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July 2005
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
General News
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The holiday fireworks have been shot. The grills have cooled from family cookouts. It's time for some new summer excitement and South Boston Speedway has the answer. After a weekend off, America's Hometown Track will return to action Saturday, July 9, with the running of the Craftsman Night at the Races.
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Dennis Setzer maintained his position a top the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series point standings after bringing the No. 46 Chevrolet Z71 Silverado to the checkered flag in 11th position in the O’Reilly Auto Parts 250 at Kansas Speedway.
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Access Marketing and Communications President and CEO Greg Calhoun, in conjunction with Belnavis Racing, announced today that Drive for DiversitySM driver Morty Buckles has accepted an opportunity in ARCA Series Racing with Victory Motorsports, owned by Terance Mathis, former wide receiver for the Atlanta Falcons. Buckles marks another milestone in the program’s history as the first Drive for DiversitySM driver to advance from a late model stock car into another series.
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The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) announced today its support for the “America Supports You” program, an ongoing nationwide effort to communicate America’s admiration to the men and women of the Armed Forces. The program, launched by the U.S. Department of Defense last year, recognizes citizens’ support for our military men and women and serves as a vehicle to communicate that appreciation to members of our Armed Forces at home and abroad.
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With Saturday’s start at Kansas Speedway, Kelly Sutton has broken the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series record for starts by a female driver. Sutton’s 33rd career start moves her past Tammy Jo Kirk atop the record book. Sutton, who finished seventh in the 2004 Raybestos Rookie of the Year standings, had already broken Kirk’s series record for most career earnings by a female driver earlier this season. She has now earned $279,597 in her NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career. “I am honored that everyone is paying so much attention to this record,” said Kelly Sutton. “If we’re talking about setting records, I’d rather it be for first top ten, first pole and, of course, the first win!” (Ronda Greer Photo)
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NASCAR announced Thursday that a penalty has been issued to a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series crew chief resulting from a rule violation during pre-qualifying inspection at Kansas Speedway on July 1.
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Roush Racing announced today that it has signed Jamie McMurray to a multi-year contract to drive its No. 6 NASCAR Nextel Cup entry commencing with the 2007 season.
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ppc Racing officials announced today that it is immediately soliciting primary and associate sponsorship for the No. 22 NASCAR Busch Series (NBS) race team with driver Kenny Wallace. The No. 22 car is currently fifth in NBS driver and owner points standings, only three behind fourth place and 135 points ahead of the sixth-place driver.
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Audio!
Ricky Craven came to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 2005 with a renewed sense of optimism. Fighting from the short tracks of the Northeast, Craven landed in the top-tier NASCAR series in the early 1990s, first in the Busch Series and then in the Cup Series. Always strong wherever he's run, Craven has racked up Rookie of the Year honors in both series (Busch 1992, Cup 1995) and is a winner in both. Fighting back from injuries that nearly ended his career, Craven earned his first Cup Series win in a thrilling battle with Dale Jarrett in 2001 at Martinsville, and followed it with a second win in a near dead-heat photo finish with Kurt Busch at Darlington in 2003.
(High Sierra Photo)
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NASCAR will begin the next phase of the process for selecting the location for its Hall of Fame when it makes visits to the five prospective cities next month that are vying to serve as the home for the sport’s newest facility.
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Given their choice, Billy Ballew and Richie Wauters might not do it this way. But the pair, owner and crew chief, respectively, have boosted a very independent Billy Ballew Motorsports team to fifth place in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series owner championship standings using a unique and improbable approach: Match the team with a different driver and sponsor virtually every week. That’s not supposed to work – but so far it has. Kyle Busch drove the No. 15 Chevrolet to victories at Lowe’s Motor Speedway and Dover International Speedway. Kerry Earnhardt and Busch won Bud Poles, Earnhardt at Daytona and Busch at Michigan. Seven different drivers – Busch, Earnhardt, John Andretti, Blake Feese, Shane Hmiel, Johnny Sauter and Martin Truex Jr. - have contributed four top five and six top-10 finishes to the ledger. (High Sierra Photo)
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SPEED Channel is home to a broad spectrum of open-wheel, stock car and road racing fans. The Crown Royal International Race of Champions is the one series that brings SPEED's diverse viewers together. "I don't really see how it could get better for a fan, because you get to see your guy go up against the best," said Mark Martin, NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series driver. "You get to see some really great racing and if your guy wins, it gives you a little bit of bragging rights for that driver or even that series. I'm telling you, IROC is full of some of the best out there and when you do that, the fans really win."
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McCord started 26th and finished 19th at Berlin
Skip McCord, son of Bobby Hamilton Racing crew chief Kip McCord, will make his ARCA Re/Max Series debut this weekend in the No. 4 Hantz Group Dodge fielded by Cunningham Racing at the Berlin Raceway in Marne, Michigan. McCord, who works in the BHR fabrication shop, earned the ride as part of Dodge's ARCA driver development program. (PR Photo)
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Discovery Channel to take viewers along for the ride in high-energy reality series -
Reality television is on its way to Darlington. Roush Racing has announced that Martinsville Speedway and Darlington Raceway will host the two rounds of competition which will determine the next driver to join the Roush stable for 2006.
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Dale Earnhardt Incorporated (DEI) and Michael Waltrip announced today they will no longer be together beginning in 2006.
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The No. 59 HT Motorsports team didn’t finish up their racing weekend at Kentucky once the Built Ford Tough 225 ended on Saturday night. Select members of the team had a little bit of homework to take care of prior to returning to their Martinsville, VA-based race shop on Monday. Crew Chief Fred Graves led a small contingent of crew members to Daimler-Chrysler’s Wind Tunnel Facilities in Auburn Hills, Michigan on Sunday night. With the assistance of manufacturer, Dodge, the team garnered an all-night slot beginning in the evening at 9:30 p.m. (TruckSeries.com Photo)
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NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series participant Deborah Renshaw, driver of the No. 8 DODGE, is proud to announce the launch of her new Fan Club at
www.deborahrenshaw.com
. “I am really excited about the introduction of this Fan Club,” stated Deborah. “This is the first time I have had one and we have received many requests to start one so there is no better time. We have included one of our new sponsors – the Savannah Candle Company – in this program and they have supplied us with some cool candle samples for our members.
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Tracy Hines is spending much of the off time between NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races behind the wheel of a USAC Sprint Car as he tackles selected races during the annual “Indiana Sprint Week.” Hines picked up a solid second-place finish in the opener Twin Cities Raceway Park in North Vernon, and backed it up with his second USAC Valvoline National Sprint Car Series feature win of 2005 the following night at Bloomington Speedway. The win is 56th in national USAC competition, tying him for 12th on the all-time list with 1969 Indianapolis 500 and 1972 Daytona 500 winner Mario Andretti.
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SPEED Channel has reached an agreement with NASCAR to make several NASCAR programs available to VOD audiences under the title SPEED NASCAR TV On Demand, it was announced today by Kevin Annison, SPEED Channel VP of Business Development and Operations and Mike Hopkins, SVP, Affiliate Sales for Fox Cable Networks. Beginning July 25, subscribers of Comcast On Demand and Time Warner Cable On Demand, among other regional operators, will have access to this newly dubbed “fast-turn” product.
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This month’s diversity spotlight shines on Joe Gibbs Racing and its successful driver development program. With more teams looking to develop young, diverse drivers, Joe Gibbs Racing has provided the ideal model to follow. In 2003, Joe Gibbs and NFL great Reggie White created a driver development program to identify and assist minorities with the desire and talent to make a career in motorsports. Midway through its second full season, the program boasts two winning drivers and a bright future.
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M&M’S Chocolate Candies announced today it will return as the title sponsor for NASCAR NEXTEL Cup driver Ken Schrader’s charity event, “M&M’S Night of Stars.” After a year hiatus, the All-Star event is scheduled for Wednesday, August 3 at I-55 Raceway in Pevely, Missouri in benefit of the Victory Junction Gang Camp.
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Betting on the recent explosion in the popularity of poker, Sears is offering a special gift that is sure to be a “Royal Flush” with poker and NASCAR fans alike: a one-of-a-kind NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series poker chip set. Millions of people play poker daily. Celebrities host and play in poker tournaments on television. And now you can play right along with the pros with this special poker set from Craftsman®, which celebrates the 10-year anniversary of the toughest brand of racing around – the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. From July 24 to Aug. 14, customers making a qualifying purchase of a Craftsman Mechanics Tool set of $299 or more will receive by mail the free, exclusive NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Ten Years Tough Craftsman toolbox poker chip set.
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The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) today announced the details for the 2005 diversity scholarship program. NASCAR will honor 12 students with the Wendell Scott Scholarship Award through the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) and Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU). This year will mark the fifth year that the scholarships have been awarded.
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Ask any race fan: What is Talladega without tailgating? And what is tailgating without trucks? Although fans at Talladega have done their best to do the former without the latter for many years, next season the tailgating is only going to get better at NASCAR’s Most Competitive Track. Talladega Superspeedway Vice President and General Manager Rick Humphrey announced today that in 2006, the 2.66-mile Alabama racetrack will welcome the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series for the first time in history! The event will take place on Saturday, Oct. 7 during the 2006 UAW-Ford 500 event weekend set for Oct. 5 – 8. “We cannot wait to welcome the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series next fall,” Humphrey said. “You really have to witness these trucks race to understand how exciting it is. If
you didn’t think it was possible for us to top the level of competition and edge-of-your-seat racing we offer here at Talladega Superspeedway – make plans to be here for this truck race next year. Our fans are going to love it.” (PHOTO: Talladega Superspeedway Vice President and General Manager Rick Humphrey addresses the media and guests assembled on pit road during the track's announcement that the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will run at the track Oct. 7, 2006.)
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“It’s going to be interesting. One of the best NASCAR races of the year is the NASCAR Craftsman Truck race at Daytona. Look at the famous finish from Rick Crawford’s win in 2003. Every year at Daytona is a fantastic, fantastic race. “As a driver we always like to have one speedway race and get out of there with whatever guts we have left and go on to the next week. We’re going to have to do that twice next year. It’s a challenge. It’s one we’re going to have to step up to. These trucks move around a lot on the superspeedways with the air and the aero package – we’re just going to have to suck it up twice a year instead of once. -Brendan Gaughn (High Sierra Photo)
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Of the 66 drivers who have made starts in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series this year, more than half of them (38) have competed at Talladega Superspeedway in other series. "The fans are really going to enjoy a truck race at Talladega. I expect it will be an incredible race based on what we've seen at Daytona the last few years. I think instead of the two-wide racing we had at Daytona, it will probably be three-wide racing for most of the race at Talladega. I think the old saying, 'fans will pay for the whole seat, but they'll only use the edge of it' will be appropriate for this race." - Ricky Craven
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To get the best seats for the truck race in 2006, fans should buy 2005 Food World 300 Saturday ARCA RE/MAX Series tickets and/or 2005 UAW-Ford 500 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Sunday race tickets today to get the first opportunity (during 2006 Fall renewal time) for tickets to the 2006 Saturday Craftsman Truck race at Talladega Superspeedway.
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Discovery Channel Takes Viewers Along for High-Energy Ride in Original Series -
Twenty-five men and women are one step closer to realizing their dream of becoming a NASCAR superstar as Roush Racing and Discovery Channel today announce the list of drivers who will compete in this year's Roush Racing gong show.
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School’s out but Justin Allgaier has been saved by the bell! While most of his peers are enjoying their summer vacation, Justin is busy working in the race shop or at a racetrack somewhere across the country each week because of his desire to live life in the fast lane. This week, however, his schedule just got a lot busier.
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Saturday will be a homecoming of sorts for Timothy Peters at South Boston Speedway. Peters, the 2004 NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series Late Model Stock Car Division champion at South Boston Speedway, is scheduled to be on the starting grid Saturday, July 30, when the Barkhouser Late Model Stock Car competitors hit the asphalt as part of the Miss Utility Night race program. The first race of the Miss Utility Night program is scheduled to get the green flag at 7 p.m. (High Sierra Photo)
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