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Ryan Newman, Daytona 500 Champion!!
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Updated 2/21/2007 10:57 PM ET
By Gary Graves
USA TODAY

As bad as Sunday's Daytona 500 turned out for Bill Davis Racing, the NASCAR team owner was philosophical about the experience because recent years have presented bigger challenges.
A year after he won Daytona with Ward Burton in 2002, Davis found himself without Dodge factory support because of informal conversations with Toyota as the Japan-based manufacturer mulled entering NASCAR. That put the team at such a disadvantage that the objective many weeks simply was surviving.

Resources no longer are an issue now that BDR has become Toyota's flagship team, and the objective now is overcoming Sunday's inauspicious debut. Dave Blaney, who started 37th, fought through handling issues and was working on a middle-of-the-pack finish before cutting a right front tire while trying to avoid a multicar wreck late in the race. He ended up hitting several cars coming off pit road before NASCAR parked his No. 22 Camry, leaving him 34th.

This, just days after new teammate Jeremy Mayfield failed to qualify despite having one of the fastest cars in testing and qualifying. Those mixed results still bother Davis, but he has maintained perspective and looks forward to Sunday's Auto Club 500 in Fontana, Calif., where he believes the team will live up to its billing as the leader of Toyota's maiden voyage in Nextel Cup.

"We've been at this a long time and experienced the highs of winning the Daytona 500 to missing the 500, so we've run the whole gamut," Davis said. "I don't know what we thought our odds were (at Daytona) after the January test. We thought we had a lot of speed, and came back and ran a great qualifying lap and thought we'd be in the race.

"Certainly, with (Mayfield), we've got to get to California and not make any mistakes the rest of the year, and salvage the season. They've got to unload fast and work on it to get faster, and then Jeremy has to go out and hit his lap and get himself in the show."

Mayfield can't wait, for many reasons. Having raced just once since Evernham Motorsports let him go last August in an acrimonious split, he was eager to start a new chapter in his career.

Things began well with a fourth-best run in one practice and a top-20 in another along with his qualifying effort. But that didn't carry over to the Gatorade Duel 150-mile qualifier as he finished three spots behind the final transfer slot to make the field.

"Not being in it was harder than all the races I missed last year, and it just didn't seem right," said Mayfield, who did some farming between periodic checks on the race. "It seemed like we did a lot right, but my race never really got started with some cautions. I made some mistakes pulling down on the bottom that cost us some positions, but it wasn't like the car was a piece of junk."

Not with BDR there for every step of Toyota's transition.

Though Michael Waltrip Racing got the early edge at Daytona, qualifying all three of its cars, many expect Davis' two-car operation to surge ahead and become the first to succeed because it has been Toyota's prototype and engine builder in the Craftsman Truck Series.

Davis proudly points to his team's longevity as the biggest advantage over Waltrip and Team Red Bull, which failed to qualify either of its Camrys for Daytona. BDR has spread 24 victories across all three NASCAR divisions and provided rides for Mark Martin, Jeff Gordon and Bobby Labonte at different points in their careers.

That's not counting its perseverance despite lacking the horsepower enjoyed by other Dodge teams. Despite their fall from the top 10, neither Davis nor his wife Gail considered quitting and returning to cattle and trucking businesses in Arkansas — or even downsizing.

That resilience has been repaid with the technology needed to be competitive, which Blaney turned into a runner-up finish in Saturday's Busch Series race, the kind of showing Toyota believes will become common.

"Bill has an advantage because he has an established team," said Toyota Racing Development senior vice president Lee White, a longtime friend of Davis. "It kind of reflects on the continuity of the team, and I hope it's reflected in the product. It certainly isn't going to surprise me if Bill Davis Racing, at least for the first half of the season, is the benchmark other Toyota teams are measuring themselves by. … And he has never asked for help, never once complained."

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Ryan Newman, Daytona 500 Champion!!
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Ward Burton drives for Morgan-McClure Motorsports

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Hendrick Power and Ginn Racing and Aric Almirola!

Davis says report of team sale untrue, but won't rule out that possibility
By David Newton
ESPN.com
(Archive)
Updated: October 20, 2007, 11:43 AM ET

MARTINSVILLE, Va. -- Team owner Bill Davis insisted on Saturday that he has not sold his organization as published reports indicated.


That doesn't mean he won't.

The owner of Bill Davis Racing said several parties have expressed an interest in purchasing his company that includes two Nextel Cup cars driven by Dave Blaney and Jeremy Mayfield, who will be replaced by Formula One star Jacques Villeneuve next season.

"Like any team our size, we have to be realistic and look at all of our options with what's going on in the sport right now," he said before practice at Martinsville Speedway.

"We've had a lot of interest, a lot of very interested people, and a lot of things that are for real. We just have to do our due diligence and make a smart, logical choice."

Davis denied a published report that Villeneuve and his business manager, Craig Pollock, already have purchased his organization.

"Bill Davis Racing is still 100 percent owned by Bill and Gail Davis," Davis said. "I don't think Jacques has an interest in owning a race team. But we're not going to talk about specific individuals."

Villaneuve, who drives in the Craftsman Truck Series for BDR, said the report was a surprise to him.

"It's fun to learn stuff through the media," he said. "I'm not 100 percent sure what Craig is doing, but what matters to me is I am driving."

Davis said he has no timetable for selling, and was adamant that he wanted to maintain some ownership.

"That's what I would be the most interested in," he said.

But Davis said for a small team such as his to survive against the mega teams like Hendrick Motorsports and Roush Fenway Racing, a partner is needed.

"I don't know that they have to, but the handwriting is on the wall," he said. "We're going to super teams, big teams, whatever the word is. I don't know that the little guys are going to be able to survive.

"That's the wave. That's where the sport is headed right now. I don't think a team owner needs to be hard-headed. He needs to look at it and make the best decision for his employees and his sponsors."

Davis added that this is not just about money.

"It has to be something that makes sense, that adds strength to our team, that makes us better," he said. "Not just go out and raise some money. Gail [his wife] and I can raise some money. That's not an issue. It's what adds strength, what makes us better as a race team."


David Newton covers NASCAR for ESPN.com. He can be reached at dnewtonespn@aol.com.

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Bill Davis Racing, Press Release

Phoenix International Raceway News and Notes

· Phoenix’s Camry…

The No. 36 Toyota Johnny Benson is scheduled to drive in the Checker Auto Parts 500 at Phoenix International Raceway is chassis No. COT 15. This car was last utilized at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway.

· Double Duty for Trip too…

Benson’s Truck Series crew chief Trip Bruce will also pull double duty this weekend. He’ll call the shots for Benson’s Cup team. Slugger Labbe, who led the No. 36 team for the past two weeks, will lead the No. 27 Bill Davis Racing effort with Jacques Villeneuve this weekend.

· Benson’s Career Stats…

Benson hopes to make his 273rd career NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series start when the green flag waves Sunday afternoon. He made his first career Cup Series start in February 1996 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway and finished 32nd (qualified 23rd) in his first Cup Series start at Phoenix in 1996. Benson’s lone Cup Series start this season resulted in a 31st-place finish at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway in the spring. He was driving a car fielded by Wyler Racing.

· Benson at Phoenix…

Benson has made eight starts on the one-mile track during his Cup Series career, starting as high as fourth (2000). He has earned three top-10 finishes in Cup Series competition at the track in Avondale, Ariz. He has also experienced a great deal of success in his six NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series starts there. Benson has started from the front row three times, including one pole position. He has also scored four top-five finishes and five top-10 finishes and has finished outside the top 10 only once.

· BDR at PIR…

Competitors driving Bill Davis Racing-owned cars have been racing at the track since 1993 and have made 22 starts. Those drivers have posted three top-10 finishes.

· Listen and Watch…

Qualifying for the Checker Auto Parts 500 is scheduled for Friday, Nov. 9. The 312-lap event is scheduled to start at 3:35 p.m. ET Sunday, Nov. 11, and will broadcast LIVE on ABC (TV), MRN (radio) and Sirius Satellite Radio.

This Press Release and any images that are used,
are used with permission. Do not duplicate or
redistribute in any form without permission or credit.

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Ryan Newman, Daytona 500 Champion!!
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from billdavisracing.com

HIGH POINT, N.C. (January 7, 2008) - As Toyota’s most successful NASCAR team in 2007, Bill Davis Racing begins Preseason Thunder testing for the historic 50th running of the Daytona 500 with optimism.

“We are excited about our race teams as we move into the second year of the Toyota Sprint Cup program. With the progress the #22 CAT Sprint Cup team made over the second half of last season, the potential shown by the #27 and the success of both Mike Skinner and Johnny Benson in the Craftsman Truck Series, there is no reason to doubt our ability to compete at the highest level of these two NASCAR Series,” said General Manager Mike Brown.

Last season, the #22 CAT Toyota Camry driven by Dave Blaney qualified for 33 of the 36 races (versus 26 for the next ranking Camry driver) in the Nextel Cup Championship finishing 31st and winning the Lenox Industrial Tools 300 pole at New Hampshire International Speedway. By winning Toyota’s first ever pole in Nextel/Sprint Cup racing, Blaney qualified the CAT Camry for the February 9th Budweiser Shootout at Daytona.

In preparation for “The Great American Race,” the opening session of Preseason Thunder testing opens today with Jacques Villeneuve behind the wheel of the same #27 Bill Davis Racing Camry in which he qualified 6th at the super speedway debut of the “Car of Tomorrow” at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway last October 7th.

"Sponsorship for the #27 program has not yet been finalized," said Team Owner Bill Davis. "We're out talking to companies across a range of categories. The 50th Daytona 500 is a great opportunity to debut as a car sponsor."

Session two of Preseason Thunder features the Bill Davis Racing Toyota Craftsman Truck Series Tundras of #5 Mike Skinner, #23 Johnny Benson and #22 rookie Phillip McGilton. Session three will include the Sprint Cup CAT Camry of Dave Blaney. More on these sessions will follow.

Daytona testing for the # 28 Pilot Travel Centers Toyota Camry of Michael Annett in a Bill Davis Racing ARCA RE/MAX development program successfully concluded with a strong showing by the winner of last October’s ARCA Series at Talladega.

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