RYR, which has shown renewed form with Gilliland on occasion this season, has extended its association with Ford. (LAT photo)
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"We had a golf tournament yesterday to raise money for autism and raise money for our foundation," added Sadler. "We had a great time. (Philadelphia Eagles quarterback) Donovan McNabb and some other NFL people showed up. I can't thank people enough to take a day off from their busy schedules and come up and play. It was a special day. A lot of kids were there yesterday, and it was special for us to be involved in it. We're trying to get the word out. One in every 150 kids has autism and I think it's one in every 108 boys. It's definitely a tough statistic and something we need to get hold of and put it to the forefront. That's what we want to do, raise awareness for it. We don't have a cure for it yet .There are ways to work with it and make little kids lives better, but we don't have a cure yet. We're trying to get it going in the right direction. I can't do it by myself. Nobody can. We're all trying to do it as a group. I want to do well this weekend and keep spreading the word. I can't thank my colleagues enough for showing up yesterday and playing." For more information, see www.autismspeaks.org.
RYR RE-UPS Ford Racing Technology has re-signed Robert Yates Racing to a five-year contract extension that will keep the team campaigning Ford products. "Robert Yates Racing is synonymous with Ford," said Dan Davis, director, Ford Racing Technology. "We've celebrated the joy of winning races and championships with them, in addition to feeling the frustration that this sport can dish out. The main thing is that we've gone through all of those times together as loyal partners. We're thrilled to have this deal behind us and now we can look forward to continuing getting Robert and his team back among the NASCAR elite."
The agreement extends a 19-year relationship that began when Yates became a car owner in 1988. Since then, his teams have won 57 Nextel Cup Series races, including the Daytona 500 three times, and one series championship in 1999. The team currently fields Cup cars for Ricky Rudd and David Gilliland, as well as NASCAR Busch Series entry for Stephen Leicht.
The
next order of business for Yates is either a sponsor or an investor for 2008 and beyond. "Right now, we could use the right person and he came in here and is more interested in getting trophies than making money," Yates said Friday afternoon at Dover International Raceway.
POKER FACE Dover International Raceway has a casino on site, so perhaps it's appropriate that the always colorful Kurt Busch likened the first half of his season to poker hands. "We've had a lot of good poker hands, but we haven't been able to capitalize on either bluffing or getting the pots to come our way," said Busch. "We've had a few wins that slipped away and we had a few races that we led quite a few laps and we're top 10 in points. We can't complain that we've improved the team and made it more competitive week in and week out at all styles of tracks."
GOOD ADVICE Roush Fenway Racing driver Carl Edwards has a simple philosophy for navigating the treacherous concrete banks of Dover International Raceway: don't crash. "The first priority when you come here is to take about the first 10 laps easy, because it's so easy to wreck hard here," said Edwards, who first drove a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Ford at Dover. "The first time I came here I wrecked two trucks before 10 laps were done in the race – I wrecked the first one in practice and destroyed the second one on the eighth lap, or something. So, that's my first priority. Other than that, this is a fun track. This one gives me the biggest sensation of speed. When you go down into Turn 1 or 3 and the car kind of launches off into the corner, it feels faster than any other track we go to."
EVERYTHING ELSE Kentucky Speedway's anti-trust suit against NASCAR will be heard next March in federal court in Covington, Ky. … Former NFL star wide receiver
Jerry Rice will be the grand marshal for the June 24 Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway. …
Robby Gordon will race in Saturday's Baja 500, while P.J. Jones practices his Ford at Dover. …
Matt Kenseth, the 2003 NASCAR Nextel Cup champion, was under the weather Friday at Dover.
