NASCAR info

[Elwood]

Inside Dish: Pettys' streak is almost over

 

By Lee Spencer - SportingNews.com

 

At some point this season, for the first time in the history of NASCAR there will not be a Petty in the roster of drivers. Shane Hmiel is in line to replace Kyle Petty in the No. 45 Petty Enterprises Dodge. Petty would remain CEO of Petty Enterprises. "It's really not going to affect anyone but us," said seven-time champion Richard Petty, Kyle's father. "But it will be a family thing because we won't have anyone out there. We might have to adopt someone." . . .

 

Hmiel could be reinstated to compete in NASCAR as early as this week and be ready to race as early as Daytona. After failing a drug test last fall following the Busch race at Richmond, Hmiel, 23, was suspended from racing in NASCAR events. Gary Smith, NASCAR's director of event logistics, said last week that Hmiel has been involved in a rehabilitation program administered by an independent agency and is doing well. . . .

 

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Expect to see a common-template engine from NASCAR before the end of this season, Hendrick Motorsports head engineer Randy Dorton says. Plans that could lead to common engines in Nextel Cup for 2005 are being discussed. . . .

 

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Rusty Wallace recently signed a two-year extension with Miller that will cover him until the end of the 2005 season, when he is expected to retire from Nextel Cup. But don't expect Wallace, the 1989 Cup champion, to mail it in the next two seasons. Wallace is pumped up about NASCAR's softer tires and smaller spoilers, which he has been lobbying for the past few years. "Getting downforce off these cars is definitely the way to go," Wallace says. "And the pit decisions will be easier with the new tire because teams will inevitably go for four-tire stops over two." Wallace called his performance the past two seasons "an embarrassment" and is optimistic that new crew chief Larry Carter will help turn around the team. . . .

 

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Drive for Diversity, a driver and crew development program, took a huge step last week when Joe Gibbs Racing announced the addition of two new late-model racing teams that include minority drivers Chris Bristol, 26, and Aric Almirola, 19. Bristol, who is black and is from Columbus, graduated from North Carolina A&T with a degree in mechanical engineering. He will drive the No. 18 Chevrolet at Caraway Speedway in Asheboro, N.C., in the NASCAR Weekly Racing Series. Almirola, who is Hispanic and is from Tampa, started racing karts at 8. He was pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering before moving to North Carolina. Almirola will race the No. 20 Chevrolet at Ace Speedway in Altamahaw, N.C. . . .

 

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Ford, Chevrolet and Dodge have picked up their Craftsman Truck Series programs significantly since Toyota entered the competition. "The truck series is now the manufacturers' shootout series in NASCAR," says Lee White, vice president and general manager of Toyota Racing Development. White added that someday Toyota would like to be in the Nextel Cup Series, but that won't come about until the company meets its objectives in the truck series. . . .

 

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Many insiders thought that Dale Earnhardt Jr. eventually would drive the No. 3 Chevrolet, his late father's car, for Richard Childress Racing. But his older brother, Kerry, will drive the No. 33 Chevrolet for Childress in five Nextel Cup races this season. "It's all about what you put toward the car to win, and RCR will do whatever it takes to make a car competitive," says Kerry, 34, who ran 21 Busch races last year.