Joe Gibbs Racing has scheduled a news conference for Wednesday and several published reports say the team will announce it has signed a deal to field Toyotas in the Nextel Cup series. The reports, citing unidentified sources, said JGR will end its 16-year relationship with General Motors and give Toyota its first big name team in Cup. Team officials refused comment on the report Thursday but did confirm the news conference and that drivers Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin are expected to be at the announcement.
J.J. Yeley, Nextel Cup’s latest free agent, has said he is in conversation with four teams, which he would not disclose, but Robert Yates Racing president Doug Yates is happy to report his team is extremely interested in hiring Yeley. Yeley will not return to Joe Gibbs Racing after this season. Kyle Busch will drive the No. 18 that Yeley, in his final year of a contract, is vacating.
RYR will have a vacancy now that veteran Ricky Rudd has announced he is retiring from full-time Cup racing after this season. David Gilliland also drives for RYR. Yates said there is no timetable to get a deal done. He said he is convinced that with the right team chemistry, Yeley can succeed. Yeley currently is 20th in points, while his JGR teammates, Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin, are firmly in the Chase.
Dale Earnhardt Inc. has reached a verbal agreement with Regan Smith to drive the No. 01 in the Nextel Cup series next season, a NASCAR source told ESPN.com on Wednesday. Smith will fill the car driven this season by Mark Martin and Aric Almirola, who will split the 2008 season in the No. 8 currently being driven by Dale Earnhardt Jr. He will have a one-year deal with an option for a second year.
An official announcement of the entire DEI lineup with sponsor plans is expected next weekend at Richmond International Raceway. Smith, splitting time with Martin, drove the No. 01 in six Cup races this season for Ginn Racing before its merger with DEI. His best start was 10th at Watkins Glenn and best finish was 24th at Talladega.
NASCAR’s negotiations with Subway to title sponsor its No. 2 series have hit the skids, sources say, and the sanctioning body has spent the past few weeks revisiting many of the brands that initially turned down the sponsorship. KFC, Dunkin’ Donuts and Allstate, each of which had been contenders for the sponsorship earlier in the process, are among the companies NASCAR has approached in the past several weeks as it tries to replace Anheuser-Busch. A-B sponsored the Busch Series for 25 years before deciding to make this its final season.
Subway, which was considered the frontrunner 30 to 60 days ago, remains in talks with NASCAR, but industry insiders no longer characterize Subway as the favorite. Sources say category exclusivity has been a primary obstacle as Subway and NASCAR try to resurrect their deal. Exclusivity has dominated the news this season with AT&T’s lawsuit against NASCAR and Cup series sponsor Sprint Nextel, which joined the lawsuit as a co-defendant, as well as an earlier turf war between Sunoco and Shell. Exclusivity emerged as a major sticking point in Subway’s negotiations because of the broad quick-service restaurant category. Arby’s, McDonald’s, Jimmy John’s and Domino’s are among the team sponsors already involved in the Busch Series.
SPEED’s Bob Dilner reported that Robert Yates Racing has asked NASCAR if they could transfer the No. 38 to Hendrick Motorsports in 2008 for Dale Eanrhardt Jr. to use, the No. 3 in honor of his father. The late Dale Earnhardt who ran the No. 3 a few races in 1981 and then from 1984 until the 2001 Daytona 500 and won 6 of his 7 championships using No. 3. No word what number David Gilliland would switch to, but RYR still has the license on the No. 28, last used in 2002 with Ricky Rudd and has used the No. 90 in the past.
1997 Formula 1 World Driving Champion and 1995 Indianapolis 500 winner Jacques Villeneuve will replace No. 36-Jeremy Mayfield next year in a Bill Davis Racing Nextel Cup Toyota. Team General Manager Mike Brown said over the next six weeks, Villeneuve will undergo an intensive testing program that will include seat time in a Craftsman Truck Series entry and possibly an ARCA car at Talladega Superspeedway in October.
The Charlotte Observer is reporting that Nextel Cup Series veteran Mark Martin and rookie Aric Almirola will become the drivers of Dale Earnhardt Inc.’s No. 8 Chevrolet next season, the Observer has learned. Martin and Almirola, who drive the No. 01 that was acquired by DEI through a merger with Ginn Racing earlier this season, are also expected to be joined by sponsor Army next season in the No. 8, multiple sources said Thursday.
NASCAR expects the AT&T logos to be removed from the No. 31 Richard Childress Racing car for the Nextel Cup events this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway. The U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a mandate Tuesday that its decision to be followed that NASCAR is not legally required to allow the AT&T logos on the Jeff Burton car, NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston said Tuesday night.
Wood Brothers Racing team co-owner Eddie Wood said Saturday that for the near future, Bill Elliott will remain behind the wheel of the team’s No. 21 Ford Nextel Cup car and that his son, Jon Wood, will finish out the season in its Craftsman Truck Series entry. Elliott has driven for the team since it fell out of the top 35 in Nextel Cup owner points because his past champion’s provisional starting position have meant the team was assured of making races. He has gotten the team back to 35th in owner points, the final guaranteed spot in the field, but Eddie Wood said until the team is higher up in points, Elliott will be behind the wheel.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. blames his step-mother Teresa Earnhardt, the owner of Dale Earnhardt Inc., for not allowing the No. 8 to move with him to Hendrick Motorsports next season. “She either feels too personal about the number, or the rift between me and her is too personal,” Earnhardt Jr. said Saturday. “I’m not going to sit here and get personal about this. It’s upsetting as hell and unfortunate, but that’s just what happens sometimes.” Earnhardt Jr. said negotiations broke down when Teresa asked for part of the licensing revenue, along with wanting the number back after he retired. “Just ridiculous kind of requests,” Earnhardt Jr. said.
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