TEAM MARINES RACING NOTES & QUOTES:
Team Rensi Motorsports will make their NASCAR Winston Cup debut at Atlanta
Motor Speedway this weekend in the Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 with driver,
Bobby Hamilton, Jr., who pilots the team's No. 25 Marines Ford Taurus in the
NASCAR Busch Series. Hamilton, Jr. will compete in the No. 35 Ford Taurus,
which will have a very familiar look. Both of Team Rensi's current
marketing partners in the NASCAR Busch Series, the United States Marine
Corps and the Timberland Company (on behalf of its Timberland PRO series),
will be featured on the car. Associate marketing partners include ABC Auto
Parts and Shureline, Inc.
Bobby Hamilton, Jr. on competing in the Winston Cup Series:
Bobby Hamilton, Jr. is no stranger to the Winston Cup Series. Since his
debut in 2000, he has competed 12 times in the series. In 2001, he posted
two top-15 Winston Cup finishes. (14th at Talladega and 15th at Atlanta.) He
has NEVER failed to qualify for a Winston Cup event, something very few
people can brag about.
"I am looking forward to competing again in the Winston Cup Series," said
Hamilton, Jr. "Atlanta seemed like the obvious place to all of us. It's
early enough in the season and it occurs during one of the Busch Series off
weekends. We are running for a championship and we don't want to interfere
or take our focus away from that, so doing this on an off-weekend was
important to us. This is a way for us to test the waters of the Winston Cup
Series without the pressure of worrying about points."
Bobby Hamilton, Jr. on a lesson learned from Dale Earnhardt about getting
around Atlanta:
"I learned from Dale Earnhardt how to get around this place. In 2000, I was
a lap or two down and he came up behind me and passed me. I thought to
myself, why not see what this guy is doing, he knows a thing or two about
this place? He was running the high line, right up against the wall. I
followed him around for several laps, running the same lines he was. There
was a couple of times I just knew I was going into the wall but as it turns
out there's some grip up there. My lap times got a lot quicker and my crew
chief told me that whatever I do, I better keep running that line. Since
then, every time I get on the race track at Atlanta I am reminded of Dale."
Fred Wanke on Atlanta:
"We tested here February 18-19 and we gained a tremendous amount of
knowledge," said Wanke. "This is a brand new car that we worked on over the
off season, so we learned a lot about what the car could do and what
adjustments worked well and what did not. We left the test knowing that we
could come back down here for the race and be competitive. We feel pretty
sure that we'll be able to run in the top-15, and we would go home real
happy with that kind of finish."
Testing & Equipment:
The Team Rensi crew tested at Atlanta on February 18-19, 2003. They will
compete with a brand new chassis that they built during the off-season.
