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September 18, 2006
Everybody but Steve Park Gets a BDR Truck Ride
Or at least that's what it seems like. Apparently Bill Davis Racing has signed former World of Outlaws champion Tyler Walker to race full-time in the #36 360 OTC truck next season. There's not been an official announcement yet, but there's an item about it on Jayski's with a confirmation from someone from 360 OTC on the Jeremy Mayfield forum on the 360 OTC site. I've said before that I suspected that there was more to the story than Nascar just not approving the sponsor that was to be on Steve's truck and now as things have evolved I think that may be the case even more. It may very well be that as time went on and BDR couldn't get things done with Steve and whoever his sponsor(s) were to be, as opportunities came up to work with A.J. Allmindinger, and now Tyler Walker, particularly since he has a full sponsorship for next season, BDR simply decided to go in another direction that they felt would be more fruitful for them. When it comes down to it, as much as BDR might like Steve, given their lack of sponsorship issues in the truck series, BDR is going to go with the drivers who they feel can help them get and keep sponsors, as well as who they think can be the most successful for them. Steve's fans think that he's the best of the best, but BDR might think otherwise, particularly in light of his less than impressive results this season.
I'm sure a lot of fans are going to be pretty upset about this, but I can completely understand why BDR might opt to go in another direction. Sponsors rule the the roost in Nascar and since 360 OTC is handing over a lot of money to sponsor the #36 Cup car, I can see why BDR would want to do whatever they can to make them happy, including opting not to field a truck for Steve so they can field one for Tyler Walker. I do think that if 360 OTC was willing to sponsor Jeremy, who isn't exactly a spring chicken in Nascar terms at almost 40 years old, Steve might be a good fit for their brand as well. But perhaps 360 OTC, and BDR, wanted to be involved with developing a young driver. After all, every other driver at BDR is considered "old" by many in Nascar. So I can't blame BDR for possibly wanting to get a young guy in the mix.
Posted by silverdsl at September 18, 2006 08:41 AM