Martinsville, Va. — Joe Gibbs Racing issued a stern denial to a comment made by Toyota team owner Michael Waltrip on ESPN that the reason his cars were finally running better was the help that Michael Waltrip Racing has received from JGR. “We have at no time shared any technical information with Toyota or any Toyota team, nor will we as long as there are still races to be run in 2007,” said J.D. Gibbs, the president of Joe Gibbs Racing.
Dale Earnhardt Inc. fired three employees who allegedly hired a private airplane to fly over Lowe’s Motor Speedway last Saturday, pulling a banner that read, “How much money does Bobby Ginn owe you?” Ginn, of course, lasted less than a year as a NASCAR Nextel Cup owner before selling his cash-strapped team to DEI earlier this year. He is being sued by former drivers Sterling Marlin and Joe Nemechek, among others. The DEI employees fired were Kasey Brooks, Mike Clark and Greg Price, all of whom worked at Ginn prior to the team being sold.
Open-wheel aces Jacques Villeneuve and Dario Franchitti both got crashed out of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Martinsville Speedway Saturday. Franchitti, however, earned some brownie points with the NASCAR crowd in his first appearance in a tin top by wolfing down a Jesse Jones hot dog during his post-race television interview. Juan Pablo Montoya refused to eat one of the famed bright scarlet dogs during his first visit here in April.
Speaking of open-wheelers, Patrick Carpentier’s No. 10 Dodge, which is half owned by Valvoline and half-owned by Gillett Evernham Motorsports, likely will have a primary sponsor other than the oil company next year, sources sell TFR. Valvoline is an associate sponsor for Roush Fenway Racing.
Bill Davis Racing is the latest NASCAR Nextel Cup outfit looking for a partner, although the team owner said Saturday that reports that driver Jacques Villeneuve and his long-time manager, Craig Pollock, had purchased his team were untrue.
Shav Glick, one of the true titans of motorsports journalism, died Saturday morning at the age of 86. Glick, who passed away in his Pasadena, Calif. Home, began reporting for newspapers at the age of 14 in 1935. Glick was the auto racing reporter at the Los Angeles Times from 1969 until his retirement in 2006, a period of 37 years.
Glick covered 35 Indy 500s, 32 Daytona 500s, Formula 1, sports cars, drifting—you name it—plus two Olympics, many top golf tournaments and much more in his stories 70-year career. A man with an encyclopedic knowledge of racing, Glick was also a true gentleman and one of the most respected sportswriters ever.
TFR sends its condolences to Glick’s family.
