#78-Furniture Row Racing will put the finishing touches on its technical alliance with Richard Childress Racing this week. A meeting is scheduled on Friday between principles of the two companies in hopes to strengthened the single car operation at FRR and in essence create a satellite fourth car for RCR. “While the team may look the same on the outside, eternally we’re much stronger,” said Joe Garone, general manager of Furniture Row Racing. “One of the assets with the alliance with Richard Childress is our ability to be secure in the top 35. “During the last quarter, we decided we needed to run the full season. Around May or June, we realized how much it hurt us not to run the full season. We can race on the Furniture Row sponsorship, but it wouldn’t allow us to expand to a second car. Our primary goal is to have the #78 team run at 100 percent efficiency.” FRR will continue its partnership with Kevin Harvick Inc., with the pit crew. FRR contracts the over-the-wall crew who work at KHI full-time and pit Harvick’s Nationwide Series cars.(Fox Sports)(1-29-2010)
UPDATE: On the surface it looks basically the same. But behind the scenes it’s a whole new look for the Furniture Row Racing team, which made significant personnel moves during the offseason as it readies to return to a full 36-race NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule in 2010. The team’s driver (Regan Smith), car number (78) and car manufacturer (Chevy) remain the same for the new campaign, which kicks off Sunday Feb. 14 with NASCAR’s traditional season opener — the Daytona 500. But when you get beyond the driver, car make and car number, the Denver-based Furniture Row team is quite different than it has been in recent years. For starters, more than 20 new employees were hired during the offseason, increasing the team’s growing staff to more than 60. Along with the new hires, Furniture Row Racing went even a step further to enhance its program by forming a technical and engineering alliance with Richard Childress Racing. “Being a single-car team against the mega, multicar teams has put us at a huge disadvantage over the years,” said Garone. “Now that we have formed an alliance with RCR, we will have the ability to be secured in the top 35 and keep a better pace with the other multicar teams. RCR has always been a leader and a winner, and we are proud to be affiliated with Richard Childress and his outstanding organization.”(Furniture Row Racing PR)(1-29-2010)
UPDATE 2: Furniture Row General Manager Joe Garone told Sirius NASCAR Radio’s Sirius Speedway with Dave Moody that as part of the team’s new technical alliance with Richard Childress Racing, Childress is now an owner of FRR. Garone said the details of the technical alliance are not fully ironed out, but will give the team a major boost in engineering. He confirmed that the team will not utilize Earnhardt-Childress Racing Engines, choosing instead to continue their relationship with Hendrick Engines.(1-29-2009), See the 2010 Owners Points Standings page [totally unofficial] for how the owners points are stacking up for the first five races.(1-29-2010)
