Mooresville, N.C. — Day 2 of the NASCAR Nextel Media Tour began with a visit to Robert Yates Racing in Mooresville, N.C.
Media visitors got off their tour buses to be greeted by The Big Brown Truck—a UPS delivery truck stuffed with an 800-horsepower Ford NASCAR engine.
The truck, of course, is part of an ongoing UPS advertising campaign featuring Dale Jarrett.
SIX SHOOTER: Car owner Robert Yates and driver Dale Jarrett are among the leading advocates in an effort to slow down NASCAR Nextel Cup cars, perhaps by as much as 15-20 miles per hour at faster tracks.
Slower cars—and we’re still talking lap times in the 175 mph range at 1.5-mile tracks—would promote better side-by-side racing, and Yates thinks a 600-horsepower V-6 engine might be the way to go. It would slow the cars and relate better to what people drive on the street these days.
“We spend $200 million a year refining engines. Why not refine the one that’s in the car I’m standing next to?” said Yates, pointing to a V-6-powered 2006 Ford Fusion SEL. “I’m telling you, we could take this engine right here, under my hands, make 600 horsepower and create great side-by-side racing. We can make serious horsepower, smoke the heck out of the tires, and burn half the fuel we’re using now. And that would give us great headlines for the future.”
“This sport was never built on sheer speed. It was built on competition,” added Jarrett. “If we just slow things down 10 or 15 miles per hour, you’re going to see much better competition, and we have to keep that in sight. We need to take a look at downsizing these engines a little bit.”
BUSCH TEAM: RYR development drivers Stephen Leicht and Matt McCall will share the seat of the No. 90 Yates-owned CitiFinancial Ford fusion in 17 Busch Series races next year. Sadler will drive 16 races, with Belgian road-race ace Marc Goosens driving the two Busch road races.
RYR team manager Eddie D’Hondt said that either Leicht or McCall likely would drive the car fulltime in the Busch Series in 2007, and then move with the team to Nextel Cup. During the winter, CitiFinancial signed a three-year contract extension with the team and will remain as the primary sponsor, D’Hondt said.
VIVA LAS VEGAS: The Yates crew will leave for Nevada today to begin a critical NASCAR open test at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the first time the 2006 Ford Fusion will be on a 1.5-mile track with all its competitors.
Last year, the 1.5-mile tracks yielded disappointing results for the team, problems largely traced to aerodynamic woes with their cars’ bodies. The Vegas test will be an accurate barometer of how far the team has come and whether it truly has fixed its aero disadvantage over the winter.
“We’ll know more in Vegas,” said Tommy Baldwin, new crew chief for Elliott Sadler.
DAYTONA FORECAST: Jarrett said he doesn’t expect to put his No. 88 Ford Fusion on the pole for the Daytona 500. But because the new car feels so good in traffic and drafts so well, he thinks he very well could win the race.
NEW ATTITUDE: Baldwin, Sadler’s new crew chief, said he appreciates the freedom he has working in the Yates organization. “I’ve got my wings back,” said Baldwin, who for the last two years led Kasey Kahne’s team. “I can get a chance to work on the race cars again and do the things I love doing. The personnel here is unbelievable. I think they just needed somebody to steer the ship a little. With the drivers we have, we know we can win races and run up front on a weekly basis.”
For his part, Sadler is thrilled to have Baldwin and Jarrett’s new crew chief, Slugger Labbe on board. “I honestly don’t think I can put into words what the attitude difference is in this team with Tommy and Slugger here,” Sadler said. “They’re so pumped up. They’ve got everybody on the team fired up and working together. This is the first time in a long time that I’ve walked in the shop and seen smiles on everybody’s faces.”
NO RETIREMENT YET: Jarrett said he’ll race at least two more years before retirement, adding he was happy to have Ken Schrader back in a Ford car this season. “I told Schrader that I was going to help pay his contract this year, just so he could be the oldest driver out here,” Jarrett said.
