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Sterling has been racing for many years. He’s seen men rise up in this sport to the point of being multi-millionaires and others fall as fast as their names crossed the finish lines. And through it all, he’s been pretty steady. In 1995 and 2001 he finished both seasons in the 3rd spot, has won 10 Cup races, and ridden in well over 700 of them.
After all this time, he is now finding himself debating what to do with his career and the situation it has presented. He’s been replaced by a younger racer, and is now sitting in the wings wondering what’s next. Amy Hair, Cup Scene Daily
July 28, 2007
“It wasn’t very classy,” Marlin said.
Marlin said he has a contract for the remainder of the season and has turned the matter over to his attorney. Ginn better beware — breaking a racing contract can be expensive.
July 27, 2007
Will Joe and Sterling find another ride or not? Could another team pick them up at their age when owners and sponsors want young drivers? We, the old fans, want to watch them drive. They are among our favorites and they still have the ability. After all, they have their teams in the top 35 in points and they make races. You see new and veteran drivers that can’t make a race, so where’s the problem with them getting another ride? Richard Teague, EUJacksonville.com
July 25
Sterling Marlin and Joe Nemechek are fuddy duddies in this version of NASCAR. Ken Schrader is lucky enough to be able to go back to BAM Racing and try to run some more Cup races this year, leaving the Wood Brothers with Bill Elliott’s remaining provisionals and Jon Wood waiting in the wings. Chuck Abrams,InsiderRacingNews.com
July 25
But we all know that there’s going to be a day when the opportunities and, sometimes, the desire may not be quite as great as they once were. Unfortunately, it’s gotten to that point in Sterling’s career. I hope people will not be too hard on Sterling or Bobby Ginn because it’s part of our sport that eventually catches up with every driver, whether it’s Harry Gant, Bill Elliott, Darrell Waltrip, Rusty Wallace or now Sterling Marlin. An old cliche is “time marches on,” and, it looks like that’s what’s happening here. Jeff Hammond, FOX Sports
July 23
Certainly, if Marlin wants to keep racing, he’s welcome to do so anywhere he can get a ride. But this expectation that aging veterans should be giftwrapped a place to drive around until they retire is just too much of a fairy tale to come true for every man gifted enough to get behind the wheel of a Cup car. Only the best of the best – Petty, Waltrip, Wallace, Labonte – get lucky enough to seal their own fates. Thomas Bowles, FrontStretch
July 21
Ginn Racing, a team owned by golf course and resort developer Bobby Ginn, fired veteran Nextel Cup drivers Sterling Marlin and Joe Nemechek, and might drop one car from its stable as the company seeks new sponsors.
Aric Almirola, a 23-year-old driver in the Busch series, has been hired to share driving duties with veteran Mark Martin in the No. 01 Chevrolet, Ginn’s top team. Regan Smith, also 23, will drive the No. 14 Chevrolet being vacated by Marlin, a 30-year veteran of NASCAR.
Read More in Freep
July 21, 2007
Sterling Marlin and Joe Nemechek were released Tuesday by Ginn Racing. The move, while a bit surprising, was not all that shocking.
The organization is floundering and needed sponsors for both teams. And, unfortunately, it’s difficult to find sponsors these days for drivers age 50 (Marlin) and 43 (Nemechek).
That also means that both drivers will likely have a difficult time finding rides elsewhere.
By Jeff Owens Blog.Scenedaily
July 20
This is a no-brainer for Almirola…and it has nothing to do with what happened in Milwaukee. Any young driver with dreams of Cup racing would seize this opportunity in a heartbeat.
Mark Martin is known as one of the very best mentors of young driving talent, not to mention a man with 25 years of experience at the Cup level. He is a patient, dedicated teacher, one who will have plenty of knowledge and wisdom to impart to Aric.
- By Becca Gladden and Tommy Thompson, Read More.. Frontstretch.com
Faced with the realization that his team couldn’t offer a similar opportunity in the near term and confident that it was a wise move, Joe Gibbs Racing president J.D. Gibbs said he encouraged Tampa native Aric Almirola to leave his team for Ginn Racing.
Almirola, a 23-year-old who in parts of four seasons has advanced through JGR’s deep developmental system to race in all three of NASCAR’s top series, will share time with veteran Mark Martin in the No. 01 Chevrolet beginning Aug. 12 at Watkins Glen
- By Brant James, Read More.. Tambabay.com
Sterling Marlin, a 10-time winner in NASCAR Nextel Cup, and Joe Nemechek, a four-time winner in NASCAR Nextel Cup, have become victims of the sport’s youth movement. Marlin, 50, and Nemechek, 44, were released from Ginn Racing despite the fact that both drivers kept their respective teams in the top 35 in Nextel Cup owner’s standings throughout the first-half of the season.
- By Jeremy Dunn, Read More.. Autoracing Suite
Joe Gibbs Racing wasn’t certain it could find sponsorship to run Tampa’s Aric Almirola full time in the Busch Series next year and didn’t see him as an immediate candidate for a Nextel Cup ride if one of its cars became available.
That’s why the team allowed Almirola to leave for Ginn Racing, JGR president J.D. Gibbs said Wednesday.
“What I didn’t want to do is get three months down the road and have to say, ‘OK, you missed this deal to go to Ginn, and we don’t have a full deal for you,’” Gibbs said.
- By Tony Fabrizio, Read More.. TBO.com
Due to a lack of sponsorship, Nemechek’s No. 13 team is being re-evaluated. Nemechek is free to explore other opportunities.
Meanwhile, Aric Almirola, a 23-year-old Busch Series driver and a member of the Joe Gibbs Racing program the past four years, has signed with Ginn Racing.
He will become Martin’s co-driver for the rest of the 2007 season, and will also share the ride with Martin in 2008.
The changing of the guard continues in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series.
- By Mike Finney, Read More.. The News Journal
Two of the sport’s racing veterans, Joe Nemechek and Sterling Marlin, were shown the door at Ginn Racing, which says it has started building for the future.
Bobby Ginn, who calls Palm Coast home, is the primary owner of the race team.
Godwin Kelly, News-JournalOnline.com
Sterling Marlin will feel the let down and pain of this latest episode, but he’ll walk away a little stronger and a little more determined. Perhaps his words say it best:
“I can get up and look in the mirror and know I’ve done everything right.” Marlin said about being replaced by Regan Smith. “I don’t think that’s the case on the other side… Amy Hair, Cup Scene Daily
July 18
Aric Almirola, the 23-year-old Busch stalwart and a member of the Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) program the past four years, has signed with Ginn Racing. He will become Mark Martin’s co-driver in the 01 U. S. Army Chevrolet for the remainder of the 2007 season and will also share the ride with Martin in 2008.
“I’m under contract at JGR. I have a long history with them. I’ve been there since I was 18 years old. I started racing late models with them, and they’ve become like family to me. I see our relationship growing.”
Almirola will share driving duties of the No. 01 Chevrolet with Mark Martin, beginning immediately and through 2008. Almirola joins Ginn Racing from Joe Gibbs Racing, where he served as a development driver and a part-time Busch Series driver.
Almirola’s first race with Ginn is the Aug. 12 race at Watkins Glen International. Almirola will race in five more Busch races for JGR this season.
Ginn Racing replaced Sterling Marlin in its No. 14 Chevrolet with 23-year-old rookie Regan Smith yesterday and released veteran Joe Nemechek.
Jaye Frye, Ginn Racing’s CEO and general manager, also said that Aric Almirola, also 23, signed with Joe Gibbs Racing and will become Mark Martin’s co-driver in the No. 01 Chevrolet for the remainder of NASCAR’s Nextel Cup season.
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