Dale Earnhardt and Richard Childress announced yesterday
that they will enter the Winston Select in Charlotte this weekend
in a silver Chevrolet rather than "their traditional black paint
scheme," according to this morning's CHARLOTTE OBSERVER. The
change is to honor RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company's 25-Silver
Anniversary as sponsor of the Winston Cup series. Earnhardt told
T. Wayne Robertson of RJR's Sports Marketing: "Without you
folks, we wouldn't be here and the sport wouldn't be where it is
today (Tom Higgins, CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 5/18).
HONDA: After technical problems at last year's Indy 500, a
second straight "disaster this year" for Honda could "dismay and
discourage consumers at all levels of the operation," according
to this morning's CHICAGO TRIBUNE. Robert Clark, GM of Honda
Performance Development: "If we continue to have a poor
performance with our engine, sure it could hurt us in time" (Mike
Kilrey, CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 5/18). NASCAR NEWS: The Auto
Ventshade Company, a NASCAR Supertruck Series by Crafts award
sponsor, has unveiled a pair of new 30-second TV ads featuring TV
race commentator Mike Joy. The ads will run for a five month
campaign on TNN and Country Music TV....Jeff Gordon, P.J. Jones
and Robby Gordon have signed on as members of Sears Next
Generation DieHard Battery Team. Tom Yorton, Nat'l Marketing
Manager for Sears, said the drivers are featured in a 30-second
TV spot that first aired during the Daytona 500 (NASCAR NEWS).
