Saturday, September 3, 2005

NASCAR: Notebook

NASCAR teams contributing to Hurricane relief

By Mike Harris / Associated Press

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FONTANA, Calif. -- Several of NASCAR's drivers and teams have set up programs and funds for contributions to the relief effort in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

Jimmie Johnson and sponsor Lowe's will donate $480 dollars to the Hurricane Katrina relief efforts for each of the 250 laps Johnson's No. 48 Chevrolet completes on Sunday at California Speedway. In addition, Lowe's will donate $4,800 and Johnson and his wife Chandra will donate $48,000, regardless of the race outcome.

Robby Gordon Motorsports will donate $7 for each lap his No. 7 Chevrolet completes for the remainder of the 2005 Cup season to the Harrah's Employee Recovery Fund, which sponsor Harrah's Entertainment established to assist its employees experiencing the after-affects of the tragedy.

If Gordon completes all of the remaining 3,877 laps in the final 12 races, the team will donate more than $25,000 to the fund. Additionally, the team will donate 10 percent to the fund from its merchandise sales for the rest of the season.

Penske Racing South also has started a hurricane relief fund within its headquarters in Mooresville, N.C. The team will gather monetary donations throughout the next two weeks with all proceeds being sent to the American Red Cross.

Penske Corp. headed by team owner Roger Penske, has said it will make a matching donation.

Penske's three cars, driven by Rusty Wallace, Ryan Newman and Travis Kvapil, also will show their support for the victims of the Hurricane by carrying a special decal on the driver's side of their cars to bring attention to the need for continuing aid. Other teams also have asked to display the decal.

"Our emphasis here is not to gain attention or praise for what we're doing," team president Don Miller said. "We want to show everyone across the country that every penny helps. Everyone can be donating to the American Red Cross. We just want to gain awareness and support through our race team to help those in need right now."

Avoiding Katrina

Kim Crosby and her husband Chris were among the lucky ones who got out before Hurricane Katrina hit.

Crosby, who will drive in Saturday night's Busch series race at California Speedway, lives in Slidell, La., a suburb of New Orleans on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain. They left the area Sunday and waited out the hurricane in Vicksburg, Miss.

After the storm, the Crosbys went back to Slidell and found their home still standing, although much of the area is under water and will remain uninhabitable for some time.

"Our home was spared," Crosby said. "We do have every tree down in the yard, but that can be fixed and taken care of. We have a roof over our head, but we won't have water or power for at least a month.

"But we are lucky compared to those in Gulfport and other parts of Slidell and downtown New Orleans."

Crosby said she drove from Slidell to Jacksonville, Fla., to fly to California for the race.

"There was no gas in between," she said. "What you see on television is a small version of what's gong on there, and it is absolutely incredible and devastating and we need your help."

Still, Crosby insisted on racing this weekend, her fifth Busch start of the season.

"Once I enter the racetrack, I know there is business to take care of," she said. "This weekend is very special to me simply because of the devastation that has happened. Usually I give it 110 percent, but this weekend I'm going to give it 150 percent."

Big Race

Jamie McMurray knows how it feels to barely miss out on the Chase for the Nextel Cup championship, and he doesn't want to go through that again.

Last year, McMurray missed being included in the 10-man, 10-race championship battle by a mere 16 points.

Going into Sunday's Sony HD 500 at California Speedway, McMurray is again desperately trying to make the Chase field. He is 12th, just 12 points behind 10th-place Jeff Gordon with two races remaining until the final segment begins.

"For me to say this is an important weekend for us would be an understatement," McMurray said. "The way I see it, this is a make or break race in terms of getting into the Chase. A bad finish will pretty much eliminate us.

"We're only 12 points out of 10th, but the guys we are trying to beat have been running strong lately. Its imperative that we either maintain or move ahead of them at California so we have a shot at getting in after Richmond."

McMurray said everyone who works on his No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge is very focused on this race.

"There is no doubt in my mind that we are capable of getting into this deal and then competing for the title," he said. "We just need a little luck on our side. It looked as though we were going to end up really good at Bristol last week and then we cut a tire with about 25 laps to go. That sort of thing has been happening to us all year."