The No. 8 car that Dale Earnhardt Jr. made famous while driving for his late father’s team is being parked.
Earnhardt Ganassi Racing announced yesterday that the failure to find a sponsor is forcing them to withdraw the car presently driven by Aric Almirola on the NASCAR Sprint Cup circuit.
Earnhardt Ganassi Racing president Steve Lauletta is optimistic the No. 8 car made famous by Dale Earnhardt Jr. will return to the track one day, but not until sponsorship is found.
“The plan was to run the 8 all season,” Lauletta said. “We worked really hard to get a few sponsors. We’re working really hard to continue to get it back on the track.
“But when you’re in the position we’re in where you don’t know what sponsor goes on a car a couple of weeks out, how the team is going to progress in order to race two and three weeks out, it takes a lot of focus away from everybody at the shop.”
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Almirola said he knew the No. 8 team had enough money to get to Texas, but after that there were no guarantees. He learned Monday night that the team had suspended operations.
“I’ve been kept abreast of everything going on, and it wasn’t a secret we were looking for sponsors. So surprise is not the right word,” he said. “But definitely a little bit if a disappointment, because I’m a race car driver and I love to race. I want to do nothing more than be at the race track every week and race, but I understand the situation, for sure. I understand it takes a lot of money to show up on the race track every weekend. And when you don’t have it, you don’t have it. We have to work hard at trying to go find it.”
Sources indicate that about 40 employees risk losing jobs in the suspension. Lauletta said the No. 8 program would be revived if sponsorship were to be found. Almirola’s car has carried the colors of four different sponsors in its seven races this season. The 25-year-old Tampa native stands 37th in owners’ points, by far the lowest of the three full-time EGR cars. Juan Montoya is 13th and Martin Truex Jr. 24th.
Almirola is still under contract with EGR, Lauletta said, although he added the organization would consider talking to other teams interested in providing the driver with seat time while the No. 8 car is shut down.
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