NASCAR.com entry list has John Andretti in the #4 Lucas Oil / Morgan McClure Chevy for the GFS Marketplace 400 at Michigan International Speedway. No word on if it a one-race deal or what Mike Wallace’s status is with the team.(8-16-2005)
UPDATE: Morgan-McClure President and Team Manager Larry McClure announced today, “In an effort to seek improvement in overall track performance we are looking at every aspect involved in fielding a car in the NASCAR Nextel Cup series. It has been decided to look at different approaches as to why the performance of our car is not where it should be. We have built new cars and improved on the performance of our engines and we still seem to be lacking somewhere. We need answers on how to get better so we decided to put someone else in the car to get feedback from his perspective and go from there.” McClure continued, “We have asked John Andretti to help us with this task and he has accepted. John has been in the sport for several years and we feel his experience can help point us in the right direction for improvement. The Andretti name has been synonymous with racing for a number of years and we are proud to have John with us as part of our team.” Andretti has been at the shop today getting to know the team and installing his seats in the Michigan cars. When asked about the opportunity to drive the Lucas Oil Chevy he said, “It’s hard to sit back and watch everyone else have fun every weekend and I’m looking forward to coming back out with Morgan-McClure. They’ve been part of NASCAR for a long time and have a winning history. Hopefully, we can come out and have a good solid weekend. That will be the only way we will have a good time and we are looking forward to having a good time.” Regarding the upcoming race at the team’s home track of Bristol, McClure says, “I have asked Mike (Wallace) to drive the Lucas Oil Chevy at Bristol. Mike had a good run for us at Bristol in the spring race even though we were wrecked and we feel he will give us a good solid run there again at our hometown track.”(Morgan-McClure PR)
AND Mike Wallace confirmed Tuesday night with Motorsports Lounge that for the third time this season, Morgan McClure Motorsports has decided to remove Mike from the seat of the #4 Lucas Oil Chevy and put in another driver. This weekend the car will be piloted by John Andretti. At both Sonoma and Watkins Glen, the team owners decided to put in ‘road race expert’ P.J. Jones in hopes of getting decent finishes. Unfortunately, the move backfired as they finished 32nd at Sonoma and 42nd at Watkins Glen. The team is giving John Andretti the best car in their stables as well as a superior motor with loads more horsepower than the last time the team was at Michigan. With this car and motor combination, the expectations for a good finish are high. According to Mike Wallace, he will be back in the car for Bristol.(Mike Wallace Board/Motorsportslounge.com)(8-17-2005)
