Last Winston Cup Pole to McMurray
November 14, 2003
Homestead, FL - Jamie McMurray, running late in the session, earned his career-first pole position for the last-ever NASCAR Winston Cup race. McMurray deposed early pole winners Bobby Labonte and Brian Vickers, who set identical lap times of 29.879sec/180.729mph. Had McMurray not interfered, Labonte would have started from the pole, thanks to setting his time after Vickers ran his lap.
Jeff Gordon Leads Friday AM Practice
November 14, 2003
Homestead, FL - Jeff Gordon headed the last practice before qualifying for the Ford 400 at newly-repaved Homestead-Miami Speedway. Gordon’t best time of 29.604sec/182.408mph was 0.140sec ahead of Kevin Harvick’s time. Mark Martin led the Ford brigade in third, just .042 behind Harvick.
Kyle Busch’s Car Confiscated
November 14, 2003
Homestead, FL - In a move reminiscent of the weekend at California Speedway when he could not drive in an ARCA race, Kyle Busch’s Winston Cup debut has been delayed. Repeating the actions earlier this year at Texas Motor Speedway, NASCAR officials confiscated a race car. According to NASCAR Winston Cup director John Darby, Kyle Busch’s car was impounded for “body dimensions that did not meet NASCAR specifications.”
2004 CART Schedule Annoucned
November 14, 2003
CART has finally released the 2004 race schedule…but it is stil running out of money…
CART.com: 2004 CART CHAMP CAR WORLD SERIES SCHEDULE ANNOUNCED
CNN/SI: Cash-strapped CART releases ‘04 schedule
CBSSportsLine.com: Running out of cash, CART still releases 2004 schedule
Winston Cup News & Notes From Miami
November 12, 2003
* New champion Kenseth must contend with fellow “young guns” in 2004
* NASCAR Top 10 awaits final shuffle in standings, NASCAR Winston Cup point fund distribution
* Reconfigured Homestead hosts finales in three national series
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Nov. 12, 2003) – The final race of the 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season won’t have championship implications thanks to Matt Kenseth’s (No. 17 DeWALT Power Tools Ford) efforts at Rockingham last week where he clinched this year’s title.
Homestead Testing Notes & Quotes
November 12, 2003
Miami, FL - Nov 12, 2003 - Nearly everyone in the sport concentrated on testing at Homestead-Miami Speedway today. After International Speedway Corporation (ISC) spent over $10 million in re-engineering the track, raising the banking from about six degrees to a variable banking of as much as 20 degrees in the turns.
Here are the notes and quotes from all three corporate families following today’s test sessions.
Winston Cup Drivers Test at Miami
November 12, 2003
Miami, FL- 11/12/03- Moving at speeds approaching 180 mph, the stars of the NASCAR Winston Cup Series took to the new Homestead-Miami Speedway and its state-of-the-art, 20-degree, variable banking for the first time today. The drivers were busy preparing for Sunday’s Ford 400, the season-finale for the NASCAR Winston Cup Series.
Force Releases Pedregon From Contract; Makes 2004 Plans
November 11, 2003
Hollywood, Calif. — John Force confirmed Monday night that 2003 NHRA POWERade points champion Tony Pedregon has been released from his contract with John Force Racing, effective immediately.
Elliott, Evernham Teleconference
November 11, 2003
Courtesy Dodge Motorsports, here is the transcript of this mornings teleconference, featuring driver Bill Elliott, crew chief Mike Ford and team owner Ray Evernham.
Despain On IRL Safety
November 11, 2003
Dave Despain of Speed Channel has a two part peice on “his take” on the IRL’s obvious safety issues in the wake of Tony Renna’s death and Kenny Brack’s huge wreck in the last race of the season…
Speedtv.com: “My Take” on IRL Safety - Part 1
Speedtv.com: “My Take” on IRL Safety - Part 2