VEGAS SHOWGIRLS, SHUTTLE LAUNCHES & BIRTHDAY CAKES...ALL PART OF DAYTONA
TESTING FOR FOYT/HARRAH'S RACING TEAM
The week of January 13th was a busy one for the Foyt/Harrah's Racing
team.
 Harrah's
Entertainment, Inc. announced their sponsorship of A.J. Foyt's No.14
Dodge in the 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup Series thus continuing their long
relationship with the motorsports legend. Larry Foyt, A.J.'s 25-year-old
son and the NASCAR Winston Cup rookie who is taking over the driving
duties of the No. 14 Harrah's Intrepid, completed his first
superspeedway test at Daytona International Speedway with positive
results.
The Harrah's announcement was made on Tuesday, January 14th in the
track's media center. Tom Jenkins, General Manager of the flagship
Harrah's Las Vegas property, made the announcement and indicated in his
remarks how well the motorsports program is working for the gaming
entertainment company. Several Harrah's showgirls added some Las Vegas
luster to the festivities.
The Foyt family and the Foyt/Harrah's Racing team left the historic
speedway last week 31st in overall speed (182.559 mph -- 49.299 seconds)
with a positive outlook on the season ahead.
"It was the best test at Daytona I've had since I formed my Winston Cup
team in 2000," A.J. said afterwards. "We have work to do before we go
back but we have a good idea about the areas we need to focus on. Larry
ran well and he was consistently faster so that means that he and the
team were progressing. I was very happy with the way things went."
Young Foyt concurred.
 "I
thought the test went really well," Larry said. "We took a brand new car
and we didn't have one mechanical problem so we didn't lose any track
time which is key. With the common templates, the cars are pretty equal
so it is tough to make big gains. We tried a lot of little stuff and
found some things that worked for us.
"I had some concerns going to the test because we got a late start
changing over to the Dodges but everything went smoothly, and we had a
good test so I am pretty excited about getting this season started."
On the final day of the test, A.J. took some time out at lunch to
briefly celebrate his birthday as his race team serenaded him in the
garage area much to his surprise and embarrassment.
 "I
hate surprises and they got me good," he said afterwards. "I can't even
forget my birthday because they talk about it on the radio. I was
talking to Brian Barnhardt [vice-president of IRL Operations] in Indy
and they were playing songs from the 60's when I was in my heyday. To be
honest, it's pretty embarrassing."
The Harrah's team planned to test this week at Kentucky Speedway but the
sub-freezing temperatures caused them to cancel. Weather permitting,
they are planning to test at least one more time before heading to
Daytona in February.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Final cumulative single-lap
results of Winston Cup testing at Daytona International Speedway:
1. No. 09, Mike Wallace, Dodge, 48.899 seconds,
184.053 mph
2. No. 4, Mike Skinner, Pontiac, 48.970, 183.786
3. No. 45, Kyle Petty, Dodge, 48.984, 183.733
4. No. 19, Jeremy Mayfield, Dodge, 48.996, 183.688
5. No. 15, Michael Waltrip, Chevrolet, 49.027, 183.572
6. No. 33, Christian Fittipaldi, Chevrolet, 49.030,
183.561
7. No. 18, Bobby Labonte, Chevrolet, 49.036, 183.539
8. No. 38, Elliott Sadler, Ford, 49.045, 183.505
9. No. 32, Ricky Craven, Pontiac, 49.046, 183.501
10. No. 40, Sterling Marlin, Dodge, 49.064, 183.434
11. No. 8, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 49.070,
183.411
12. No. 12, Ryan Newman, Dodge, 49.071, 183.408
13. No. 0, Jack Sprague, Pontiac, 49.078, 183.382
14. No. 60, David Green, Chevrolet, 49.107, 183.273
15. No. 24, Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 49.130, 183.187
16. No. 25, Joe Nemechek, Chevrolet, 49.137, 183.161
17. No. 88, Dale Jarrett, Ford, 49.158, 183.083
18. No. 49, Ken Schrader, Dodge, 49.168, 183.046
19. No. 29, Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 49.171, 183.035
20. No. 6, Mark Martin, Ford, 49.173, 183.027
21. No. 20, Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 49.181, 182.997
22. No. 10, Johnny Benson, Pontiac, 49.182, 182.994
No. 30, Jeff Green, Chevrolet, 49.182, 182.994
24. No. 1, Steve Park, Chevrolet, 49.190, 182.964
25. No. 41, Casey Mears, Dodge, 49.197, 182.938
26. No. 22, Ward Burton, Dodge, 49.219, 182.856
27. No. 7, Jimmy Spencer, Dodge, 49.251, 182.737
28. No. 21, Ricky Rudd, Ford, 49.291, 182.589
29. No. 97, Kurt Busch, Ford, 49.292, 182.585
30. No. 2, Rusty Wallace, Dodge, 49.297, 182.567
31. No. 14, Larry Foyt, Dodge, 49.299, 182.559
32. No. 42, Jamie McMurray, Dodge, 49.306, 182.534
33. No. 23, Kenny Wallace, Dodge, 49.311, 182.515
34. No. 99, Jeff Burton, Ford, 49.342, 182.400
35. No. 77, Dave Blaney, Ford, 49.378, 182.267
36. No. 54, Geoffrey Bodine, Ford, 49.393, 182.212
37. No. 17, Matt Kenseth, Ford, 49.398, 182.194
38. No. 43, John Andretti, Dodge, 49.399, 182.190
39. No. 01, Jerry Nadeau, Pontiac, 49.404, 182.171
40. No. 5, Terry Labonte, Chevrolet, 49.493, 181.844
41. No. 31, Robby Gordon, Chevrolet, 49.500, 181.818
42. No. 9, Bill Elliott, Dodge, 49.511, 181.778
43. No. 78, Mike Harmon, Chevrolet, 49.556, 181.613
44. No. 48, Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 49.571, 181.558
45. No. 02, Hermie Sadler, Pontiac, 49.619, 181.382
46. No. 57, Jeff Fultz, Ford, 49.639, 181.309
47. No. 55, Christian Fittipaldi, Chevrolet, 49.657,
181.243
48. No. 59, Carl Long, Dodge, 49.702, 181.079
49. No. 16, Greg Biffle, Ford, 49.871, 180.466
50. No. 74, Tony Raines, Chevrolet, 49.883, 180.422
51. No. 11, Brett Bodine, Ford, 49.948, 180.187
52. No. 37, Derrike Cope, Chevrolet, 50.133, 179.522
53. No. 84, Norm Benning, Chevrolet, NS, NT
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