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Welcome to the Cup Scene Daily for September 3,2003
Vol. II,No.VIXII FINAL EDITION
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7 DAY ARCHIVE Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday INSIDE TODAY'S ISSUE: The Greatest NASCAR Story Ever Told, Part 3Clock Ticking For Older Drivers Jeff Burton Re-Signs With Roush Racing Stewart looking forward to racing at Richmond Points battle tight, elsewhere Harvick speeding up Earnhardt Jr. ready to rock and roll Another top-10 dance with the Lady in Black Labonte is a breath of fresh air Racing's newest pariah A weekly look at the top 10 drivers Experience at Darlington never boring The Cup Scene Daily Newsletter off line for now, new one to debut soon! Next Race Race Shop RACE Tickets Fantasy Garage NEW!
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TODAYS FRONT PAGE<
GO UP YOUNG MAN
Brian Vickers will become the youngest full-time competitor ever in NASCAR's top series next season when he takes over the No. 25 Chevrolet now driven by Joe Nemechek.
Car owner Rick Hendrick put Vickers on an advanced schedule Tuesday based on the promise the 19-year-old has shown in just under two seasons in the Busch Series. As the youngest full-time participant in any of NASCAR's top three classes, Vickers ranks third in the Busch Series points with 15 top-10 finishes and eight top-fives. He scored his second career victory Saturday at Darlington Raceway, leading 18-year-old teammate Kyle Busch across the finish line for a 1-2 Hendrick showing. Now he'll get the keys to the No. 25, which Nemechek has driven the past year-and-a-half. His contract is not being renewed. Vickers, who turns 20 in October, will be two months younger than Casey Atwood was when he made his Winston Cup debut at age 20 two years ago. "Brian has proven that he has the tools to be successful, not only through on-track performance, but with his maturity and ability to handle himself in a way that represents our sponsors, our teams and our sport in a positive light," Hendrick said. "There's no doubt in my mind that he's going to have a very long and productive career." The move also clears a seat for Busch to race full-time next season in Vickers' old car.
The original thought was that Vickers was slowly being groomed for Labonte's ride upon his eventual retirement. But the 46-year-old Labonte has resurrected his career, scoring his first win in over four years Sunday at Darlington to give Hendrick a weekend sweep. With Labonte apparently close to extending his career another few years, Vickers will now move into the fourth Hendrick entry and bring with him GMAC Financial Services, which sponsors his Busch Series car. "My goal in coming to Hendrick Motorsports was to be competitive each week and race for championships," Vickers said. "This is a dream come true for me." Vickers is from Thomasville, N.C., and went to high school with Labonte's children. Until this season, he was best known as the kid who missed his high school prom and juggled his graduation ceremony with his racing career, which his father originally funded. Then he caught the eye of Hendrick's son, Ricky, late last year. When 23-year-old Ricky gave up his racing career to follow in his father's footsteps as a car owner, Vickers was the first driver he hired, making them the youngest owner-driver combination in NASCAR history. Clock Ticking For Older DriversSeptember 3 Terry Labonte's Southern 500 victory Sunday was a feel- good win by one of racing's truly nice people.
As much as some of us would like to see Labonte or Dale Jarrett contend for another title, or Mark Martin finally win one, it probably isn't going to happen. NASCAR has gone over to the young lions - to Matt Kenseth and Ryan Newman, to Kurt Busch and Dale Earnhardt Jr., to Tony Stewart and a still- only-32 Jeff Gordon. This isn't as much a changing of the guard as an overrunning of the old guard. Of this year's 25 races, 20 have been won by drivers in their 20s or early 30s. Just two have been won by 40-somethings (Michael Waltrip was 39 in February when he won Daytona). Labonte belongs to a group of NASCAR stars in their mid- 40s that also includes Jarrett, Martin, Bill Elliott, Rusty Wallace, Sterling Marlin and Ricky Rudd. They're on the descending side of the hill, as are a few other 40-somethings who never did much climbing: Kyle Petty, Ken Schrader, Mike Skinner, Jimmy Spencer and Brett Bodine. The best of this bunch will retire on their own terms. Some won't be able to get rides. Most will be gone within five years. By the end of this calendar year, Elliott and Schrader will be 48; Labonte, Wallace, Jarrett and Rudd 47; Spencer, Skinner and Marlin 46; Martin and Bodine 44; and Petty 43. Few drivers have been competitive after 50. Harry Gant won four races in a row at age 51. Bobby Allison won at 50. Dale Earnhardt Sr. finished second in the 2000 standings at 49. But all-time greats Richard Petty and Darrell Waltrip were embarrassingly bad in their 50s. If any of the current 40- somethings can be Gant-like, it's Martin. The Daytona Beach resident is a fitness and nutrition fanatic. But will Martin choose to bow out and manage his son Matt's career? Labonte went 12 years between winning his first Winston Cup championship in 1984 and second in 1996 and was written off in between. He was written off again during the 156-race winless streak that ended Sunday. The guy still can win races, still fight for a top-10 spot in the standings. But for how much longer? Ask Labonte about retirement and he answers coyly. ``I'm not saying, but I'll tell you I won't have a losing streak that long again,'' he said Sunday. For better or worse, turnover is coming. Neither time nor the stampede of young lions can be halted
Elliotts crew wins at Darlington
The inaugural McDonald's Drive-Thru Pit Championship fueled by POWERade has paid out $500,000 to pit crews during the first 25 NASCAR Winston Cup races of the 2003 season.
Leading the prize money list is the pit crew for Bill Elliott's team, which swiped its fourth victory of the season Sunday at the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. Elliott's crew has earned $80,000 ($20,000 for each win) and is the first four-time winner of the championship that recognizes and awards the unsung heroes of the sport. Elliott's car, which finished fifth in the Darlington race, spent the least amount time on pit road for participating teams. The No. 9 Dodge was off the track for 469.770 seconds, edging Bobby Labonte's Interstate Batteries Chevrolet that spent 470.354 seconds on pit road. Third was Elliott Sadler's Ford at 471.403. "With the level of competition the way it is now you shoot to spend as little time on pit road as possible," said Elliott's crew chief Mike Ford. "That's a combination of your driver, calling the race and your pit stops. Your goal is keeping the car on the racetrack and not in the pits." Elliott's over-the-wall crew consists of: Todd Colburn (jackman), Nick Bailey (front tire carrier), Jim Pohlman (front tire changer), Eric Wakeland (rear tire carrier), Joe Kruschek (rear tire changer), Rodney Rhodes (gasman) and Steve Lawrence (catch can). The team's pit crew coach is Greg Miller. With 11 races remaining, Michael Waltrip's crew leads the McDonald's Drive-Thru Pit Championship with 912 points, a 53-point lead over the second-place pit crew for Dale Earnhardt Jr. Elliott's team, which did not join the program until the fifth race of the season, is ninth with 777 points. The season pit crew champion will receive a $200,000 bonus. |
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