Notebook: Truex Jr. learned from Dover run

DOVER, Del. -- One of the reasons Dale Earnhardt Jr. started Chance 2 Motorsports was to help develop younger drivers and crew members.

	Martin Truex Jr. finished 18th on Saturday. Credit: Autostock

And with younger drivers and crewmen, there are going to be mistakes. Chance 2 has terrific equipment, but a fast race car doesn't always ensure success. The team found that out Saturday during the MBNA Armed Forces Family 200 at Dover International Speedway.

Martin Truex Jr., the Junior-picked 22-year-old from Mayetta, N.J., ran well in Chance 2's No. 81 Chevrolet at Dover, staying in the top five for most of the event.

But two costly mistakes dropped him to an 18th-place finish. The first was when Truex was headed to pit road. While trying to slow for the pit-road speed limit, Truex spun the car at the entrance to the pits.

"I was just going too fast, too excited, I guess," Truex said.

He survived that to get back in the top five, but while Matt Kenseth was passing him for fifth place with five laps to go, Truex got loose and spun in turn 2. He backed into the outside wall and limped home two laps down.

"Let me tell you, did I learn something today," Truex said. "I learned a whole bunch."

Riggs moving up the charts

The start of the season didn't go the way Scott Riggs wanted it to. After finishing 31st, 17th and 20th in the first three races, Riggs found himself buried deep in the Busch Series points standings, stuck back in 21st place.

	Scott Riggs (10) continued his hot streak Saturday. Credit: Autostock

But after a second-place finish Saturday, Riggs has climbed all the way to second. And though he trails Todd Bodine by 76 points, Riggs could be in a good position to take over the lead should Bodine's team indeed miss a few races soon.

"We want to come into the race and be in the top five in qualifying, and we want to leave the race finishing somewhere in the top five," Riggs said. "If you keep on finishing in the top five, one of these times you'll be the first one in the top five and get a win under your belt. We've got one win this year, but we just want to be consistent, and we're sure the other wins will come.

"I'm just happy with everybody. Everybody is really working well together. My crew chief, Doug Randolph, is doing a great job with the guys. Everybody is really focused, everybody is happy, everybody is having fun, and we're running well. It build that momentum and builds that confidence in each other and the entire team."

Davis holding line on sponsorship

Team owner Bill Davis might be reeling from the recent loss of his Dodge factory backing, but Friday at Dover International Speedway he attended sponsor Stacker 2's announcement that it would back the September Busch Series race at Dover.

	Bill Davis

Stacker 2's deal with Bill Davis Racing carries sponsorship for his Winston Cup car driven by Kenny Wallace and his Busch Series car of Scott Wimmer through the end of the 2004 season.

"It's great to have somebody that understands the power of NASCAR, that understands the sport and is growing their involvement in it," Davis said. "They're sponsoring our Busch car and they're sponsoring our Winston Cup car, now they're branching out to sponsor races and they're rolling out new products -- exciting stuff that fits our fan base.

"So it's great to see them growing their confidence in the sport. As volatile as the atmosphere is right now, (with the changes that are going on, the economic uncertainty in terms of sponsorship) that's what we need, people that have confidence in the sport and the power of the sport, and that's exciting for us."

Third team hampers Ganassi?

The addition of a third NASCAR Winston Cup team to Chip Ganassi Racing appears to have hampered the efforts of Ganassi's existing teams. At least that seems to be the opinion of Sterling Marlin, driver of one of those existing teams.

	Sterling Marlin

Marlin said the addition of the No. 42 team for Jamie McMurray taxed the fabrication shop to the point where it affected the No. 40 for Marlin and the No. 41 for Casey Mears. Things are better now, but that could explain Marlin's slow start to 2003.

"I think you've got to build 15 new cars (for the new team) and pit boxes and all that stuff, and it kind of slows the production down," Marlin said. "I think we've got a great group of guys at the shop, and they've got it handled now."

After leading the Winston Cup points standings for 25 weeks until an injury forced him to the sidelines, Marlin didn't crack the top 10 until after Richmond this season. He doesn't have a top-five finish yet, either.

"We started off this year, and I think the downforce was off on the cars," Marlin said. "The guys have been working really hard at the shop fixing it. We've been down on our motors a little bit, and the guys are getting it fixed now. From here on out I think you're going to really see our team turn around."

Marlin said he left like he could have won at California, was fast at Richmond and could have been a factor at Charlotte had the entire race been completed.

"It's turned around," Marlin said. "It just takes a little time to get everything worked out."

Two tires a bad call at Dover?

MBNA 200 Caution flags flew early at The Monster Mile Play video Nine cars get together with 47 laps remaining Play video Joe Nemechek celebrates another victory Play video Scott Riggs talks about his runner-up finish Play video Matt Kenseth talks about his wild day at Dover Play video  •  Unofficial Results  •  Unofficial Standings  •  Photo Gallery

A two-tire strategy works a lot these days, with the track-position gain outweighing the loss of grip from two older tires. But that strategy might not be the way to go at Dover.

"I don't think two tires a good option at this racetrack, so you take a lot of that out of the equation," Dale Jarrett said. "You may see some people do it, but I don't think they'll have much success at it."

Dover is a "handling" track, meaning drivers prefer as much grip as possible. Last May, Ricky Rudd pitted for four tires late in the race and was catching leader Jimmie Johnson, who had stayed on the track during the yellow and had older tires than the rest of the field. But a loose wheel forced Rudd out of contention.

"In the spring race last year, some guys put on none or two, and we put on four," said crew chief Michael McSwain, who worked for Rudd last year. "When the green flag came out, in three laps we were on Jimmie Johnson's bumper, but we had a loose wheel."

Marlin: Dover needs to work on pits

Marlin said Dover needs to improve its pit road, as the pit stalls aren't big enough.

"You hope you don't get boxed in," Marlin said. "These pits are really narrow. I think they need to work on pit road here and make 'em bigger because everybody gets jammed up. It's narrow. The pit boxes are narrow, so qualifying good is really a plus here because you can get a good pit stall."

Section of Sharon Speedway stands collapse

A section of a grandstand at Sharon (Ohio) Speedway, co-owned by Winston Cup driver Dave Blaney, collapsed Friday night during a World of Outlaws race. According to Cleveland's WJW television station, at least 10 people were injured, none seriously.

A storm quickly enveloped the race track, and as fans scrambled to exit, a section of lower stairs collapsed along the frontstretch. The backstretch grandstands are new, having been built soon after Blaney took over as co-owner. But the frontstretch stands were quite a bit older.

Rain tires? Heck no, Marlin said

With all the rain that has plagued NASCAR racing in 2003, the subject of rain tires has surfaced. Forget about them, Marlin said.

"It's crazy," Marlin said. "Keep 'em in the truck. They ain't got enough wreckers to get us out of the fence."