It was just announced by Hendrick Motorsports, that Ricky Craven has resigned his position as driver for the No. 50 (25) Budweiser car. Craven has missed most of this season with medical problems, and his return to the track apparently wasn't successful. The new driver for Hendricks? Wally Dallenbach now has a full time ride in the Bud car, after subbing for Craven three times this season. Two of the races produced top ten finishes for Wally, including a 7th place finish at Pocono in June. Dallenbach will be joining one of the top organizations in NASCAR, with veteran driver and Iron Man Texas Terry Labonte, and the phenomenal Jeff Gordon, both former NASCAR champions.
Winston Cup
Mark Martin and the Valvoline team just can't figure out what's going wrong. They're working their butts off trying to win races and get the points lead, and they are consistently coming in second and losing ten points per week to Jeff Gordon. Gordon won from the pole and made it three wins in a row Sunday at the Watkins Glen International road course at Watkins Glen, NY. He set a NASCAR record by being the first driver to win both Sears Point and the Glen in the same season, and the forth driver to win three road courses in a row.
Top ten finishers:
- Jeff Gordon
- Mark Martin
- Mike Skinner
- Rusty Wallace
- Dale Jarrett
- Kyle Petty
- Sterling Marlin
- John Andretti
- Johnny Benson
- Bobby Labonte
Dale Earnhardt, starting 22nd, came in 11th, just off the top ten. Ricky Rudd, starting third, came in 14th, and forth place starter Jeff Burton came in a dismal 23rd. The big surprise was Mike Skinner, placing third after a starting at the 23rd position. Kyle Petty also had a great run, placing sixth after starting from the 33rd position. Pit stops had a lot to do with the shuffling of positions late in the race, putting Skinner out front a good eight seconds with under 20 laps to go, because his crew chief, Larry McReynolds, had his mileage figured to go all the way without a gas stop. Skinner is getting to be a consistent strong finisher, doing a lot better than his teammate Earnhardt. As you might remember, team owner Richard Childress switched crew chiefs earlier in the season because the chemistry wasn't right between Earnhardt and McReynolds. Apparently the chemistry between Skinner, McReynolds and crew, is beginning to come together. Where as, on the other hand, Earnhardt, Kevin Hamlin, and crew, don't seem to be getting the job done. Earnhardt will have to get his act together, or Skinner and the Lowes' team, will end up being the number one team in the Richard Childress stable.
