Coupla things for your Tuesday...
NASCAR wants an independent evaluation of Jeremy Mayfield. They've asked a federal judge to administer a mental and physical evaluation to see if he has a substance abuse problem or ADHD.
NASCAR filed three affidavits from three friends of Mayfield's who know him from Kentucky. Barry Lee, Michael Buskill and Steven Russelburg all testified to witnessing Mayfield use methamphetamine.
Lee said he first witnessed Mayfield use methamphetamine in 1999 in the garage, at his home and on his boat, and saw the driver use at least 50 more times through 2000. His affidavit said Mayfield was driving him to Lowe's Motor Speedway in 1999 when he pulled over, said "you want to hit one?" and snorted methamphetamine off a mirror.
Ruskill, who said he lived on Mayfield's property from 2006 to 2007, also claimed to have witnessed Mayfield use methamphetamine.
"During that time, I frequently saw Jeremy use methamphetamine, almost on a daily basis," Russelburg said. "Most of the time this occurred at a barn on the property that had been converted to a shop."
He also testified that Mayfield stated he did not want his wife, Shana, to know about his drug use.
Neat...
Item 2: What if your crew chief couldn't be around the shop, but he could still be your crew chief through the sprint to the Cup...???
Ask Pat Tryson- Kurt Busch's crew chief...
Tryson is moving to Michael Waltrip Racing at the end of this season, so Penske Racing does not want him present during any preparations for 2010.
"They want me to focus on this year's stuff and they've got stuff going on at the shop for next year, so they're going to work on that," Tryson said before Sunday's race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. "I'll be communicating by e-mail and phones, and I'll be in there for driver debrief on Tuesdays.
"Tuesday is the only day I'm welcome."
That'll win you a title...
Item 3: Would you race for free...??? Reed Sorenson, apparently, is...
Before the Loudon race, ESPN's Marty Smith confirmed that Richard Petty Motorsports came to Sorenson half-way through the year and asked him to do one of two things- race for no salary or take a buyout and go home...
"They didn't really have much justification for it," Sorenson told Smith. "They basically just said, 'This is the deal we have, but you've done nothing wrong. We feel bad.' But it sucked. I don't really get it. It never made sense when it was going down, and it doesn't make sense now.
"I definitely didn't envision them coming to me halfway through this year and saying this. I felt like I was moving to a team where I could make a home and work with new teammates and maybe be there for five years or whatever it might be.
"I didn't even get halfway through the year, and this comes up. Then I was told I haven't done anything wrong at the same time. So that's the most sickening thing about it."
Those of us at OSG HQ are now rooting openly for Sorenson for the rest of the year. We hope he gets some kind of hybrid ride for the '10 season...
Showing posts with label Robert Yates Racing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Robert Yates Racing. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Richard Petty, Yates Merging For 2010 Season
((HT: AJC))
Under the agreement announced Thursday, Yates driver Paul Menard will join RPM drivers Kasey Kahne, Elliott Sadler and A.J. Allmendinger next year.
RPM was formed in January when Petty Holdings merged with Gillett Evernham Motorsports.
The team has met with mixed success, though Kahne is in good position to make the 12-driver chase for the championship after picking up his second victory of the season last week in Atlanta. Kahne is sixth in points heading into Saturday's race at Richmond, the final race before the chase begins.
"This is a pretty big deal for us," Petty said. "We're thrilled to partner with Ford. We've talked with a lot of folks, but in the end it came down tothe success the Gilletts and I think we can achieve with Ford Racing."
The switch from Dodge to Ford should ease some of the financial pressure felt by RPM since Chrysler's Chapter 11 filing. RPM laid off employees and cut salaries after Chrysler filed for bankruptcy protection.
"If you are going to compete with the other teams in this sport, you need a lot of support," said RPM managing partner Foster Gillett. "We bring a lot to this relationship as well. We've won twice this season and the power of Richard Petty is hard to beat, plus we have the support of some of the biggest names in corporate in America."
The merger leaves RPM driver Reed Sorenson and former NASCAR champion Bobby Labonte —who has been driving for Yates — looking for work while bringing Kahne full circle with Ford.
Kahne was being groomed by for big things by Ford in 2003 when he suddenly left the fold and signed with Ray Evernham's Dodge team, a move that gave Kahne a full-time ride at the Cup level. Ford sued for breach of contract, but the case was eventually thrown out of court.
Brian Wolfe, director of Ford North America Motorsports, called RPM's decision to switch manufacturers "gratifying."
"We will work with them closely on the technical front to help them become even more competitive than they are," he said. "What's also really good to me is the chance to have someone with the class and the legacy of Richard Petty involved with Ford."
Petty, winner of a record 200 NASCAR races, said some of the details are still being worked on. But he added there is little doubt the merger will help RPM make inroads on NASCAR super teams like Hendrick Motorsports.
"I've won races with Ford and plan to again," he said.
Just not with Sorenson, who is 28th in points this year with just one Top 10 finish.
Labonte is 30th while driving for Yates as part of a joint venture with Hall of Fame Racing, but was pulled from last week's race at Atlanta in favor of rookie Erik Darnell. Labonte ended up driving the No. 71 car for TRG Motorsports and finished 18th while Darnell was 30th.
Yates Racing co-owner Max Jones said it will still field two cars for the remainder of the 2009 season. Menard, who is 32nd in points, will drive one car while Darnell and Labonte will split time in the other.
All the story above does is give us a chance to show you the Sonoma race from earlier in the year where Kahne held off Tony Stewart
((HT: NASCAR Media/TNT))
Monday, August 31, 2009
Labonte Out Of The 96 For Seven Races
And he's not the least bit happy about it...
((HT: CBSSports))
Former NASCAR champion Bobby Labonte won't race this weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway, his best track, because of sponsorship issues at Yates Racing.
The team had seven races to sell this season for the No. 96 Ford, and the sponsorship it secured wanted Erik Darnell in the car. The 26-year-old will make his Sprint Cup Series debut at Atlanta, where Labonte has six career victories.
"This is not about Bobby; it's about making sure we have funding for these races," Yates co-owner Max Jones said Monday. "If it was about Bobby, I would have just put Erik in the car for the rest of the year. That was hard to convey to Bobby.
"But we have this opportunity to get Erik some races, and that's the business part of this sport. It's challenging."
Academy Sports & Outdoors will sponsor Darnell for three races, at Atlanta, Talladega and Texas. Northern Tool + Equipment, his current sponsor in the Truck Series, will be on the car at New Hampshire and Kansas.
Sponsorship for the other two races Darnell is slated to run was not announced.
Jones said Labonte did not take the decision well.
"I wouldn't have either if I was him," Jones said. "He's a class act, he's a professional. I had to explain my side, why I was doing it, and he wasn't happy about it. But he understood, and I respect that."
Labonte, the 2000 series champion, left Petty Enterprises last season because he was unsure of its long-term stability. He put together a late deal with Hall of Fame Racing, the team owned by San Diego Padres owner Jeff Moorad and president Tom Garfinkel.
Garfinkel and Moorad were able to land a sponsorship deal with Ask.com, one of the only new companies to enter NASCAR since last fall's economic collapse, and then partnered with Yates Racing for equipment and technical support. The Ask.com deal is a one-year deal and covered only 29 of the 36 races.
Jones worked hard to fill the car, but ultimately was able to sell the potential in Darnell over the history of Labonte.
Labonte, who is 45, is in the midst of his sixth winless season. He's 30th in the standings with one top-10 finish this season. Teammate Paul Menard is 32nd in the points with no top-10 finishes. He has full sponsorship from his family's Midwest-based hardware chain.
The team also fielded a car for Travis Kvapil for four races but stopped when no sponsorship was found.
Labonte will return to the car at Richmond, Dover, Fontana, Charlotte and Martinsville.
"This is a move that will be beneficial to Yates Racing surviving this difficult economic time," he said in a statement. "Of course, I'm disappointed that the sponsorship environment is so challenging right now, but I intend to make the most out of the remaining races that I'm behind the wheel."
Yates Racing is the sister team to powerhouse Roush Fenway Racing, and Jones said he doesn't expect Hall of Fame to be back under the umbrella in 2010. So he has had to approach future planning with a long-range view, which could include Darnell.
Stuck in the RFR development program because sponsorship issues and lack of available seats have slowed his progression, Jones said Darnell has earned this opportunity. He finished fourth in last year's Truck series, where he has two career wins.
He's raced in just 10 of 25 Nationwide Series races this season, but has five top-10 finishes.
Jones worked at Roush Fenway when Darnell won a seat in its development program.
"He deserves this opportunity. He's a really talented race car driver," Jones said. "It's taken a lot of guys a long time to move up because of the funding issues, and the opportunities aren't there anymore. Five or six or eight years ago, you could jump from Trucks to Cup.
"Then everything came to a screeching halt a few years ago."
Although Labonte has not been ruled out for a Yates ride in 2010, Jones said Darnell is in the mix, as is current Roush driver Jamie McMurray.
McMurray is in the final year of his contract with RFR, which must cut down from five to four cars at the end of this season. The organization would like to keep McMurray by moving him to the Yates side of the team but lacks the funding to offer him a contract.
"We still have that opportunity out there to keep Jamie, but we have to find something and right now he's exploring his options," Jones said. "We'd love him to be here. We'd love to be a three- or four-car team, but you have to find someone to pay for it."
All this story does is give us an excuse to show one of the funnier four-letter commercials with Labonte when he had the tools to win...
((HT: CBSSports))
Former NASCAR champion Bobby Labonte won't race this weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway, his best track, because of sponsorship issues at Yates Racing.
The team had seven races to sell this season for the No. 96 Ford, and the sponsorship it secured wanted Erik Darnell in the car. The 26-year-old will make his Sprint Cup Series debut at Atlanta, where Labonte has six career victories.
"This is not about Bobby; it's about making sure we have funding for these races," Yates co-owner Max Jones said Monday. "If it was about Bobby, I would have just put Erik in the car for the rest of the year. That was hard to convey to Bobby.
"But we have this opportunity to get Erik some races, and that's the business part of this sport. It's challenging."
Academy Sports & Outdoors will sponsor Darnell for three races, at Atlanta, Talladega and Texas. Northern Tool + Equipment, his current sponsor in the Truck Series, will be on the car at New Hampshire and Kansas.
Sponsorship for the other two races Darnell is slated to run was not announced.
Jones said Labonte did not take the decision well.
"I wouldn't have either if I was him," Jones said. "He's a class act, he's a professional. I had to explain my side, why I was doing it, and he wasn't happy about it. But he understood, and I respect that."
Labonte, the 2000 series champion, left Petty Enterprises last season because he was unsure of its long-term stability. He put together a late deal with Hall of Fame Racing, the team owned by San Diego Padres owner Jeff Moorad and president Tom Garfinkel.
Garfinkel and Moorad were able to land a sponsorship deal with Ask.com, one of the only new companies to enter NASCAR since last fall's economic collapse, and then partnered with Yates Racing for equipment and technical support. The Ask.com deal is a one-year deal and covered only 29 of the 36 races.
Jones worked hard to fill the car, but ultimately was able to sell the potential in Darnell over the history of Labonte.
Labonte, who is 45, is in the midst of his sixth winless season. He's 30th in the standings with one top-10 finish this season. Teammate Paul Menard is 32nd in the points with no top-10 finishes. He has full sponsorship from his family's Midwest-based hardware chain.
The team also fielded a car for Travis Kvapil for four races but stopped when no sponsorship was found.
Labonte will return to the car at Richmond, Dover, Fontana, Charlotte and Martinsville.
"This is a move that will be beneficial to Yates Racing surviving this difficult economic time," he said in a statement. "Of course, I'm disappointed that the sponsorship environment is so challenging right now, but I intend to make the most out of the remaining races that I'm behind the wheel."
Yates Racing is the sister team to powerhouse Roush Fenway Racing, and Jones said he doesn't expect Hall of Fame to be back under the umbrella in 2010. So he has had to approach future planning with a long-range view, which could include Darnell.
Stuck in the RFR development program because sponsorship issues and lack of available seats have slowed his progression, Jones said Darnell has earned this opportunity. He finished fourth in last year's Truck series, where he has two career wins.
He's raced in just 10 of 25 Nationwide Series races this season, but has five top-10 finishes.
Jones worked at Roush Fenway when Darnell won a seat in its development program.
"He deserves this opportunity. He's a really talented race car driver," Jones said. "It's taken a lot of guys a long time to move up because of the funding issues, and the opportunities aren't there anymore. Five or six or eight years ago, you could jump from Trucks to Cup.
"Then everything came to a screeching halt a few years ago."
Although Labonte has not been ruled out for a Yates ride in 2010, Jones said Darnell is in the mix, as is current Roush driver Jamie McMurray.
McMurray is in the final year of his contract with RFR, which must cut down from five to four cars at the end of this season. The organization would like to keep McMurray by moving him to the Yates side of the team but lacks the funding to offer him a contract.
"We still have that opportunity out there to keep Jamie, but we have to find something and right now he's exploring his options," Jones said. "We'd love him to be here. We'd love to be a three- or four-car team, but you have to find someone to pay for it."
All this story does is give us an excuse to show one of the funnier four-letter commercials with Labonte when he had the tools to win...
Sunday, July 26, 2009
NASCAR Silly Season: McMurray Can Look Around
((HT: ESPN/Newton))Roush Fenway Racing has informed Jamie McMurray he is free to talk to other organizations about next season, team president Geoff Smith said on Sunday.
But Smith said that is not an indication Roush doesn't want the driver of the No. 26 ((pictured, thanks NASCAR Images file)) associated with the organization in 2010.
Smith said Roush is willing to move any of its five drivers with sponsorship to partner Yates Racing next season if that would maintain the current Ford stable.
He said most of the drivers are willing to do that, understanding they will be in the same equipment with the same technology. The problem is convincing sponsors to move to what is perceived as the "B'' team. UPS, for example, is committed to keeping David Ragan at Roush.
"It's not moving apples to apples,'' Smith said from the garage at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
NASCAR has mandated that Roush be at the four-car cap by 2010. Roush currently has five drivers, McMurray, Ragan, Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle and Matt Kenseth.
Although Edwards, Kenseth and Biffle signed extensions last season, Smith is not opposed to moving one if that keeps all within the Roush/Yates umbrella.
"We would be open to any combination to keep them,'' he said.
McMurray is considered the most likely to be moved because his contract expires after this season. Smith said it did not make sense in this economic climate to re-sign him to a long-term deal without sponsorship commitment. Crown Royal, which sponsors a portion of races on McMurray's car, has two years left on its contract. Smith didn't rule out that could be moved to Kenseth's car if necessary.
Roush announced earlier this week that DeWalt, Kenseth's long-term sponsor, will not return in 2010. Smith said sponsorship for that car would be cleared up soon.
McMurray avoided conversations with the media on Friday and Saturday. He reportedly has been contacted by Earnhardt Ganassi Racing as a candidate to fill the spot being vacated by Martin Truex Jr. in the No. 1.
McMurray drove for Ganassi before moving to Roush after the 2005 season.
"We took a risk on losing Jamie when we made the decision not to re-sign him,'' Smith said. "It's been clear he's free to look around even though we've told him we want him. It's just hard to do right now.''
Smith said Roush and Yates would like to keep a combination of at least seven cars, preferably eight, for next season.
"No matter what Jamie decides to do, we still would like to have the same employment number,'' he said.
Here's one of McMurray's career highlights- winning the 2007 400-miler at Daytona...((HT: TNT/TSN/NASCAR))
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Kvapil and Yates Done After Bristol
From David Newton at the four-letter...
Yates Racing will suspend operations of the No. 28 Sprint Cup team of Travis Kvapil due to lack of sponsorship following Sunday's race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
The team entered the race 40th in points.
A decision on how many employees will be laid off has not been made. Geoff Smith, the president of Roush Fenway Racing that partners with Yates, said most of the 28 team members will be dispersed to other parts of the organization.
"It's difficult to be in a situation when you have to deal with the consequences of the economy," Smith said. "We're in a situation where there's no extra cash to support running an unsponsored car for any period of time.
"If the economy picks up later in the season maybe we'll be able to pick up something for that team."
Yates and Roush poured a lot of money into the 28 program for Kvapil to drive much of last season without full sponsorship. He finished 23rd in points, which Smith hoped was good enough to attract sponsors.
Those points were given to Bobby Labonte when Hall of Fame Racing partnered with Yates, leaving Kvapil having to qualify for the first five races.
The team suffered a major setback when Kvapil failed to make the third race at Las Vegas. That was compounded a week later when a blown engine left him 42nd at Atlanta.
"This puts a premium on performance," Smith said of the economic situation. "The team struggled at a real critical time when they couldn't afford to struggle."
Smith wasn't optimistic sponsorship for Kvapil will come this season. He's having enough trouble with selling sponsorship for some of his other programs, such as Aflac on Carl Edwards' car, that have asked for relief.
Roush has sponsors for all of its drivers through at least 2010 except Matt Kenseth, whose deal with DeWalt expires after this year. Smith said he's working with DeWalt to find a partner for next season.
"There's a lot of pressure internally and externally for sponsors to decrease participation and find a partner or pull back altogether," Smith said. "There just aren't enough sponsors on our side of the garage to go around right now."
Yates Racing will suspend operations of the No. 28 Sprint Cup team of Travis Kvapil due to lack of sponsorship following Sunday's race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
The team entered the race 40th in points.
A decision on how many employees will be laid off has not been made. Geoff Smith, the president of Roush Fenway Racing that partners with Yates, said most of the 28 team members will be dispersed to other parts of the organization.
"It's difficult to be in a situation when you have to deal with the consequences of the economy," Smith said. "We're in a situation where there's no extra cash to support running an unsponsored car for any period of time.
"If the economy picks up later in the season maybe we'll be able to pick up something for that team."
Yates and Roush poured a lot of money into the 28 program for Kvapil to drive much of last season without full sponsorship. He finished 23rd in points, which Smith hoped was good enough to attract sponsors.
Those points were given to Bobby Labonte when Hall of Fame Racing partnered with Yates, leaving Kvapil having to qualify for the first five races.
The team suffered a major setback when Kvapil failed to make the third race at Las Vegas. That was compounded a week later when a blown engine left him 42nd at Atlanta.
"This puts a premium on performance," Smith said of the economic situation. "The team struggled at a real critical time when they couldn't afford to struggle."
Smith wasn't optimistic sponsorship for Kvapil will come this season. He's having enough trouble with selling sponsorship for some of his other programs, such as Aflac on Carl Edwards' car, that have asked for relief.
Roush has sponsors for all of its drivers through at least 2010 except Matt Kenseth, whose deal with DeWalt expires after this year. Smith said he's working with DeWalt to find a partner for next season.
"There's a lot of pressure internally and externally for sponsors to decrease participation and find a partner or pull back altogether," Smith said. "There just aren't enough sponsors on our side of the garage to go around right now."
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