Yates Racing is committed to running the first five Sprint Cup races with #28-Travis Kvapil, with any races of the season beyond that still to be determined, team general manager Max Jones said Thursday. Jones said he hopes that sponsorship can be found, much like the team did last year when it ran an unsponsored car in several races and had several occasional primary sponsors. While optimistic that recent talks with potential sponsors will come through, Jones said the team doesnt intend to run the team unsponsored the entire year. Kvapils crew chief will be Ben Leslie, who will also continue in his position as Ford Racings NASCAR field manager. Todd Parrott was going to be Kvapils crew chief, but he “ and his entire team “ is going to work with #96-Bobby Labonte, whose Hall of Fame Racing team will be operated by Yates Racing in a deal announced last week. Kvapil will have no points to fall back on in getting into the first five races. His points from 2008, when he finished 23rd in the driver standings, went to #98-Paul Menard, who brought sponsorship to the team.(SceneDaily)(1-23-2009)
