Nascar Nextel Cup Race - Sirius Satellite Radio at the Glen On NBC - Sun. August 14, 1 p.m.

Nascar.com ^ | 8.10.05 | Me

[WestCoastGal]

WELCOME EVERYONE

This week we are going to Watkins Glen International Raceway in New York. Please join us for a full weekend of racing.

Watkins Glen International continues a road-racing tradition that dates back to 1948 -- when sports cars competed on the streets of the village at the southern tip of scenic Lake Seneca. The circuit, which at one time hosted the F1 United States Grand Prix, has grown to become one of the most respected facilities in the northeast.

Track Facts Banking/Turns: -- Distance: 2.45 miles Shape: Road course

Sirius Satellite Radio at the Glen
NBC HDTV Sun. 1 p.m.
Toyota Tundra 200 - Truck Race
SPEED Sat. 5 p.m.
Zippo 200 - Busch Race
NBC Sat. 2 p.m.
Sirius Satellite Radio at the Glen Bud Pole Qualifying SPEED Sat. 11:10 a.m.
All Times are ET

This is an impound race, all practice is on Friday, qualifying on Saturday (unless they change their mind) FRFL picks must be made by Saturday morning 2am pacific time. I will update the practice times as we get closer to Friday as well as adding the qualifying lineup etc.

[steveegg]

Zippo 200 (Busch) qualifying order (the #271 has withdrawn; its driver, Paul Bonacorsi, replaces Dale Quarterly in the #72) -

Order	Car	Driver	Make	Sponsor
1	0	Joe Fox**	Chevrolet	RaceGirl/Family Dollar
2	10	Brent Sherman*	Ford	Consort Hair Care for Men
3	173	Kerry Earnhardt**	Chevrolet	Red Cactus Salsa/U.S. Mortgage
4	108	Elliott Sadler**	Ford	UPS/M&M's/CITI Financial
5	64	Jamie McMurray	Dodge	Top-Flite Golf
6	99	Michael Waltrip**	Chevrolet	Best Western
7	18	J.J. Yeley	Chevrolet	Vigoro/The Home Depot
8	1	Johnny Sauter	Dodge	Yellow Transportation
9	34	Randy LaJoie	Chevrolet	Dollar General
10	8	Martin Truex Jr.	Chevrolet	Bass Pro Shops/Tracker
11	41	Reed Sorenson*	Dodge	Home123 Corp.
12	7	Chris Cook**	Chevrolet	TradePortal
13	25	Ashton Lewis	Ford	U.S. Marines
14	60	Carl Edwards*	Ford	Charter Communications
15	20	Denny Hamlin*	Chevrolet	Rockwell Automation
16	23	Mark Green**	Chevrolet	BMAR/Vassarette
17	59	Stacy Compton	Ford	Kingsford/Bush's/Price Chopper
18	87	Joe Nemechek**	Chevrolet	Cellular One
19	150	Matthew Kobyluck**	Chevrolet	Mohegan Sun Casino
20	143	Ron Fellows**	Chevrolet	Bully Hill Vineyards
21	27	David Green	Ford	Scott Towels/Tops
22	22	Kenny Wallace	Ford	AutoZone
23	21	Jeff Burton	Chevrolet	Reese's
24	35	Jason Keller	Ford	McDonald's Big Mac
25	72	Paul Bonacorsi**	Chevrolet	Door Components
26	297	Todd Souza**	Chevrolet	Central Coast Cabinets
27	12	Paul Wolfe*	Dodge	Hot Tamales
28	47	Jon Wood*	Ford	Clorox/Wisk/Tops
29	32	Jorge Goeters	Chevrolet	Scotiabank Inverlat/Canel's
30	52	Scott Turner**	Ford	Makoto Dressing
31	109	Boris Said**	Dodge	Miccosukee Gaming & Resorts
32	6	Kasey Kahne	Dodge	Hellmann's Mayonnaise
33	177	Travis Kvapil**	Dodge	Kodak
34	139	Ryan Newman**	Dodge	ALLTEL
35	66	Greg Biffle	Ford	Dial/Renuzit
36	36	Stanton Barrett	Chevrolet	TUCSON
37	40	Carlos Contreras	Dodge	Goulds Pumps
38	265	Stan Silva Jr.**	Chevrolet	A & S Metals/Stan Silva Trucking
39	14	David Stremme	Dodge	Navy "Accelerate Your Life"
40	183	Wally Dallenbach**	Chevrolet	Mr. Clean AutoDry Carwash
41	58	Regan Smith**	Dodge	Glynn Motorsports
42	90	Dale Jarrett**	Ford	CITI Financial
43	38	Tyler Walker*	Dodge	Great Clips
44	283	Robby Gordon**	Chevrolet	Red Bull
45	44	Justin Labonte	Chevrolet	U.S. Coast Guard
46	5	Brian Vickers	Chevrolet	Lowe's/Briggs & Stratton
47	11	Paul Menard	Chevrolet	Menards/Quaker State
48	4	Scott Pruett	Dodge	GEICO
49	2	Clint Bowyer	Chevrolet	ACDelco
50	26	Kim Crosby*/**	Chevrolet	BMAR/Vassarette
51	163	Jeff Spraker**	Chevrolet	Assembly Products
52	49	Steve Grissom**	Ford	Advil Liqui-Gels
53	33	Tony Stewart	Chevrolet	Old Spice

* Denotes Rookie
** Denotes driver/team not in the top 30 in owners' points; must qualify on time (top 12 of 23 plus either Steve Grissom-1993 Busch champ or 13th-fastest of 23; Motorsports One estimates these teams wouldn't make it if qualifying were rained out - #139, #109, #183, #297, #265, #108, #150, #163, #177, #173)

[steveegg]

Friday afternoon Jayski update (looks like Happy Hour is cancelled; we're most of the way through the scheduled time, and TP is empty of speeds and the radar is ugly) -

• Paul Tracy will NOT make his Cup debut at Michigan.
• Sterling Marlin flew back to Tennessee last night to be with his father, who is ill. No word on whether he'll be back this weekend, or whether David Stremme, who practiced the car, will run it.

[WestCoastGal]

Posted on Fri, Aug. 12, 2005


Harvick not happy?

RCR driver wants to see increased performance

By JIM UTTER

ThatsRacin.com Writer


WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – Nextel Cup driver Kevin Harvick said Friday he has "put on hold" any further negotiations with Richard Childress Racing over an extension of his contract which concludes at the end of next season.
"We want to see how things are going to go and evaluate the performance side," said Harvick, who has driven RCR's No. 29 Chevrolets since the second race of the 2001 season.

"I strictly want to see what the improvements are going to be in a lot of different areas, and I'm going to take my time and evaluate it. I want to take care of things early, but I don't want to be at the point where I don't want to be somewhere or (Childress) doesn't want me here."

Harvick, 29, said the top issue that needs to be addressed before he feels comfortable signing a contract extension is performance.

"We need to be a top-10 team week-in and week-out," Harvick said. "Richard is doing a lot of things and making changes on the race teams, and I just want to see where all of that is going.

"I don't want to run a race team. I want to be the driver. I don't want to have to work five days a week in the shop, but I will if I have to."

Despite drivers Kurt Busch and Jamie McMurray announcing new deals for the 2007 season already, Harvick said he would not put himself in that position.

"Richard has always fulfilled his commitments, and I have given him my word I would do that for him," Harvick said. "I will fulfill my commitments 100 percent."

http://www.thatsracin.com/mld/thatsracin/12370438.htm

[WestCoastGal]

Posted on Fri, Aug. 12, 2005





MB2 withdraws contract extension for Riggs

By JIM UTTER

ThatsRacin.com Writer


WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. - The three-year contract extension MB2/MBV Motorsports has offered driver Scott Riggs to remain with what is now the No. 10 Chevrolet team has expired and the team is holding off offering another, team officials confirmed Friday.
MB2/MBV offered Riggs a three-year extension in May, but Riggs has been unwilling to sign it, waiting for the team to secure a new sponsor. Current sponsor Valvoline is leaving for Evernham Motorsports at season's end.

"We offered Scott a contract in May, and we met again in July and were still willing to execute it then," team general manager Jay Frye said. "The last time we met was (last month) at Pocono, and at that point we were not as willing to take the risk, depending on the sponsorship.

"At this point, we're not saying it's not going to happen – we would still like it to happen – but there are now other factors that will influence our decision."

Among those factors would be input from a new sponsor.

"At this point we don't have a sponsorship yet, so everything is in essence wide-open again," Frye said.

Riggs, 34, whose original contract is up at season's end, is one of the few available experienced drivers for next season. In 56 Cup starts, has one pole, two top-five and five top-10 finishes.

[Jackknife]

Remember, do NOT poke the brats.

Hell no! I'll be making the 'Bratwurst Hot Tub'. The grilled beer-brats are simply the best!

[WestCoastGal]

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (Aug. 12) - Nextel Cup champion Kurt Busch will be back to fulfill the final year of his contract with Roush Racing because his car owner will not let him go early.

http://aolsvc.news.aol.com/sports/article.adp?id=20050812143409990010

[steveegg]

Mmmmm-mmmmm!

[Jackknife]

I was watching the live show on Speed a little while ago, and Rusty said what I've been thinking about all of this driver change. These guys should not even be allowed to talk to another team until the final year of their contract.

How would you like to be a crew member on one of these teams, knowing that your driver was basically racing a 'lame-duck' season with you; merely fulfilling their contract for the year in order to get to the new owner?

Not me. These 'young- guns' and some of their ways of doing business are yet one more thing that is pissing me off about NASCAR, and I live and breath being a racing fan. These things won't drive me away, but they do make me mad.

I guess I'm just old and jaded from the days of Pearson, Petty, Yarborough, Baker, the Alabama Gang ...... I could go on, but I won't.

[WestCoastGal]

Rusty is always the voice of wisdom. The whole mess with switching teams and drivers staying for awhile or leaving has got to be the worst morale killer there is.

Trackside was fun tonight. I was disappointed that because final practice was canceled Speed had nothing to say for an hour. They could have gone over first practice or something. Oh well.

[WestCoastGal]

From one of my sources......Mikey may stay at DEI. Word could come shortly, they are working on it.

[SouthTexas]

Did DEI EVER offer Mikey a contract?

[WestCoastGal]

Yes they have been haggling over it for awhile. The sticking point for Mikey was that they would not promise him Tony Jr as crew chief.

It's possible they may offer him an even better crew chief.

[steveegg]

Things just get curiouser and curiouser. Jimmy Spencer will do a 1-race deal in the Peak Performance #66 Arbor Mortgage Ford at Michigan,

[steveegg]

Hmmm, what crew chiefs are on the auction block?

[WestCoastGal]

Good crew chiefs are harder to find than good drivers.

I was kinda hoping Elledge would bail out of Ganassi if he could. I don't know if any of their contracts are known.

[SouthTexas]

Still find it hard to believe that he didn't have an extension built into his contract and the Eurys never had contracts at all. Wonder if Jr ever really had one?

[WestCoastGal]

Jr did not have one until the current 5 year deal.

[SouthTexas]

Tad too much "old school", a la Sr, working on a hand shake only for this day and age.

[WestCoastGal]

Prayers for Coo Coo Marlin

AND from a Dodge/Clear!Blue PR Chip Ganassi: "Sterling Marlin is not here this morning, and his father is not doing too well. He flew out of here last night to go back home to be with Coo Coo. (David Stremme will practice the #40 Coors Light Dodge on Friday). None of this could happen today without the steadfast support of Sterling Marlin since I got in partners with Felix. A lot needs to be said there about that man.(8-12-2005) Jayski

---

Also Busch qualifying is up now from the Glen.

[WestCoastGal]

Sleeping With The Enemy (my title)

Schumer visit covers NASCAR, education

MONTOUR FALLS | U.S. Sen. Charles E. Schumer said Friday he will not support a new Staten Island speedway unless owners agreed to keep NASCAR events at Watkins Glen International.
Last July, International Speedway Corp. said it was "possible" The Glen could lose its NASCAR Nextel Cup race if a track was constructed in or near the metropolitan New York area. Soon afterward, the company purchased land off the southern tip of Manhattan, under the backdrop of Empire State Building and Statue of Liberty.

Despite opposition from nearby residents, Schumer said the company has been courting politicians to gather support for a Big Apple race track.


"They won't get it, unless they sign in blood that the Watkins Glen track stays open and stays in the Nextel Circuit," Schumer said Friday.


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