Shut out of seat in 2009, Landon Cassill happy to finally get back in JRM car
LEBANON, Tenn. – Landon Cassill says he won’t take the attitude that he should use his four-race deal to drive the No. 7 JR Motorsports car as a way to show the organization that he should be running full-time for the team.
Cassill, who drove 16 races for JR Motorsports in 2008 and was the top rookie in the Nationwide Series, was shut out of the driver seat in 2009 with the exception of driving one Nationwide race for Phoenix Racing at Memphis. He will drive in four upcoming Nationwide races for JRM, with GoDaddy.com sponsorship next week at Phoenix and then the next three weeks – at Texas, Talladega and Richmond – with no sponsor having been named for those races. JRM wants to keep the No. 7 car at the track every week because it is a strong car and also so when Danica Patrick resumes her partial schedule in June, she won’t have to qualify on speed.
“I’m not trying to get in the 88 [of JRM],” Cassill said at Nashville Superspeedway. “I’d like to be in the 7 car and work with [crew chief] Tony [Eury] Jr. and I’d like to work with [JRM driver] Kelly [Bires]. … I’m not trying to go out and say, ‘You should have hired me in the first place.’ I’m just glad to be driving for GoDaddy and JR Motorsports and be part of the team.”
Having competed in one race this year as he drove a truck at Daytona for ThorSport Racing, Cassill has continued doing some testing for Hendrick Motorsports and doesn’t expect to have much rust.
“I ran Memphis last year in the 1 car and we ran in the top five all day,” said Cassill, who finished 10th at Memphis. “I don’t see why we can’t go out there and run what the car is capable of doing, whether that’s top-five, top-10 or top-15.”
The 20-year-old Cassill admits there were times when he got discouraged last year, and this shows that you never know when the opportunities will come along.
“It’s a great opportunity and it’s a great deal we’re doing,” Cassill said. “I’m at a loss for words. … I’m finally happy to be back in the car.”
