Elliott rides to rescue for struggling team
As much as Eddie Wood would like to take the credit for the idea of getting Bill Elliott in the No. 21 Ford, it really was the brainchild of Jon Wood.
With the Wood Brothers team struggling, now 39th in owner points in the NASCAR Nextel Cup series -- having failed to qualify for two of the last three races -- team co-owner Eddie Wood called Elliott, the semi-retired 1988 Cup champion, to see if he could help.
"When you go to call someone like Bill and ask that question, it was kind of hard," Eddie Wood said this week. "I said, 'We've been friends for a long time,' and all that, and I just said, 'Hey, I'm in trouble. Can you help me?' And he said, 'Absolutely.'"
Jon Wood and Ken Schrader have been driving the No. 21 this season and are totally on board with having Elliott in the car. It is a race-to-race deal, but the idea is to help the Wood Brothers out of the deep points hole.
Elliott, 51, will compete in Sunday's Coca-Cola 600 for the Wood Brothers team at Lowe's Motor Speedway. He brings with him six valuable past champion provisionals that will ensure him a spot in the field should he fail to qualify on speed.
The good news for the team is that Elliott is a terrific qualifier with 55 career poles. The bad news is he is a bit rusty, having driven in only 10 races last year.
"It's going to be a tough deal, but yet we'll make the best of it," Elliott said. "Whatever happens, happens. At least we'll get them in the show and then kind of go from there.
"The main thing is to get them in the race and get it going and try to get some stuff turned around."
Change at Roush
Greg Erwin has been installed as the new crew chief for the No. 16 car driven by Greg Biffle for Roush Fenway Racing.
Erwin, who most recently was crew chief for Robby Gordon Motorsports, replaces Pat Tryson.
"We obviously weren't performing at a level at which Jack (Roush) expected and a change was made," said Biffle, referring to the team owner.
Chris Andrews, currently the engineering manager at Roush Fenway, will be the interim crew chief for Biffle this weekend in the Coca-Cola 600. Erwin will be an advisor on the pit box during the race and will officially inherit his job on Tuesday.
Mile after mile
Team owner Chip Ganassi will be one busy man Sunday, as his IndyCar and Nextel Cup teams will compete in the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600.
"This is always one of the best days of the year for me," Ganassi said. "This weekend is what auto racing is all about."
Popular decision
NASCAR officials announced this week what most team owners had hoped would be the case -- the series will go full-time to the Car or Tomorrow beginning next year.
The original plan was to gradually phase it in this year and next year, and then go full-time in 2009. But NASCAR heard from a majority in the garage that the cost of running parallel programs was too great and also too demanding on team personnel.
"I'm proud of NASCAR on this one," Nextel Cup driver Tony Stewart said on his weekly Sirius radio show. "I honestly believe that's one of the best decisions they've made in a long time."
New deal
Burger King will begin primary sponsorship of David Reutimann's No. 00 Toyota for 19 Nextel Cup races beginning this weekend.
Three for one
Tony Stewart says the Coca-Cola 600 is run, strategically, in three segments -- daytime, twilight and nighttime. The flag drops Sunday at 5 p.m. Eastern.
"Early in the 600 you're running in conditions you're not going to finish the race in, obviously," Tony Stewart said. "You start at what's typically a real hot part of the day and the track is slippery without a whole lot of grip. You're basically just trying to stay on the lead lap, and with each pit stop, you're adjusting your car to keep up with the changing track conditions.
"You're making sure you keep some adjustability built into your setup, so that when the sun goes down and the track really starts changing, you're able to adjust your car accordingly."
See more
at www.detnews.com
