Robert Yates Racing hopes to hear in the next two to three weeks whether UPS will return as a sponsor [on the #88 team], team general manager Eddie D’Hondt said Friday at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. UPS is trying to decide whether to stay with RYR, move with current RYR driver Dale Jarrett over to Michael Waltirp Racing, where Jarrett will run a Toyota starting in 2007. or go to another team. “We’re still talking with them,” said D’Hondt, who added that there is no timeline for UPS to decide. “In three weeks time, I think we’ll all know what we’re all doing.” The team is still in the early stages of looking for a replacement. It has two development drivers – Stephen Leicht and Matt McCall – currently running part-time Busch schedules. “There is a chance you may see them in a Cup car to get a race under their belt as the year goes on,” D’Hondt said. “That’s not written in stone, but it has been talked about. We’re not going to rush them beyond what they are capable of. … A year from now, I think Matt and Stephen will be ready.” D’Hondt said eventually RYR would like to have four Nextel Cup teams and two Busch Series teams. “We’re setting ourselves for a good future; we just have to live with what we’re going through now,” D’Hondt said.(SceneDaily.com)(5-20-2006)
UPDATE: RYR is also waiting to hear if #88 team sponsor UPS will remain with RYR next year, move to the Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota team with Dale Jarrett or go to another team entirely. If UPS moves to Waltrips organization, that may bump the team from two to three cars. Waltrips own Toyota will be sponsored by NAPA and a second team car will fly the Burger King colors in 2007, leaving UPS as a possible sponsor for a third MWR car. On the driver front, the Yates crew is said to be hot after Casey Mears, the biggest remaining name free agent.(Speed Channel)
AND Who’s the lead candidate for the #88 (possibly UPS) Ford in 2007? One name mentioned more than once is Brian Vickers, driver of the #25 GMAC Chevy owned by Rick Hendrick.(CircleTrackPlus.com)
UPDATE 2: In response to the CircleTrackPlus.com posting up on the site today. The “Unsubstantiated Rumors’ as they’re classified as on the Web-Site are in fact just that. Vickers and Hendrick Motorsports remain committed to each other.(Hendrick Motorsports)(5-22-2006)
