NASCAR Cup

News 98-01-19

NASCARFans E-Mail Newsletter ===== First, Jayski's news...... The Ford teams test at Daytona January 19-21. Craftsman Truck: A couple of readers had this correct: Benny Parsons explained the reason for the Ruttman/Biffle 50/80 number swap.

Edited: May 8, 2001, 12:19 PM

Copy link

Share on Viber

Add as a preferred source

NASCARFans E-Mail Newsletter

===== First, Jayski's news......

The Ford teams test at Daytona January 19-21.

Craftsman Truck: A couple of readers had this correct: Benny Parsons explained the reason for the Ruttman/Biffle 50/80 number swap. Roush expects veteran Ruttman to qualify easily for every race. Biffle might have some problems making the show as a rookie to the series, so he will have the 50 team's points provisionals from last year to fall back on to make the races (thanks Matt)

Former SABCO and Dave Marcis crew chief, Terry Shirley joined the Brewco Motorsports NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series team with driver Scot Walters. (NASCAR Online)

New Holland will be an associate sponsor on the #35 Hardy Motorsports Ortho Chevy in 1998(NASCAR Online)

Bobby and Donna Labonte are the proud new parents of a little girl, Madison Elizabeth.(thanks Matt)

Three-time NASCAR Winston Cup champion Darrell Waltrip announced on 1-16 that Speedblock, Inc. and Builders Square home improvement centers have signed a multi-year agreement to sponsor the #17 Chevrolet Winston Cup car fielded by Darrell Waltrip Motorsports. The car will sport a vibrant blue, white and rocket red paint scheme throughout NASCAR's 50th Anniversary season. Speedblock logos will adorn the rear quarter panels with the combined logo of Builders Square, Hechinger and HQ occupying the hood and the lower panel area in front of the rear wheels. From the Press release follow the link at the bottom to the main page to see an image of the side of the car. See the rest of the announcement on http://www.DW17.COM(1-16-98)

Per NASCAR Online, Ken Schrader will run Budweiser decals on his #33 Skoal Chevy in the Bud Shootout at Daytona.

Thanks, Jay. =====

Ron Hornaday became the first driver to win a race in all four seasons of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, capturing the Chevy Trucks Challenge at Walt Disney World Speedway Sunday.

He was helped when rivals Mike Wallace and Joe Ruttman crashed late in the race. (Charlotte Observer)

=====

About 800 neighbors and colleagues from the sports and tobacco industries attended the funeral Saturday of T. Wayne Robertson, who headed sports marketing for R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. (Charlotte Observer)

=====

Ford drivers return to Daytona International Speedway today to close preseason testing at the site of the season-opening Daytona 500 on Feb. 15.

Rusty Wallace called the session the three most important test days of his career. Ford teams say they are racing the calendar as well as the clock as they try to get the Taurus up to speed.

Rick Mast turned a lap at 187.825 mph on Jan. 8, the fastest Daytona test lap posted by a Taurus in the first Ford session. Ten Chevrolet drivers, three Pontiacs and Robert Pressley's Ford Thunderbird have all topped that.

Jeff Gordon's speed of 189.155 mph Wednesday is the best lap this January. Sterling Marlin (189.119) and Bobby Hamilton (189.044) also topped 189 mph Wednesday. (David Poole, Charlotte Observer)

=====

The fastest Taurus at Daytona has been the car Jeff Burton drives on the Grand National circuit. Burton turned a lap at 190.860 mph as testing for that circuit concluded Saturday.

Jeff Purvis had the fastest Grand National speed in his Chevrolet, 192.390 mph Friday. Dick Trickle (191.840), Matt Kenseth (191.787) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (191.722), all in Chevrolets, and Dave Blaney (191.392) in a Pontiac rounded out the top five. Purvis' speed is more than 3 mph faster than Gordon's top Winston Cup speed. (David Poole, Charlotte Observer

=====

Vic Kangas has been hired as crew chief by Ricky Craven, who will field a car for driver Ron Barfield in 15 Grand National races this season. Kangas was the crew chief when Joe Nemechek won the 1992 series title (David Poole, Charlotte Observer)

=====

Good season preview article here by Skip Wood:

http://www.gateway-va.com/pages/sports/auto/0118skip.htm

=====

Here's the rest of the news, all from NASCAR Online.

Understandably, since the first truck race was yesterday, there's a lot of truck news here for you truck fans, as well as a few other tidbits..

=====

More than 20 Ford teams are expected to converge on Daytona International Speedway beginning Monday for the final three-day NASCAR Winston Cup Series preseason test session, capping off a month full of test sessions in preparation for Speedweeks 1998 and the Feb. 15 Daytona 500.

Among the teams and drivers expected to be there for the test sessions at the 2.5-mile superspeedway will be all five Roush Racing operations, both Robert Yates Racing teams, brothers Geoff Bodine and Brett Bodine, Rusty Wallace and Lake Speed, among others.

=====

Kenny Schrader doesn't figure he'll be able to keep Mike Wallace as his driver in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series for very long.

But as long as he's got Wallace, Schrader figures he might as well get the most out of him.

Wallace, a veteran of NASCAR Winston Racing Series, ARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde Series and NASCAR Busch Series Grand National Division action before struggling to find a solid place in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series in recent years, will run a full season for Schrader in the No. 52 Purolator PureONE Filters Chevrolet.

=====

In a flurry of patriotic red, white and blue, Royal Crown Cola has signed on as primary sponsor of the Impact Motorsports Ford F-150 and driver Stacy Compton for the 1998 NASCAR Craftsman Truck season.

The sponsorship kicks off a major nationwide effort to re-establish RC as a great-tasting soft drink for proud, hardworking Americans and debut RC's all-new logo and "Be Free, Drink RC" message.

=====

Matt Kenseth, a driver who didn't even have a full-time ride on the NASCAR Busch Series Grand National Division a year ago, showed he intends to start the new season out in style with a lap at 191.624 mph in the second day of testing at Daytona International Speedway.

=====

Tammy Jo Kirk, the former dirt track motorcycle racer from Dalton, Ga., returned to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series at the season-opening Chevy Trucks Challenge at Walt Disney World Speedway with a new look. Kirk piloted a No. 51 truck from her own team, which she bought during the brief off-season with Mike Albernaz of Rehoboth, Mass.

=====

'98 Craftsman Truck TV Schedule here:

http://www.nascar.com/news/97news/00539908.html

=====

Legendary Drivers - the pioneers

http://www.nascar.com/news/97news/00537848.html

=====

Here's a new section of the newsletter that will appear occasionally......

Truth is Stranger than Fiction courtesy of Don Burgin and the Winner's Circle Web Site

Tim Flock had a rather unusual passenger aboard his Hudson race car during much of the 1953 season. Jocko Flocko was a small monkey who had his own driving suit, and sat in a specially prepared seat complete with a safety harness. During the Raleigh 300 at the Raleigh Speedway, May 30th 1953, Jocko got free of his harness and began leaping about inside the car. In those days race cars had a small trap door the driver could open from the interior of the car to inspect the condition of the tires. The inquisitive little simian opened the door and promptly freaked out. Flock was forced to make an unscheduled pit stop while running in second place to have the monkey removed from his car. He did manage to return to the track and finish third, once he got the monkey off his back.

===== Mike Irwin (mailto:NASCARFans@Rocketmail.Com) NASCARFans _______________________________________

We want your opinion!

What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?

Take our 5 minute survey.

- The Motorsport.com Team

Read and post comments

Share Or Save This Story

Copy link

Share on Viber

Previous article Fontana Results (complete)

Next article Beverly Motorsports News

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

View More & Comment

Latest news

Ferrari promotes F2 racer to F1 reserve driver role

Formula 1

F1 Formula 1

Singapore GP

3 min

Ferrari promotes F2 racer to F1 reserve driver role

Employing team orders can simply be a matter of common sense

Formula 1

Employing team orders can simply be a matter of common sense

Max Verstappen risks penalty after FP1 clash at Portimao GTWC finale

GT World Challenge Europe Endurance

WCEE GT World Challenge Europe Endurance 27 min

Max Verstappen risks penalty after FP1 clash at Portimao GTWC finale

Why Christian Horner sees history repeating itself for Adrian Newey at Aston Martin

Formula 1

Singapore GP

Why Christian Horner sees history repeating itself for Adrian Newey at Aston Martin

Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.

From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.

You have 2 options:

Become a subscriber.
Disable your adblocker.

Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here

Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page

Manage Alerts