CUP: Layoffs Begin At Richard Childress Racing

Sprint Cup

CUP: Layoffs Begin At Richard Childress Racing

Richard Childress Racing lost Jack Daniel’s as its primary sponsor...

Tom Jensen | Posted December 09, 2009 Charlotte, NC

While Pennzoil will remain, Jack Daniels will cease sponsorship at Richard Childress Racing in 2010. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

With sponsor Jack Daniel’s having left Richard Childress Racing at the end of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, a small number of layoffs have begun at the team’s Welcome, N.C., shops.

A team representative said that “fewer than a dozen” employees had been let go this week in advance of the No. 07 possibly being shut down for 2010.

That decision has not been made yet, with team owner Richard Childress previously saying that he could wait as long as mid-January before making a definitive commitment on the team’s plans for next season. As it stands now, the team has decided nothing for certain beyond entering the Daytona 500 next February.

Also up in the air is the question of who will drive the car, if it does find sponsorship. Casey Mears was the pilot of the No. 07 this season, but was released at the end of the year.

If he doesn’t find another ride before Daytona, he could be back with the team, according to an RCR source. Mears also has been linked to a possible drive with the No. 09 Miccosukee Resorts-sponsored entry of Florida team owner James Finch.

During the 2009 season, Mears finished 21st in points. The California native posted four top-10 finishes, with his best result of sixth coming in August at the second race at Michigan International Speedway.

Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief 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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