Hendrick Motorsports is expected to announce Friday at Daytona International Speedway that Mark Martin will drive its No. 5 Sprint Cup Series Chevrolet next season. Hendrick Motorsports issued a media advisory Tuesday that it would conduct a news conference Friday afternoon at the track to announce who will replace Casey Mears in the No. 5 car. Martin has been talking with Hendrick Motorsports about driving full time or part time for the team next year and will be part of the announcement, sources confirm. Although Martin has said in previous weeks he wanted to continue with a partial schedule, sources indicated he might run a full season for Hendrick.
Tony Eury Jr. will leave Dale Earnhardt Inc. for Hendrick Motorsports earlier than expected, team officials confirmed on Thursday. Eury, who has been Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s car or crew chief for all but one season since the two broke into the Nextel Cup Series in 2000, will step down after the Oct. 7 race at Talladega Superspeedway. He will be allowed to take four members of Earnhardt’s No. 8 team with him under a deal made by DEI when it agreed to free him contractually to join Earnhardt at HMS in 2008. DEI vice president John Story said he met with Eury’s crew this week and only one person has mentioned leaving thus far. Eury and Earnhardt could work together for HMS as early as the Car of Tomorrow test at Atlanta Motor Speedway following the October 28 race.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. will be in the No. 88 Chevrolet when he moves to Hendrick Motorsports next season, the team announced Wednesday. Earnhardt’s car will be sponsored by Pepsi, with the company’s Mountain Dew soft drink and Amp Energy drink featured on the car. The National Guard will also be involved in the sponsorship. The No. 88 was retired by Robert Yates Racing, which asked NASCAR to transfer the number to Hendrick for Earnhardt.
“Ralph Earnhardt drove the No. 88 Oldsmobile in 1957 and because of this number’s history with the Earnhardt family, I felt car No. 88 should continue with Dale Earnhardt Jr.,” Robert Yates said in a statement. “Younger fans don’t realize I built cars and raced against Ralph. I also had a very close relationship with Dale Earnhardt Sr. I’m proud to transfer this number to Dale Jr.”
It is being reported that Dale Earnhardt Jr. will drive the No 88 next season. As for sponsorship, his Chevrolets will carry two different paint scemes. The first car is white from the nose back to just past the door, then green with the Mountain Dew logos. The second Chevrolet is white with blue and has National Guard decals with the No. 88 in red, both have AMP energy drink logos on them.
Dale Earnhardt Jr., of course, is moving from Dale Earnhardt Inc. to Hendrick Motorsports next year, and the final pieces of that puzzle will come together in Dallas, Texas. The Hendrick team has schedule a news conference on Wednesday to announce Earnhardt Jr.’s primary sponsor and to reveal the car number and paint scheme. Why Dallas? ESPN.com reported Thursday that there is a major meeting of Pepsi Cola Company executives there on Wednesday. That would jibe with sources who have told the Observer that Pepsi-owned Mountain Dew and Amp, an energy drink affiliated with the Mountain Dew brand, will be featured on Earnhardt Jr.’s cars.
Chevrolet, the winningest nameplate in NASCAR, will continue its partnership with championship team Hendrick Motorsports in NASCAR competition in 2008 and beyond. In 23 years (1984-2006) of NASCAR competition,
Hendrick Motorsports has garnered six Nextel Cup Series (formerly Winston Cup) championships, three Craftsman Truck Series titles and one Busch Series crown, making it one of stock-car racing’s premier organizations. Rick Hendrick is the only team owner in NASCAR’s modern era to earn more than 150 Cup Series victories and is currently at 160 Cup wins - all of them coming in Chevrolets. Hendrick Motorsports’ win at the first “Car of Tomorrow” race at Bristol earlier this year also earned Chevrolet its first Impala SS win and Chevy’s 600th win in NASCAR Cup competition.
The four full-time NASCAR Cup teams of Hendrick Motorsports slated to run in 2008 include four-time champion Jeff Gordon in the #24 DuPont Chevy; Jimmie Johnson in the #48 Lowe’s Chevy; Casey Mears in the #5 Kellogg’s/CARQUEST Chevy; and new addition Dale Earnhardt, Jr., who has only driven Chevrolets in his NASCAR career.
Casey Mears will drive the No. 5 Chevrolets for Hendrick Motorsports in the 2008 Sprint Cup Series, joining a team that secured its second consecutive Chase for the Nextel berth Sunday at California Speedway. In his first season with Hendrick Motorsports, Mears has notched one victory, a pole position, four top-five finishes and six top-10s through 25 races. The Bakersfield, Calif., native will complete the current schedule in the organization’s No. 25 Chevrolets before transitioning to the No. 5 team, which will continue to be sponsored by Kellogg’s and Carquest. The effort will be led by Alan Gustafson, 32, who has earned four wins, two poles, 25 top-five finishes and 45 top-10s since his first season as crew chief of the No. 5 Chevrolets in 2005. Only five Cup Series teams have posted more top-10 finishes during that span.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. indicated that his current Dale Earnhardt Inc crew chief, Tony Eury Jr., could be going with him to Hendrick. “We don’t have any announcement yet, but Tony Jr. is working in that direction,” Earnhardt Jr. said.
A decision is supposed to be made this weekend on Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s number and sponsor next year, but Earnhardt Jr. wouldn’t speculate Friday on specifics. Earnhardt Jr. said a decision is “real, real close,” and an announcement is a “couple weeks out.” Hendrick has applied for trademarks for five numbers: 38, 51, 58, 81 and 82. Earnhardt Jr. does have a couple of numbers he would like to use at Hendrick.
Doug Yates confirmed his team has been approached by a representative of Hendrick Motorsports about securing the No. 38 for Dale Earnhardt Jr. next year, but if Yates gets his way, there will be no such transfer. Earnhardt recently was denied the opportunity to take the No. 8 from Dale Earnhardt Inc. to Hendrick and now is considering other number options. The No. 38 currently is being used by David Gilliland. “Dale Jr., since he can’t have what he wants, he might want the 38,” said Yates, president Yates/Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing. “They’re asking for the 38, and the 38 and 88 are our numbers. It’s almost a little strange. It’s like somebody asking if they can take your girlfriend or your wife out. We feel we’re going to have the 38 and 88 [next year].”