on Fox’s pre-race show for the Dodge/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway, Jeff Hammond and Darrell Waltrip were asked who would be in the #6 Roush Racing Ford [t1o replace retiring Mark Martin] and #2 Pensek Racing Dodge [to replace retiring Rusty Wallace], for the #6 Hammond said is still up in the air [see some names mentioned on my 2006 Team Chart] and for the #2, Hammond said he keeps hearing the name Martin Truex Jr. popping up as he still has not been signed by DEI for 2006 [to drive the #1 Chevy in Cup next year](6-26-2005)
UPDATE: when asked about the Truex rumor, Jeff Hammond says: “Anything is possible, but I do know that everybody at DEI expected to get Truex locked in by now. There’s been a lot more pressure put on him, especially from the Penske organization. They’ve offered him a fairly lucrative contract to jump ship and go over there. When that’s going on, it really challenges a guy’s loyalty. DEI has been more than fair with Truex, but he’s faced with a decision that could affect the rest of his career. From what I [Hammond] was told the other day, an offer had been given to Truex, and there was a decision made then not to sign the DEI contract. It puts a lot of people back in the position of almost playing poker with checking and raising. Now the onus is back on DEI and whether or not they want to raise the ante to try to keep him in their camp.”(FoxSports)(6-29-2005)
UPDATE 2: Martin Truex Jr. hasn’t said why he hasn’t yet signed a contract to remain with Dale Earnhardt Inc., but he did say Thursday at Daytona that he is trying to seal a deal. “It’s not done yet, and we are trying to get it done,” said Truex. At least two top-level Nextel Cup teams have immediate openings for the 2006 season. Truex Jr. is in the final year of his contract with DEI, and as reigning Busch Series champion, it is natural that he has found himself in the rumor mill. For his part, Truex has been mum on his talks with DEI, which are being led by his father.(NASCAR.com)(7-1-2005)
