Notebook: Sauter, Kahne out of Cup/Busch double

DOVER, Del. -- At the start of the season, three drivers hoped to complete both the Nextel Cup and Busch Series schedules. Now, however, it appears only one will continue to try.

Johnny Sauter will miss the Dodge/Save Mart 350 Nextel Cup later this month, and Kasey Kahne will miss Busch races at Milwaukee and Pikes Peak. That leaves Greg Biffle as the only driver who will likely compete in both series the rest of the season.

	Johnny Sauter

And a Biffle spokesman said Friday at Dover International Speedway that Biffle is likely more pumped than ever to finish the season in Cup and Busch, given that he's the last man standing.

Jim Inglebright, a NASCAR Southwest Series driver, will take Sauter's place in the No. 30 Richard Childress Chevrolet at Infineon Raceway on June 27 so Sauter can compete in the Busch race at Milwaukee that same weekend.

"My primary objective all year was the Busch car," Sauter said Friday. "I want to have a run at the championship. ... I've never been on a road course before, I've never tested at a road course, so it's probably a good move on their part. It's good, because I can go to Milwaukee, my hometown, and put on a good show."

RCR said Sauter will remain the team's full-time driver and will return to the No., 30 in the Pepsi 400 at Daytona in July 3.

"We're disappointed Johnny couldn't run Infineon due to the Busch race weekend in Milwaukee, which is Kleenex's, his Busch team's sponsor's, hometown," Childress said.

A team spokesman for Akins Motorsports, Kahne's Busch team, confirmed that Kahne will skip Busch races at Milwaukee and Pikes Peak -- which is scheduled for July 31, the same weekend as the Nextel Cup Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono Raceway.

World of Outlaws driver Tyler Walker will practice and qualify Kahne's Busch car at Nashville next weekend, with the possibility Walker could sub for Kahne at Milwaukee and Pikes Peak.

Roush sponsor under NASCAR review?

Roush Racing has apparently found a sponsor for Jeff Burton's No. 99 team, but the car is running an all-white paint scheme this weekend without any sponsor decals. What's the holdup? Burton's sponsor falls outside of NASCAR's rules, sanctioning body president Mike Helton said Friday.

	Jack Roush apparently has a sponsor for Jeff Burton's No. 99 Ford. Credit: Autostock

NASCAR's long-held stance prohibited certain sponsors, and Burton's sponsor seems to be one of those.

"We are in conversations, and we have been from time to time, with different car owners or drivers about sponsorships that go outside of where we have typically taken a position," Helton said.

Helton said the decision regarding the Burton sponsor is simply a matter of reviewing NASCAR's current policy and addressing the possibility it might be changed.

"In fairness to the industry and people in it, we'll address from time to time our stance ... on a sponsorship that in the past we haven't allowed," Helton said.

Crawford gets new crew chief

Craftsman Truck Series driver Rick Crawford has a new crew chief, as Gene Nead has left the team. Craig Huartson, Circle Bar Racing's shop foreman, has been named the interim crew chief.

Nead apparently has returned to Ultra Motorsports as Ted Musgrave's crew chief.

Toyota hires Wall to head TRD-High Point

Toyota has named Pat Wall as vice president and program manager of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, a newly created position. Wall is responsible for Toyota Racing Development's "oversight and direction" in its High Point, N.C. location.

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"For the past three years, Pat has worked on the development and management of the relationships critical to the successful launch of Toyota's NASCAR truck racing program," TRD senior vice president and general manager Lee White said.

"He has been instrumental to our initial success in the series, and we have been fortunate to have him as a permanent member of our team."

Wall had been a consultant to Toyota since 2001, helping the manufacturer enter NASCAR in the truck series.

Helton still the man in charge

To make a little extra money after graduating from college, Helton worked as a high school football referee in southwest Virginia.

He remembers one particular time when he threw a flag on a player who knocked him to the ground.

"My favorite call was a blocking call on a guy that used me as a pick," Helton said. "I was still smarting from the tumble I took with them. When he came back and created the situation where I could remind him who was in charge, I kind of enjoyed that."