The Buzz: July 21, 2001

July 21, 2001
8:40 PM EDT (0040 GMT)

Mark Green, who lost his possible Winston Cup ride with Davis & Weight Motorsports Friday, was in Madison, Ill., over the weekend helping out his older brother David Green's Cicci-Welliver team as a spotter for the NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Carquest Auto Parts 250 event at Gateway International Raceway.

Mark Green

Mark will also be a spotter for David's No. 34 AFG/Silver Lines Chevrolet at the Busch Series NAPA AutoCare 250 race July 28 at Pikes Peak International Raceway in Fountain, Colo.

EXCHANGING PROFESSIONAL COURTESIES

Two top professionals who work a lot of Sundays will get together Sunday at New Hampshire International Speedway, when NASCAR Winston Cup driver Jeremy Mayfield hosts Washington, D.C., journalist Tim Russert, the moderator of NBC’s Meet The Press. Russert will attend the New Hampshire 300 with his son, Luke.

Jeremy Mayfield

"I don’t get much of a chance to watch television on Sunday mornings but I sure know who Tim Russert is,” Mayfield said. “Of course, so does the President and everybody in the Senate and the House. I hear Luke is a fan, and that’s great, too. Everybody on the team is looking forward to having Tim and Luke join us Sunday morning."

IMPACT PLAYER

Skip Eyler, who left Davis & Weight Motorsports’ crew chief position more than a month ago, has hooked up with A.J. Foyt Racing, where he made an immediate impact last week at Chicagoland Speedway in his primary role as shock specialist. Driver Ron Hornaday qualified 16th and exited the race early with a blown engine.

Ron Hornaday

On Friday, Eyler’s presence was felt again at New Hampshire when Hornaday qualified a season-best 11th. The veteran mechanic also served as Hornaday’s spotter at Chicagoland and will serve in that role for Sunday’s New England 300.

HAVE WRENCHES, WILL TRAVEL

Robert Pressley’s Jasper Motorsports Winston Cup over-the-wall pit crew was enlisted by Bobby Hamilton Racing to service the team owner’s Dana Dodge in Saturday’s Craftsman Truck Series New England 200.

Pressley’s crew, which enabled his second-place finish in last weekend’s Tropicana 400 at Chicagoland, didn’t have any part in helping Hamilton’s team recover from his Turn 4 wallbanger halfway through Friday’s half-hour truck Happy Hour practice.

They didn’t have much chance to help Saturday either, as Hamilton’s rear end gear failed, relegating him to 25th in the final rundown.