Mars U.S. was finalizing a deal Thursday to use its M&M’s brand to sponsor Kyle Busch when he moves to Joe Gibbs Racing next season. M&M’s would replace Interstate Batteries, which has sponsored Gibbs’ flagship No. 18 since its 1992 inception. J.D. Gibbs, president of the race team, didn’t respond to a request for comment. But two people familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press that Mars was working on a deal to sponsor Busch that will be officially announced next month at M&M’s World in New York City. They requested anonymity because the deal was not yet complete. The sponsorship would be a financial upgrade at JGR, which first partnered with Interstate 16 years ago. Interstate chairman Norm Miller is a close friend of Gibbs’, and Miller funded the No. 18 to help Gibbs launch what was then a single-car team. Bobby Labonte drove the car to a Cup championship in 2000. Interstate is expected to stay involved with JGR in a smaller role.
J.J. Yeley will replace Tony Raines at Hall of Fame Racing, allowing him to maintain his association with Joe Gibbs Racing. Yeley was scheduled to be introduced as the driver for the No. 96 car at a Tuesday news conference, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the announcement had not yet been made. Yeley won’t be far from Gibbs’ reach at Hall of Fame Racing, a single-car team that has a strong alliance with JGR. The team was launched in 2003 by an ownership group that included Hall of Fame quarterbacks Troy Aikman and Roger Staubach and relied heavily on support from Joe Gibbs.
Continue reading Hall Of Fame Racing Replacing Raines With Yeley
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.
Joe Gibbs Racing has signed 22-year-old Kyle Busch to drive for the No. 18 team in Nextel Cup beginning in 2008. Busch will take over for J.J. Yeley, current driver of the No. 18 Chevrolet, following the conclusion of the 2007 season. He’ll begin preseason testing as a teammate to two-time Nextel Cup champion Tony Stewart and 2006 Nextel Cup rookie of the year Denny Hamlin.
The 2008 season will mark Busch’s fourth full season in Nextel Cup. He currently competes for Hendrick Motorsports, where he ran a six-race schedule in 2004 before joining the series full time in 2005. Busch continues to showcase his skills in 2007. He currently sits eighth in points with a March win at Bristol Motor Speedway highlighting his five top-fives and 12 top-10s, and he appears poised to make a repeat appearance in this year’s Chase for the Nextel Cup.
With the rumors of Kyle Busch signing with Joe Gibbs Racing to drive the No. 18 Interstate Batteries Chevrolet, it has left many wonder about the future of J.J. Yeley. Yeley’s agent, Kyle Chapman, said there is currently no signed deal between his client and Wood Brothers/JTG Racing, and that Yeley is in discussion with a number of teams about possible rides for next season. But sources with knowledge of the situation say Yeley will indeed be out of the No. 18 next season, and behind the wheel of the No. 21 Ford.
ThatsRacin.com is reporting that Kyle Busch, who is leaving Hendrick Motorsports at the end of the season, signed a letter of intent last week to join Joe Gibbs Racing and drive its No. 18 Chevrolet beginning next season. Sources confirmed Busch would replace J.J. Yeley, who has struggled since moving full-time to the series in 2006. A letter of intent is not binding and Busch, 22, could still change his mind and sign with another team. Busch’s finalists were Joe Gibbs Racing. DEI and Chip Ganassi Racing.
Joe Gibbs Racing still hasn’t announced whether it will switch to Toyotas next year, but the buzz is that it will. Tony Stewart’s souvenir trailers were selling merchandise at 50% off regular price last week at the Brickyard, Stewart’s home track and a place where the Hoosier native is wildly popular.
A source at Richard Childress Racing said it has been approached by Hall of Fame Racing, a satellite Gibbs team, about buying engines from the newly merged RCR-Dale Earnhardt Inc., engine operation in 2008. Presumably, HOF is hedging its bets, if it ends up not being part of a Gibbs move to Toyota.
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.
Joe Gibbs Racing president J.D. Gibbs said Sunday that a published report the team has a “done deal” to switch to Toyota in 2008 is “just not true.” Gibbs said the three-car team is in negotiations with General Motors about next year’s contract to remain with Chevrolet. Gibbs also said the team has talked with Tony Stewart about extending the driver’s contract.
The Winston-Salem Journal is reporting that Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota are “a done deal” for 2008, though team executives said otherwise. Apparently one hangup in the talks between the long-time Chevy operation and Toyota is a clause in Gibbs’ current GM [Chevy] contract which bars the team from negotiating with any other manufacturer until the contract is up. So sources said Gibbs has had to go through an agent in the talks. Gibbs has a major negotiating session scheduled with General Motors in the next two weeks, which should provide the “yea,” or “nay” on that side of the issue.