NASCAR BGN: Jimmy Spencer to Pilot Yellow Racing Chevy in Darlington

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

March 17, 2001

Phoenix Racing owner James Finch hires Winston Cup Veteran Jimmy Spencer to a two-race deal

CHARLOTTE, N.C., --Phoenix Racing announced today that Winston Cup driver Jimmy Spencer will drive the #1 Yellow Racing Chevrolet in Saturday’s SunCom 200 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway.

The Cheez-It 250 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway on March 24 will mark the second event of the two-race deal between Spencer and the #1 Yellow Racing Team. Phoenix Racing owner James Finch will use the next two weeks to search for the best candidate available to represent Yellow for the remainder of the 2001 season.

"Our goal here at Phoenix Racing is to win races, and we feel that Jimmy is our best candidate as of now to accomplish that goal," added Finch. "We hired Jimmy for a couple of weeks until we can sit down with Yellow and everyone else involved to select a driver for the final 27 races. We needed a proven driver with a lot of laps around these next two tracks, and Jimmy fits that role."

"We’re excited to have Jimmy driving for us," added Finch. "Bristol coming up next week is a tough place to drive, and it’s one of Jimmy’s favorites. He’s been strong there so we thought it would be a good combination for our race team."

Spencer currently drives the #26 Ford for Haas Carter Motorsports in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. The driver nicknamed "Mr. Excitement" has finished in the top 15 in the Winston Cup point standings three times in his career and posted three wins, nine top fives and 25 top 10s. The Berwick, Pa., native has eight Busch victories to his credit.

"Yellow is a great sponsor and we want to put the best race team possible on the track," said Finch. "Unfortunately, we just couldn’t get the chemistry going with the team so a change had to be made in the interest of both parties. We want to run up front and win for Yellow. Our team wasn’t achieving those goals previously. For our sponsor’s sake we need to produce a winning car and we felt there was some urgency to win and win now."

"The Yellow vision - both in transportation and in racing - is to be #1. The recent driver change for the #1 Yellow race car in this Saturday's SunCom 200 at Darlington Raceway will move us closer to realizing this vision," added a Yellow spokesperson.

Text provided by Chris Hunt

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