Motocross Tv Schedule

Was Bill Davis really trying to get the hell out of Dodge when he began his courtship with Toyota, or was it a matter of survival for a seemingly fickle Winston Cup car owner?

It would be easy to pillory Davis for changing car makes for the fourth time in 10 years, but sometimes the obvious target doesn't deserve all the flak.

Dodge parent DaimlerChrysler sued Davis for breach of contract and pulled its support after it learned Davis was helping Toyota develop a truck for the Craftsman Truck Series next season.

One could conclude that Davis was looking to turn a fast buck. A signing bonus from Toyota easily could mean an additional $5 million to $10 million in Davis' bank account if his organization was chosen to spearhead Toyota's truck program. It also would mean that Bill Davis Racing had alienated every Detroit manufacturer thai supplies cars to Winston Cup.

But was Dodge holding up its end of the deal with Davis, or was he getting what amounted to factory seconds?

Jim Smith, who fields factory-backed Dodges in the Craftsman Truck Series but still is building his Cup program with Jimmy Spencer, says he does not receive the financial backing that fuels such powerhouses as Penske South and Ganassi Racing. But Smith says the engineering support and wind tunnel time Dodge offer are "second to none."

A source familiar with Davis' situation differs, saying the technological support that trickles down to Smith, Davis and Petty Enterprises is six months behind the curve.

Davis fields Dodges for Ward Burton and Kenny Wallace in Winston Cup and Chevrolets for Scott Wimmer in the Busch Series, which isn't a conflict of interest because Dodge does not have a factory-supported Busch program.

When Toyota announced it would compete in trucks in 2004, Davis was mentioned as a candidate to help start the program. Chip Ganassi, who has a relationship with Toyota in the Indy Racing League, also was rumored as a potential partner. But sources say Ganassi wanted more than twice the going rate to convert his NASCAR programs to Toyota.

Dodge kept an eye on Davis over the last few months--and didn't like what it found, it terminated its relationship with Davis after learning that representatives from Davis Racing took a Toyota prototype truck to the Lockheed wind tunnel in Marietta, Ga., on April 30.

Davis Racing released a statement in which it said "there is no justifiable reason" for DaimlerChrysler to assert that Davis Racing breached an agreement. Les Unger, Toyota motorsports manager, says NASCAR gave its blessing for Davis and others to assist Toyota in the research and development of the new Tundra truck, and that the engine will be built in-house. Unger is adamant that no one is signed to field an official Toyota truck team.

"Our position is that nothing we've done is different from what anyone else would do to get a program up and running" Unger says. "We would not have used Bill's services if we thought there was an issue."

Initially, I was ready to side with Dodge. I was ready to discount Davis as just another NASCAR opportunist. Then I heard the rest of the story. When Davis signed on with Dodge in 2000, he was under the impression that BDR would be one of three factory-backed organizations to run Intrepids in Winston Cup for the next five years. Petty Enterprises and Evernham Motorsports were the other two.

At the time, Davis' Pontiacs were overshadowed completely by those of Joe Gibbs Racing. Dodge's one-team approach, with Davis, Evernham and Petty sharing data, was an attractive alternative. Then Ganassi signed on with Dodge in 2001, followed by Penske at the end of last year.

Once those juggernauts were aboard, Davis and the PeWs became Dodge's afterthoughts. Because Dodge brought in Ray Evernham to get its Cup program going and sponsors his cars, he still is part of the inner circle.

So if Toyota--which is well known in motorsports circles for spending whatever it takes to be competitive--came knocking, who could blame Davis for splitting with Dodge, if he could broker a deal that made him flagship of the fleet?

It will be up to the courts to decide whether Davis breached the contract. But one thing is certain in racing: It's a lot better to be at the head of the lunch line than it is to eat leftovers.

TSN's POWER POLL

Rank   Driver               TSN points   Winston Cup pts.

 1.    Matt Kenseth            1,446         2,115 (1)
 2.    Dale Earnhardt Jr.      1,313         1,939 (2)
 3.    Bobby Labonte           1,223         1,828 (4)
 4.    Jeff Gordon             1,201         1,882 (3)
 5.    Kurt Busch              1,094         1,753 (5)
 6.    Ryan Newman             1,038         1,536 (16)
 7.    Jimmie Johnson          1,024         1,738 (7)
 8.    Michael Waltrip           926         1,745 (6)
 9.    Tony Stewart              898         1,575 (13)
10.    Rusty Wallace             883         1,671 (8)

Through race No. 14, at Long Pond, Pa. For a complete TSN
Power Poll rundown and an explanation of the points breakdown,
go to www.sportingnews.com/nascar/poll.

Mobil 1

Down the road

Sirius 400

Michigan International Speedway

When: 1:30 p.m. (ET) Sunday

Length: 200 laps, 400 miles

TV: Fox

Run with this:

Each Winston Cup ear gets five test dates during the year;, rookies are allotted nine test dates.

Mobil 1 with SuperSyn 0W-40 Is recommended for many European vehicles because it meets their demanding performance specifications.

Mobil Command Performance

M@IL BONDING

LEE SPENCER ANSWERS YOUR QUESTIONS

What do you think about NASCAR changing the banking at Homestead-Miami Speedway? I think nothing but good can come from it.

Michael Jenkins, Florida

Michael: Let's just hope International Speedway Corp. gets it right. Previous attempts to reconfigure the corners at the track were largely unsuccessful.

This time, ISC officials interviewed veteran drivers to gather opinions about what needed to be done to improve the racing at the relatively flat 1.5-mile oval. The consensus was that Homestead desperately needed steeper banking to produce side-by-side racing. Engineers came up with something called compound banking, which provides graduated lanes of banking throughout the racetrack. The bowl-like effect in the corners--the new banking should reach 20 degrees (the old was a uniform 6)--should provide more exciting competition.

Homestead will need time to cure before the races in November to prevent the pavement from breaking apart during competition. Still, NASCAR will allow Winston Cup teams to test with data sensors the Wednesday before the race, the last of the season. Expect more Cup drivers to run the Busch and truck races there that week to try to get a better feel for setups.

SPEED READS

* Robby Gordon is getting a chance to prove he can be competitive in Winston Cup. With Gordon's talent and crew chief Kevin Hamlin's guidance, owner Richard Childress needed to give this team time to blossom. This is the strongest the No. 31 Chevrolet has been since 1999, when Mike Skinner drove the car.

* Decreasing the Pocono 500 to 400 miles would distinguish it from from the Pennsylvania 500, held in late July at Pocono Raceway. Since NASCAR shortened the races at Dover, the quality of the racing has improved dramatically. The same would happen at Pocono. After 400 miles, the action starts to drag, and the race becomes one of attrition.

* Keep an eye on two-time Winston Cup champion Terry Labonte--especially at Sears Point, where his Hendrick Motorsports team will use a new road course car. Labonte has been making steady gains in the points standings. He is one of only five Winston Cup drivers who have been running at the end of every race this season.

INSIDE DISH

By LEE SPENCER

Tony Stewart's victory at Pocono didn't mean a big bump in points--he gained three spots, to 13th, but he made up only 10 points on leader Matt Kenseth. More important for Stewart was getting back to victory lane. He had solid cars in several races this season, but a variety of circumstances contributed to a winless streak of 27 that dated in last year. This team is one of the best at beating adversity, but you can bet the win eased tension and boosted confidence.... NASCAR is expected to unveil the 2004 Winston Cup schedule this weekend, and the only major change is that California will get a second race, replacing the fall date at Rockingham. Insiders say Darlington will lose a race in 2005 to an International Speedway Corporation track. Phoenix would be the best choice, but the race probably will go to Kansas or Chicago, the circuit's newest cookie-cutter tracks. Not only is weather seldom a factor at Phoneix, the track has considerably more character than Kansas or Chicago and produces better racing.... Don't accuse Evernham Motorsports of flying by the seat of its pants when it comes to pit crew apparel. Evernham is partnering with motocross outfitters shift Motorsports to develop a new line of uniforms. "The way Shift has designed our current at-track apparel, we're able to lift things and move around in a less restrictive manner," says Greg Miller, Evernham pit crew coordinator. Miller says the strength of the material, including reinforced padded knee areas, and compartments to hold various tools allow the No. 9 and No. 19 teams to work more efficiently.... NASCAR tentatively approved the new R99 engine General Motors wants to use in the Craftsman Truck Series next year. The R99 is expected to generate more horsepower than the current SB2 engine, but GM is more focused on durability. The R99 has larger camshafts and more bore spacing that is similar to the engine Dodge uses now and that Toyota will run in 2004. If the R99 performs well, GM will push to use it in Winston Cup races in 2005, but NASCAR isn't likely to grant approval before Toyota joins the Cup series.... The new engine package team manager Doug Yates developed last month for Elliott Sadler and Dale Jarrett is showing positive results--sort of. Sadler finished ninth at Pocono, ending a streak of four consecutive finishes outside the top 20. Jarrett's day ended early at Pocono because of a cut tire and a wreck, but he qualified in the top 10 and ran fast speeds all weekend. The Yates cars always are strong at Michigan, a horsepower track, and the new package might be enough to put one in victory lane this weekend.... Several Dodge drivers ran well at Pocono--Ryan Newman was fifth, Sterling Marlin sixth and Ward Burton eighth--but Bill Elliott wasn't among them. Elliott, his broken left foot still on the mend, finished 19th--not a bad day but nothing like his dominating win in the late summer race at Pocono last year. If the shifting and braking weren't enough to make the foot a little sore at Pocono, the twisting turns at Sonoma no doubt will make up for it next weekend. "If we can see some bridging of the bone by this weekend (at Michigan), then I'll probably be OK," Elliott says.

LEE SPENCER'S INSIDER

lspencer@sporting.com

COPYRIGHT 2003 Sporting News Publishing Co.
COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group

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