Dale Earnhardt Jr. said Friday he would be for JR Motorsports driver Regan Smith filling in for Tony Stewart even though Smith is racing for a Nationwide championship. Smith said that he ‘would be open to the possibilities” and has texted with Stewart-Haas Racing officials this week but not had formal conversations. Next week is [tricky] with the Sprint Cup series at Michigan International Speedway and the Nationwide Series competing at Mid-Ohio. While both tracks are relatively close, their schedules do not align well. That would make it challenging for a driver to go back and forth. One option for Stewart-Haas Racing at Michigan could be Scott Riggs, who has tested on ovals for the team. After that, the Cup and Nationwide Series will be together most of the rest of the year. The exception is when the Cup series races Sept. 22 at New Hampshire and Nationwide runs at Kentucky the day before. Smith, who is second in the Nationwide point standings to Austin Dillon, is a logical choice for a variety of reasons. Smith has Cup experience, having run 171 races and won the 2011 Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. Smith is an easy pick because of the ties to Hendrick Motorsports. Both Jr Motorsports and Stewart-Haas Racing have ties to car owner Rick Hendricks team. Smith admits it would be a challenge to run both the JR Motorsports car in Nationwide and Stewarts Cup car, but hed be for it if offered.( Motor Racing Network )
