Place an Ad Calendars Classified Forums Sports Weather

sptimes.com Text-only News sections Arts & Entertainment AP The Wire Business Citrus County Columnists Floridian Hernando County Hillsborough Letters Movies Neighborhood Times News Update North Pinellas North of Tampa Obituaries Opinion Pasco County South Pinellas Sports State Tampa Bay TV Times World & Nation  Find your local news section Weekly sections Brandon Times City Times Homes Outdoors Perspective Personal Tech Taste Travel Weekend Xpress Special Sections Arena football Buccaneers College football Devil Rays Lightning Police reports Schools Seniority Subscriber Services Subscribe Renew Help Advertise Place an ad In print Online Market Info Join Us Internships Scholarships Times Jobs Contact us

Evernham-Ultra split costs Atwood his ride

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Ray Evernham ended his one-year association with Ultra Motorsports on Thursday, effectively costing driver Casey Atwood a permanent Winston Cup ride.

Evernham teamed with Ultra owner Jim Smith to field the No. 7 Dodge, a partnership primarily designed to benefit Atwood.

But Smith decided to replace Atwood, beginning with this weekend's race in Phoenix, so the owners ended their partnership.

"Jim and I formed this team at the end of last season to give Casey some additional seat time in Winston Cup," Evernham said. "Without Casey driving the No. 7, there was no reason for us to continue our relationship."

Jason Leffler, who raced in Winston Cup last season for Chip Ganassi and spent this season driving in the truck series for Smith, will drive the No. 7 Dodge this weekend.

Atwood will not have a car to drive this weekend. But Evernham will put him in the No. 91, a research and development car, for the season finale Nov. 17.

Evernham said he's discussing other opportunities with Atwood, but the driver probably will be in the Busch series next season.

BASHAS' SUPERMARKETS 200: Points leader Greg Biffle didn't ease off despite a seemingly safe lead in NASCAR's Busch series and won the pole at Avondale, Ariz.

Biffle leads Jason Keller by 212 points entering Saturday's event, and a good finish could give him the title. Keller wound up fourth.

"I really like this race track," Biffle said. "My car wasn't as good as I thought it needed to be in race trim, but in qualifying trim, it was pretty good. I just made one qualifying run and parked it for the rest of the practice there."

Biffle averaged 132.193 mph in his Roush Racing Ford. He will start up front for the seventh time this season and third in the past four races.

CHEVY SILVERADO 150: Rick Crawford will try to overcome a 68-point deficit entering the next-to-last race of the Craftsman Truck Series season when he starts Saturday's race from the pole.

Crawford's Ford F-150 averaged 128.329 mph on his qualifying run. He'll start four spots ahead of points leader Mike Bliss.

"Maybe it will shake him up a little bit," Crawford said of his rival.

Crawford's only other series pole came this season at Dover International Speedway.

NHRA AUTOMOBILE CLUB FINALS: John Force moved closer to his 12th title by leading Funny Car qualifying in Pomona, Calif. Darrell Russell (Top Fuel), Warren Johnson (Pro Stock) and Shawn Gann (Pro Stock Bike) also were the fastest in their divisions.

CHECKER AUTO PARTS 500: Mark Martin is focused on winning his first Winston Cup title despite a 112-point deficit in the standings.

Although he has not won there, Martin's record at Phoenix includes seven top-fives and 11 top-10s in 14 races.

With two races left to catch Tony Stewart, who finished 14th at Rockingham, Martin isn't conceding anything.

"In order to win the thing, Tony's got to continue to have performances like he had (last week) at Rockingham or worse," he said. "Racing deals everybody blows at different times."

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright