Germain Racing officially announce on Monday that Max Papis will drive 18 races in the No. 13 Geico Cup car in 2009.
Papis, 39, competed in CART and Formula One before dabbling in the NASCAR garage. Most recently, he piloted Haas Racing Chevrolets in both road courses this season, making his debut in the No. 66 at Sonoma and finishing 35th. Papis has seven career Nationwide Series starts with a career-high third-place finish at Montreal last season.
Germain purchased cars from Michael Waltrip Racing and will attempt to qualify Papis at Texas Motor Speedway next weekend.
Todd Bodine, who drives No. 30 Tundra for Germain Racing, tested with Papis earlier this week at Kentucky Speedway and was thoroughly impressed.
“He’s very good and he’s one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet,” Bodine said. “He had a great feel for the car and he understands what he’s feeling.”
Off the track, Papis has been impressive too — showing off his acting chops in his first Geico commercial.
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