Speedway, owner Jerry Jones said Thursday. The two Winston Cup cars - one predominantly silver and the other predominantly blue - would compete in the April 2 race. The Cowboys also want a car with their colors to compete in the Texas 300, a Busch Series race, on April 1. Jones would not divulge the names of the drivers the Cowboys have targeted, but spokesmen for Bobby Labonte and Rusty Wallace's primary sponsor say they have had preliminary discussions with the Cowboys. For example, the Cowboys wouldn't use Earnhardt because he has an endorsement deal with Coke. Jones has ties with Pepsi(Dallas Morning News) NOTE: that should rule out Labonte also as he has an endorsement deal with Coke also(10-1-1999)

TV Stuff: The NASCAR television package may be closer to being signed, but it's not clear which way NASCAR officials might be leaning. According to one report, both ABC and Fox are each willing to take the entire 10-month Winston Cup season as a package(PitNow)(10-1-1999)

NY License Plates: A new line of custom license plates featuring eight NASCAR drivers from the Winston Cup Series will be made to New York drivers beginning mid-November, according to the state Division of Motor Vehicles. #99 Driver Jeff Burton, joined DMV Commissioner Richard Jackson, Jr. and Lt. Gov. Mary Donohue in launching the new NASCAR plates on Tuesday. Burton will be featured on the first license plate with Mark Martin, Tony Stewart and Bobby Hamilton as some of the other eight NASCAR driver available. The NASCAR logo will appear on all the plates. New York is the first state to feature NASCAR drivers on its custom plates. Jackson said the DMV plans to add more NASCAR drivers to the line(Syracuse Online/AP)

Retraints: NASCAR mailed bulletins to each Cup team stating that cable restraints for each car's trunk will be required by Oct. 6 when the series arrives at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte(The Depot)(9-25-1999)

NASCAR News: NASCAR tops the chart in 18 of 20 categories rating sports sponsorship, according to a survey published by Street & Smith's Sports Business Journal(NOL)(9-24-1999)

Rules: Last fall a proposal to limit the number of crew members a race team could bring to the track each weekend caused quite a stir in the garage area. But after a couple of weekends the talk died down and the topic has not been broached since AND Another idea that has been discussed in the garage area is changing rules governing qualifying. Some feel that allowing teams to stand on first-round speeds makes it unfairly difficult for anyone to make a race during second-round time trials, which are often held in conditions that make the track slower than it had been in the first round. Gary Nelson doesn't make it sound like any changes are imminent, however, see the rest of the story and quotes at That's Racin'(9-23-1999)

Tobacco Suit: The Justice Department plans to file a mammoth civil lawsuit against the major tobacco companies as early as today, alleging that cigarette smoking costs the federal government billions of dollars annually, see full story at U.S. plans massive tobacco civil suit from Charlotte.com. No idea how or if this will effect RJR's sponsorship of NASCAR, too early to tell(9-22-1999)

New Series UPDATE: Plans for a new sports-car racing series will be unveiled today at a news conference in New York attended by Roger Edmondson, president of the new sanctioning body, and Jim France, president of International Speedway Corp(USA Today)(9-21-1999) -- UPDATE: A press conference held at Sardi’s restaurant in New York City this morning formally announced the creation of International Speedway Corporation’s Grand American Road Racing Association, a new sanctioning body whose primary focus will be the organization of professional road racing throughout North America. More info and the schedule at: Racer Magazine(9-22-1999)

New Taurus: Ford has scheduled a wind-tunnel test for the end of the month to hammer out the details of its new Taurus race car. NASCAR officials will be on hand to review the data, with the intention of getting a body configuration approved for the 2000 season. Ford has had its race teams work on the proposal it will submit to the sport’s governing body. Penske Racing South, Roush Racing and Robert Yates Racing have all made contributions(Gazette/Monte Button)(9-18-1999)

TV Money: It’s been the buzz this week: TNN and corporate partner CBS Sports (both now owned by Viacom) have put anywhere from $1.2b to $5b on the table for the NASCAR unified television rights deal. What's the real story? See the story at Racer Magazine: Big Money On Table from TNN for NASCAR TV Deal? by Bill King(9-11-1999)

Scorer: Morris Metcalf, the chief NASCAR scorer for most of its 50-year history, plans to retire at the mid-point of next year's Daytona 500 and turn the job over to Tim Hudson(Daily Press)(9-10-1999)

Hall of Fame: Sam Ard, who in only three seasons became one of the greatest competitors in the NASCAR Busch Series, and the late Alan Kulwicki, a Wisconsin-born driver whose tenacity led him to the pinnacle of NASCAR Winston Cup racing, have been elected to the National Motorsports Press Association’s Hall of Fame. Both drivers received the required majority of votes cast by the Press Membership of the NMPA. They will be enshrined into the Hall of Fame at a special banquet and ceremonies at Darlington Country Club on Sept. 4, the night before the running of the 50th Pepsi Southern 500 Winston Cup race at Darlington Raceway. For the first time, TOSCO 76 will serve as the host of the banquet and ceremonies. TOSCO Corp. owns the 76 brand, which has been the Official Fuel of NASCAR for 49 years(WC Scene)(7-20-1999) -- CONGRATS: the ceromonies took place and Ard and Kulwicki were inducted on Firday night(9-7-1999)

Cooking: General Mills and its Betty Crocker brand have created the ``Betty Crocker Racing Family'' - a group of women who are involved in racing who will work to recognize the female fan base in the sport. Nancy Andretti, Debbie Benson, Kim Burton, Flossie Johnson, Andrea Nemechek, Pattie and Lynda Petty and Stevie Waltrip are the founding members. The Betty Crocker Racing Family and their recipes will show up on packaging and in TV and magazine advertising for several Betty Crocker products(That's Racin')(9-6-1999)

the Decision: NASCAR's top official said Friday the decision not to penalize Dale Earnhardt for his bump of Terry Labonte on the final lap of last week's race at Bristol was a judgment call based on a desire to see door-to-door racing. See full That's Racin' story: Helton defends NASCAR's ruling at Bristol by David Poole(9-4-1999)

TV Deal: All Cup and BGN television rights holders (ABC, CBS, NBC, ESPN, TBS and TNN) have released their contractual rights for all events beginning with the 2001 season. The announcement allows NASCAR to begin the process of securing a consolidated television package immediately with negotiations expected to begin later this year(NOL)(9-2-1999)

The 2000 Chevy UPDATE and an IMAGE: The 2000 Chevy Monte Carlo will have its first extensive test run Monday and Tuesday at Gateway International Raceway in Madison, IL. Bobby Hamilton, Sterling Marlin, Ken Schrader, David Green, Jerry Nadeau, Geoffrey Bodine, Dale Earnhardt and Mike Skinner are scheduled to drive the NASCAR-approved cars at the 1.25-mile track. Chevy will have the cars tested again in late OctoberPitNow(8-29-1999) -- UPDATE: Opinions were divided over the 2000 Monte Carlo among the nine Winston Cup drivers who began two days of shakedown test runs for the new car at Gateway International Raceway on Monday. It's not that anybody voiced disappointment in the new car, although some in the Chevrolet camp are less than optimistic about what to expect from it; rather, the drivers' opinions varied regarding what was to be gained from the tests on the 1.25-mile oval. See the rest of the story and an image at: Cup drivers test new Monte Carlo at Gateway by David Green(SpeedVision) -- IMAGE: got an image from the test of the #60 car at the - Paint Schemes Gallery(8-31-1999)

TV Stuff: The ESPN telecast of the Goody’s 500 from Bristol Motor Speedway Saturday night pulled a 3.7 rating with a modest seven share and 2.8m households viewing according to Nielsen Media Research. The controversy surrounding the Bristol finish should prove a huge ratings boost for the Pepsi Southern 500 to be carried on ESPN this coming Sunday. See the ratings for the Racing events at Racer Magazine(9-1-1999)

The Finish UPDATE: NASCAR officials reviewed the tape of the pass and decided to let the final order stand for the Goody's Headache Powders 500 at Bristol(WRAL/AP) -- UPDATE: As far as NASCAR is concerned, Saturday's night's victory by Dale Earnhardt will stand as is. Earnhardt hit race leader Terry Labonte from behind on the final lap of Saturday's Goody's 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway to claim his second win of the 1999 season. Several protests were filed over the incident, but Mike Helton, NASCAR's chief operating officer, made a statement late Saturday that the race results would stand(That's Racin')(8-29-1999)

Restrictor Plates? NASCAR officials are considering putting carburetor-restrictor plates on all Winston Cup engines at every track on the tour, and they're asking car owners for reaction. Drivers are not expected to be very enthusiastic about the prospectFrom PitNow(8-29-1999)

TV Ratings: The Pepsi 400 at Michigan last weekend set an event record for its national cable rating according to Nielsen Media Research. Nielsen's report said the Pepsi 400 on ESPN earned a 5.3 national cable rating, which makes this year's event the most watched NASCAR cable telecast in Michigan history. The more than four million homes tuning to the telecast also set a cable event record for households(NOL)(8-26-1999)

TV Times: Good sources reveal that even though it appears that ABC/ESPN have the inside track on all of the NASCAR races on TV, the most likely scenario is that two, possibly three, networks will share the the TV rights. NBC/TBS will probably not be a big threat. NBC is expected to lose money on the November Winston Cup Homestead, Fla. telecast, a lot of money, and really doesn't want in. Fox wants in, though, but the recent flop with the IRL is seen by NASCAR as a lack of expertise and commitment(see full story at TV Times)(8-24-1999)

2000 Chevy Test: NASCAR officials will be at St. Louis' Gateway track next week to observe Chevrolet's open test of its new 2000 Monte Carlo, a test GM officials say will be closed to media(PitNow)(8-22-1999)

Incident UPDATE-Transcript: One of the motorcoach drivers accused in the Racial Incident, Ray Labbe, was on RPm2Nite Wednesday and was interviewed. He mentioned that he was not involved but witnessed the incident but was assumed to be involved. According to several sources and motorcoach drivers, Labbe was not involved in the NHIS Racial Incident. Labbe had a lot to say and I didn't jot down notes and do not wish to misquote him. But he is trying to get his job and life back. If I find an official story on the 'net I will post it. For the initial stories on the incident see this AP report: NASCAR Team Members Fired for Racial Prank and on my #12 Team Past News Page -- UPDATE2 here is the transcript of what was said in the Ray Labbe interview on RPN2Nite Wednesday: "That's correct, that's correct John..basically I'm just doing this deal here to try to clear my name on this situation. And what happened at New Hampshire is, number one I was a victim of circumstances, I'm not denying the fact that I was there, but I was an innocent bystander, the people involved told me about what they were doing, and everything and I watched them do that, and I watched it go down, and it wasn't seconds after it was all done that I just, continued on and went on to the motorhome and did my deal. And thought nothing of it. Well, unfortunately, what happened after this deal went down, is, brings up the incident that I've been suspended for. Ok, which none of you guys know about. A year ago, at Watkins Glen Speedway, was my 55th birthday. And I had over 75 get together, and chip in and buy birthday cake and give me a birthday party after the race Sunday night. And it included a lot of people, trust me. We all had fun and everything, and I ain't afraid to tell you that there was a lot of people into the liquor. And I called someone a name. You know, under the influence, I called somebody a name. And good friends of mine told me I did that, I still didn't know that I had because of the situation I was in, because I was celebrating. Ok, but they also told me that it wasn't three seconds after I called that particular person a name, that I turned around, even in the situation that I was in, and apologized to him. And the whole year went by, and both me and that person, were friends, I helped him, he helped me, every week he gave me stuff, I gave him stuff, everything was fine. And when the situation in New Hampshire happened, I was brought down for that deal, of a year ago. Which at this point I think was unfair, but, all I'm basically after, all Ray Labbe wants, at this time, is to get his life back together, and to go on." Also, the whole interview will be on RPM radio, NASCAR NOW this weekend on the ESPN radio network. The show is broadcast on 157 stations nationwide and is also available on the internet by visiting espn.com's autoracing page(8-19-1999)

NASCAR Road Series UPDATE 2: in Ron Fellows NOL Chat, he mentions that there "should be an announcement in the next 6-7 weeks of a France family-owned and promoted road race series"(8-17-1999) -- UPDATE: The Frances will announce a nine-race series for World Sports Car-type racers during the annual Pepsi Southern 500 weekend at Darlington Raceway in South Carolina, and it will be completely separate from NASCAR, the family owned Stock car racing organization. The series is looked upon as a response to the zooming popularity of Road Atlanta impresario Don Panoz's American Le Mans Series (ALMS) and to the relative inadequacy of the Sports Car Club of America' United States Road Racing Championship. See the rest of the TNN article: Frances To Start Road-Racing Series.(8-18-1999) -- UPDATE 2: SpeedVision had a story up on this a little over a month ago: New NASCAR-backed road racing series? by Steve Smith(8-19-1999)

NASCAR sponsors UPDATE: hearing MCI will not be renewing their official status for the 2000 season with NASCAR and that AT&T is seriously considering taking MCI's place as the Official Telecommunications Company of NASCAR. Also I hear that Circuit City will not renew their status as the Official Electroics Store of NASCAR and DaytonaUSA(8-11-1999) -- UPDATE: Hearing that Burger King is negotiating to become the official fast food of NASCAR, that AT & T and Nokia are both negotiating with NASCAR for official status and Allstate is negotiating with teams and tracks as a sponsor(an insurance war with the Foyt Canseco team?)(8-18-1999)

TV/Indy: The Brickyard 400 last Saturday drew a rating of 4.6, meaning it was seen by 4.6 percent of U.S. households with television sets. It attracted a 15 share, meaning it was seen by 15 percent of households actually watching television at the time. That's a 12 percent increase from last year's 4.1 rating. The 1998 race drew 14 percent of households watching television(SpeedNet)(8-13-1999)

Disturbing News UPDATE: just got back from Chicago and had a email box full of news on this - from an AP story: NASCAR stars Terry Labonte(#5) and Derrike Cope(#30) fired two employees(motor coach drivers) for a racial prank in which one of their workers wore a sheet over his head like a Klansman and confronted a black colleague(#12 crewman). Witnesses characterized the July 8 episode at the New Hampshire International Speedway as a joke by two white motorcoach drivers that went too far. See the full story at the WRAL site: NASCAR Drivers Fire Two Team Members for Racial Prank(WRAL/AP)(8-10-1999) -- UPDATE: another story, not AP - Two ousted for racial incident by Rea McLeroy(Times-Dispatch) and from That's Racin': Incident reopens NASCAR's race issue - Randon Notes by Jim Utter
A few statements sent my way: from Derrike Cope - "Behavior like this simply cannot be tolerated in today's society. This was an example of grievous behavior that I do not condone. It was an ignorant act and I took the only course available to me of rectifying the situation by terminating the employee."(#30 PR)
from Michael Kranefuss(owner of the #12): “Penske-Kranefuss Racing and Jeremy Mayfield fully support NASCAR’s response to the behavior directed at one of our Team members. We and the Team member stand together and look forward to putting the incident behind us.”(Williams Co PR)(8-11-1999)

Ford news: Ford officials say that they have finished work on the downforce and the Daytona versions of the new Taurus. When both will get NASCAR approval is still unclear. Ford officials had been looking for final 2000 templates to be approved by the end of August, but now say they're three weeks behind schedule. NASCAR wants to see the cars on a track before giving the OK(PitNow)(8-10-1999)

Goodyear and NASCAR UPDATE: NASCAR and Goodyear have an announcement planned for 8pm on Thursday, August 5 in Indianapolis, not sure what it's for. New Road Racing series? Extension of their exclusive contract?(runs out this year) Sponsorship?? (7-28-1999) -- UPDATE: the announcement was that Goodyear will start selling a passenger tire with Eagle #1 Gold lettering, that looks similar to the Cup tires. The tire also says NASCAR on the side, but not in it's colors. The announcement was made by Goodyear and NASCAR VP Mike Helton jointly - drivers on hand: Dave Marcis, Joe Nemechek, Bobby Labonte, Jeremy Mayfield, Jimmy Spencer, Steve Park and Sterling Marlin were also present earlier to speak to goodyear dealers(8-6-1999)

Ford Taurus and RPM2Nite UPDATE: Jeff Burton will debut the 2000 Ford Taurus on Wednesday's ESPN2's RPM2Nite(8-3-1999) -- UPDATE: see an image of the car and a story at: the Ford Motorsports Site (8-5-1999)

Testing: On Wednesday, for the first time a NASCAR racing car was tested on Reynard Motorsport's new seven-post shaker test rig in its recently-opened Auto Research Center here in Indianapolis. Race teams can now rent the use of either the seven-post "vehicle dynamics rig" or the rolling road-wind tunnel at the Auto Research Center (ARC). The "shaker" simulates the chassis movements that the race car undergoes on the track -- but in the controlled environment of the test facility. With essentially all the variables under control, the test procedure can produce consistent and reproducible results. On Wednesday, one of Steve Park's Dale Earnhardt Inc. #1 cars was placed on the rig for a demonstration run for the media. See full story(a lot more than I could post here) at goRacing: Reynard Brings New Technology to NASCAR Teams by George Webster(8-5-1999)

Spoiler Change? UPDATE: Not in the angle but I hear NASCAR will issue a bulletin on how the braces on the rear spoilers are placed. Basically it tells the teams where the support braces go, how many, and exactly where to put them. From what I understand, teams could put them at angles or more than three per side so the tool used by NASCAR could only be hung on the spoiler where the team wanted it, usually in the center. Then they would turn the corners back a couple of degrees. Less downforce(7-29-1999) -- UPDATE: will be effective as of October 13th, 1999(before Talladega). An addition to the rule book covering the Rear Spoliers, concerning the Spoiler Braces. There can be a maximum of six, three per side, evenly spaced(7-30-1999)

Monte Carlo Testing: The 2000 Chevrolet Monte Carlo is scheduled to be on the track Aug. 30-31 at Gateway International Raceway outside St. Louis. Teammates Mike Skinner and Dale Earnhardt are scheduled to drive the car. Richard Childress Racing developed the cars for all the tracks except Daytona and Talladega. Hendrick Motorsports developed the restrictor-plate cars(News and Record)(7-28-1999)

Merger Complete: International Speedway Corporation, announced today that it has completed its merger with Penske Motorsports, Inc., first announced on May 10, 1999. Both companies held special meetings of their respective stockholders today who overwhelmingly approved the merger. The merger now positions ISC as America's leading provider of motorsports entertainment with 10 major motorsports facilities across the country, including a 90% interest in the Homestead-Miami Speedway. These venues, combined with ISC's other track interests, will host over 100 motorsports events annually. See full story at: International Speedway Corporation Completes Merger With Penske Motorsports(Yahoo-Biz)(7-26-1999)

Engine Rules: NASCAR officials are watching how a new rule by the BGN series that eliminates qualifying engines works. The rule prohibits teams from using an engine specifically for qualifying and another for the race. Some have said that such a rule in the Cup series could save car owners as much as $1 million a season. The majority of Cup team changes motors after qualifying. Gary Nelson, the Winston Cup Series director, says NASCAR officials want to see how the rule works during the BGN season before deciding if a change is needed in the Cup series(News and Record)(7-24-1999)

RJR Hire: from a Press Release - Richard M. Sanders has been named president of Sports Marketing Enterprises and vice-president of marketing for R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. Sanders replaces G. Clifton “Cliff” Pennell who will remain as senior vice president of marketing for R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. In addition to maintaining oversight accountability for Sports Marketing Enterprises, Pennell will assume additional responsibilities within RJR. Sanders will report to Pennell(7-22-1999)

Fuel Cells UPDATE 2: NASCAR officials confiscated the fuel cells from the #3, #30, #45 and #58 teams Friday at NHIS. The fuel cells were too light. NASCAR has size requirements that are for the outside of the container. If a thinner metal is used to build the cells, then they can hold that minor amount of extra gas, a slight advantage at a fuel-mileage track. #11 Brett Bodine also had his fuel cell confiscated as the foam in the cell had been cut out, allowing the cell more capacity. There will be no fines for any of the teams since the problem was caught before qualifying(Times-Dispatch and That's Racin')(7-10-1999) -- UPDATE: see Taking Liberties with Fuel Cell Cans - A Classically Dumb Idea by Tom Hintz(Speedwords)(7-11-1999) -- UPDATE 2: NASCAR officials added the fuel cells of Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Rick Mast to a growing stack in the garage. The two were confiscated Saturday morning. Like the four that NASCAR took from teams on Friday, the cells were too light(Times-Dispatch)(7-12-1999)

More Qualifying Engines Stuff: With the cost of running a competitive Winston Cup team continuing to escalate, now in the $8 -10 million+ for a top flite team, NASCAR has been considering ways to reduce the amount of capital needed to support a racing operation. One area that has worked for the Busch Series is requiring teams to race the same engine that they use for qualifying. Qualifying in the Winston Cup Series has gotten so high tech that teams build a special "two lap" engine for qualifying runs that would never hold up for 500 miles of competition. The two lap "grenades" can cost $10,000 per race and generally can eat up more than a million dollars a year of the team's budget. This along with wind tunnel testing ($1,400 an hour) and almost weekly test sessions all give huge advantages to the well financed teams like Roush Racing and Hendrick Racing. The BGN Series is pleased with the way the program has worked. With teams allowed to change engines only with NASCAR approval (cars then go to the back of the starting lineup), teams also save the incredible job of rebuilding a race car following qualifying(Inside Motorsports) and NASCAR spokesman Tim Sullivan said Friday the Cup series was considering a rule change that would require teams to race with the same engine they use to qualify. The proposed change would be mostly a cost-saving move, Sullivan said(That's Racin')(7-10-1999)

Rookie Changes: in 2000 the Rookie of the Year and rookie status eligibility will change. Instead of the 15 best races counting for the Rookie of the year, it'll be the 17 best races. Also a driver loses their rookie status for the following year after starting in six Winston Cup Events in the present format, in 2000 they can start in up to seven Cup races(National Speed Sport News) For the current ROTY standings and rules, see my Rookie of the Year page(7-9-1999)

Qualifying engines? I know the BGN is doing this, didn't know Cup was planning it: from a PitNow article - "On another matter, (Sterling) Marlin said that NASCAR's plans to eliminate qualifying engines might be a good move"(PitNow)(7-9-1999)

Penalty: NASCAR officials announced today that they have levied a fine for rules violations prior to this past Saturday's Pepsi 400 at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla. Scott Eggleston, crew chief for Sterling Marlin's Chevrolet, was fined $50,000 for an illegal insert in the intake manifold. The infraction was determined during the pre-race inspection process Saturday. Eggleston is also placed on probation until October 20, 1999. Eggleston's fine resulted from a violation of Rules 12-4 A: Actions detrimental to auto racing; and Rule 12-4 Q: Use of parts that do not conform to NASCAR rules, Inserts not allowed in intake manifolds at Daytona and Talladega(NOL)(7-7-1999)

The Pass UPDATE 2: Getting much email about Dale Jarrett's pass of the pace car during the caution, saw it didn't think much about it. Here is a rule: "Cars may not pass the caution car/truck unless directed to do so by an Official in the caution car/truck. Any cars illegally passing the caution car/truck or race leader will be black-flagged". Not looking to speculate on this, if NASCAR saw a problem they would have given a warning, the way I look at it is he never completed the alleged pass and Jarrett was in the proper position at the start/finish line each time(7-4-1999) -- UPDATE: DJ explains 'the pass': Why was Dale Jarrett riding around on the track apron as the final two laps of Saturday's Pepsi 400 were run under caution? He was trying to make sure he had enough gas to make it around the 2.5-mile track to take the checkered flag. By riding on the bottom of the track, he kept the fuel cell level to allow as much gas as possible into the fuel pickup, which is on the right side. As Jarrett drove on the apron, his Ford actually got ahead of the pace car as the field came off of Turn 2. Jarrett says he lost sight of the pace car(see That's Racin' for the story) as far as NASCAR is concerned, a pass isn't a pass until a car crosses the start/finish line -- FINAL UPDATE: From NOL: NASCAR Director of Operations Kevin Triplett said the rule regarding passing the pace car is designed to prevent competitors from gaining an advantage, primarily by passing the pace car while pitting, thereby getting to their pit sooner; or passing the pace car in order to pick up a full lap on the competition. According to Triplett, Jarrett did neither. "Jarrett, in an obvious effort to conserve fuel, (dived) to the apron," Triplett said. "With the pace car remaining on the race track, Jarrett took the shorter distance, thus temporarily moving ahead of the pace car. He slowed down, moved back into place and gained no advantage. It turned out to be a non-issue."(NOL)(7-5-1999)

No NFL? heard on the LTN hour yesterday that the NFL will no longer allow any NFL team logos on any cars in the major NASCAR series. They said the NFL is worried about losing some of their sponsorship deals(The LTN Hour NASCAR Radio Show)(7-5-1999)

More safety? NASCAR, having made front-wheel tethering and additional hood supports mandatory in recent weeks, will turn its attention next to devising a method to increase the structural integrity of the cars' rears. No reliable means of keeping rear wheels attached has yet been designed, but NASCAR chief operating officer Mike Helton confirmed that experiments were afoot. Teams should soon expect stouter attachments on rear deck lids as well, Helton said(SpeedNet/Monte Dutton)(7-3-1999)

Hood Tethers will be required beginning at Daytona in the Pepsi 400(NOL)(6-28-1999)

Monte Carlo Testing/Carter to switch? Chevy's new Monte Carlo won't be at Indianapolis for next month's NASCAR tests for the Brickyard 400 because NASCAR officials vetoed that plan. But the 2000 model will be at the Gateway track in St. Louis in the next few weeks for shakedown runs, with Terry Labonte penciled in as the test driver for Rick Hendrick's Chevrolet. General Motors has another test of its own also scheduled for Gateway at the end of August. NASCAR officials would like to see the new Monte Carlo and the new Taurus on the track at the same time sometime this fall, probably at Talladega the Monday and Tuesday after the Winston 500 on Oct. 17. Also, Travis Carter(ownes the #23 and #66 Fords) is hinting he may switch to Chevrolets, but GM's Ken Van Everly says that's news to him.(PitNow)(6-28-1999)

Tethers: The cable restraint system to tether the front wheels of Winston Cup cars will become mandatory beginning with Sunday's race at Sears Point, said NASCAR spokesman Tim Sullivan. The use of the device was added to the NASCAR rulebook this week. NASCAR has asked teams to voluntarily use the devices since the Winston all-star race early last month(That's Racin')(6-26-1999)

TV Cash? NASCAR executives are planning to change the way they divide up television revenues, with an eye to the hoped-for increase in TV money. According to several sources in a position to know, NASCAR is considering giving each car owner a lump sum TV money package at the beginning of the season, say $3 million a team. Currently television money is doled out race by race. The kicker: not every team would get the money. Only two teams per car owner would get new TV money(PitNow) - Jayski Note: If this happens I am sure there will some criteria to make a team eligible for the money(6-21-1999)

More Tethers: At Pocono on Sunday, three cars will help NASCAR test tethers designed to keep a car's hood attached to the car in case of a crash. The #2-Rusty Wallace, #24-Jeff Gordon and #18-Bobby Labonte have been fitted with the hood tethers. NASCAR is trying one tether with each car make to be sure the restraints don't offer any interference with the way the car performs on the track. As for the wheel tethers? Each team now has set of tethers they are permitted to use at all tracks. NASCAR has not yet made them mandatory in the Winston Cup series, but that may change in the next few weeks(David Poole/That's Racin')(6-18-1999)

Ford/Chevy: Ford expects to get NASCAR approval of all the templates for their 2000 Taurus by the end of August. That would be remarkably fast, particularly for a model that has suposedly been in development for only a few months. General Motors officials say they expect Ford's new Taurus to have to meet the same aerodynamic numbers they had to meet with their own new 2000 Monte Carlo(PitNow)(6-14-1999)

Tethers and Rain Tires: NASCAR officials reminded Crews during the driver's meeting to bring the steel cables used to keep the front wheels attached to the cars to Pocono next weekend. The devices were not mandatory in Sunday's race. Crews also were reminded to make sure their cars for the Sears Point race course were prepared to run in the rain. Rain tires have been developed and NASCAR officials have said they would hold the race in the rain(News and Record)(6-14-1999)

NASCAR and F-1: NASCAR senior vice president Mike Helton wasn't at the track on Friday because he spent the day visiting Formula 1 teams at the site of that circuit's race this weekend in Montreal(That's Racin')(6-13-1999)

2000 Monte Carlo: Eddie Dickerson, 43, director of chassis engineering for Hendrick Motorsports Winston Cup operation, is a native of Milford, Del. While at Dover Downs International Speedway for Sunday's MBNA Platinum 400, Dickerson took time to discuss the status of the 2000 Monte Carlo. See the NOL article: Chevy teams steam ahead with 2000 Monte Carlo(6-7-1999)

Teather News: Winston Cup director Gary Nelson said NASCAR is continuing to test the cable restraint system used to tether the front wheels to the cars and hopes a decision on whether to require the devices will come soon. More than half used it in Sunday's MBNA Platinum 400 at Dover(That's Racin')(6-7-1999)

Dyno Back UPDATE 1: Following the Coca-Cola 600, NASCAR announced they were taking the top six cars to the chassis dyno. The dyno measures the horsepower over the RPM range to give NASCAR a comparison of the GM motors to Ford(SpeedVision)(5-31-1999) -- UPDATE 1: The PitNow site has some dyno numbers from the dyno testing last week in Charlotte: Tony Stewart had the most power: #20-Tony Stewart 674 horsepower, finished 4th; #88-Dale Jarrett 665, 5th; #3-Dale Earnhardt 664, 6th; #18-Bobby Labonte 663, 2nd; #99-Jeff Burton 658, Won; #6-Mark Martin 648, 3rd. See the story at PitNow. Remember these numbers are unofficial and sort of proves horsepower dosesn't always win. The #99 and #6 had the least and were 1st and 3rd, the story goes on to explain the results in more detail, the numbers are always the complete story(6-5-1999)

Penalties: NASCAR officials announced today James Ince, crew chief of the #45 Tyler Jet Motorsports Pontiac and Jeff Buice, crew chief of the #9 Melling Racing Ford have both been fined $2,500 for rules violations prior to last Sunday's Coca-Cola 600 at the Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte, N.C. Both crew chiefs were penalized under Section 12 Rule 4 Article Q in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series rule book: "...parts and/or equipment used in the Event do not conform to NASCAR rules," and a violation of Section 20A Rule 11.2: "Holes drilled in frames, frame supports, and cross members with the intent of making the metal lighter are not permitted(NASCAR PR)(6-5-1999)

From Goodyear: An escalation in speed, evidenced by the 32 cars that broke the track record -- set just last September -- in qualifying for the MBNA 400 on Friday, has led Goodyear to recommend and NASCAR to grant a 30-minute extension to today's final Winston Cup practice. The purpose of the extra time is to allow teams preparing for tomorrow's MBNA 400 to scuff their tires. "Our engineers have notified every crew chief this morning that we recommend scuffing their race tires," said Wayne Torrence, product manager for Goodyear Racing Division. "You can't tell much from the short-run practices before qualifying, but none of the longer-run pre-race practices in either Winston Cup or Busch have produced any evidence of a problem. "However, increased speed means increased tire heat and scuffing, which reduces tire temperatures by 10 to 15 degrees, is a proven way to offset that increase," said Torrence. A second round of grinding Dover Downs International Speedway's concrete surface during the off-season has made the track smoother and faster, according to two of Friday's top qualifiers. Third-quickest Mark Martin said, "They've made significant progress. See all the white spots on the track? Everywhere it's white, they've ground bumps off." Outside pole-sitter Dale Jarrett said, "The people here at Dover have done a really good job of smoothing it (the track) out and Goodyear has a good tire here for us. It makes not only for fast speeds here today (in qualifying), but for good racing on Sunday."(Goodyear PR)(6-5-1999)

TV Ratings CLARIFICATION: An estimated 3,770,000 households watched the Coca-Cola 600 on TBS, according to Nielsen Media Research, with an estimated 9,734,140 viewers tuning in to see the Coca-Cola 600. It earned a national cable rating of 4.9 according to Nielsen Media Research(NOL). In contrast the Indy 500 on ABC drew a rating of 5.3(SpeedNet)(6-3-1999) -- CLARIFICATION: didn't quite understand the ratings deal - note that the ratings are NOT directly comparable. TBS' 4.9 is 4.9% of folks who get TBS. That's 4.9% of 75 million homes, or 3,770,000 homes. Indy's 5.0 rating on ABC, is 5.3% of about 95 million homes, or 5,035,000 homes tuned in. sorry about that(6-4-1999)

Taurus Testing: Ford is still about a month away from track testing the new 2000Taurus. Roush Racing and Yates Racing are currently working on the short and mid-size track model, while Penske Racing is developing the Super Speedway version. Reports from Penske say the modifications will be minor, with just some adjustments to the front and rear to make it look more like the new street model(Inside Motorsports)(6-4-1999)

Monte Carlo UPDATE 1: I hear the new Chevy Monte Carlo design has been approved by NASCAR and an announcement will happen in the next week or so(6-1-1999) -- UPDATE 1: that was quick -- From SpeedVision: So far, there have been no plans for a public showing of a 2000 NASCAR Monte Carlo, but the new Chevrolet race car has been given approval and teams can begin building cars for next year. GM engineer Terry Laise said Wednesday that the race-version Monte Carlo built by Richard Childress Racing has been given thumbs-up by NASCAR, and templates will be ready soon for fabricators to use in constructing new bodies. See the rest of the story at - NASCAR approves body for 2000 Monte Carlo. Also see some images I have from an Autoshow of the new car decked out in the #3 paint at my Paint Scheme Gallery(6-3-1999)

Tethers: NASCAR did not make it mandatory for its teams to use steel cables Sunday to insure that the front wheels did not come off the car. A majority of the 43-car field used the steel cables. Among those who used the steel cables were: Rusty Wallace, Mark Martin, Jeff Gordon, Jeff Burton, Ricky Rudd, Chad Little, Hut Stricklin, Ted Musgrave, Kyle Petty, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Wally Dallenbach and John Andretti. Among those who didn't use the cables were: Mike Skinner, Ward Burton, Sterling Marlin, Joe Nemechek, Ken Schrader, Dale Earnhardt, Kenny Wallace and Jimmy Spencer. Kevin Hamlin, crew chief for Earnhardt, said that team didn't use the steel cables because they didn't fit well on the car. Tony Glover, team manager for Sabco Racing with Marlin and Nemechek, said the team hadn't had time to install the devices. Sammy Johns, crew chief for Schrader, said the team didn't install the devices because they aren't mandatory. NASCAR officials considered making the devices mandatory but decided more input from teams was needed(News and Record)(5-31-1999)

More Tethers/Wheel Restraint News: I hear NASCAR officials have issued wheel restraints and required all BGN teams to put them on for the race this Saturday. How do they work? From what I hear one loop will go around the jackbolt between the frame and spring, the other will go around the spindle just below the upper ball joint and only be run on the front wheels. See an image of the 'tethers': from the Sugar Free Racing Site - Tether Image. Also from That's Racin' - Front-wheel tethers will be required on NASCAR Grand National series cars for Saturday's CarQuest 300 at Lowe's Motor Speedway, but the equipment will remain optional for Winston Cup cars, and from SpeedNet/AP - The tether is merely a section of braided steel cable about a foot long and fastened into a loop at each end. NASCAR officials paid $7 for each unit, and because the sanctioning body feels that only the front wheels need to be secured, the cost would be $14 per car(5-27-1999)

NASCAR School: NASCAR plans to develop a $7 million NASCAR Training Institute somewhere in the Charlotte region to train automotive technicians. The institute, to open in 2001, is one of as many as a half-dozen planned nationwide over the next few years by NASCAR and Phoenix, Ariz.-based Universal Technical Institute. See full story at That's Racin':NASCAR to open technician training facility with UTI(5-27-1999)

Suspension: NASCAR on Wednesday suspended Rick Burgdoff III, a crew member for Jeff Green's BGN team(#32) who works for Penske South and Progressive Motorsports, for fighting in the garage area following last Sunday's race at Nazareth. Burgdoff was involved in an altercation with a track photographer at the speedway. He is suspended from NASCAR events until June 14 and must pay a $2,500 fine. Burgdoff also serves backup tire changer for Winston Cup driver Rusty Wallace(That's Racin')(5-27-1999)

Wheel Restraints/Tethers UPDATE 3: Several Winston Cup teams tested the tire tethers at Charlotte(no idea which ones). The heavy steel cable connects from the jackbolt to the spindle on the front tires, meaning it does not rotate with the tire but will hold the wheel on the car in an accident. If it works, the tethers could become standard by the end of the season(Times-Dispatch)(5-23-1999) -- UPDATE 1: "NASCAR officials were handing out steel-cable wheel tethers this weekend, which could become mandatory on Winston Cup cars beginning with the Coca-Cola 600, according to NASCAR sources. The move is seen by some in the NASCAR garage as more of a public-relations move than anything, in reaction to several Indy-car problems over the past year"(PitNow) -- UPDATE 2: I hear NASCAR may use tethers in the BGN race at Lowes this weekend(5-24-1999) -- UPDATE 3: NASCAR had several teams try the devices in the Winston Open and The Winston Saturday night. Various versions of tethers, which are designed to help keep wheels from coming off cars during crashes, have been put into use for Formula One, Championship Auto Racing Teams and Indy Racing League competition. CART and IRL announced they would require tethers after three fans were killed by debris flying into the stands at a CART event at Michigan Speedway last year and at the IRL's VisionAire 500 at Lowe's Motor Speedway outside Charlotte on May 1. Gary Nelson, NASCAR's Winston Cup series director, said Tuesday that NASCAR had been looking into the use of tethers before the IRL incident at the Charlotte track. NASCAR spokesman Tim Sullivan said teams were not required to use the wheel restraints in Saturday night's special events. Some who were asked if they would be willing to try the devices declined. The tethers were connected from the car's frame to the wheel assembly, but Nelson was reluctant to provide many details about how they were designed to work. Nelson said NASCAR is looking at comments from the teams that used tethers Saturday. He characterized the response as positive. "We will continue to move forward on the project," Nelson said when asked if the tethers would be used this weekend for the Coca-Cola 600 and if they would eventually become required equipment(in part from That's Racin') and a few teams used wheel tethers during The Winston last weekend. Among those were the team owned by Bill Davis with driver Ward Burton and the Wood Brothers with driver Elliott Sadler. Neither team reported problems. NASCAR officials are expected to talk to teams this week about the device's performance(News and Record) -- Check out an image of the wheel restraints at Sugar Free Racing(5-26-1999)

Ford Testing: Work has already begun on the 2000 Taurus, with Jack Roush and Robert Yates working on the downforce model and the Roger Penske-Rusty Wallace team working on the Daytona-Talladega version(PitNow)(5-22-1999)

Windshields: A host of Winston Cup cars were forced to replace windshield mounting bolts prior to Winston practice Friday morning. Seems NASCAR technical inspectors, sensitive to the recent incident at Lowe's Motor Speedway in which three fans perished when hit by debris off an Indy Racing League car, mandated the heavier hardware in an effort to better secure the windshields to the racers. The new configuration utilizes larger bolts, backed by washers, mounted through the windshield and the body where they were secured by lock-washers and nuts. Previously, the mounting hardware, which more resembled small rivets, just screwed into the body's windshield frame. According to NASCAR inspectors, the new mounting will better keep the windshield affixed to the car in crash situations(TNN Motorsports)(5-22-1999)

Ave Age: Average Driver Age Differs In Series Across The World, NASCAR Oldest, F1 Youngest. F-1= 28.9 Ave Driver Age; CART=30.1; IRL 34.1; WINSTON CUP=38.4(Pennzoil PR)(5-17-1999)

Hubs? Three Winston Cup teams, including the #12 Fords of Jeremy Mayfield, were asked by NASCAR technical officials over the weekend to discontinue use of rear-end wheel hubs that are typically used in the BGN series. The hubs - legal parts that have been approved for use in either series - are being studied by NASCAR because of repeated problems with them on BGN series cars, according to sources. In an effort to prevent any future problems, NASCAR officials have decided to ask teams to refrain from using them in the Winston Cup series until their review of the parts are complete. The wheel hubs were discovered during Friday's inspections were not confiscated by NASCAR. Each of the teams agreed to change the wheel hubs on the cars to a design other than that used in the BGN series(That's Racin') and The hubs are the same as those being used in the Busch Grand National series. Teams are allowed to run with them, but NASCAR officials recently began studying them to see whether they are safe on the higher-horsepower and heavier Cup cars. Because of uncertainty about whether the hubs could create a safety issue, the teams were asked to replace them and run other Cup-approved parts(Times-Dispatch), also, Speedwords has a image and story on the 'Hub' subject at NASCAR looking at Suspension Rules(5-17-1999)

Earnhardt Bar: NASCAR technical inspectors confiscated the "Earnhardt bar" from the #66 Ford of Darrell Waltrip during pre-practice inspections Friday. The ``Earnhardt bar'' - named for the seven-time Winston Cup champion who first used the device on his cars - is a piece of the roll cage that starts behind the rear-view mirror and down the front of the windshield. Waltrip's bar was too light and NASCAR ordered his team to replace it(That's Racin')(5-15-1999)

Pace Car: The 2000 Chevy Monte Carlo will pace the Coca-Cola 600 this year. Richard Childress, owner of the #3 and #31 teams, will mark his 30th year in racing by driving the pace car(NOL)(5-14-1999)

THE BIG MERGER! UPDATE 1 PROPOSED merger: International Speedway Corporation and Penske Motorsports, Inc. Monday announced they have signed a definitive merger agreement to create America's largest provider of motorsports entertainment. Upon completion of the transaction, ISC will operate 10 motorsports facilities across the United States with more than 800,000 seats and 400 corporate hospitality suites. In 1999, the two companies will promote more than 100 motorsports events(NOL/ISC PR...). International Speedway Corp. buys 88% of Penske Motorsports, Inc. for $50/share, a deal worth over $700 million. Here are some links to articles on the merger: ISC, Penske propose merger-NOL and the PR at DaytonaUSA - ISC and Penske Motorsports Announce Definitive Merger Agreement. In simple terms that is Bill France and Roger Penske(5-10-1999) -- UPDATE 1: the headers at NOL got changed to read Proposed, meaning it's not a done deal. Plus more articles at: ISC, Penske Motorsports merge to form mega-motorsports company(That's Racin') and SpeedNet - Penske will sell tracks to NASCAR chief's firm(5-11-1999)

Another Funny UPDATE 2: ESPN2's RPM2Nite on Wednesday, showed a Coca-Cola commercial of some sort with Dale Earnhardt, Kenny Irwin, Kyle Petty, Dale Jarrett, Jeff Burton and Bobby Labonte doing all kinds of short sketches and voices. Some were Wayne and Garth(Waynes World), Irwin did a pretty good GodFather/Brando voice, Burton as Garth and Labonte as Wayne was pretty funny. -- UPDATE 1: The Coke "commercial" was made for use in movie theaters to be run before the movie with previews of other movies, etc.(4-16-1999) -- UPDATE 2: a release from Coke and even an image of Jeff Burton and Bobby Labonte as 'Wayne and Garth' at NASCAR Goes Hollywood (5-6-1999)

Did ya know: Who is the only driver to win an ARCA and NASCAR Cup championship? Answer from Sparky Plug at SpeedVision: Benny Parsons came to NASCAR after winning ARCA championships in 1968-69; four years later, he was celebrating a Winston Cup title(5-5-1999)

Monte Carlo News: As General Motors officially announced earlier this month, the new Monte Carlo will not debut until next year's Daytona 500, but that hasn't stopped the development process. See complete story at: '99 debut shelved, but Monte R&D goes on(SpeedVision)(5-2-1999)

Alliance: NASCAR has announced that the 3M Automotive Aftermarket Division has joined the NASCAR automotive aftermarket program and has been designated the "Officially Licensed Automotive Refinish Supplies" of NASCAR(RaceWire)(4-26-1999)

2000 Monte Carlo UPDATE 1: The proposed 2000 Monte Carlo returns to the Lockheed wind tunnel in Marietta, Ga., on Tuesday. The test results will be compared to results from a test last month, and then NASCAR officials will again make a decision on approving the model(Times-Dispatch)(4-24-1999) -- UPDATE 1: another article at PitNow - New Monte Carlo ready for wind-tunnel testing(4-25-1999)

New Heads? Reports say Hendrick Motorsports is developing a new cylinder head for Chevy's SB2 engine. Randy Dorton is in charge of the project attempting to even up the horsepower battle with Ford(Inside Motorsports)(4-22-1999)

217mph? CORRECTION: on today's Winston Cup Today Radio, it was reported that a rumor floating thru the garage area at Talladega during GM testing there last week, that Geoffrey Bodine ran a lap of 217mph when the wrong plate was put under the carburetor in place of the regular restrictor plate by accident. NASCAR supposedly decided not to issue a fine as they felt it was an accident(4-20-1999) -- CORRECTION: looks like I mixed this one up - Bodine possibly ran speeds as high as 217mph, not a lap of 217mph and as for NASCAR they did not fine the team as they felt it was " an honest mistake", not an accident, sorry for any confusion(4-21-1999)

Virginia is Hot: For the first time in history, drivers from the same state(Virginia) are leading the point standings in Cup, BGN abd CT series. Jeff Burton(South Boston, VA) is leading Cup, Elton Sawyer(Chesapeake) the BGN and Stacy Compton(Hurt) the Truck Series(many sources)(4-21-1999)

Short Tracks: John Andretti's victory at Martinsville made him the eighth different winner in the last eight Winston Cup short-track races(4-19-1999)

Sponsorships and restructuring: article at PitNow talks about Bill Elliott, one-car and mutli-car teams, sponsorship with McDonald's, Yates/Texaco and the Hendrick #25 team, check it out at RESTRUCTURING: Walls closing in on Elliott, other owner-drivers (4-18-1999)

Sponsorship? The season is well into its third month and business is booming, yet still four regular Winston Cup teams lack reliable, week-to-week sponsorship. Four owners -- Junie Donlavey, Joe Falk, Cale Yarborough/Wayne Burdette and Billy Jones -- do not a principal sponsor. Jones' Pontiac, driven by his son Buckshot, carries Crown Fiber, which is the elder Jones' own company. Donlavey's car is being driven this weekend by Morgan Shepherd, Falk's by Dick Trickle and Burdette's by Rick Mast. Ricky Rudd, who has won at least one race in each of the last 16 seasons, is trapped in a long-term deal with Tide that no longer provides adequate funding. Larry McReynolds, crew chief for Richard Childress Racing's No. 31 team, confirmed that he recently made an offer to buy Rudd's team, which Rudd considered but declined. Rudd was also rumored to be selling out to CART owner Chip Ganassi, a notion now strenuously denied on all sides(Monte Dutton/SpeedNet)(4-17-1999)

TV Dates: By giving up the right to negotiate television contracts, Bruton Smith and his fellow track owners may also have given up some of their traditional race dates. NASCAR may move dates to accommodate TV, and Smith's end-of-the-season Atlanta finale could be on the table(PitNow)(4-17-1999)

Nike/Reebok: per this weeks NASCAR Winston Cup Scene, large article that says 'Nike, Reebok Target NASCAR'. The companies are looking to supply apparel(shoes, etc) and money in exchange for promotional oppurtunities with drivers and teams, and not to be a primary sponsor of a Cup team. Right now it looks like an interest in NASCAR and some teams have been contacted. Nike already supplies shoes to the Hendrick Motorsports crews, and others(4-16-1999)

NASCAR Schedule? From Mike Mulhern at PitNow: "Kansas City's new speedway will probably not be open for NASCAR business next season, despite optimistic hopes. But the 2001 Winston Cup tour schedule is expected to feature an early fall race at the Midwestern track. The 2001 tour is also expected now to feature a Cup race at the planned new Chicago-area track, near Joliet, according to NASCAR sources. How might NASCAR find room on the calendar for two more events is a question stock-car teams are asking. One plan under consideration is moving a couple of current tour races to Wednesday nights, packaged as one-day events, opening up the two weekends. Martinsville and Darlington would two logical choices, but it's unclear precisely what NASCAR's thinking might be. NASCAR is expected to ask several, if not all, Winston Cup tracks to be prepared to add lights for possible night events, because one of the possible new television contract scenarios would include more night Cup races. NASCAR is also considering moving the Las Vegas race date to the fall of the year, rather than early March."(4-12-1999)

No more 76 Challenge? When Rusty Wallace pulled into victory lane at Bristol today, Bob Jenkins mentioned that Rusty Wallace had also won the 76 Challenge of $45,600 for winning from the pole. Benny Parsons then said that they don't do that anymore. I had wondered why I hadn't seen it on any rundowns lately. Jeff Gordon last won it at Daytona and it kind of disappeared, shame, it was a cool program. I will of course, no longer keep track of it on the Next Race page(4-11-1999)

Qualifying Changes? Winston Cup director Gary Nelson said Saturday NASCAR was taking a look at the series' second round qualifying process, but said he doubted there would be an easy answer to address several drivers' concerns, see full story at That's Racin' - NASCAR examines qualifying format (4-11-1999)

Official Postponement: In an announcement sent to Speedwords this morning Kurt Ritter, Chevrolet marketing general manager at General Motors announced they would not bring the 2000 Monte Carlo to NASCAR in 1999. Ritter's statement says that with the newest revisions requested by NASCAR the teams believe the new Monte Carlo would be uncompetitive on the track. Because of this and the fact the teams would have to jeopardize their current efforts to produce the new Monte Carlo so the new version has been postponed. See the full announcement on Speedwords at Chevrolet Postpones NASCAR debut of 2000 Monte Carlo Race Car (4-10-1999)

Dyno Back: Look for NASCAR to pull out the infamous chassis dyno at an upcoming race, possibly the Die Hard 500 in Talladega. Seems they would still like some more info on how much power is being transferred to the track by some of the more successful teams(Inside Motorsports)(4-6-1999)

CORRECTION: a few weeks ago, a reader asked me why Matt Kenseth didn't replace Bobby Labonte at Darlington during the Red Flag instead of wasting time during a Yellow Flag. I responded with the same answer as Benny Parsons had said on RPM2Nite the following Monday. That during a red flag stop, all work stops during a red flag and that includes replacing a driver. But last night on RPM2Nite(4/5), Benny said that he was approached by a NASCAR official at the Evergreen Speedway while out there for the CTS race and was told, a team could switch drivers, but would have to go to the back of the field(4-6-1999)

Alabama Gang Museum: It was decided after an ALABAMA GANG BOARD Meeting on Monday March 15, 1999 that the drive is on and the pace is fast in efforts to get an ALABAMA GANG RACING MUSEUM built soon. For more info and how to send a donation, see www.bobbyallison.com (thanks Lynne)(3-31-1999)

Common Templates: Gary Nelson, NASCAR Winston Cup director, says the sanctioning body is no longer considering a common template. NASCAR looked at making each car body the same as a way of making the cars even. An obstacle to that plan was that the identity of the Chevrolet, Ford and Pontiac bodies would be sacrificed(News-Record/The Depot)(3-31-1999)

Goodyear Statement on the Tires: Goodyear statement (from Phil Holmer, Goodyear Marketing Manager, Stock Car Racing): TMS basically a brand new track compared to last year. Teams didn’t have the critical Saturday afternoon hour practice due to rain. With rain all night, the track was green (rubber washed off) for Sunday’s race. Teams were going on the best information they had for race setups. After Goodyear engineers reverified the minimum tire pressure recommendations with team during the race, the last half of the race went in a normal fashion. Tires are being returned to Goodyears Akron Technical Center for further analysis. (For your information: Air pressure is an integral part of tire design and if a tire is used outside of the specified range, it is subject to abnormal stress.)(TMS Notes)(3-29-1999)

Wind Tunnel stuff: from PitNow/Journal Now Site - Yes, Jeff Gordon's Monte Carlo did test out better in the Lockheed wind tunnel last week than Mark Martin's Ford, John Hendrick concedes. Jack Roush and Ford officials say that Gordon's aerodynamic edge should be worth more than two-tenths of a second a lap, according to extrapolation of NASCAR's own data. See complete story at FUROR: Wind-tunnel results are still point of contention(3-28-1999)

No New Monte: According to Richard Childress, owner of the #3 Goodwrench car driven by Dale Earnhardt and the #31 driven by Mike Skinner, the possibility of running a new Chevrolet is now a dead issue. See the complete story at It's official: No new Monte in '99 by Lee Spencer (SpeedVisoin/iRace)(3-27-1999)

Monte Carlo to Tunnel: Chevy engineers plan on putting their 2000 Monte Carlo through its paces in the Detroit wind tunnel today. The fate of the new Monte Carlo has been weighed by NASCAR officials for two months now, and its Indianapolis debut in August has been scratched. The new model is all but dead for any Winston Cup racing in 1999, because of the stalemate between NASCAR and GM executives, though some NASCAR teams are holding out slim hope they might get to run the model somewhere in the final month of the season. NASCAR officials were apparently not invited to this week's wind tunnel tests(PitNow)(3-24-1999)

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