Bliss Out Of No. 0 Car
Mike Bliss
Mike Bliss said Saturday night that two weeks ago he reached an verbal agreement on a contract extension to return as driver for the No. 0 NetZero Chevrolet. On Tuesday, the former Craftsman Truck Series Champion was shocked to learn he was being let go. “Two weeks ago it was a done deal,” Bliss said. “I was going to run the Cup car, and it was a handshake and another contract.” Bliss said he still doesn’t know why he was let go, but likely will return to the truck series, where he took the title three seasons ago. “I feel like I can do this over here. You hate leaving, but it’s not my decision, of course. I don’t want to leave here like I’ve failed, because I’ve always won in everything I’ve ever been in, and I feel like we’re so close here.”(Speed TV)
Childress Expected To Move Bowyer To No. 07 ~ Official
Richard Childress has scheduled a press conference on Saturday at Lowe's Motor Speedway for an announcement that expected to name Clint Bowyer, driver of the RCR No. 2 Busch Series car, as driver of the No. 07 car that is currently being driven by Dave Blaney. Blaney refused to discuss the matter with the media on Thursday, saying only "There's still a lot things that could happen with other things going on, obviously with Penske and Roush and Ganassi and all that. So, who knows? Hopefully in the next couple of weeks, we'll know."
UPDATE...Official, Blaney Out...Richard Childress Racing (RCR) and the Jack Daniel Distillery announced today that Jack Daniel’s has extended its primary sponsorship of RCR’s No. 07 Chevrolet through 2009. At the same time, both organizations announced that Clint Bowyer, a native of Emporia, Kansas, will drive the No. 07 Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet for the 2006 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series campaign. Bowyer, currently second in the NASCAR Busch Series championship chase, will be accompanied by crew chief Gil Martin as the proven duo pursue the 2006 NEXTEL Cup Series Raybestos Rookie of the Year Award. Bowyer will also race for the 2006 NASCAR Busch Series title returning to the seat of RCR’s No. 2 ACDelco Chevrolet. Bowyer, 26, made his NEXTEL Cup Series debut earlier this season at Phoenix International Raceway, posting a 22nd-place finish driving the No. 33 Sylvania Chevrolet. A veteran of 48 NASCAR Busch Series starts, Bowyer scored his first career Busch Series win earlier this season at Nashville Superspeedway. The Emporia, Kan., driver also owns 14 top-five and 25 top-10 finishes in a scorecard that reads like that of a NASCAR journeyman.
Menard Will Run Cup Series
Paul Menard
Dale Earnhardt, Inc.’s No. 15 NASCAR Nextel Cup team will campaign a seven-race schedule in 2006, with Paul Menard driving and sponsorship from Menard’s, the hardware chain owned by the driver’s father. If all goes well, Menard and the team will do the full Cup schedule with DEI in ’07. Menard’s first race will be the 2006 Daytona 500, DEI Vice President of Motorsports Richie Gilmore said Saturday night. “We’ll kind of see how it goes from Daytona, but it looks like it’ll be the big races: Daytona, Indy. We’ll run Watkins Glen again, which Paul ran this year and then move him up the next year.” Next year, Menard will also run the full NASCAR Busch Series schedule in a DEI Chevrolet, Gilmore said. “It’ll be a lot better for Paul to keep him down there and running him for a championship like we did with Martin (Truex, Jr.). That’s where we really feel comfortable.” Gilmore said DEI mulled a third full-time Cup team next year, but instead will run full-time cars for only Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Truex in ‘06. “We had a couple options that we looked at, but for us we’re better off trying to regroup the two teams we have now,” Gilmore said.(Speed TV)
Mike Bliss
Mike Bliss said Saturday night that two weeks ago he reached an verbal agreement on a contract extension to return as driver for the No. 0 NetZero Chevrolet. On Tuesday, the former Craftsman Truck Series Champion was shocked to learn he was being let go. “Two weeks ago it was a done deal,” Bliss said. “I was going to run the Cup car, and it was a handshake and another contract.” Bliss said he still doesn’t know why he was let go, but likely will return to the truck series, where he took the title three seasons ago. “I feel like I can do this over here. You hate leaving, but it’s not my decision, of course. I don’t want to leave here like I’ve failed, because I’ve always won in everything I’ve ever been in, and I feel like we’re so close here.”(Speed TV)
Childress Expected To Move Bowyer To No. 07 ~ Official
Richard Childress has scheduled a press conference on Saturday at Lowe's Motor Speedway for an announcement that expected to name Clint Bowyer, driver of the RCR No. 2 Busch Series car, as driver of the No. 07 car that is currently being driven by Dave Blaney. Blaney refused to discuss the matter with the media on Thursday, saying only "There's still a lot things that could happen with other things going on, obviously with Penske and Roush and Ganassi and all that. So, who knows? Hopefully in the next couple of weeks, we'll know."
UPDATE...Official, Blaney Out...Richard Childress Racing (RCR) and the Jack Daniel Distillery announced today that Jack Daniel’s has extended its primary sponsorship of RCR’s No. 07 Chevrolet through 2009. At the same time, both organizations announced that Clint Bowyer, a native of Emporia, Kansas, will drive the No. 07 Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet for the 2006 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series campaign. Bowyer, currently second in the NASCAR Busch Series championship chase, will be accompanied by crew chief Gil Martin as the proven duo pursue the 2006 NEXTEL Cup Series Raybestos Rookie of the Year Award. Bowyer will also race for the 2006 NASCAR Busch Series title returning to the seat of RCR’s No. 2 ACDelco Chevrolet. Bowyer, 26, made his NEXTEL Cup Series debut earlier this season at Phoenix International Raceway, posting a 22nd-place finish driving the No. 33 Sylvania Chevrolet. A veteran of 48 NASCAR Busch Series starts, Bowyer scored his first career Busch Series win earlier this season at Nashville Superspeedway. The Emporia, Kan., driver also owns 14 top-five and 25 top-10 finishes in a scorecard that reads like that of a NASCAR journeyman.
Menard Will Run Cup Series
Paul Menard
Dale Earnhardt, Inc.’s No. 15 NASCAR Nextel Cup team will campaign a seven-race schedule in 2006, with Paul Menard driving and sponsorship from Menard’s, the hardware chain owned by the driver’s father. If all goes well, Menard and the team will do the full Cup schedule with DEI in ’07. Menard’s first race will be the 2006 Daytona 500, DEI Vice President of Motorsports Richie Gilmore said Saturday night. “We’ll kind of see how it goes from Daytona, but it looks like it’ll be the big races: Daytona, Indy. We’ll run Watkins Glen again, which Paul ran this year and then move him up the next year.” Next year, Menard will also run the full NASCAR Busch Series schedule in a DEI Chevrolet, Gilmore said. “It’ll be a lot better for Paul to keep him down there and running him for a championship like we did with Martin (Truex, Jr.). That’s where we really feel comfortable.” Gilmore said DEI mulled a third full-time Cup team next year, but instead will run full-time cars for only Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Truex in ‘06. “We had a couple options that we looked at, but for us we’re better off trying to regroup the two teams we have now,” Gilmore said.(Speed TV)