The preliminary Nextel Cup entry list for Saturday's Sharpie 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway includes 48 teams and marks the return of driver Sterling Marlin. Marlin, a popular veteran and Tennessee native, returns to the track this weekend as the driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet. He has not driven since Ginn Racing sold his team's points to Dale Earnhardt Inc. as part of a merger, leaving Marlin without a team.
WTVF-TV Nashville reported at 6:00pm/et newscast that Sterling Marlin will drive the #78 Chevy at Bristol, Martinsville, Richmond, Dover and possibly Talladega. Marlin is also negotiating to drive the #78 for about half the 2008 season.(WTVF-TV Nashville)(8-21-2007)
Furniture Row Racing has a seat ready for Sterling Marlin
Marlin will try to qualify the No. 78 Chevrolet for Saturday night's Sharpie 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway as Furniture Row continues its search for a driver or two.
It's tough," Marlin said of qualifying. "I don't wish it on anybody to get in that position. One little slip and you go home. We'll go to Bristol, and the whole field will probably be within three-tenths of each other."
Marlin, who was in town last week to have a seat fitted, has been talking with FRR about possibly driving a second car next season if a sponsor can be found.
"They wanted me to run a second car for them, 15 to 18 races next year," Marlin said. "We talked about that. Then the deal came along with Kenny. They parted company."
Sterling Marlin again will be driving a Colorado-sponsored Cup car. Marlin drove the Coors Light Dodge for years, and he will try to qualify the No. 78 Chevrolet for Denver- based Furniture Row Racing this week at Bristol, Tenn. He recently spoke with Rocky NASCAR reporter Jim Benton.
- Biggest NASCAR achievement?
Probably winning the Daytona 500 (twice). That's what you want to win.
- If you change something about NASCAR today, what would it be?
NASCAR has some trouble with costs. It has just gotten so expensive for the teams. They've got to get it down to where more people can get in it. The COT might help, over time.
Dale Earnhardt Jr.has scheduled an 11 a.m. ET news conference at his JR Motorsports shop in Mooresville, N.C., during which he will announce his plans for next season, according to a team spokesman. Sources have indicated to NASCAR.COM that those plans center on Hendrick Motorsports, the most successful organization in Nextel Cup this season, with 10 race victories in 14 starts. Hendrick, with six total championships on NASCAR's premier series, would fit with Earnhardt's desires to drive for a contender and to continue to pilot Chevrolets. The Hendrick team also had ties to Earnhardt's late father, who shook down the first car the organization ever built, and was behind the wheel when team owner Rick Hendrick recorded his first NASCAR victory in a Busch race at Charlotte in 1983. Earnhardt Jr.'s car sponsor, Budweiser, also appeared on Hendrick cars in the mid-1990s.
Mike Davis, communications director for JR Motorsports, would confirm only that Wednesday's announcement concerned Earnhardt's plans for 2008 and beyond. A spokesman for Hendrick Motorsports declined to comment. Earnhardt and his manager, sister Kelley Earnhardt Elledge, have spoken with a number of unspecified team owners since the driver's impending departure from DEI was announced May 10. Three Chevy teams -- Hendrick, Richard Childress Racing, and Joe Gibbs Racing -- emerged as frontrunners, with Ginn Racing lurking as a dark horse. The contract of Hendrick driver Kyle Busch expires after the 2008 season, and The Associated Press reported Tuesday that Busch may have asked to be let out of his deal.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. officially will say goodbye to Dale Earnhardt Inc. on Thursday morning, Yahoo! Sports has learned. A highly placed source within DEI as well as additional sources familiar with the situation told Yahoo! Sports on Wednesday afternoon that both Junior and teammate Martin Truex Jr. will announce Thursday morning that they are leaving the DEI camp at the end of this season and will drive for Earnhardt's heretofore Busch Series operation, JR Motorsports. Sirius Radio also reported late Wednesday afternoon that the Earnhardt/Truex split with DEI was a done deal and that the new Cup team entry will field Chevrolet chassis built by Hendrick Motorsports and will use Hendrick engines as well.
Sources tell Yahoo! Sports that Earnhardt Jr.'s primary sponsor, Budweiser, will follow Junior to JR Motorsports. Budweiser's contract with DEI is due to expire at the end of 2008, but Yahoo! Sports sources believe there are provisions within the contract for an early exit if Earnhardt Jr. does not drive the No. 8 Chevrolet for DEI. The press conference, which is expected to be televised nationally, will take place at JR Motorsports headquarters in Mooresville, N.C., at 11 a.m. ET on Thursday.
Veteran racer finds new life and Nextel Cup points lead
Mark Martin is off to the best start of his racing career and for the first time since Sept. 22, 2002, the veteran is on top of the NASCAR world.
When informed that he was the points leader Sunday night, a humble, but happy Martin said, "That's really cool. This team is awesome. It's just great working with the guys on the U.S. Army team and the guys at Ginn Racing. We've had cars good enough to win in both of the first two races and that really says a lot about this organization and where it is going. We still have a long way to go, but we sure are off to a great start."
"It's really just been an awesome experience," added Martin. "I'm rolling and I'm having the time of my life." The plan is for Martin to run the next two races at Las Vegas and Atlanta, before giving way to rookie Regan Smith at the Bristol Race. Many question the validity of that plan given Martin's early success this season. One of the doubters is Martin's former teammate at Roush Racing -- Matt Kenseth, who is rumored to have a $200 bet that Martin will run a full season , rather than scale back.
Veteran Driver Looks for Renaissance Year with New Ginn Racing Team
After 30 years on the NASCAR Cup circuit, two-time Daytona 500 winner Sterling Marlin knows that things won't always be easy. So after a disappointing 2006 season with his No. 14 team, Marlin is looking for revitalization in 2007. And what better place to begin his latest journey than the famed 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway and the season-opening Daytona 500. One of only three drivers with back-to-back Daytona 500 wins, Marlin has collected 11 top-10 finishes in 24 starts in NASCAR's biggest race. Now, with Panasonic joining forces with Waste Management, his first full season with crew chief Richard "Slugger" Labbe, and with the addition of Mark Martin to the Ginn Racing driver lineup, Marlin talks about his expectations for 2007 and predicts an exciting year for the growing organization.
Q. There has been a lot of growth at Ginn Racing in the last six months. Talk about the changes and what it means to you as a driver.
Marlin: When Bobby (Ginn) purchased the team last year it was like he lifted a cloud that had been hanging over the organization. He came in and talked about the future and his five-year plan about becoming a successful team and really brought some excitement and confidence to everyone at the shop. It's amazing to have seen the amount of expansion that's taken place in such a short amount of time. Ginn Racing went from 60 to 160 people very quickly and I think we're going to be a force to be reckoned with each and every week.
Q. Last year didn't produce the kind of results that you'd hoped for in your inaugural season with Ginn Racing. What are you looking to achieve on the Nextel Cup circuit in 2007?
Marlin: We didn't get the results we hoped for last year for sure, but I think we made a lot of progress in our performances, especially toward the end of the season. The last few races after Slugger came on board, things really improved throughout race weekend and on the track on Sundays. We got caught up in a wreck something like seven of the last 10 races and we lost an engine in Homestead (Fla.), so luck had a lot to do with why improved results didn't match our improved performances.
This season our goal is to be competitive each week and consistently run in the top 10. We have to be fast on pit road and eliminate any problems we have control over, so that when we face a situation we don't have control of, we're in the best situation to handle it. I think if a team can find a way to do that then eventually they'll put themselves in a position to win a race, which we'd obviously love to do.
Q. What are your thoughts on heading to Daytona without an automatic berth into the Daytona 500?
Marlin: Unfortunately we weren't able to finish in the top-35 in owner points last year and that's really put us behind the eight ball for the first several races of the season. We have to come out of the box strong during the Daytona qualifying session and the Twin 150 races and be sure we secure a spot so we can show off this Waste Management/Panasonic Chevrolet. I think we have every reason to believe that we can make the race, we have good cars by themselves and also in traffic. So between the Budweiser Pole day and the Twin races, I think we have what it takes to get it done.
But it's definitely a little nerve wracking to not know that you'll be there for sure come race day. A lot of things can happen between now and next Sunday so we just have to take our time and not get ahead of ourselves and do the best we can.
Q. What do you think about the Car of Tomorrow?
Marlin: I haven't formed a solid opinion one way or another yet. I've only been in one a couple of times, and I wasn't the biggest fan. But when NASCAR changed the points system and added the Chase for the Nextel Cup, a lot of drivers weren't fans of it either. But soon enough people changed their minds and now I don't think people can imagine the sport without it.
So we'll see. No one is really going to know how the car will handle out in a big pack of cars until we get out there and try it in race conditions. Then I can form a fair opinion.
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