Auto Racing

Stricklin sitting pretty

By Jimmy Creed
10-15-2001

TALLADEGA
Despite currently standing 40th in the Winston Cup points chase, Hut Stricklin is still a driver in good position as this NASCAR season winds down.
Unlike many of his competitors � including some with much rosier racing resumes� � Stricklin has a check-book-toting sponsor lined up for the 2002 season. Now, it�s just a question of which Winston Cup team will paint the Hills Bros. Coffee red-and-gold on its car next year.
Hills Bros. announced this week it will part ways with veteran NASCAR owner Junie Donlavey after this season, and Stricklin confirms the company is in negotiations with at least four teams looking for sponsorship for next season. The message to those teams?
Any deal with Hills Bros. is a package that includes Stricklin as driver.
It�s a unique situation in a silly season made even sillier by shrinking sponsorship dollars.
�In years past, I might have had a little bit of say so somewhat as to where I wanted to go, but this is a little different,� said Stricklin, who tested at Talladega Superspeedway last week in preparation for Sunday�s EA Sports 500. �I really have to work with the sponsor here in this situation and go to wherever we can sell the most coffee. Wherever that is, that�s where I want to go.
�And being able to do that, I think that�ll be somewhere we can run up front week in and week out.�
With Hills Bros.� backing, Stricklin is considered a serious contender to replace Joe Nemechek in Andy Petree�s No. 33 Chevy. Petree has been seeking sponsorship for that team almost all season after Oakwood Homes announced it was pulling out after 2001.
Stricklin confirmed that Hills Bros. has also talked with Cal Wells about the No. 96 team that lost McDonald�s as its primary sponsor and ran its last race of the season two weeks ago at Kansas. Stricklin may also be in the mix for the No. 93 car of Bill Davis and several others.
Whichever team he joins, Stricklin said, he wants it to be a winner.
�I just want to get where I can win races and run up front,� the 14-year veteran said. �I feel like I have the experience now to do that, and I know most all the racetracks we go to really well. We�ve just got to get into the right situation and, hopefully, next year we can do that.�
The parting with Donlavey is not the breakup of a bad marriage. Stricklin and Hills Bros. officials want to make that quite clear.
�Our experience with Donlavey Racing during the past two seasons has been every bit as exciting as we thought it would be,� Hills Bros. Coffee President and CEO Henk de Back said this week. �We are honored to have had a chance to work with him, and we wish his team continued success.�
It basically boiled down to the fact that Hills Bros. felt it was important to move its racing operation to the Charlotte, N.C., area. Donlavey didn�t want to leave his Richmond, Va., home base. Also, they�re hoping to join forces with a team that has a better superspeedway program, Stricklin said.
�There�s not any hard feelings,� Stricklin said. �Junie Donlavey has been a great owner for me. I�ve really enjoyed driving for him. But it�s just a situation where I want to try to step up and take my career to the next level and, hopefully, we can.�
So Stricklin may have started only 19 of 29 races this season and recorded only one Top 10 finish, but he�s still feeling pretty good.
�It feels real good, actually,� Stricklin said. �I�m not just a driver out there looking for a ride without something. I guess it�s a good problem, if you�ve got to go ride hunting. It�s reassuring to know that you�re going to have something.�