Dinner with Toyota
 Former Dodge driver Jeremy Mayfield jumped to Bill Davis Racing to drive a Toyota Camry with new sponsor 360 OTC (pain reliever). |
Much has been said about Toyota coming into Nextel Cup racing and most of it about money. But let’s report the facts. Toyota set a new indoor world record for most racecars inside a hotel for one meal with no less than 11 Toyotas rolled into the cushy new Embassy Suites Hotel near Lowe’s Motor Speedway.
They shoved eight into the dining room and the others in the hallway. Toyota will run nine Truck, four Busch and eight Cup teams. Bottom line: It only took them half a season to win in Trucks and we think they’ll fare just as well in Camrys in Cup.
Day Two
M&Ms (and Snickers) for Breakfast with Robert Yates Racing
Wow, what can you say about one of the best teams in Cup racing being on the skids and looking to rebound this year? It’s like this. Robert and Doug Yates have something to prove. Ditto for veteran Ricky Rudd and rookie, David Gilliland. So where can they go but up from last year when drivers Sadler and Jarrett bailed and sponsor UPS went with Jarrett to Toyota.? The only remaining question is about their manufacturer Ford. Will they help or hang‘em out to dry? We think Ford will buy into the resurrection of RYR as they have a more than vested interest in all those Yates/Roush engines.
Robert Yates Racing is on the comeback trail in ’07 with steady vet Ricky Rudd (L) coming out of his one-year retirement, and rookie David Gilliland [R]. Long time car owner Robert Yates is the shy guy in the middle background. They have rebounded very well thank you – rookie Gilliland is on the ’07 Daytona 500 pole (wow!), and Rudd is #2 in the 500. Oh yeah, Gilliland was second to Tony Stewart in the Bud Shootout at the big track and got a payout of $115,000. What a start for the team!
Richard Childress Racing
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 Kevin Harvick’s jibe at Theresa Earnhardt (calling her a “deadbeat” team owner) overshadowed that long-time Richard Childress Racing sponsor GM Goodwrench is not full-time on the #29. Shell / Pennzoil is the main one now. |
We had good, and re-builiding talk, so I guess it was up to Kevin ‘Happy’ Harvick to provide some ugly commentary when he called Teresa Earnhardt a “deadbeat owner.” He was editorializing on the DEI owner’s non-attendance at Cup races, and taking a swipe at the ongoing and volatile negotiations for re-signing Dale Jr. That comment overshadowed that the #29 is now red and yellow for Shell/Pennzoil instead of GM Goodwrench silver and black. Bottom line: One cheap shot will usually get you another. Other bottom line: Watch Jeff Burton, he’ll show how it gets done at RCR.
Petty Enterprises
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We had lunch with the king, Richard Petty, who welcomed us with, “When you come through that gate, you've come into a facility that has produced 266 victories out of this shop.” ‘Nuff said.
But the news is that after four generations, they are thinking of moving closer to Charlotte from their compound in Level Cross, NC, to get a better selection of knowledge and people. It’s time for this team to, as Richard says, “quit talking about it and do it.” Kyle: “…feels like we have momentum.” Prediction: Continued growth and rebound.
Petty Enterprises is still rebuilding and this could be a good year for them. But to get back to the top tier of winning teams they are seriously considering moving from their Level Cross, NC, compound of four generations nearer to Charlotte. They’ll have to do this to get the people required to become a mega-team.