| March 5,2003 |
| Vol. II,No.VIXII Final Edition | |||||||||||||||
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| March 5,2003 |
| Vol. II,No.VIXII Final Edition | |||||||||||||||
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Rapper Nelly buying into NASCAR
Purchasing part of truck team for next race
INSIDE TODAY'S ISSUE: Johnson still disappointed about late wreck at Las VegasJimmie Johnson wasn't a bit too happy when he left Las Vegas on Sunday night, still wondering what Sterling Marlin was doing on that last lap Newman Calls Response Time "Pretty Poor" After watching Jamie McMurray's car catch on fire during a wreck in Busch series practice on Friday, driver Ryan Newman called the response time of Las Vegas Motor Speedway's rescue workers "pretty poor." Big Vegas win just not in the cards (By Elliott Sadler) A 42nd-place finish in Vegas certainly wasn't what we'd hoped for - Crew chief works around disability Robert "Bootie" Barker loves to talk about growing up on a farm in rural Virginia. He smiles when he recounts how his grandfather helped spark his interest in Fords, racing and Bill Elliott - Evernham intent on catching up Although Fords have won two of the first three races of the Winston Cup season, some members of Ford and Dodge teams are beginning to complain that the new Monte Carlo body style is giving Chevrolet teams an advantage - Together again, these boys are even better Jarrett team is together again -- and better -- Highway Number 3 Unveiled Dale Earnhardt's Legacy continued as the first Department of Transportation sign was unveiled Monday on North Carolina Highway 3, Dale Earnhardt Highway at the Headquarters of Dale Earnhardt Inc -- NASCAR teams are in travel business It might seem like NASCAR throws a wrench into teams' schedules by sandwiching a trip out West, such as Sunday's race in Las Vegas - Q&A with Dale Earnhardt Jr. Earnhardt Jr. rebounded from a poor start to the season with a runner-up finish last weekend at Las Vega. -- Just How Much Of This Sport Is On The Line? The growth of this gigantic desert valley, surrounded mostly by barren mountains, is almost mind-boggling. It's Time To Bring Back The Number 3 Classifieds
KEEP THE DAILY NEWS COMING!
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NDN Staff Report,March 5,2003
"We've kind of been running on stealth mode for the last few weeks," Warmack said. Warmack, who says he'll be the point-man for the Atlanta-based Vokal Racing Team, says the group eventually will look for a minority driver. However, Warmack says they will continue with Ballew's driver, NASCAR truck veteran Andy Houston, at the 1.366-mile superspeedway. Warmack said plans came together last month at Daytona International Raceway and the finishing touches are almost wrapped up. Darlington Raceway spokeswoman Cathy Mock said her office got a call about security and protection for an appearance next week by the platinum-selling artist. Warmack was hopeful Nelly, known for the bandage that he has worn on his cheek, would be at NASCAR's oldest superspeedway to debut the truck and watch the race. "Nelly is a race fan, he's been one for a long time," Warmack said. "We're very excited about him becoming a team owner." Nelly, born Cornell Haynes, released his CD Nellyville with the infectious single Hot in Herre last year. The hit earned him a Grammy for best male rap solo performance. He also won for best rap/sung collaboration for Dilemma, featuring Kelly Rowland. Nelly had a hit with Ride Wit Me, off the 2001 Grammy nominated album Country Grammar that included the catchy phrase "Hey, must be the money!" NASCAR manager for diversity affairs Dora Taylor said Nelly, who is black, and his people talked to her about the sport's diversity issues. "They had heard we were good and wanted to find out for themselves," she said. His entrance will continue the advances NASCAR has made in that area, Taylor said. "We want our sport to look like America," she said. NASCAR's managing director of business communications, Rob Copeland, said Nelly had another reason to join — to win. "They want to compete and in the end, that's what it's all about," Copeland said. Several prominent blacks have tried — and failed — to make a dent in NASCAR. Julius Erving, Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Willy T. Ribbs are among the few black who have tried either to drive or to own cars. None have had much success. It has been nearly 40 years since Wendell Scott became the first and only black man to win a race in NASCAR's top series. Taylor is in her second year trying to change that. There is only one black driver, Bill Lester in the truck series, on NASCAR's top three circuits. Nelly would certainly introduce stock cars to an audience rarely seen in the pits. It's hard to think of two things more different than hip-hop and NASCAR. "You have to remember, hip-hop has become a crossover sensation," Taylor said. It takes somewhere between $1.5 million and $3 million to run a Craftsman Truck team. Nelly is spending "enough to go racing a few years," Warmack said, but would not elaborate. "He thinks he can help bring more minorities to this sport," Warmack said. "We're happy we can be a part of this with NASCAR."
RESULTS:UAW-Daimler Chrysler 400
Johnson still disappointed about late wreck at Las Vegas
The drivers were in the only side-by-side battle headed to the finish line in Sunday's race. Fighting for eighth place coming out of Turn 4, Marlin's Dodge wiggled just a touch, enough to bang into the left side of Johnson's Chevrolet. The contact sent Johnson spinning through the grass and to an 11th-place finish, the final car on the lead lap, drawing questions over Marlin's intent. Sterling Marlin yesterday again denied intentionally hitting Jimmie Johnson on the final lap at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, while Johnson dismissed rumors Tuesday of a later confrontation between the two at a casino. "I didn't intentionally hit him; we were just racing for position there at the end," Marlin said Tuesday. "I went to make the pass under him and the car got loose and touched him. I hate it for Jimmie, because he's a good, clean racer. It wasn't intentional at all; it was just one of those racing deals." Marlin didn't stick around after the race to take questions, giving his first version of the events on Tuesday. Johnson did talk to reporters, wondering if Marlin had deliberately spun him out - perhaps contributing to rumors of a showdown between the two at the Bellagio casino later that night. "To be honest with you, I haven't even seen Sterling," Johnson said. "I spoke to his crew chief and his spotter, but I never even saw him afterward." Johnson was clearly angry after the accident, racing his car through the garage as he appeared to go looking for Marlin. Instead, he headed back to his transporter, where he vented to crew chief Chad Knaus and teammate Jeff Gordon for more than 15 minutes while watching replays of the wreck. Before leaving the track, he was seen speaking briefly with Lee McCall, Marlin's crew chief. Johnson said he took some solace in not losing as many positions in the finishing order as he originally thought. While his car was sitting on the grass, dozens more passed him to the finish line. But because all those cars were a lap or more down, Johnson only lost three spots because of the wreck. "At the time we were upset, but we reviewed the tape and talked to his guys," Johnson said. "I raced with Sterling all last year and never had any contact with him. "So it's not like I think he was doing something intentional. I was just upset at the time. "We lost a few more spots and spun out and almost crashed. But you know, that was that and it's over."
Fire flap
"I was not satisfied at all," Newman says. "(McMurray) was out of the car and Michael Waltrip was pulling his car away way before they ever got there." This is the third time in less than a year that a safety crew's response time has become an issue during a NASCAR race. Dale Jarrett expressed his frustration with slow ambulance response during a race at Daytona last July by walking back to the pits, and NASCAR officials acknowledged a problem with a defective fire extinguisher when a rescue team tried to put out Jason Keller's smoking car during the Busch race at Daytona last month. Unlike other major racing series, NASCAR does not have a traveling team of safety workers. Tracks are left to hire crews, usually workers from local fire departments. |
DAILY BRIEFS TEAMS PLAN BUSY TESTING SCHEDULES A number of Winston Cup and Busch Series teams plan to test around the country this week. Kentucky Speedway says Jeff Burton is scheduled to test Roush Racing's No. 99 Winston Cup Ford there today. Texas Motor Speedway says Scott Wimmer tested Bill Davis Racing's No. 23 Busch Series Chevrolet yesterday and is scheduled to test again today, along with Busch Series competitors Kerry Earnhardt, Joe Nemechek and Stacy Compton. Johnny Benson is also scheduled to test MBV Motorsports' No. 10 Winston Cup Pontiac there today. Meanwhile, Hendrick Motorsports sent Brian Vickers, driver of the team's No. 5 Busch Series Chevrolet, to California Speedway yesterday and reported that he ran more than 100 laps and recorded one lap at 39.60 seconds, which is .579 second faster than the current Busch Series track record. Weather permitting, he was to continue testing at the 2-mile oval today. And Darlington Raceway reported that it was expecting Busch Series drivers Coy Gibbs, Johnny Sau ter and Chad Blount and Winston Cup points leader Michael Waltrip this week. Jamie McMurray was also scheduled to test Chip Ganassi Racing's No. 42 Dodge, but Jayski.com reported that teammate Casey Mears would test the team's No. 41 Dodge instead.
BILL ELLIOTT SLATED FOR DARLINGTON FORUM
Veteran Winston Cup driver Bill Elliott is scheduled to visit the Darlington Stripe Zone in the track's Hospitality Village for a question-and-answer session with fans prior to the March 16 running of the Carolina Dodge Dealers 400. Information about ticket packages for the Stripe Zone is available by calling Darlington Raceway at (843) 395-8499.
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