BY ROGER DIEZ
Nevada Appeal Motorsports Writer
If you are a Bobby Labonte fan, you must have felt like a seesaw or a yo-yo this week. Rumors were rampant about the former Cup champion's ride for 2009. Reports had him in the No. 41 car, driving for Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing; then he was rumored to be going to the No. 8 car, another Earnhardt-Ganassi team. But it's now official: Labonte has landed in a seat in the game of musical chairs that is Sprint Cup these days.
He will drive the No. 96 Hall of Fame Racing Ford with Ask.com as the primary sponsor. At the same time, Hall of Fame Racing announced that it would be affiliated with Yates Racing for the upcoming season, meaning it will be running the same Ford engines as the Yates and Roush-Fenway teams. This could prove to be the breakout season for Hall of Fame Racing, after three seasons and several drivers, including Labonte's brother Terry.
Labonte's move to a Ford team may prove to be a wise move, despite Hall of Fame's less than stellar record thus far. Ford is reportedly going to introduce a new engine this season. Unfortunately, it will not be ready for the Daytona 500.
Given the expected cutbacks by all the manufacturers involved in NASCAR, including once-flush Toyota, the new Ford powerplant may give the blue oval teams an edge. Toyota expects to report its first annual net loss in 70 years when its fiscal year ends in March, and this signals a reduction in spending on racing. Given Honda's recent pullout in Formula 1, can we expect to see Toyota out of that series as well?
- After a break for the Christmas and New Year holidays, the Red Bluff Outlaws returned to action last Saturday, with eight of our local racers taking to the track. Mason Millard posted fastest qualifying time in the 250 cc division and went on to finish fourth in the A main after a third-place heat race result and sixth in the trophy dash.
Tanner Thorson qualified ninth, won his heat, and took sixth in the A main. Zachary Heinz was 11th fastest qualifier, placed sixth in his heat, and finished 10th in the B main. And Samantha Shultz qualified 21st and took a seventh in her heat.
In the Open division, Daniel Thorson was tops among our area racers with a heat race win and 13th in the A main after qualifying 24th. Chris Rytting finished sixth in his heat, sixth in the C main, and ninth in the B main after a 33rd place qualifying performance. Mackena Bell took eighth in the C main, eighth in her heat, and 34th in qualifying. Cameron Millard qualified 30th and finished seventh in his heat.
- A few weeks ago I suggested a Christmas gift of track day time at Reno-Fernley Raceway's road course. If you took advantage of this offer, but your favorite speed freak's '95 Corolla with 200,000 miles on it isn't exactly suitable for high-speed fun, help is at hand. The fine folks at Riley Technologies in Mooresville, N.C., who build the bulk of Daytona Prototype chassis for the Rolex Grand Am series, have seen a need and filled it.
Riley is building a Track Day Car (TDC) just so the Walter Mitty fantasy racers among us can satisfy our need for speed. With first deliveries expected in late February, two cars have already been sold. Price hasn't been mentioned, but if you have to ask, you probably can't afford it.
The TDC will be powered by a GM crate motor starting at 500 horsepower, with options for more robust powerplants. Power is delivered to the rear wheels through a sequential gearbox. Other options include paddle shifting, traction control, and air conditioning.
The car is lightweight with a low center of gravity, but will accommodate drivers up to 6-foot-5 and 250 pounds. Gee, I didn't need to lose those 30 pounds after all! Included in the undisclosed purchase price is an at-track orientation session with a Riley Tech factory driver. Try getting that with your new Hyundai!