Regan Smith will replace Sterling Marlin in the No. 14 car next week at Indianapolis, and Joe Nemechek has been released from his duties in the No. 13 car as Ginn Racing continues its ongoing restructuring.
"We are starting our future now," said Jay Frye, Ginn Racing's CEO and general manager. "A lot has been said about our program recently and this shows we've been working hard to solidify our future."
Marlin said he was shocked by the news.
"You know, it kind of caught me by surprise," the driver said Wednesday [ Wednesday? That would be hard to do since it is only Tuesday] evening on Sirius Satellite Radio. "I guess they've got to do things to reorganize and do what they gotta do. And, you know, I do have a valid contract with them and they gotta do what they say they're gonna do and everything will be fine."
Marlin said he would have liked the situation to be a little more classier.
"Well, you know, the classiest thing to me would have been to finish the year out," Marlin said. "I didn't make it any secret that I was planning on cutting back next year, running 15-20 races. But to do something in mid-year, just totally unexpected -- you know, Joe [Nemechek] had the same thing happen to him -- and, you know, it's sponsor-driven. "... I can get up and look in the mirror and know I've done everything right. I don't think that's the case on the other side so I'll just leave it at that."
I just don't understand Sterling. I call it and he is shocked? What world is he living in? The imaginary world of the old elementary school library book "Fair Play?" He is (was) my favorite race car driver. But his ignorance of the business of NASCAR just blows my mind.
Or is it just a good ole boy act that fakes out his less than average educated fan base but has grown weary on my ears? If he was so shocked, how come many of us knew he and Joe were scheduled to be on that Sirius broadcast this afternoon?
I don't know what to think really. But barring a sponsor riding to the rescue, putting him in a Furniture Row car, and some kind of bizarre victory at Bristol or another short track this year, I probably won't be worrying about it much longer.
How about that Jamie McMurray and that win at Daytona? Huh? Huh? Nudge, nudge. Say no more, say no more.
Clint Bowyer feels he should have had a better ending to last spring's race at Texas Motor Speedway. “Well, we should have finished in the top 10 last spring but we got some help off of turn two on the last lap and I spun out. So that 19th-place finish doesn’t really reflect how we ran. The fall race was really good for us. I think we can go back there and have a top-five car and possibly race for a win. If I had to call a race for us to win, I think it’s going to be on a mile-and-a-half -- I really do.
In the season’s first six races, Bowyer has earned three top-10 finishes and has only finished outside the top 20 once. He currently enjoys a solid 14.5 starting average and a 14.2 finishing average. The 27-year-old driver has completed 2,020 of the 2,048 total laps run this season (98.63 percent) and is seventh in the championship point standings. Over those same six races last season, Bowyer’s average start was 29th coupled with an 18.8 finishing average. He was 16th in points at this time last year.
“Except for a couple of occasions, things have gone really well," Bowyer said. "Obviously, Las Vegas is a sore spot. I had a really good car and should have finished in the top five. Instead, we wound up wrecked and finished in the back. It’s been a good season so far and for the most part, things are going our way. Hopefully, we can keep Lady Luck on our side and try and control our own destiny.”
Live coverage of the Samsung 500 from Texas Motor Speedway will take the green flag Sunday, April 15 beginning at 1:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). The race will be televised live on FOX and broadcast worldwide on the Performance Racing Network and Sirius Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the seventh of 36 points-paying races on the 2007 NEXTEL Cup schedule will be televised live on SPEED Friday, April 13 at 5 p.m. EDT.
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