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Welcome to the Cup Scene Daily for
Vol. III,No.VIXII FINAL EDITION
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2003 Season Quotes: “I definitely think me and Michael (Waltrip) could whip their guys in a tag-team match.”- Dale Earnhardt Jr., in reference to rival team Richard Childress Racing, at Daytona 7 DAY ARCHIVE SundayMonday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday INSIDE TODAY'S ISSUE: Fan Fest Opens Tonight Gibbs could be going back to NFL NASCAR Sets New Provisional System Blaney to test for Davis Drivers voice opinions on new points system Penske, Jasper finally make official plans for 2004 season: Kodak to sponsor team No Indy 500 for Stewart Tina Gordon set for ‘04 NASCAR return Seeking drama, NASCAR adds 10-race sprint to title format Bill Davis Racing is gearing up for 2004 Dale's perfect place: Earnhardt's burial site remains a secret It's Time to Buy a New Car When Opinion/My Word Letters to the Editor Readers Message Board(NOW OPEN!) Race Shop RACE Tickets Fantasy Garage NEW!
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Happy Birthday: Jonathan Engle, Marty Houston Tuesday's opening test session at Daytona was less about what happened on the track and more about the goings on in the garage area. The biggest stunner came when it was learned that two of the biggest names in NASCAR racing, car owners Robert Yates and Jack Roush, are merging their engine-building operations.
At the moment, the Roush-Yates merger involves only engine technology, but sources said that the foundation has been laid there for much closer work between the two Ford camps - Yates, with drivers Dale Jarrett and Elliott Sadler, and Roush, with drivers Matt Kenseth, Mark Martin, Jeff Burton, Kurt Busch and Greg Biffle. "Ford has encouraged Robert and me to have a 'technology transfer' to become competitive with what Toyota is bringing and what Chevrolet is doing and what Dodge has done," Roush said. "The Ford thing has been disjointed. Robert and I didn't cooperate, and Ford was not in a position to carry any amount of meaningful technology to both of us, even though both of us were being funded for different projects. "The agreement was to help our programs singularly, but that is just not going to work going forward, because you can't have half a program and get the whole result. "So we're working to organize how to build better engines by taking both programs and putting them together. Beyond that there are discussions that could lead to deeper involvements, but those aren't finalized at this point." "Ford has encouraged them to work together, particularly with the new cylinder head having been approved by NASCAR during the offseason," Ford Motorsports spokesman Dan Zacharias said. "Roush has not bought Robert Yates; Yates is not building all of the Ford engines used in NASCAR." Ford teams talk of being one, big, happy team. Why not really be one? Ego has been the most mentioned reason for the reluctance of Robert Yates and Jack Roush coming together. Maybe it's just one of those forest-for-the-trees things -- they don't see something that's so doggone obvious. Nonetheless, the Ford executive thought, why do some teams have cars that knife through the air while others have something, relatively speaking, akin to bricks in their rear bumper? Finally, the story continues, the Ford executive got the guys together and asked them: "Why don't you all just work together?" Everyone involved supposedly likes the idea that each would no longer waste money on producing something that the other can bring to the table and have, supposedly, already started doing just that. "They've established a cooperative arrangement to work together instead, to get everybody up to speed."
Roush had planned to move his engine operation from Lavonia, Mich., to North Carolina, and Yates' own 90,000 square-foot engine operation was under-utilized. So Roush will be moving some of his high-tech equipment into Yates' shop. "Robert and I both have realized we're in trouble," Roush said. "I knew I was in trouble, that I had my engine shop in the wrong place, in Michigan (rather than Charlotte, which has become the focal point for imported Formula One technology, most vividly seen in the Roger Penske operation). I knew I needed more access to global technology. By making this agreement, this new program, I can get stronger. By the same token, there are strengths to my program, technologies we have fostered, independent of the rest of the NASCAR community, and we're putting those on the table as well. "The thing I feel I'm behind on is knowing who the supplier in Japan is for some parts, who the French supplier is for some parts, who in Italy has the best world-class parts. The idea of becoming an international businessman to support this racing was unexpected." Roush also announced Tuesday the acquisition of Mountune Racing, Limited, of England. This acquisition is part of Roush's on-going strategy to expand their European engineering operations, and will also address the growing demand for small-displacement, high-performance engines in the United States. Mountune founder David Mountain announced the acquisition, saying: "Joining our successful business with one of the world's leading automotive development organizations is a great opportunity. Our wealth of experience backed by the considerable resources of Roush will open a whole range of new collaborative activities." On the track Michael Waltrip posted the fastest overall speed.
After he drove the secondary No. 15 Chevy to a session-best time of 48.171 seconds (186.834 mph), a broken oil line sent Waltrip's Monte Carlo into the Turn 2 wall. The car suffered little sheet metal damage but was covered in oil, forcing him to go to his main car. "It happened so fast I didn't know what was going on," said Waltrip, who has won two of the past three Daytona 500s. "I went down into the turn and a little bit of smoke puffed up, and I was in the wall and idling down the back straightaway before I figured out what happened."
Teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr., (No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet) turned the morning's fifth-fastest lap of 184.926 mph, giving Dale Earnhardt Incorporated three of the opening session's top five times. Earnhardt Jr. was also fifth-fasted in the afternoon session at 184.536 mph. "It's the pinnacle of our sport," said Waltrip of the Daytona 500. "It's quite an honor. I don't take it lightly." Considering how Waltrip and teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. have dominated superspeedways, Tuesday's showing offered the first signal of whom to consider a favorite. Having both cars perform so well in their season debuts was enough to make Waltrip more loquacious than usual. "I'm pretty jazzed up about the fact they're going to take the car I crashed to Hopkins (a chassis shop in North Carolina) for repairs," he said. "Everything we learn here will be incorporated into the car we're repairing. There's a pretty good chance it'll be better than the one we leave here with." Defending series champion Matt Kenseth (No. 17 DeWALT Ford) was eighth-fastest in the morning at 184.038 mph. Jeff Green, starting his first season in the No. 43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge, was second-fastest at 185.835 mph and also seventh-fastest at 184.170 mph. In the afternoon, Green dropped to third-fastest (184.885 mph). Joe Nemechek (No. 01 U.S. Army Chevrolet) was second-fastest at 185.494 mph.
Matt Kenseth leads tonight's first 45-minute segment at 6 p.m., with Tony Stewart, Mark Martin, Joe Nemechek, Dale Jarrett and Kevin Harvick. The next segment includes Ward Burton, Jamie McMurray, Ricky Craven, Kurt Busch and Jeremy Mayfield. The last segment has Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kasey Kahne, Jeff Green, Michael Waltrip and Brendan Gaughan. Admission is $10, and proceeds go to Brenner Children's Hospital, Speediatrics, the Victory Junction Gang, and the NASCAR Wives Auxiliary. |
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