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Welcome to the Cup Scene Daily for
Vol. III,No.VIXII FINAL EDITION
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Quote of the day: "“I don’t feel like I’ve missed much yet. It’s only been two races. We tested in Las Vegas in late January, and we were pretty good out there. We’re ready to go for Las Vegas.”- Bill Elliott 7 DAY ARCHIVE SundayMonday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday INSIDE TODAY'S ISSUE: Busch Series Driver Grubb Is Suspended Junior on CBS and kicks off "Driven 2 Rock Burton needs a good showing in Las Vegas Elliott saddles up for Vegas Team owner gets creative with sponsors SCORE Motorsports announces Las Vegas sponsor This time, 09 really means it Books expecting plenty of action on weekend's races Substance Abuse Taints NASCAR Republican Country: NASCAR crowd has definite tilt toward GOP NBC to show IMAX preview on Sunday Zoom Lens: NASCAR Everything I Need to Know About NASCAR I Learned From Judge Judy (and other media ramblings) Cup Scene readers speak out about the new point system
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Happy Birthday: Chad Trickle, Bill Snyder Slots and showgirls are about to take a backseat to stock-car racing in Sin City, as three native sons, Brendan Gaughan and the Busch Brothers are playing The Strip this weekend as the series returns to Las Vegas Motor Speedway for a historic homecoming that represents the changing face of NASCAR.
After posting a series-high six wins and placing fourth in the 2003 Craftsman Truck Series, Gaughan was hired by Penske Jasper Motorsports to drive the No. 77 Dodge on NASCAR's premier circuit. Gaughan has a packed schedule this week. "They're going to keep us pretty busy," says Gaughan. "Dodge has asked us to go to a Dodge Dealers appearance. I used to buy my Dodges from out there, so we'll go take care of the dealers there. I'm going to go do some stuff at the Orleans. That's my family's place, so we're going to do the PRN radio show there one night. We're going to try to get the Kodak apparel trailer over there at the Orleans for a couple of nights to let some of the fans come out and find some of the Kodak apparel. Other than that, we'll just do like we did in the old Craftsman Truck days. We'll go see all the local guys. They want to come talk to us and the radio and TV stations want us to come in and talk, so it'll end up being like Daytona Speedweeks for us. We'll be busy. "We've already had a million people calling, wanting pit passes and this and that," the rookie said with a chuckle during a teleconference to discuss Sunday's UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400.
Gaughan, 28, is very familiar with Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He competed in truck races and the Winston West Series there, as well as working as an instructor for the Richard Petty Driving Experience at the 1.5-mile track. "It's where [crew chief] Shane Wilson and I are from, so there has been [a tendency] to overanalyze, overengineer, and get too pumped up," Gaughan said. "We've hurt ourselves a couple times. But it's a racetrack where we know how to win. We just have to get it right." Kurt and Kyle Busch, whose father helped them hone their racing skills in nearby Pahrump, Nev., are also excited about performing in front of family and friends. But they're especially stoked about the possibility of racing side by side with much more than bragging rights on the line. For years, the Buschs shared a go-kart, often racing each via the stopwatch. Their track was the cul-de-sac they lived. After moving, the new track was a bank parking lot down the street. Sometimes police officers shooed them away; other times they watched. Finally, the family got a second go-kart. The brothers raced each other twice. The karts came home intact the first time. Not the second time. "One of the go-karts was always a little quicker and I can remember a day when I happened to be in front of him with the slower kart,'' Kurt says. "I was blocking and holding Kyle up when our dad started counting down the laps. "He gave us five to go and then two to go, and when he got to the final lap all bets were off.?I was making that go-kart as wide as I could.?Kyle got a good run going down the back straightaway, but I chopped him down.'' Says Kyle: "So I went into turn 3 and dove in underneath him. I went over one of his tires and … my nose went up and over and knocked the carburetor off of his go-kart, so he didn't make it back to the finish line and I did. That was pretty cool. Dad wasn't impressed. "He said he beat me fair and square, but he was still under power while I didn't even have a carburetor on mine,'' Kurt says. With Kurt, 25, having established himself as a force in the Nextel Cup Series driving the No. 97 Ford for Roush Racing, he is serving as a mentor for his brother. "I gave him some advice that I thought he put to good use at Daytona, but he still has things to learn on his own. It'll be a challenge for the two of us to blend together and to work with two different organizations," Kurt Busch said. Kyle was a 16-year-old high school senior when he raced in the Craftsman Truck Series for Jack Roush in 2001. But he decided to go in another direction and signed with Hendrick Motorsports, which fields the No. 5 Chevrolet, for his rookie campaign in the Busch Series. The team hopes to have him make his Nextel Cup debut in the No. 84 Monte Carlo on Sunday. "It's pretty amazing how I'm already here this quickly, but I had great help and a great teacher with Kurt and my dad," Kyle Busch said. "Kurt opened up a lot of doors and opened up a lot of people's eyes about the West Coast and Vegas guys. He definitely paved the way for me to get here." Before they moved to North Carolina, one room in their Las Vegas home was covered with die-cast race cars on shelves, with Dale Earnhardt and Gordon the most popular in the family. Gordon was Busch's favorite driver. It was about four years ago at a Las Vegas test session that Busch approached Gordon in the garage seeking his autograph. For 18 items. Gordon signed them all. Eighteen was a special number for Busch. It was at that age he could return to NASCAR. Busch drove in six truck races while a high school junior before NASCAR mandated a minimum age of 18 for its drivers forced him out. 'At the time, I thought it was devastating,'' he says of his exile. "The world is over. I'm done.'' Now, he understands why the rule was made, but he doesn't dwell on what he missed. There's too much ahead. "It's hard to realize that four years ago I was running legends cars and just started racing,'' he says with a smile while relaxed on a leather couch in his team's hauler. "And now, I can run a Nextel Cup race. It's pretty unbelievable.'' Busch Series Driver Grubb Is Suspended March 3NASCAR suspended Busch series driver Kevin Grubb on Tuesday for violating its substance abuse policy. The suspension begins immediately and will last until Grubb meets terms outlined by NASCAR, including counseling and periodic random testing.
"NASCAR has zero tolerance for any type of behavior that is in violation of our Substance Abuse Policy," NASCAR President Mike Helton said in a release announcing the suspension. "We have a moral responsibility to protect the integrity of our sport." NASCAR officials declined to comment further. The policy allows for random testing under "reasonable suspicion." The status of Grubb's Busch ride is in limbo. In January, he signed to a part-time schedule with Team Rensi Motorsports, his fourth team in three years. The team was planning to field a Ford for Grubb in about 10 races, including the May 14 event at Richmond International Raceway. He was scheduled to make his debut as a teammate to title contender Bobby Hamilton Jr. in the April 3 race at Texas Motor Speedway. "We're not passing judgment," said Sam Rensi, a co-owner, president and CEO of the team. "He's been put in the penalty box by NASCAR. It's up to them to do whatever to let him get out of the penalty box. When he gets reinstated, then we'll look at our hand. Until he can drive, there's not a lot to talk about." Grubb couldn't be reached for comment last night. As of midafternoon yesterday, Rensi hadn't spoken with Grubb. "I don't know about hearing from him today, but he'll get a hold of me," Rensi said. "I'd be astonished if he isn't of the attitude of doing what he needs to do to get reinstated. The kid is a talented driver, and we were looking forward to working on other things with him in the total driver package to be a capable sponsors' advocate. Unfortunately, we're at a bump in the road." Grubb is the second Busch driver punished for failing a drug test in the past six months. Shane Hmiel, 23, was suspended indefinitely last September and reinstated last month after completing a program of counseling and testing. Busch driver David Starr said he was shocked by Grubb's suspension but supported the penalty. "Kevin's a good person and a really good driver," Starr said. "But my hat goes off to NASCAR. We're running at speeds well in excess of 150 mph in most places, and zero tolerance is something I strongly believe in. To bring in drugs and alcohol to this environment is uncalled for, and NASCAR does a good job policing that. You have to trust your competitors, and to think one was not thinking or seeing clearly would bother me." Grubb, a former rookie of the year at South Boston Speedway, has compiled 31 top-10 finishes in 168 starts since joining the Busch Series in 1997. He also captured a pole position and finished a career-best second at Dover in 1998. He hasn't completed a full season on the circuit since 2001 when he finished 14th in the points standings for Brewco Motorsports. He placed 24th in 2002 for Team Bristol and 19th last year for Carroll Racing. |
