By qualifying for Sunday's Food City 500, Joe Nemechek will become the 56th driver in the history of NASCAR Winston Cup to win a million dollars. In 68 starts, he has won $999,692.It was 18 years ago that Dale Earnhardt won his first Winston Cup race - and that was at Bristol - in the Southeastern 500. He has since gone on to win another 69 Winston Cup events. The last 60 have been with Richard Childress Racing. Earnhardt and the team will go to Suzuka Japan for tire testing for the upcoming exhibitions in November.
Kenny Schrader will visit the Anheuser-Busch brewery in St. Louis on April 4th to kick-off the new Safety and Awareness program to promote safety in the workplace.
Jim Bown will be unable to race at Bristol due to several broken left ribs. Bown recived the injury earlier this month in a two-car incident during a practice session at Nashvile Speedway. The impact was so severe that it destroyed the Luck's Cheverolet and broke the motor in the car. Tracy Leslie, 1988 ARCA Champion, will drive in relief for Bown. Bown has been given clearance to race next week at Hickory, NC. Following Hickory, the Busch Series takes a much needed break and won't race again until May 11th at New Hampshire. The Busch Series - including Hickory - will have raced for eight consecutive weekends.
The Unocal Bonus of $121,600 - is the largest it has ever been at Bristol. It was ben won here at BIR on three occasions. Rusty Wallace has won it twice, collecting $22,800 in 1991 and $60,800 in March 1993 - Mark Martin pocketed $15,200 in August 1993. More races have been won from the pole at Bristol (17) than any other starting position. The $121,600 ties the third largest Unical 76 Challenge bonus prize since the program was introduced in 1988.
Hermie Sadler and country recording artist Don Cox will guest on TNN's Wildhorse Salon on April 2nd. The program was prerecorded on March 11th while the Busch Series was in Nashville.
John Fabian has been promoted to the crew chief position on the #81 Busch Series - Cape Canaveral Cruise Line Monte Carlo driven by Todd Bodine. Fabian had been serving as the chassis specialist for Bodine at Pro-Tech Motorsports.
