Earnhardt Jr. To Replace Huffman in Drivers Seat at Daytona Navy Chevrolet to be piloted by JRM owner and two-time Busch Series champion
MOORESVILLE, N.C. Dale Earnhardt Jr. will compete in Friday nights Winn-Dixie 250 NASCAR Busch Series race at Daytona International Speedway, driving the No. 88 Navy Accelerate Your Life Chevrolet for his personally-owned team, JR Motorsports. He replaces Shane Huffman, who took over driving duties last August and compiled six top-10s and a pair of top fives in 28 races.
Upon a midseason evaluation of the performance of this race team, we decided we needed to make a change, and right now we have a window to do that, Earnhardt Jr. said. Because of the short notice, I am going to drive the Navy car Friday night at Daytona. Its a big race for us. We are carrying a special Navy SEALs paint scheme on the car, so we want to make sure we give it a good run for the Navy and all our sponsors and employees.
Earnhardt Jr. said he does not intend to drive the car beyond this weekend, although a new full-time driver has yet to be determined. This weekends interim role will give Earnhardt Jr. the opportunity to compete in equipment solely his own for the first time. He is the defending race winner of the Winn-Dixie 250, as he led 88 of 103 laps en route to a dominating victory in a Dale Earnhardt Inc.-prepared Chevrolet last year.
I have always wanted to drive my own car, but Im doing this to give us time to evaluate our options and see who we want to put in the car for the rest of the season, Earnhardt Jr. said. I will get with my people at JR Motorsports, and hopefully we will have a new driver named in the very near future.
JR Motorsports has fielded the No. 88 Busch Series entry full time since 2006. In a temporary role much like the one Earnhardt Jr. is inheriting, Robby Gordon earned the teams best finish of third at Michigan International Speedway on Aug. 19, 2006. In 18 races this season, the Navy team has one top-five finish and four top 10s. Huffman is currently 13th in the NASCAR Busch Series point standings.
Earnhardt Jr. is a two-time champion in the NASCAR Busch Series, earning back-to-back titles in 1998 and 1999. He has 22 total victories in the Busch Series, which ties him with Sam Ard and Tommy Ellis for seventh on the all-time wins list. Five of his Busch victories have come at the 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway.
Dale Jr. will be added to the Buschwackers list, and Huffman will be removed from his group. Anyone that picked Huffman will need to pick a new driver or they will receive 0 points. I will send an email to the league tonight.
Its not just Daytona.... Since Huffman is out totally. It's a little bit of surprise since Huffman is up to 13th in points, but I guess they were expecting more from him.
Jr. will probably be in the race at Chicagoland as well and a new driver announced by Gateway.
Well, on the plus side it could be another new diecast for Jr.
-- Edited by President Lou Demian at 13:24, 2007-07-04
personally i would like to see almirola in his car at chicago . he doesnt have a ride that weekend and it would give him and jr both a chance to shine . it would be awesome to see him battling hamlin for race at the end....may be a stretch but definitely doable....i expect to see few different drivers for rest of schedule and new driver next season
