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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 "If you mess with the bull, you get the horn." - Jimmy Spencer 7 DAY ARCHIVE SundayMonday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday INSIDE TODAY'S ISSUE: R. Gordon, RCR deny rumors of driver change Marlin may lose Coors sponsorship NASCAR completes data collection on confiscated cars "Mr. Excitement" is back Commission rejects Morgan-McClure appeal Jeff Burton to run special scheme at Talladega BAM racing signs German driver Johnson loves the challenge of Martinsville At Martinsville, it comes down to getting out of a tight situation Petree says NASCAR's scoring mess can be fixed Two Sites Near Seattle Proposed for NASCAR Youth movement gains on Gordon Drivers to watch at Martinsville Racing Blind Spots Aren’t Just in the Mirrors Cup Scene readers speak out about the new point system
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Happy Birthday: Bobby Hutchens Kerry Earnhardt says that he didn't get the same breaks in his racing career as half brother Dale Earnhardt Jr. But he's not bitter.
It's hard to win races and woo adoring fans when you're laboring in a textile mill in rural North Carolina (four years) or working in the service department at your father's Chevrolet dealership (six years). "Racing was like a hobby for me at the time because I had to work and provide for my family and make sure they had a roof over their head and food on the table," Earnhardt said. "That was my main concern at the time. Now the 34-year-old Earnhardt is taking another run at NASCAR's top circuit. Fittingly, he'll renew his quest at the Aaron's 499 on April 25 at Talladega Superspeedway, where his father, Dale, and younger brother have dominated over the years. Richard Childress Racing offered Earnhardt a part-time gig in January, driving a black No. 33 Chevrolet in at least five races this year. For Earnhardt, it was a chance to prove he's ready for the Nextel Cup series and maybe earn a full-time ride for next year. For Childress, it was a chance to help out the oldest son of Dale Earnhardt, who won six of his seven Cup championships with RCR. "Hoping to help Kerry out is our main focus, trying to put him in some first-rate equipment with some first-rate people and hopefully let people see what he can do," said Bobby Hutchens, RCR's director of competition and a former crew member of Intimidator. When Kerry races next weekend, it will be the first time an Earnhardt has driven a Cup car for RCR since the family's racing patriarch died in 2001. Earnhardt didn't fare particularly well in his only other start in NASCAR's top series, finishing 30th at Michigan International Speedway in 2000. Two years later, he failed to qualify for the EA Sports 500 at Talladega, where Dale Jr. set a track record with four straight Cup wins and the elder Earnhardt's 10 victories is tops. Earnhardt and his team are confident he'll be able to qualify this time. "We're hoping we're going to be a diamond in the rough," Hutchens said. "We've put a lot of effort into making sure we've got a good car for the race, and hopefully we can showcase his talents." Earnhardt spent two years with FitzBradshaw Racing - co-owned by NFL Hall of Famer Terry Bradshaw - in the Busch Series but lost his ride midway through last season. While Dale Jr. was racing to NASCAR stardom, Earnhardt was raising four kids and driving mostly in obscurity, everywhere from ARCA and the Busch Series to late model stock cars in Hickory, N.C. "He was able to put all his time and effort toward racing, whereas I had to think about my family," Earnhardt said about his younger brother. Earnhardt has the familiar mustache, prominent nose and slender frame of his father. He doesn't quite have the carefree lifestyle of his bachelor brother, carrying a photo album of his kids with him on the road and happily showing off his wallet pictures. And though his racing career has never really taken off like that of his dad and half brother, it hasn't been without its successes. In 2001, he won three straight ARCA races. The next year, he had five top-10 finishes in 34 starts on the Busch Series, finishing second in Kansas and fifth in Memphis and winning just over $622,000. Last year, however, he failed to finish higher than 14th in 21 starts and lost his ride in July. "Kerry has had a rougher time of it (than me), not because he's less talented, but because he's had a lot of other things going on in his life," Dale Jr. said at the time. "All I wanted to do was drive race cars, and that's what I've been able to do. Kerry has different responsibilities - he has a family and kids, and that means he has not been able to devote the time and energy to a full-time ride." Dale Jr. was a hot rookie with two Cup wins already and their father was still at the top of his form in 2000 when Earnhardt qualified for his only Cup race, the Pepsi 400 at Michigan Speedway. It took two tries. "In the first round of qualifying, I messed up in turn three and just barely missed the Show," Earnhardt said. "Of course, I got a good lecture that night, so the next day I went out and qualified." When they started that Pepsi 400, it was the first time a father and his two sons had started in a Cup event since Lee Petty and sons Richard and Maurice in 1960. The race didn't end well for the older brother, who crashed six laps in. And his last attempt to qualify at Talladega was hampered by rain. "It might have been a blessing," Earnhardt said. "You never know what would have happened. We didn't really test well enough to do anything. It got to where I finally just told them we weren't good enough to make it, and we just didn't try anymore." Until now.
R. Gordon, RCR deny rumors of driver change
Gordon and his No. 31 Cingular Chevrolet are 25th in the respective NASCAR Nextel Cup driver and owner point tables, on the strength of a single top-five finish in the season's first seven races. Gordon said that while that's not a pleasant statistic for anyone at RCR, his release has no part in the organization's near future. "I think that all that is, is a rumor," Gordon said. "I've got a good relationship with Richard. "We've had conversations, and it's all about how we're going to perform at Martinsville and what we're doing to try to make the 31 and the 30 cars more competitive, as a team." RCR director of competition Bobby Hutchens, who Gordon said has been spending extra time working with his group and new crew chief Chris Andrews so far this season, concurred Wednesday afternoon. "Robby Gordon is our driver of the No. 31 Cingular Wireless Chevrolet," Hutchens said. "Whatever rumors have been flying around out there are just rumors. To my knowledge, there have been no conversations that would prove any different." Due to his schedule, Childress was unavailable for comment Wednesday afternoon, a team spokesperson said. But Gordon insisted that the circulating stories were unfounded. "Let's see, if you're going to say Ryan Newman was released and he's going to be driving the 31 car, that sounds pretty good," Gordon said. "I'm pretty sure that Jeff Burton is 30th in points and I'm 25th, so if you're going to replace me, at least get the right guy. "I don't mean that Jeff's not the right guy, but (that doesn't make much sense)." Gordon, who swept both Cup road races last season, said circumstances have prevented his team and Andrews from showing their true colors. "We obviously aren't running where we'd like to be running," Gordon said. "I'm still confident in my ability and the knowledge I have about racecars and I believe in this RCR team." Hutchens seconded that notion, and said the team is working to remedy the poor performance in-house. "Although the season hasn't met our expectations up to this point, we feel RCR is in good shape with Robby and Chris and the entire Cingular team," Hutchens said. "They've had a lot of good cars this year, but haven't gotten the finishes they deserve. "They had an awesome car and top-five finish in Darlington (and) we are in the process of building some new cars to hopefully help them down the road." Gordon said the worst thing that rumors can do is affect a team's performance, but he's not concerned with that with his RCR group. "I let it (rumors) roll off my back, to be honest with you," Gordon said. "In some cases, it might affect you, but we've got a solid team and it doesn't matter what kind of crap people are throwing around." RCR Engines supplies the engines for Robby Gordon's own No. 55 Fruit of the Loom Chevrolet NASCAR Busch Series team, which has him fifth in the driver standings and sixth in the owner standings, one position behind Childress' own No. 21 Reese's Chevrolet. "We've only got one top-five finish and that bothers me, because I thought we'd come out of the box better," Gordon said of his Nextel Cup program. "But we were running in the top-10 at both Daytona and Rockingham before we got taken out in accidents. "We've missed it a couple times, but all in all we're a 15th to fifth place team. We have to figure out how to be a 10th to first place team, and that's our next step." |
