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Team Rensi will run remaining 2008 Nationwide Series races after all
By Bob Pockrass - Associate Editor
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Team Rensi Motorsports' Bobby Hamilton Jr. put up his own money to run the final three races of the 2008 NASCAR Natiowide Series season.
Todd Warshaw
Getty Images for NASCAR
FORT WORTH, Texas – Team Rensi Motorsports will run the rest of the NASCAR Nationwide Series season after driver Bobby Hamilton Jr. put up the money for the team to compete in the final three races, team president Ronnie Russell said Thursday afternoon.
The team’s sponsorship had run out for this year, and Smithfield Foods has already indicated it would not return next year.
“He’s actually funding this out of his own pocket,” Russell said in the Texas Motor Speedway garage. “We’ve got several things going on and he’s taking the chance to where we keep racing long enough to where we can seal something up here [for next year].”
Hamilton Jr. is 15th in driver points and the team is 18th in owners points. But if the team doesn’t attempt to qualify for an event, it would lose its automatic-qualifier status for being in the top 30 in owners points and would have to start next season qualifying on speed.
“If we are able to achieve something, then it would be really important to have [that guaranteed spot],” Russell said. “We hope some people pay attention to us and we’re true to what we say – if Bobby hadn’t come forward, then we couldn’t have done this.”
Hamilton Jr. said he will spend about $380,000 in keeping the team running for the rest of the year.
“[Co-owner] Ed Rensi has spent millions and millions of his own money keeping this deal going and we didn’t want him to do that any more,” Hamilton Jr. said Friday. “We could have shut down and gave up and walked away, but it wasn’t in us. It wasn’t in me and it wasn’t in these guys.
“We got together and I told them, ‘The hell with it. I’ll pay for it.’ It keeps us there another three weeks to work on sponsorship stuff for next year. They’re talking to some decent people, some good companies with decent money.”
Having spent five season with Team Rensi from 2002-2004 and again since 2007, Hamilton Jr. said he wants to continue racing for the team.
“This is where I want to be,” Hamilton Jr. said. “I love this group. I’m comfortable with everybody here. And it’s evident. I’m paying to race. That’s how important it is to me. … I’m a racer. You can fold up shop and go away or sit here and race. If I wasn’t racing here, I’d be running a Late Model somewhere and I get more out of this than a Late Model.”
The Hamilton car will run the entire race. The team also has entered a second car for Danny O’Quinn that likely wouldn’t run the full event.
“We’re a great race team and we’re an independent deal,” Russell said. “We’ve got great employees. That’s the main thing we’re trying to do. We don’t want to break this up.
“We’ve got some ARCA situations [for sponsorship], some possible Camping World [East] situations and Nationwide.”
Mentioned Drivers:
2009 Sprint Cup Race for the Chase Standings
Driver Standings after the Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500
| 1 | Jimmie Johnson | 6492 |
| 2 | Mark Martin | -108 |
| 3 | Jeff Gordon | -169 |
| 4 | Kurt Busch | -211 |
| 5 | Tony Stewart | -285 |
| 6 | Juan Pablo Montoya | -289 |
| 7 | Greg Biffle | -321 |
| 8 | Denny Hamlin | -352 |
| 9 | Ryan Newman | -411 |
| 10 | Kasey Kahne | -476 |
| 11 | Carl Edwards | -520 |
| 12 | Brian Vickers | -666 |
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Comments
4 responses to "Team Rensi will run remaining 2008 Nationwide Series races after all". Post a Comment.
ed gordon said:
Oct 30, 2008 at 10:02 PMI sure hope Rensi can survive not just the rest of this year but into 2009 as well.This is a growing trend,the NNS series losing cars and teams and it's not a good thing,for the series,the drivers and all of the team members who have familys to support.Even Jr. Motorsports will field one full time car,the 88,and campaign the #5 on a limited basis because of a shortage of sponsorship.
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» Confirm Abuse Reported gordon said:
Oct 30, 2008 at 10:06 PMAlso,the series IMO needs BH jr. The dude is an old school racer,a throwback,a racer to the core.He ain't pretty,he ain't politically correct,but he is IMO the conscience of the series.If you get a chance,tune in to his weekly interviews on sirius on the morning drive with Poole and the Bagman and give a listen.It's honest and refreshing.
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» Confirm Abuse ReportTIM BEEDLE said:
Oct 30, 2008 at 11:24 PMWAY TO GO BOBBY . YOUR DAD WOULD HAVE BEEN PROUD!!!!!!!!
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» Confirm Abuse ReportBarak Obama said:
Oct 31, 2008 at 2:32 PMI'd like to see Bobby back in the Tide ride. He didn't race worth a darn but it sure was fun watching him try.
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