Earnhardt Ganassi Racing’s fourth car in the Daytona 500—the No. 34 Chevrolet—will actually involve a partnership with owner Bob Jenkins’ Front Row Motorsports and one of its drivers, John Andretti.
An EGR spokesman said the collaborative effort would be only for the Daytona 500, and that the car would be a guaranteed starter via points accrued in 2008 by one of EGR’s cars that won’t compete this season.
Those include the No. 01 and No. 15 that were fielded last season by Dale Earnhardt Inc. and the No. 41 fielded by Chip Ganassi Racing.
Team president Steve Lauletta recently said he hopes to have sponsorship to run a fourth car beyond Daytona. Andretti is open to driving more races, but has goals beyond the Sprint Cup series.
“I want to do the Indianapolis 500,” he said. “If it works out, it works out. If it doesn’t, life doesn’t stop. I just want to go down to Daytona and have a good time.”
