| After saying it would never happen, Dale Earnhardt | | | | shared by Junior, Casey Mears, Jimmie Johnson, Mark |
| Jr. is looking at moving JR Motorsports, his | | | | Martin, Landon Cassill, Ron Fellows and Martin Truex |
| Nationwide Series race team, to the next level in | | | | Jr. The team has been stronger from the start and |
| 2009. The reason is the still-called Car of Tomorrow, | | | | runs consistently up front in every race. It got its |
| which is scheduled to run in the second-tier series full | | | | first victory in March when Martin won at Las Vegas, |
| time next season. The accrued costs of switching | | | | and ran all three cars for the first time last weekend |
| three Nationwide cars to the new model make it | | | | at Lowe's Motor Speedway. |
| more workable to run in the Sprint Cup Series, where | | | | Ignoring the learning curve, a new twist has Tony |
| sponsors are more eager to pay high dollars for | | | | Stewart becoming a partner with Earnhardt Jr. and |
| greater exposure and a higher return for the buck. | | | | driving for JRM next year if he gets out of his Joe |
| Earnhardt Jr. would like his race team to join the | | | | Gibbs Racing contract-an unlikely event according to |
| top-level series by the start of next season if the | | | | JGR president J.D. Gibbs. Stewart will not confirm |
| pieces fit-i.e., if a proven driver emerges and if his | | | | discussions with Earnhardt Jr., saying only that Hass |
| handlers can land a backer with deep enough | | | | CNC racing is one of several racing organizations |
| pockets. A top-of-the-line racer seems unlikely, as | | | | offering him limited partnership and a chance to drive |
| Junior sees his team's first year at the Cup level as a | | | | for his own team. Unless further developments occur, |
| season of struggles. | | | | a Stewart-Junior pact is more probable in 2010. |
| JRM started out as a small shop in Mooresville with | | | | Driving for one race team while owning another is |
| minimal expectations in 2005. The program merged | | | | nothing new in NASCAR. Dale Earnhardt Sr. drove for |
| with Hendrick Motorsports at the end of last season | | | | Richard Childress Racing while he owned DEI. Junior |
| as a package deal when Junior left Dale Earnhardt | | | | could do the same with his arrangement, although |
| Inc. Earnhardt Jr. expanded to three cars in '08, the | | | | HMS is co-owner of JRM, making a perceived conflict |
| No. 88 Chevrolet driven full time by Brad Keselowski, | | | | of interest minimal on Dale Jr.'s part. |
| the 83 that Junior occasionally drives, and the 5 car | | | | |