BAM Racing takes ‘sabbatical’
SCENE ON THE CIRCUIT
BAM Racing hoped to see an improvement this month when it changed from Dodge to Toyota, but it appears the team will have to wait to see the results.
The single-car team has temporarily suspended its racing schedule, but hopes to resume racing this fall. As a result, driver Ken Schrader has moved to the No. 70 Haas CNC Racing car for the April 27 race at Talladega.
While BAM is going on what it called a “sabbatical,” Schrader landed in the car previously driven by Jeremy Mayfield. Mayfield was released after seven races, and the No. 70 Chevy was driven by Johnny Sauter April 12 at Phoenix.
The entry will carry sponsorship from Hunt Brothers Pizza at Talladega and team officials have said that no decision regarding a driver for the remainder of the season had been made.
The other team in flux is BAM, which skipped races at Texas and Phoenix but hoped to be back at Talladega. The team debuted a Toyota at Martinsville, where Schrader qualified seventh – the team’s best qualifying run since early last year. BAM Racing also debuted a new sponsor, Microsoft Small Business, at Martinsville.
Team owner Beth Ann Morgenthau said in a statement the team has every intention of returning to the Cup series in ’08, but not until sponsorship is in place. Morgenthau called the manufacturer switch “a strong testament to our focus and commitment to become more competitive.”
With BAM having suspended its racing schedule, that leaves only 46 full-time teams on the Cup circuit.
“The uncertain economic times affecting our sponsor are affecting sponsorships throughout NASCAR and are having a winnowing effect on the number of teams showing up each week to compete,” Morgenthau said. “We are confident that with the decreasing numbers of teams, with the competitive cars we produce and with the horsepower Toyota engines provide, we will be able to step back into competition effectively and successfully on short notice – and we are making every effort to make our sabbatical as short as possible.”
