Donlavey done after Daytona?

Junie Donlavey is on the brink of closing his 52-year old NASCAR Winston Cup team after sponsors CF Sauer's/Duke Mayonnaise elected not to renew their half-season sponsorship deal.

NASCAR's longest serving team owner, W.C 'Junie' Donlavey could be forced to lose his all-Virginia Winston Cup team following July's Pepsi 400 at the Daytona International Speedway due to a lack of sponsorship.

Donlavey, who began the year fielding the #90 Ford Taurus for veteran Rick Mast, secured funding from Virginia based company CF Sauer's, who put their Duke's Mayonnaise brand on the hood of the cars giving Donlavey the all-Virginia team/driver/sponsor combination he had always craved.

However the team's performance was not strong and Mast failed to qualify for the Daytona 500 before notching a succession of mid-30's finishes and then left the team after Richmond with a mystery debilitating weight-loss problem.

Hermie Sadler took over for the Coca Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway and travelled with the team to Pocono before journeyman Gary Bradberry drove to a 43rd place finish at Michigan last weekend.

However prior to the Pocono event CF Sauer's decided against continuing their relationship with the team following a second unsuccessful sojourn into the Winston Cup in the last two years. In 2001 the team back Eel River Racing shortly before that team folded.

Donlavey kept the Duke's stickers on the car at Michigan and has stated his intent on entering the car at Daytona but beyond that the WWII veteran hasn't committed to anything without the aid of a sponsor. The #90 team is not travelling to Sears Point this weekend where in past years they have hired a road course specialist to try and gain some valuable owner' points.