Welcome to “Fuel It Up”! The racing world is chock full of intriguing stories, but sifting through them to get a good general sense of the landscape can be challenging. In Fuel It Up, I take the biggest, more interesting storylines and present them to you in a quick, compact 300-words-or-less format.
The winner of this week’s paint scheme award goes to the #55 Aaron’s/University of Louisville National Championship Toyota driven by Brian Vickers. Special mention goes to the UPS scheme made famous by Dale Jarrett which will be on Carl Edwards’ #99 Ford..…………… Wow! Several weeks ago I polled twitterverse on their feeling on Danica Patrick. NASCAR commentator and former driver Kyle Petty blew her out of the water this week when he turned his thoughts into words. Petty was quoted as saying that Patrick is a great marketer but not much of a driver. “She’s not a race car driver”, Petty said during an interview for the SPEED network. Danica took it all in stride saying she feels she is making strides and her team, Go Daddy, is happy with her. Some fans have taken issue with Petty who they say has made HIS living off the career of his more famous and successful Dad. Stay tuned as we haven’t heard the last of this…………… James Finch is close to selling his Phoenix Racing operation. He did not disclose the name of the prospective buyer but said the deal was close and that he hopes to have the sale completed by mid-July. ESPN.com reported that the prospective buyer is Harry Scott Jr., a co-owner of Turner Scott Motor Sports. Austin Dillon will drive the Phoenix Racing Team car this weekend in Kentucky…………… Put this under the category of “no kidding?” Kyle Busch was upset with Carl Edwards and Juan Pablo Montoya after last week’s race at Sonoma. Edwards apologized to Busch for causing the #18 car to spin out. No such apology was forthcoming from Montoya. After Montoya ran out of gas on the races final lap Busch tweeted, “Awwww. My heart melts for @jpmontoya.”…………… Bobby Labonte’s consecutive Sprint Cup race streak will end at 704 races as he will not be entered in the Quaker State 400 Saturday night in Kentucky…………… University of Kentucky Basketball Coach, John Calipari will be the honorary pace car driver for the Quaker State 400. Country Music singer, Laura Bell Bundy will perform the National Anthem prior to Saturday night’s race. Steve Reindl, Vice President of North America key accounts will give the command…………… The weather forecast for Sparta Kentucky for Saturday night calls for scattered thunderstorms with temperatures in the 60’s.
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