NASCAR: Ken's NASCAR Notebook 96-07-10 


Ken's NASCAR Notebook  -  July 10, 1996


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Milestones for three drivers
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Three drivers have reached some pretty impressive milestones at the 
 Pepsi 400 in Daytona this past weekend.  Dave Marcis, the Prodigy 
 Chevrolet driver, reached his 800th career Winston Cup start (with the 
 help of a Childress engine). Rick Mast, the Hooters Pontiac pilot, 
 started his 200th career Winston Cup race.  And Wally Dallenbach, the 
 Hayes Modems Ford driver started his 100th career Winston Cup race. 


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Bill Elliott back in driver's seat
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Bill Elliott managed to qualify and race the #94 McDonald's Thunderbird 
 at Daytona this past weekend, one full month ahead of the previously 
 announced return for  the Brickyard race.  Bill had recently tested at 
 Talladega - the same track at which he suffered a broken femur earlier 
 this year - and was given the okay by doctors to go racing again.  
 Elliott was unable to make it through the whole race though, and on 
 lap 103 relinquished the wheel to relief driver Derrike Cope.  But 
 Elliott says he was happy with his day: "At least I was running.  I 
 was making laps, not sitting home watching it on TV."  His comeback 
 also puts to rest some speculation and rumors which said Elliott would 
 retire due to his injuries.


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NASCAR impounds three cars
-------------------------------------------
After the Pepsi 400 at Daytona, NASCAR once again impounded three cars 
 for wind tunnel testing:  the #28 Texaco Ford Thunderbird of Ernie 
 Irvan, the #24 Dupont Chevy of Jeff Gordon, and the #31 Pennzoil 
 Pontiac of Johnny Benson Jr.  Some sources report that more roof 
 height changes are in the works for Ford.


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Earnhardt wins halfway bonus
-------------------------------------------
Earnhardt took home the $50,000 prize for leading the Winston Cup 
 Points at the halfway point of the season, however, his lead is very 
 slim.  Terry Labonte is just 5 points behind Earnhardt, and reigning 
 champ Jeff Gordon only 37 points behind.


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Lowe's goes to Childress team
-------------------------------------------
As I reported in the last notebook, Lowe's will end its association 
 with Todd Bodine at the end of the '96 season and will sponsor a 
 second Childress team next year with Mike Skinner as driver. The 
 report was made official by a press announcement at the Firecracker 
 400 in Daytona this past weekend.  Skinner drives for Childress in the 
 Craftsman Truck series.


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Grissom released early
-------------------------------------------
Steve Grissom has been released as the driver for the #29 Cartoon 
 Network car, and Greg Sacks will take over driver responsibilities on 
 a race by race basis until full time replacement driver can be found.  
 Grissom had previously been told that he could finish out the 96 
 season, but would not be returning to drive for the '97 season.  
 Driver and crew chief difficulties were sighted as a possible reason 
 for the split.


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Petty to leave SABCO Team
-------------------------------------------
After all the rumors surrounding this team, a recent announcement makes 
 it official: Kyle Petty and Felix Sabates are going their separate 
 ways after eight years together.  Some say the stunt with the black & 
 white Earnhardt-like paint job was the straw that broke the camels 
 back.  Rumors have Kyle back with Petty Enterprises driving a second 
 car for his daddy, Richard.  Hamilton would reportedly stay on as 
 driver of the #43 STP Pontiac, and Kyle might pick up some team 
 manager responsibilities as well. 


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Rusty in a Ford till 2000
-------------------------------------------
Rusty Wallace has reportedly signed a three year extension with Ford 
 Motor Company, which should put him behind the wheel of a Ford through 
 the year 2000.


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Silly Season Rumors.....
-------------------------------------------
Rumors continue to come from the garage area that say John Andretti is 
 still in hot water with the #37 Kmart/Little Ceaser's Kranefuss/Haas 
 team.  One rumor has Kranefuss replacing Andretti with Robby Gordon 
 next year.  No official word from any of the parties though...


Another rumor has Robert Pressley out of the #33 Skoal Bandit next 
 year.  This one is based on Andy Petree assuming ownership of the team 
 next year and Skoal leaving as sponsor.  Again nothing official.


Seems that Childress isn't the only one adding a second team next year. 
  Reports from the race tracks say that Morgan McClure, owner of the #4 
 Kodak Car driven by Sterling Marlin, is looking at starting a second 
 team with Jeff Purvis as the driver.  No official statements yet, but 
 this one is pretty much a sure thing.


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RACeNEWS is offline
-------------------------------------------
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 subscriptions in their place or refunds of any balance.  For more 
 info, contact them directly at:
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Telephone/Fax:  770-386-0908


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Hayes sponsors NASCAR Online
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Hayes Modems, the primary sponsor of the Bud Moore-owned, Wally 
 Dallenbach-driven Ford Thunderbird, has agreed to become a sponsor of 
 NASCAR's web page, called NASCAR Online. Hayes is probably best known 
 as the inventor of the PC modem, and was founded in 1977 by Chairman 
 Dennis Hayes.


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Circuit City expands involvement in NASCAR
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Circuit City, the primary sponsor of the Stavola Brothers Ford 
 Thunderbird driven by Hut Stricklin, is now the official Electronics 
 and Appliance Retailer of NASCAR, and became a founding sponsor of the 
 Daytona USA theme park which opened this past weekend in conjunction 
 with the Pepsi 400. 


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TMS Plans Major Announcement
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The Associated Press reports that Speedway developer Bruton Smith has 
 scheduled "a monumental announcement" for this coming Thursday. They 
 expect the announcement will be that the newly built Texas Motor 
 Speedway track will host a Winston Cup race in March or April of 1997. 
  The news report goes on to say that some 10,000 invitations were 
 mailed, promising "a monumental announcement that will change the 
 motorsports world forever."




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Happy Motoring :-)
=Ken=


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