Mr. Excitement Back in the Saddle!

Well, sort of. Full time Truck, part time Busch and Cup rides, television on the horizon!

Spencer signs Truck Series deal with Ultra
Cup veteran will pilot No. 1 Dodge; Musgrave to drive No. 2
By Dave Rodman, NASCAR.COM
January 6, 2005
11:26 AM EST (16:26 GMT)


NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series team owner Jim Smith is mixing up his lineup in 2005 -- including hiring Nextel Cup veteran Jimmy Spencer to drive one of his Dodge Rams.

Smith has named Spencer, 47, to drive the No. 1 Mopar Dodge that's been driven for the past four seasons by perennial championship contender Ted Musgrave.

Musgrave, 49, will drive the No. 2 Team ASE Dodge in his fifth season for Ultra Motorsports, after scoring 15 victories and never finishing lower than third in the championship.

"Obviously, I'm very excited to have Jimmy Spencer in our second truck (because) he's had a good association with us and he's won a race with us in just a couple starts," Smith said. "He and Ted Musgrave will make an excellent one-two combination."

Spencer says his 2005 season in NASCAR racing will be "the busiest I've ever been," as the Pennsylvania veteran will race in all three of NASCAR's national touring series in addition to having a television role.

The Berwick, Pa., native's primary ride will be in the truck that Smith says will start the season in the same Mopar colors it has worn for the past several years.

"We're working on some additional sponsorship and the look of that truck may change if it comes through," Smith said, explaining that the swap was simply a change of pace as well as a reunion for he and Spencer, who drove Smith's Cup cars in 2003.

"Ron Weiner has been with the Truck Series forever," Smith said of the president of ASE. "He deserves a championship and we're just looking to change his luck."

Spencer says he's ready for the opportunity.

"I've got a full-time deal driving one of Ultra Motorsports' trucks and it's a pretty neat deal," Spencer said. "That team has a good history and I'm pretty excited about running for the championship for a team I've already won a race for.

"I'm looking forward to getting into a competitive truck and having Teddy (Musgrave) as a partner, and I've always respected Gene Nead (Musrave's chief mechanic) as a crew chief."

Spencer, who won in Ultra's No. 2 Dodge in 2003 at New Hampshire, said Ultra Motorsports would hire a crew chief to work with his operation.

Spencer said he also has a deal with new NASCAR owner Don Arnold to run a limited schedule of Nextel Cup Series races in Arnold's cars, which were No. 50 Dodges in 2004, dependent on the sponsorship package Arnold puts in place.

"Don (Arnold) is just a good guy and he's done a lot in a short amount of time," Spencer said of the owner who scored two victories with driver Todd Bodine with a startup Toyota Truck Series team last season. "He is looking to run fewer (Cup) races but to be more competitive and more prepared when we show up at the racetrack."

Arnold fielded cars in the first 12 races of 2004 for Derrike Cope and then skipped only one of the last 24 events, using four other drivers. The season finale at Homestead was the only race the team missed in 35 qualifying attempts.

Spencer will also compete in some 2005 Busch Series events in Michael Waltrip's cars.

Spencer said he also hopes to announce a deal that will have him on television this year, as well. And he is trying to put together a sponsorship program to field his own Busch car from his Spencer Motor Ventures shop.

"I'm really excited about this season -- I'm really looking forward to it," Spencer said. "All I've done my whole life is race."

Spencer has raced in NASCAR for more than 20 years. He scored two Modified championships, in 1986 and 1987, and has won races in all three of NASCAR's national tours -- one of nine drivers who have accomplished that feat.

Spencer is scheduled to test his truck ride later this month at Daytona, but said that Arnold would skip Speedweeks due to budget constraints.

"I'm going to miss it," Spencer said of trying to make the Daytona 500. "But if this TV deal comes through, that will be a good thing."

 

oh hell yeah...If jimmy cant drive he should be on tv. NBC would be worth watching if he was in the booth. Id rather see him in a good car on the track though.

 

Me too, I have a feeling he's gonna run real well on Fridays.

 

hope he is in something fast enough to at least cause a wreck. that 4 car sucked balls.

 

He's not on Sundays, but he's in Musgrave's truck from last year. That will be very fast.

 

I guess they are still racing truck? I haven't seen a truck race in years.