Robert Yates Racing and Newman-Haas Racing will reveal on Friday its plans to merge, a source close to the situation confirmed. Actor Paul Newman, an avid racer and long-time team owner in open-wheel racing, and partner Carl Haas own the team currently leading the Champ Car series with driver Sebastien Bourdais, a three-time champion in the series. Yates last month at New Hampshire International said he had personally abandoned pursuit of a business partner, saying he had no debts and didn’t need to get into a more pressure-packed situation answering to a partner’s business demands.
Bill Elliott and Wood Brothers/JTG Racing will be the benefactors of the Dale Earnhardt Inc. merger with Ginn Racing. When the two teams merged on Wednesday, the organization opted to eliminate the No. 13 entry, which was 34th in the owner standings and, therefore, had a guaranteed starting position in the race. When that team fails to attempt to qualify this weekend, the No. 21 will make the field for the Allstate 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Dale Earnhardt Incorporated is absorbing Ginn Racing, making it a four-car team in time for this weekend’s race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The deal, set to be announced Wednesday morning, was confirmed to The Associated Press Tuesday night by a person familiar with the deal who requested anonymity because an official announcement had yet to be made. DEI will immediately add the No. 01 Chevrolet, which is co-driven by Mark Martin and rookie Aric Almirola, and take the season points from Ginn’s No. 14 team and apply it to DEI ’s No. 15 entry of Paul Menard. Ginn will be listed as the owner of both the No. 01 and the No. 15, the source said. DEI will continue to run Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the No. 8 and Martin Truex Jr. in the No. 1, both owned by Teresa Earnhardt.
Dale Earnhardt Inc. and Ginn Racing are working on a merger agreement that, if finalized, would meld the two NASCAR organizations into a single company, multiple sources close to negotiations told ESPN.com on Monday. The deal is not done, but a decision will be made soon. Both organizations hope, sources said, to firm up outstanding details and announce a partnership immediately. This deal is an elaborate proposition that entails several obstacles, including how best to reduce from six Nextel Cup teams to the maximum four. The obvious answer would be to eliminate Ginn’s Nos. 13 and 14 teams.
Ginn Racing CEO Jay Frye said Sunday at Chicagoland Speedway that he expects to have the company shored up by the next Nextel Cup race, set for July 29 in Indianapolis. There is no question, Frye said, that Ginn is avidly searching for the best possible way to make the team competitive for 2008, including more Nextel Cup seat time for Regan Smith in either the No. 13 or No. 14 Chevrolet.
Regan Smith will replace Sterling Marlin in the No. 14 Chevrolet at Ginn Racing, starting with the Allstate 400 at Indianapolis on July 29, sources confirmed Tuesday. And Joe Nemechek could be out of a ride in the No. 13 Chevy for Bobby Ginn’s team due to a lack of sponsorship. The team doesn’t plan to run the car at Indianapolis unless a sponsor is found. Because the Allstate 400 is one of the biggest Nextel Cup events of the season, it’s possible to get a one-off sponsor deal just for that race. If that happens, Ginn officials would race Nemechek in the No. 13 Monte Carlo. Marlin and Nemechek still are under contract at Ginn, but both drivers have been told they are free to look for opportunities elsewhere.
Aric Almirola is set to join Ginn Racing next season to split the 2008 season in the organization’s No. 01 Chevrolet team with veteran Mark Martin, the Observer has learned. Almirola, a 23-year-old Tampa native, is currently a development driver for Joe Gibbs Racing. It remains unclear how that status will be resolved. Almirola will split the No. 01 as well as run several Busch and perhaps Automobile Racing Club of America races as well in preparation to a fulltime move to Cup in 2009, multiple sources said.
Hendrick Motorsports announced that long-term contractual commitments to existing sponsors will preclude Budweiser from continuing as primary sponsor of the car driven by Dale Earnhardt Jr. when he joins the organization next season. No timetable has been established for an announcement.
ESPN.com is reporting that Budweiser officials are shopping around for their best sponsorship option in NASCAR, a clear indication that the beer company will not sponsor Dale Earnhardt Jr. at Hendrick Motorsports next season, sources confirmed Tuesday. It’s expected that PepsiCo Inc., possibly with the Mountain Dew brand or a combination of Pepsi products, will sponsor Earnhardt next season in the No. 5 Chevrolet for Hendrick. And Anheuser-Busch is negotiating with Evernham Motorsports to possibly move the Bud sponsorship to Kasey Kahne’s No. 9 Dodge next season.
Budweiser officials also have contacted officials at Lowe’s Motor Speedway about the possibility of holding a news conference at the Lowe’s Speedway Club next week if a new team sponsorship agreement is reached. An Evernham Motorsports official said Tuesday that no agreement has been reached with Budweiser and that the Evernham marketing department was talking to several other companies about potential sponsorships for 2008. Team owner Ray Evernham has an agreement with Dodge, through the Dodge Dealers, to sponsor both Kahne’s car and the No. 19 Dodge of Elliott Sadler through 2010. The Dodge dealers would have to sign off on any deal to allow Budweiser to move to Kahne’s car.
Continue reading Budweiser Looking To Sponsor Another Driver In 2008
Dale Earnhardt Inc. is looking to expand its Nextel Cup operation and has inquired about acquiring an existing team. DEI vice president John Story said Monday the purchase of a team in the top 35 of car owner points would be used to shore up DEI’s No. 15 team driven by Paul Menard. Menard is 39th in owner points and has failed to qualify for six races. The top 35 teams are guaranteed spots in a 43-car Cup field. Story declined to name teams with which DEI has talked, but multiple sources confirmed Ginn Racing’s team driven by Joe Nemechek is the prime target. The No. 13 Chevrolet, which is not fully sponsored, is 33rd in owner points and Ginn has had some financial difficulties this season.
Kyle Busch has been in talks with Richard Childress Racing about driving in the Busch Series in 2008, which probably means RCR would be the front runner for Busch in a Cup Series ride.