Gillett Evernham Motorsports curtails Nationwide team, engine department
Another NASCAR Nationwide Series has decided to cut back, as Gillett Evernham Motorsports officials said Tuesday its No. 9 Dodge would run a partial Nationwide schedule in 2009.
GEM lost sponsor Unilever to JR Motorsports after the ’08 season and was unable to find adequate sponsorship to run all 35 Nationwide races.
“We are a Sprint Cup team first and foremost, and winning in that series needs to be our primary focus,” Gillett Evernham Motorsports CEO Tom Reddin said in a statement. “The Nationwide Series is a fantastic series and we certainly look forward to racing a partial schedule in 2009, but we will not run the full season next year.
“We will remained focused on putting all of our effort behind the Cup program in 2009. GEM is very fortunate to have nearly all of our Cup sponsors returning in 2009 in addition to the new arrival of others.”
Reddin also said the team will restructure its engine department to align with a reduced number of engine leasing customers next season. GEM started 2008 with Petty Enterprises and Robby Gordon Motorsports leasing engines for three full-time Cup cars.
With GEM now in merger talks with Petty and RGM going to Toyota, GEM likely will have two fewer Cup engine programs to lease as well as not have the need for as many Nationwide engines.
A team spokesman confirmed that the team has laid off employees with the change in Nationwide and engine plans.
The Nationwide Series team has been in existence since 2002, when Tommy Baldwin originally owned it. Co-owner Ray Evernham purchased the assets in 2004.
The team finished 15th in the Nationwide owners standings this year, with Kasey Kahne, Elliott Sadler, Patrick Carpentier and Chase Miller driving.
