Clean SweepHere's something you've probably never heard when it comes to Winston Cup racing: "Yeah, it's fast, but what else can it do?"
Jesse James, renowned custom motorcycle builder and star of the Discovery Channel's cult hit Monster Garage, recently traveled to Thomasville, North Carolina, to inflict his own brand of craftsmanship on one of Petty Enterprises' Dodge Intrepids.
In each episode of Monster Garage, James and a team of assistants are challenged to take an ordinary street car and turn it into something completely different. Past projects include transforming a Mustang into a golf-course mower and a Volkswagen Beetle into a swamp boat.
This time, James teamed up with Petty Enterprises to turn one of Kyle Petty's cars into the world's fastest street sweeper.
"I've been friends with Kyle for a while," James said during a break in filming. "We've been talking about doing something like this with one of his cars. But when we got here, the car he gave us was a great car. It's race ready-or at least it was until we started cutting on it. It was real tempting just to say, 'Nevermind, I'll just take this car home and start my driving career with it.'"
To see how the car turns out, tune in to the Discovery Channel. The show will air for the first time in late January and likely will re-air several times afterward (go to www.discoverychannel.com for specifics).
And if you like the idea of a 160-mph street sweeper, James plans to auction the car on eBay with all the proceeds going to the Victory Junction Gang Camp in memory of Adam Petty. -Jeff Huneycutt
Toying With TrucksToyota may enter the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series as early as 2004 with a purpose-built, pushrod V-8 that would be available to short-track racers around the nation.
Toyota has already done wind-tunnel testing on a race-truck chassis, says Lee White, who heads the competition branch of Toyota Racing Development in Southern California. White has been in negotiations with NASCAR for more than a year.
"On the engine side, we have the rule book and have been told by NASCAR that the guidelines are in the garage," White says. "We have a Ford, Dodge, and Chevrolet engine at TRD, and we are beginning to think about what our engine would look like."
Toyota already is involved in stock car racing, competing in the Goody's Dash Series with a dual overhead cam, four-valve Toyota engine
Toyota's long-range plan is to make its engine available to local racers for purchase. It will be designed as a "drop in" replacement for American iron. Says White, "We want guys running at local tracks around the country to be able to order one of our engines and re-body their cars and run with our name." -Jerry F. Boone
Changing HandsWhen racers with the American Speed Association fire up their engines to start the 2003 season, they'll be answering to new owners for the first time in the ASA's 35-year history. Georgia businessman Steve Dale is the primary investor who orchestrated the purchase from Rex Robbins and his family. Dale is joined by a corporate investor and Mark Gundrum, who has been with the ASA since 1995.
Robbins, 68, controlled the ASA since its founding in 1968, but said it was time for a change. The 2003 season opens March 22 at USA International Speedway in Lakeland, Florida.
Beat You AgainWho's the fastest pit crew on the planet, two years running? None other than the crew for Matt Kenseth's No. 17 DeWALT Ford.
Last fall the team won its second-consecutive Union 76/Rockingham World Pit Crew Championship title. The team changed four tires and fueled the car in a competition record 16.823 seconds.
Roush Racing dominated the competition, placing all four of its Winston Cup teams in the top-six finishing order. Kenseth's winning crew was led by crew chief Robbie Reiser and pit crew coordinator Andy Ward.