NASCAR odds and ends

Elwood · January 8, 2003

FITTIPALDI-500

CART star Christian Fittipaldi will make his Daytona 500 debut next month in a Chevrolet fielded by Andy Petree.

Petree has sponsorship for the race, but needed a driver. Fittipaldi, under contract to drive for Petty Enterprises, did not have a sponsor for the season-opening 500. So Petree is borrowing him for one race.

``I am not an open-wheel racer anymore, I am a NASCAR racer and I am looking forward to the following years I have in my racing career,'' Fittipaldi said Tuesday after testing the No. 55 Chevrolet.

``This is a special track and I am looking forward to racing here.''

Monaco Coach will sponsor the car in the 500 and fund four NASCAR Truck series races for Petree, but the car owner is still searching for additional money to run a full Winston Cup schedule.

PEMBERTON OUT

Robin Pemberton, who led the resurgence at Petty Enterprises last season as team manger, left the organization on the eve of Daytona testing.

The team released a statement saying Pemberton's departure was part of the organization's restructuring.

``We really appreciate the knowledge and experience Robin brought to our race teams, and wish him nothing but the best as he continues his career,'' said Kyle Petty, CEO of Petty Enterprises. ``We know he will be successful in anything he does, and we will continue working to bring that same type of success to all of our teams.''

Prior to moving to Petty Enterprises in December 2001, Pemberton was Rusty Wallace's crew chief. He has not announced his future plans.

HAMILTON'S PLANS

Without a Winston Cup ride for the 2003 season, Bobby Hamilton has decided to focus on NASCAR's Truck series and try to win the championship.

Hamilton, who has fielded teams in the truck series and driven in selected races, will be sponsored by Square D.

The company sponsored Hamilton's Cup car at Andy Petree Racing the past two seasons, but has scaled back its motorsports program. Running the truck series is not nearly as costly as competing on the Winston Cup level.

In 24 career truck starts, Hamilton has two wins, three poles, five top-five and eight top-10 finishes.

SPENCER HIRED

Jimmy Spencer, fired at Chip Ganassi Racing at the end of last season, will drive the No. 7 Dodge for Ultra Motorsports in 2003.

Spencer's hiring completes a total revamping of Jim Smith's Ultra team, which also hired crew chief Tommy Baldwin in November. Baldwin won four races for Bill davis Racing, including the 2002 Daytona 500 with driver Ward Burton.

NO MORE NO BULL

R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. -- sponsor of NASCAR's Winston Cup series -- will not continue the Winston No Bull 5 program in 2003.

The No Bull 5 is a bonus program for both drivers and fans and was introduced in 1998 in celebration of NASCAR's 50th anniversary.

Five races were picked prior to the start of each season in which one of five drivers was eligible to win $1 million if he won the race. In recent seasons, fans were paired with the drivers, allowing a fan to win $1 million as well if one of the eligible drivers won the event.