News From Daytona Disappointing, As Was Race For Some Competitors
Monday, July 3rd, 2006 9:58am CDT
By Luke, Thunder Lounge
Published on Thunder Lounge.
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[thumb:253:l:s=1:l=x]In a weekend of news where we were left with more questions then answers, and several driver’s were left scratching their head while looking at a torn up race car, we head towards Chicago this weekend in what looks to be another up and down of the yo-yo.
Some on the unfortunate side at the end of the night were Jimmy Johnson, who leaves Daytona with a mere 8 point lead over 2nd place Matt Kenseth after getting into Bobby Labonte on lap 158. However, there is still quite a comfortable distance back to Dale Jr in 3rd as he is 267 points behind Kenseth.
Also among the head scratcher’s were Jeff Gordon, who got caught in the wrong place at the wrong time when Greg Biffle got together with JJ Yeley, which also collected Mark Martin with 6 to go.
As disappointing as the track was for some, so was the news scene for others. We’re heading to Chicago with more questions than answers, and the rumor mill is churnin’ like crazy.
First, according to Brian France and Sprint, Sprint will not be ending its sponsorship commitment entered into by Nextel and acquired in the merger of the two telecommunication companies. A small sigh of relief, if you can believe it, but there is still plenty of rope left for Sprint to hang themselves.
Second, the buzz for the last few weeks was that we could expect an announcement as to the branding of the Cup Series at Daytona. No such announcement was made.
Third, there was quite a buzz that Ward Burton would finally be allowed to announce plans for next year, which the only word we heard was that Ward had some very positive meetings Thursday night.
Fourth, and kind of relating to the third point, is the it was rumored that UPS would make some sort of announcement, or RYR would. Nothing heard.
Added to our list of questions is what is going on with the Wood Brothers. Apparently they don’t have a clue either. They may run up to two cars next year with Schrader in one and Jon in the other, they may just run Jon, or they may not run at all. Eddie Wood wasn’t sure, but if they can get Jon’s Busch sponsor on board (Clorox) then the possibility of 2 cars could be a nice reality.
Another question comes from this weekend is that apparently DEI is looking to expand not only to a third car for Paul Menard next year, but a fourth car as well. After rumors a few weeks ago of DEI looking to combine/buy MB2, that has been confirmed that it is a viable option for DEI. Not sure of the details, but it is something they are looking at according to Richie Gilmore.
Another question comes from the statement by Brian France about the fact that there will be tweaks to the Chase for 2007. What’s coming is anybody’s guess. There is certainly tons of room for speculation, since Brian said that it wouldn’t be anything new, and had been discussed by various people since the Chase’s inception.
Finally, we are left to wonder where the yo-yo of driver’s going in and out of the top 10 is going to run out of momentum. I’m in, I’m out. I’m in, I’m out. When the checkers fly at Richmond, there may be a few surprises on both sides of the fence.
Filed Under: Nascar, Nextel Cup
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