Earnhardt Ganassi Racing will run full-time schedules with three drivers in 2009, including Aric Almirola in the No. 8 Chevrolet. (Jerry Markland/Getty Images Photo) ยป More Photos
Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates confirmed late Tuesday that it will campaign full-time Chevrolets for Juan Pablo Montoya, Martin Truex Jr. and Aric Almirola in 2009, with a fourth car entered for the Daytona 500.
No sponsor has been announced for Almirola’s No. 8 car, nor has a driver been picked for the fourth car, according to EGR President Steve Lauletta, who gave an impromptu press briefing late Tuesday during the Sprint Cup Media Tour Presented by Lowe’s Motor Speedway.
Target will sponsor Montoya in the No. 42, with former co-primary Wrigley’s taking on a role as associate sponsor, Lauletta said. Bass Pros Shops will sponsor the No. 1 of Truex. “We kind of get the best of both worlds putting our 20-year relationship with Target on Juan. He won the Indy 500 with them before and then Wrigley’s can still continue to do their NASCAR programming around Juan and remain with the team.”
As far as Almirola’s car, Lauletta said, “We haven’t announced sponsorship programming for that, but we will here pretty soon. And then our plan is to run a fourth car at the Daytona 500. We’re working on some opportunities with that, and again we’ll announce that at a later date.”
With the fourth car, its future is contingent on sponsorship. “If we can continue to run the fourth car past Daytona, we’re going to attempt to do that,” said Lauletta. “But as of right now, the plan is Daytona.”
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Tom Jensen is the Senior NASCAR Editor for SPEEDtv.com, the former Executive Editor of NASCAR Scene and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. He is the author of “Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of SPEED,” and has appeared on television and radio shows to discuss NASCAR racing. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association. Jensen is the 1997 National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year and has won numerous national and state awards for news reporting, columns and feature writing. The Answer Man is back at SPEEDtv.com. Tom Jensen answers your questions during every race week and looks forward to hearing from you - please e-mail it to
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