Paul Menard will leave Dale Earnhardt Inc. at the end of the season to drive for Yates Racing, The Associated Press has learned. Menard is expected to announce Tuesday that both he and his sponsorship will move to Yates, a person familiar with Menard’s decision told The AP. The person requested anonymity because Menard had yet to make his announcement. DEI officials were not immediately available to comment Monday night. Without Menard, DEI has just one full sponsor in Bass Pro Shops for #1-Martin Truex Jr. He recently agreed to a one-year extension with DEI that takes him through 2009. Sponsorship from the U.S. Army is expected to leave DEI at the end of the year – perhaps for Tony Stewart’s new team [#39-Ryan Newmani s runored] – and that leaves DEI without funding for the #8 Chevy that Aric Almirola will pilot. #01-Regan Smith, the fourth driver in DEI’s current stable, has had very limited sponsorship all season. Yates has been fielding two cars this year with no full-time sponsorship. Instead, it’s pieced together several different limited programs for #38-David Gilliland and #28-Travis Kvapil while receiving support from Roush Fenway Racing.(in part from the Associated Press), hearing an announcement could come sometime this week.(9-29-2008) UPDATE: Menard’s presence secures them [Yates Racing] funding for at least one full-time team in 2009, but will mean the axe for either #28-Travis Kvapil or #38-David Gilliland if enough sponsorship isn’t found to expand to three cars. In the meantime, contraction is now almost a certainty for Dale Earnhardt, Inc., who now must find sponsors for Menard’s #15, Regan Smith’s #01, and Aric Almirola’s #8. A source tells Frontstretch.com Smith’s #01 has been floated around to possible investors, and it’s almost a certainty Smith will not return to the team in 2009. Menard and DEI could not be reached for comment.(Frontstretch) UPDATE 2: Paul Menard has reached an agreement to drive for Yates Racing in the Sprint Cup Series beginning with the 2009 season. “This is a great opportunity and I’m glad to be joining the Yates Racing organization next season,” said Menard. “I think a lot of what Doug Yates and Max Jones are doing over there building for continued success. I’m excited to be a part of their future and excited to work with Travis (Kvapil) and David (Gilliland). You look at what Doug and the Ford Motor Company have done in this sport, they’ve created a lot of horsepower and hoisted quite a few trophies over the years. I’d like to help continue that for both of them.” Paul Menard’s Ford Fusion will feature sponsorship from Menards, as well as associate sponsors including: Johns Manville, Super Clean, Quaker State, Pittsburgh Paints, Moen, Sylvania, Energizer, Turtle Wax, Vertis, Peak and Nibco. Yates Racing General Manager Max Jones sees Menard as a fresh addition to his current roster. “Paul is one of those guys I’ve personally been watching for the last two years; I think he’s ready to take the next step in this series and become a driver we hear a lot about on the track in 2009.” While details of Menard’s car design and car number have yet to be finalized, Team principal Doug Yates sees Paul really fitting in at Yates Racing. “It’s a positive addition for us to get a guy like Paul in camp here,” said Yates. “He’s been through adversity in his first year in Cup and shown tremendous improvement in his second year. He’s a racer, a guy who likes to be at the shop a lot, from what I understand, and that’s what we like here. Plus, he already has a good relationship with our current drivers, so adding that third source of data should help our entire team rise up.”(Menards Racing/Co-Pilott PR)(9-30-2008)
