Martin to Leave DEI, Almirola Full Time Next Season: UPDATE: Martin Replacing Mears? Mark Martin will have a new racing home in 2009, ESPN.com has learned. Martin was unavailable for comment Sunday. Officials for Martin's current team, Dale Earnhardt Inc., would neither confirm nor deny the speculation, but did confirm that young Aric Almirola would run a full-time schedule in 2009. "Aric is ready for a full-time ride," said John Story, DEI vice president of motorsports operations. Almirola has shared the #8 U.S. Army Chevy with Martin for the past two seasons. "Were talking to Mark about what his objectives for the future are, and trying to marry that with our own, with Aric Almirola, to make sure Aric has an opportunity to run full time next year. We're going through the process right now of trying to make sure that we get something for Aric that provides him a 36-race schedule, and at the same time that Mark is in a good situation."(ESPN.com)(6-22-2008)
UPDATE: Casey Mears and Mark Martin look to be on the move, and their futures might be linked. Mears' future with Hendrick Motorsports appears in jeopardy, ESPN.com has learned. Although Mears has one year left on his contract, team owner Rick Hendrick would not commit to the driver of the #5 car beyond this season. "I'm committed to him right now," Hendrick said on Sunday at Infineon Raceway. "I'm committed to him making that car run better right now." Earlier on Sunday, sources told ESPN.com that Martin would leave Dale Earnhardt Inc. Later, ESPN.com learned that he would replace Mears, making one last full-time run at a championship.(ESPN.com)(6-22-2008
Martin trying a full-time schedule once again? That's awesome. One-year deal with a great team for one last shot...
Always liked Mark, if this is true it will be huge for him.
I totally agree. I loved when Mark left Rousch and drove that HMS powered Chevy. The first race he said I have never drove anything like it (chevy) before, it was fast! LOL
I totally agree. I loved when Mark left Rousch and drove that HMS powered Chevy. The first race he said I have never drove anything like it (chevy) before, it was fast! LOL
If he likes FAST, he should give a Toyota a shot
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Go, Rowdy, Go!!
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I like Mark Martin alright but I look at it from his family's point of view. He said he was going to retire years ago to spend more time with them. It's great he's still competitive, but if I were his wife I'd be pissed. His kid's still pretty young too.
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"My wiener has never been so exhausted." - Kurt Busch
By JENNA FRYER, AP Auto Racing Writer Jun 22, 10:10 pm EDT
SONOMA, Calif. (AP)—Just two months ago, car owner Rick Hendrick sounded almost certain Casey Mears would be driving his No. 5 Chevrolet next season.
Now he doesn’t sound so sure.
Asked before Sunday’s race at Infineon Raceway if he was committed to Mears through for the full length of his contract, Hendrick avoided the question.
“I’m committed to him right now,” Hendrick said. “I’m committed to him making that car run better right now.”
Mears’ contract runs through the end of the 2009 season, and although he scored his only career victory at Charlotte last year with Hendrick, his results haven’t matched the team potential. He had 10 top-10s last season and finished 15th in the points last year. This season, he has just two top-10s and is 27th in the standings.
“(I’m concentrating) on getting that car running better and working hard on that anything else is speculation,” Hendrick said. “We’re looking at everything right now. I’m not ready to make any announcements. What’s there to tell? We want to get it in the Chase and want to win races.”
Mears finished a season-best fifth Sunday.
“We just have gotten off to a horrible start this year and it just feels really good to get a top-five,” he said. “Everybody on the team needed this. These guys have been working really hard, everybody has been working really hard to find out exactly what it is to do to get better.”
The speculation comes as rumors swirl about Mark Martin’s future with Dale Earnhardt Inc. He’s previously been mentioned as a candidate to split the Cup schedule with Scott Speed at Red Bull Racing, but there could also be a similar role for him in the No. 5 car for Hendrick.
One scenario could have Martin splitting the seat time with Brad Keselowski, who currently drives a Nationwide Series car for JR Motorsports. Hendrick is partners with Dale Earnhardt Jr. in that venture, and Martin occasionally drives a car for them in that series.
Martin is currently splitting a ride with Aric Almirola for DEI, but the team wants Almirola in a full-time ride in 2009.
“Aric is ready for a full-time ride,” said DEI vice president John Story. “We have to get him in a car full time somehow, someway.”
NO REPEAT: Juan Pablo Montoya had his game-face on before the start of Sunday’s race, confident he had a chance to repeat as the winner.
His car was good enough early, as he moved through the field and into the lead. But his chances ended when, running second, he was spun by Marcos Ambrose and fell all the way back to 14th.
He rallied to finish sixth, but his team was disappointed with the outcome.
“It was one of those deals where we were hoping for a little bit more,” Montoya said. “The team did a great job on the pit stops and we were competitive, we just got tangled up with (Ambrose) and it cost us a few spots.”
Crew chief Brian Pattie was a bit more direct.
“It was just frustrating because we were running at the front and ended up finishing sixth, so that kind of sucks,” Pattie said.
Ambrose, who was making his Cup Series debut, later had his own trouble when he was spun by Elliott Sadler. The contact came at the same moment he was shifting and caused his gearbox to break, leading to a 42nd-place finish.
“It’s just very unfortunate,” Ambrose said. “I couldn’t believe it, you know? Here I am passing Jeff Gordon and racing with (Dale) Earnhardt (Jr.)— it’s just fantastic. It’s what I dreamed about, dreamed what it would be like. It’s just a shame we couldn’t finish the race.”
GORDON RALLIES: In the early stages of Sunday’s race, Jeff Gordon was so frustrated with his race car he offered a profanity-laced assessment of his struggles over the team radio.
It sent crew chief Steve Letarte into a slew of changes to the car that helped Gordon rally to a third-place finish.
“I am excited … I think it shows what kind of race team we have—we never give up and we fight hard,” Gordon said. “We like this place, we run good here. We weren’t bad in the end, but we really just missed it in the beginning. I couldn’t drive it. I thought I was going to wreck.
“Steve made some great adjustments and made a great (strategy) call … then we got the car pretty good and drove up through there.”
DON’T PASS THE PACE CAR: NASCAR warned the drivers before Sunday’s race not to pass the pace car during the caution period, an offense Dale Earnhardt Jr. did several times in last week’s victory at Michigan.
Earnhardt passed the pace car under caution in an attempt to conserve fuel. He’d pass the pace car, shut off the engine and coast. NASCAR eventually warned Earnhardt not to pass the pace car again and he obeyed.
During Sunday morning’s driver meeting, NASCAR race director David Hoots reminded the drivers that passing the pace car is illegal.
“We know that under road-racing conditions, fuel management is very important, drivers,” Hoots said. “Do all you can to conserve fuel, but hold your respective track positions when you do so.”
TEMPORARY HELP: Robby Gordon had no sponsorship when he arrived at Infineon Raceway. By the time the race began, he had three different companies on his car.
Camping World and King Taco agreed to adorn the car and, after J.J. Yeley failed to make the race, sponsor DLP HDTV also moved onto Gordon’s car.
“While it was disappointing to show up here with a black race car, I’m very happy that (the companies) helped us out this weekend,” Gordon said. “We really appreciate them stepping up and sponsoring our team this weekend.”
All the sponsorships are temporary, and DLP will move back to Hall of Fame Racing for next week’s race in New Hampshire.
“We appreciate the effort of Hall of Fame Racing to ensure that DLP HDTV will have a presence in Sunday’s race at Sonoma,” said sponsorship marketing manager Dave Duncan. “We wish Robby the best of luck on Sunday and look forward to supporting J.J. Yeley … next week at New Hampshire.”
__________________ Rome did not create a Great Empire by having meetings--- They did it by killing all people who opposed them!
Army looking for new team in 2009? UPDATE 3: The U.S. Army is examining it options for 2009 and beyond, and could leave Dale Earnhardt, Inc., for another team. The Army sponsorship is a year-by-year affair, and is renegotiated at the end of each season for the next year. Sources close to the situation tell Sirius Speedway that while the Army could still return to the DEI camp next season, officials are talking to at least one other Sprint Cup Series team, including one from the Toyota camp. Mark Martin has steered the US Army Chevrolet to a pair of Top-5 and five Top-10 finishes this season, and stands 24th in points despite running only 12 of the 15 races to date. Aric Almirola has made the other three starts in the car, with one Top-10 finish.(Motorsports Soapbox)(6-17-2008)
UPDATE: Angelique Chengelis reported during ESPN's "NASCAR Now" that the U.S. Army is likely to be on Bill Davis Racing's second car next year.(6-22-2008)
UPDATE 2: The U.S. Army, who has sponsored Martin’s DEI #8 Chevy for the last two season, is shopping other teams now, although [DEI VP of Motorsports Operations John] Story insisted DEI is still in the running to retain the deal. “We are talking to them on a regular basis,” Story said of the U.S. Army. Army officials have not yet decided which team they want to go with next year, multiple sources confirmed on Sunday. One published report had them moving to Bill Davis Racing next season, which was roundly denied by several sources close to the situation. (SPEEDtv.com)(6-23-2008)
UPDATE 3: In a related story, ESPN’s Angelique Chengelis reported yesterday that the Army sponsorship is likely to move from DEI to Bill Davis Racing's #23 Toyota next season. That report has been denied by several sources, however, and Sirius Speedway has learned that Red Bull Racing is actually a leading candidate for the Army deal. Red Bull General Manager Jay Frye first brought the Army sponsorship to NASCAR during his tenure at MB2 Motorsports, and is said to be in serious discussions to secure that sponsorship once again in 2009. There is no word on whether the Army would replace Red Bull as sponsor of either Brian Vickers or AJ Allmendinger next season, or if a third car will be added to the team for former Formula One and current Craftsman Truck Series star Scott Speed.(Motorsports Soapbox)(6-24-2008)
More on Stewart and Haas CNC: Tony Stewart is shopping for car sponsorships in anticipation of a potential partnership with Haas CNC Racing, multiple sources told ESPN.com. Although Stewart has a year left on his contract at Joe Gibbs Racing and JGR officials insist he hasn't asked for a release, the two-time Sprint Cup champion appears prepared to share ownership of Haas Racing's two-car team in 2009. One source close to the situation said there have been discussions with Ryan Newman as the second driver. Newman has said he will not return to Penske Racing if the performance of that team doesn't improve quickly. Newman's name definitely would help draw sponsorship to Haas. "He's talking to every major sponsor that is available out there for this Haas deal," one source said of Stewart and his representatives. "I don't know if it's done, but it sounds like it's very close." Office Depot and Old Spice have emerged as the favorites for at least one of the cars. Office Depot lost its bid to remain with Carl Edwards of Roush Fenway Racing when Aflac was chosen as the primary sponsor of the #99. Sources said there have been discussions with Stewart's representatives that would make Office Depot and Old Spice co-primaries with Office Depot as the lead sponsor. Old Spice already has a relationship with Stewart in the Cup and Nationwide Series. Stewart would not address his future following Sunday's race at Infineon Raceway. JGR president J.D. Gibbs insisted Stewart had not closed the door on signing a long-term deal with the company that brought him to Cup racing in 1999 and helped him win titles in 2002 and 2005. But there is widespread speculation that the reason JGR has rushed Joey Logano into the Nationwide Series is to prepare him to take Stewart's place should Stewart leave. Stewart admitted two months ago there had been inquiries from other teams. He acknowledged there had been talks with Haas CNC that included ownership.(ESPN.com)
AND: am hearing that Stewart leaving JGR and buying into Haas CNC Racing is a done deal, supposedly the 2nd driver could be Martin Treux Jr. Hearing the sponsors could be UPS and Bass Pro Shops.(6-26-2008) Comment here
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