Hooters to make Winston Cup return at Daytona
By Tim Packman, Turner Sports Interactive
January 29, 2002
5:45 PM EST (2245 GMT)
CONCORD, N.C. -- After a seven-year hiatus from the NASCAR Winston Cup ranks, the orange and white Hooters Restaurant paint scheme will return in 2002.
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Alan Kulwicki's 1992 championship Hooters ride
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Stan Hover is set to field a car for crew chief-turned-driver Kirk Shelmerdine during Speedweeks at Daytona next month. The No. 80 Ford will look similar to the one the late Alan Kulwicki drove to a championship in 1992.
"As of right now, Hooters is going to sponsor us during Speedweeks and then we're going to talk from there," Hover said. "It's pretty cool to put this deal together and get them to come back into to the sport after a long absence. Considering they had that championship with Kulwicki and all, we're real excited about this.
"From what I understand, the cars are going to be painted a lot like they were before. Hooters just wanted to have some fun and they figure Daytona was the place to start."
This isn’t a start for Shelmerdine; he’s been around the NASCAR circuit for a while. He began his racing career at age 19 as a mechanic for James Hylton in 1976. One year later, he became his crew chief.
He made a name for himself leading Dale Earnhardt to four of his seven championships working for Richard Childress Racing. In 1992, after 46 victories and four Unocal Pit Crew Challenge championships, he left RCR to pursue his own racing career.
Shelmerdine has competed mostly in the ARCA ranks the last few years, but may be stepping into a Busch Series ride this year. Hover said that Shelmerdine is his driver for Speedweeks and, to the best of his knowledge, will drive the No. 49 Chevrolet for Jay Robinson if they can put a Busch deal together.
Look for Andy Hillenburg to take over any more driving duties for Hover if the team enters any more races.
"I've owned cars for 10 years and had a few make the Daytona 500," Hover said. "After we get done in Daytona, I may get Andy to run some Busch races for me. We're kind of working on all that now."
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