Rumors are circulating that a Best Buy sponsorship is a done deal to Gillett Evernham Motorsports No. 19 team and driver Elliott Sadler, who supposedly made a commercial for Best Buy already.
Former Champ Car star Patrick Carpentier signed with Gillett Evernham Motorsports on Wednesday to drive the No. 10 Dodge. Carpentier is replacing Scott Riggs, who is leaving to drive for Haas CNC Racing next season. He’ll step into a team that was founded by Ray Evernham, who turned over majority ownership to the Gillett family this summer. Carpentier becomes the latest open-wheel driver to jump to NASCAR, and will join a Dodge camp that already has Juan Pablo Montoya and Dario Franchitti in Avengers for next season. Former Formula One world champion Jacques Villeneuve will drive a Toyota next season, and Scott Speed will race a Toyota in the ARCA Series. Carpentier has driven in only one Nextel Cup race and two Busch Series events, all on road courses. He made his Nextel Cup debut in August driving the No. 10 for Riggs at Watkins Glen, where he led seven laps and finished 22nd. He also raced in the Busch Series event in Montreal, where he won the pole, led 14 laps and finished second.
Budweiser announced Gillett Evernham Motorsports driver Kasey Kahne will become the next world-class racer to take the wheel of the iconic red Budweiser car when the 2008 Sprint Cup season kicks off in February. “Budweiser has a long and storied history with NASCAR and some of its most successful drivers. We’re excited about Kasey’s ability to add to that outstanding lineage,” said Tony Ponturo, vice president, global media and sports marketing, Anheuser-Busch Inc. “Along with team owners George Gillett and Ray Evernham, we feel the pieces are in place for the No. 9 Budweiser Dodge to contend for NASCAR Sprint Cup championships for years to come.”
On Tuesday, Gillett Evernham Motorsports has set a news conference to announce the primary sponsor for Kasey Kahne’s Dodges for 2008. Numerous sources and published reports have said that Budweiser will move to Kahne’s team after being on Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s No.. 8 Chevrolets.
Evernham Motorsports is expected to announce George Gillett Jr. as its new majority owner as early as today. Ray Evernham said Saturday that the deal is in place. Evernham said he’s willing to surrender control of his operation to bring in Gillett’s business acumen. The move will enable Evernham to refocus his energies on his strength, the competition side of the industry. Evernham, who currently fields cars for Kasey Kahne, Elliott Sadler and Scott Riggs, said he expected to make multiple major announcements this week, fueling speculation that Budweiser could be coming aboard as a sponsor in 2008.
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
Ray Evernham has signed a letter of intent to sell Evernham Motorsports to George Gillette, sources say. Gillette is going through the due diligence process, which should take 60 to 90 days. Gillette, who also owns the NHL’s Montreal Canadiens and Liverpool of the English Premier Soccer League, would become majority owner if the agreement is finalized. Evernham would remain to run the team under a management contract.