The Spin Out Zone – General Motors/Pontiac Gets Bumped & Special Quick

Hold on – here is the bump and the SPIN OUT!

Dearest Wife, put away the "honey do list", CAUSE IT’S A BRISTOL
WEEKEND!

QUICK BUMPS

KENNY WALLACE – Kenny, when you were 100% dedicated to Busch Series
racing, you looked like you were going to be unstoppable. Funny how commercials,
appearances and flirting with Winston Cup racing takes you right out of the mix!

TNT – I guess if you are a sponsor looking to maximize your marketing
dollar, just hire Wally Dallenbach. I have never seen so much exposure for a
14th place car as I did on Saturday when NBC/TNT’s Wally Dallenbach drove the #6
Pepsi Dodge. I think Pepsi saw more airtime than the winning car sponsored by
Aaron’s.

DAVE RODMAN – One of NASCAR.com’s famous columnists said in a recent
Track Smack article about the young guns: "These young snot-bags are
self-centered to a fault. It’s all "me," with no regard for what their
actions mean to their teams’ fortunes."

What? DAVE excuse me but you might want to take a look in the mirror! Plus,
calling Jimmy Johnson, Ryan Newman, Kurt Busch and Casey Atwood
"snot-bags" might just limit your ability to be the NASCAR politically
correct guy you are. These "self-centered" guys who happen to be the
FUTURE of the sport might just stay away from you, the same way YOU stay away
from some of us OPINION columnist.

xTHE SPIN OUT!

If you are among the many hundreds or even thousands of PONTIAC fans, I am
sure your head is hanging low moving forward through the rest of the 2002
Winston Cup Season. NOT even the sleek new 2003 PONTIAC will save this
manufacturer from facing a slow and I mean very slow manufacturer’s death.

Joe Gibbs Racing with drivers Bobby Labonte and Tony Stewart have announced
they will be moving to Chevrolet for 2003. Good news for Chevrolet, however it’s
no secret that Joe Gibbs Racing kept PONTIAC in Winston Cup business. Since
1998, Joe Gibbs Racing has accounted for 29 of the 31 PONTIAC wins. The other 2
wins came from Ward Burton in 2000 and John Andretti in 1999, however both
Burton and Andretti now drive a Dodge.

The other PONTIAC teams have seen little to no success running in Winston
Cup. Johnny Benson and MBV Motorsports will be the PONTIAC favorite moving into
2003. But, Johnny still has not found Victory Lane in his many years of Winston
Cup racing. His teammate, Ken Schrader has lost his sponsorship for 2003 and the
#36 PONTIAC may not even be around next year.

A.J. Foyt owner of Foyt Racing and the #14 Conseco PONTIAC is having his own
problems. His sponsor is having financial difficulties and could be facing
bankruptcy. To add to his challenges, he has not found a driver that can compete
with his equipment. If the sponsorship leaves, he may be done.

Then in an effort to say above the water, PONTIAC has signed Ricky Craven and
PPI Motorsports to run the #32 Tide PONTIAC in 2003. Coming over from the Ford
stable, rumor has it that Ricky is not happy, but certainly PPI and Ricky will
see some GREEN from PONTIAC. Unfortunately, Ricky or PPI has not seen the
success that the departing Joe Gibbs Racing team has seen over the past years,
further more giving PONTIAC even less hope for future wins. But, to the credit
of PONTIAC this is a GREAT STEAL from Ford.

Now, lingering on the grapevine is the rumor that the #4 Kodak Chevrolet
driven by Mike Skinner and owned by Morgan-McClure will make a move over to
PONTIAC. My personal feelings is that GM is making an effort to prolong
PONTIAC’S life in Winston Cup racing by basically making a manufacturer TRADE.
Who else does GM have to trade for GIBBS? RCR, DEI, Hendrick – I DON’T THINK SO!

Andy Petree Racing is rumored to be heading over to Ford, so this leaves YES
– Morgan-McClure! Could this be the shot in the arm to replace Joe Gibbs Racing?
Again, I DON’T THINK SO!

To be frank, the future of PONTIAC is down right lousy! We will start to see
the doors opening for another manufacturer, perhaps Toyota and with GM
supporting mostly Chevrolet they will be able to throw more money into
advertising, sponsorships and driver bonuses which in the long run isn’t so bad.

PONTIAC as we know it today will soon meet the NASCAR history book as Dodge
once did unless someone can save the day. As I see it there is no LONE RANGER
willing to go out on a limb so PONTIAC’S survival is slim.

This weeks SPIN OUT goes to – GENERAL MOTORS & PONTIAC! SPIN OUT Proverb
says – don’t base life on false hope or it will cause mistrust within the
family. How’s the family GM?

Until next week, happy bumping!