NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
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NNS: JR Motorsports Big Winner In Danica Deal
Dale Earnhardt Jr. scored a major coup by signing Danica Patrick to drive for JR Motorsports...
Tom Jensen  |  Posted December 17, 2009   Charlotte, NC
JR Motorsports Vice President and General Manager Kelly Earnhardt (Left), speaks as Danica Patrick (Center) and team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Right) look on, at JR Motorsport in Mooresville, North Carolina. (Photo: Getty Images)

The dirty little secret to Danica Patrick signing to run a limited NASCAR Nationwide Series schedule with JR Motorsports? It was probably a bigger score for the team than the driver.

JR Motorsports, which is co-owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr., his sister Kelley and cousin Tony Eury Jr., is one of the highest-profile teams in the Nationwide Series. The plan for 2010 is to field Patrick in the No. 7 Chevrolet for as many as 13 races, while Kelly Bires will pilot the team’s No. 88 Chevy for the entire 35-race schedule.

Despite the cachet of the Earnhardt name, though, like many teams competing in NASCAR’s AAA division, JR Motorsports was faced with serious sponsorship challenges.

Just two weeks ago in Las Vegas, Earnhardt said he was concerned about the team having enough sponsorship to run Bires full-time in 2010. “I'm a little worried about that. I'd like to run full season next year,” Earnhardt told Scenedaily.com then. “I think the Nationwide Series is better with that car running a full season next year. But the possibilities of that happening do not look really good right now. It's very unfortunate.”

The problem is that with so many NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers also competing in the Nationwide Series, sponsors naturally want to align themselves with moonlighting Cup drivers, not untried youngsters. Finding a sponsor for Earnhardt would have been easy; for Bires, it’s a far more daunting prospect.

The arrival of Patrick, however, should make a huge difference. Whichever companies end up as primary sponsors of the No. 88 can be piggybacked as associate sponsors of Patrick’s No. 7 JR Motorsports car when it runs, something that makes a potential deal a lot more appealing for a corporation.


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