JR Motorsports looking at Regan Smith for 2013: Regan Smith will step out of the #88 Chevy when Dale Earnhardt Jr. is expected to return from a concussion next week, but Smith’s connection with NASCAR’s most popular driver could become more permanent. Earnhardt’s JR Motorsports has targeted Smith as the team’s first choice to contend for a Nationwide Series championship in 2013. ‘We are in discussions with Regan’ JRM general manager and co-owner Kelley Earnhardt told USA TODAY Sports. ‘That’s who we would like for that to be. We’ve been in dialogue and are just trying to work some of the details out. So it’s not a done deal, but that’s definitely a direction we’d like to go.â The ongoing talks paved the way for Hendrick Motorsports team owner Rick Hendrick (also a minority owner in JRM) to choose Smith when Earnhardt Jr. was forced to miss two races with a head injury. JRM hopes to run two Chevys full time again next year with a third part-time entry driven by Earnhardt Jr. for at least four races. The car slated for Smith is virtually funded in full, and the team still is seeking full sponsorship for a second car driven by Cole Whitt, who is ranked seventh in Nationwide points in JRM’s #88. ‘We’re hoping we can get that funding and Cole can stay on board in that car’ Kelley Earnhardt said. Danica Patrick, who is in third year with JRM and first full season, still might run some races for JRM next year when she moves to Sprint Cup with Stewart-Haas Racing.(USA Today)(10-16-2012)
