CONCORD, N.C.  (April 29, 2008) – This weekend’s race at Richmond International Raceway marks the return to the racetrack for Bob Osborne, crew chief of the No. 99 Office Depot team.  Following a rule infraction at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 2, Osborne was placed on a six-week suspension from NASCAR.

“It will be nice to get back to the track this weekend,” said Osborne.  “This No. 99 Office Depot team has been strong through the early part of 2008, and I feel like we can continue to carry that momentum through the season.  Most times when a crew chief is suspended, it disrupts the chemistry of the team.  But our core group is a strong bunch of guys who were able to continue on with minimal disruption.”
In the time that Osborne was away from the track, interim co-crew chiefs Chris Andrews and Robbie Reiser accumulated one win, two top-five and three top-10 finishes.  Had it not been for an engine failure in Atlanta, the win total may have been two.  Edwards was leading the race when he was forced to retire from the event early.

Osborne is optimistic about the No. 99 team’s chances for this weekend in Richmond.  “With how we ran before the part failure in the last race here at Richmond, I am counting on the Office Depot team having a good run,” Osborne continued.  “We know that anything can happen, but if we can keep mistakes to a minimum we should have a good run.”

The No. 99 Office Depot team enters Richmond 10th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup point standings.  In nine starts, they have accumulated a series-leading three wins, four top-five and five top-10 finishes.

CREDIT: TEAM PR 

NFL All-Pro Randy Moss Forms NASCAR Program
Huntersville, North Carolina (April 29, 2008) – Fresh off a record breaking NFL season, New England Patriots wide receiver Randy Moss announced today the formation of Moss Motorsports, LLC  with its intended participation to begin in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

Moss anticipates that the team will debut at some point in the second half of the 2008 season and run selected races through the conclusion of the year. The partial schedule is a prelude to a full-time campaign in 2009. Sponsors and manufacturer alignments will be announced at a later date.

"We don't have all of the details in place just yet, but I am very excited about Moss Motorsports becoming a part of NASCAR," Moss said. "I am by nature a very competitive person and this is an outlet for me to compete at another level. There are some pretty awesome challenges in building a program like this from the ground up, but I am looking forward to it. That's just another aspect of the competition – you want to find the best people available and you're competing with all the other teams out there. We're starting to look at who the best people are and working on getting them to be a part of our team."

Moss is a ten year veteran in the National Football League and was a first-round draft pick in the 1998 draft out of Marshall University.  He has been a NASCAR fan for several years including sponsorship of a local dirt track program and recently made the decision to get involved with the ownership of a NASCAR team.  He is also a Goodwill Ambassador for the Urban Youth Racing School and furthers his youth advocacy while holding the same honor with American Youth Football. A major component of the Moss Motorsports program will be the continued involvement and support of youth programs.

"There are a lot of NASCAR fans in the locker room," Moss said. "We've seen a lot of football players get involved – guys like Dan Marino and Troy Aikman to name a couple. I think it's a good fit and gives some of the companies I am already working with an additional outlet. It's a smart move on the marketing side of things but on the personal side of things I think it's going to be a lot of fun."

Randy has kick started his efforts by contracting with Integrity Sports Marketing, LLC – a leading motorsports marketing company in NASCAR.   "We know it takes time to build a team from the ground up, and we have some good people working with us to get that process started," Moss said. "We are talking to the manufacturers, and we're already evaluating some drivers. Eventually I'd like to be able to have our team work with some of the young guys that are working hard to make it up the ladder, but right now it might make more sense to find a driver with a lot of experience to get us started. But we really don't have anyone in mind. We'll look at who is available and find someone that can help us compete and win as quickly as we can."

Moss believes Moss Motorsports will give his current marketing partners another avenue to gain exposure and will open doors for new companies that want to work with him.

"The companies I already work with now have a chance to get some exposure to another group of dedicated sports fans," Moss said. "And we'll have an opportunity to build some relationships with an entirely new group of companies as well. We'll have a chance to do some pretty cool things between the football side and the racing side. That's a part of the equation that most of the other teams don't have, so we already have a competitive advantage over them. Once we get everything in place we look forward to competing on the race track too."

CREDIT: NASCAR PR 

FRANCHITTI RE-EVALUATED; SCHRADER TO DRIVE NO. 40 DODGE AT RICHMOND

CONCORD, N.C. (April 29, 2008)-Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates (CGRFS) driver Dario Franchitti was re-evaluated this week by his doctors and will sit out this weekend’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) race at Richmond International Raceway (RIR).  NASCAR veteran Ken Schrader will drive the No. 40 Kennametal Dodge on Saturday for the 400-lap event.

Franchitti was seen by Dr. Terry Trammel and Dr. Kevin Scheid in Indianapolis, Ind. on Monday.  The doctors confirmed the slight fracture in Franchitti’s left ankle.  Franchitti will be fitted for a carbon fiber brace later this week.  His status behind the wheel of the No. 40 Dodge will be evaluated on a week-to-week basis.

Schrader is confirmed to race for CGRFS in Richmond only.  Franchitti will also be in Richmond with the No. 40 team.

CREDIT: TEAM PR