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According to Andy Graves. The team's focus is to win now and grooming a young driver is not in the program.
With the young drivers we have seen over the last few years, the validity of this philosophy is questionable, but it's their call.
From NOL:
DARLINGTON, S.C. (AP) -- Don't look for car owner Chip Ganassi to hire an inexperienced driver or one from an open-wheel series for the third team he plans to field next season.
Andy Graves, team manager at Ganassi, said the organization is based on results now and doesn't have the patience to groom a driver. They proved that last year when they let Jason Leffler go after a poor rookie season and hired veteran Jimmy Spencer.
"The bottom line is performance and we're here for only one thing -- to win races,'' Graves said. ``It's something we talk about all the time, how can we groom someone and still win? I don't think our program has the patience for that.''
Ganassi, a huge success in the open-wheel series, is off to a fast start in his second year in NASCAR. Sterling Marlin finished third in the points last year and has been on top of the Winston Cup standings since the second week of this season.
He's now committed to fielding a third team next season, but lost out on his bid to hire Ricky Rudd. So he's now interviewing candidates and the talent pool is slim.
Ken Schrader, Bobby Hamilton and Jerry Nadeau are all looking for rides for next year and John Andretti's deal at Petty Enterprises ends at the end of this season.
The lack of available drivers has led to speculation that Ganassi could reach into the Busch series for a driver or lure someone over from open-wheel.
Graves said he'd like to work with an open-wheel driver, but doesn't think Ganassi will bring one over because of the time it would take the hire to adjust to stock-cars.
"I think we will someday see some open-wheel guys coming over here, but it will probably take a couple of years for them to be competitive,'' Graves said. "In our garage, a year is a long time to wait through adjustments.''
With the young drivers we have seen over the last few years, the validity of this philosophy is questionable, but it's their call.
From NOL:
DARLINGTON, S.C. (AP) -- Don't look for car owner Chip Ganassi to hire an inexperienced driver or one from an open-wheel series for the third team he plans to field next season.
Andy Graves, team manager at Ganassi, said the organization is based on results now and doesn't have the patience to groom a driver. They proved that last year when they let Jason Leffler go after a poor rookie season and hired veteran Jimmy Spencer.
"The bottom line is performance and we're here for only one thing -- to win races,'' Graves said. ``It's something we talk about all the time, how can we groom someone and still win? I don't think our program has the patience for that.''
Ganassi, a huge success in the open-wheel series, is off to a fast start in his second year in NASCAR. Sterling Marlin finished third in the points last year and has been on top of the Winston Cup standings since the second week of this season.
He's now committed to fielding a third team next season, but lost out on his bid to hire Ricky Rudd. So he's now interviewing candidates and the talent pool is slim.
Ken Schrader, Bobby Hamilton and Jerry Nadeau are all looking for rides for next year and John Andretti's deal at Petty Enterprises ends at the end of this season.
The lack of available drivers has led to speculation that Ganassi could reach into the Busch series for a driver or lure someone over from open-wheel.
Graves said he'd like to work with an open-wheel driver, but doesn't think Ganassi will bring one over because of the time it would take the hire to adjust to stock-cars.
"I think we will someday see some open-wheel guys coming over here, but it will probably take a couple of years for them to be competitive,'' Graves said. "In our garage, a year is a long time to wait through adjustments.''