Elliott, Stewart among those testing in final Daytona session

By NASCAR Scene Staff Report

Thursday, January 10, 2008

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SCENE ON THE CIRCUIT: SPRINT CUP GARAGE

Bill Elliott and Tony Stewart will be among those testing in the Jan. 14-16 Sprint Cup test session at Daytona International Speedway.

Oh yeah, Dale Earnhardt Jr. will be there in a Hendrick Motorsports car, too.

But while Earnhardt Jr.’s presence was expected, the addition of Elliott and Stewart wasn’t determined until late in the offseason.

Wood Brothers/JTG Racing officials announced Jan. 4 that Elliott will drive the team’s No. 21 Sprint Cup Ford during Speedweeks with sponsorship from Little Debbie for the Daytona 500.

Since the team finished outside the top 35 in owner points in 2007, Elliott, who drove in 20 races for the team last year, is not guaranteed a starting spot in the 500. As a former champion, he could use a past champions provisional if Kurt Busch and Dale Jarrett qualify on speed or through the qualifying races.

The No. 21 driver lineup for the remainder of the 2008 season has not been announced, though Marcos Ambrose is scheduled to compete in 12 Cup events for the team.

That leaves Ken Schrader, the team’s driver last year, without a ride for the Daytona 500 and the Budweiser Shootout.

Stewart will test the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota in the Jan. 14-16 session after skipping the Daytona test for the last three years. The tests (the first session was Jan. 7-9) mark the first full NASCAR test of the car of tomorrow at Daytona and the first official NASCAR test for JGR since making the switch from Chevrolet to Toyota following the 2007 Cup season.

In another late switch to the testing lineup, Scott Riggs was originally scheduled to test in the first session in the Haas CNC Racing No. 70, but pending a sponsorship deal being finalized, the No. 70 will be driven by Jeremy Mayfield. Riggs will replace Mayfield in the No. 66 in the second session, according to a team official.

McDowell To Get MWR Ride?

Michael McDowell said Jan. 6 he has signed with Michael Waltrip Racing, but as far as his 2008 plans, he can’t say anything just yet.

McDowell, who has road-racing, Champ Car and ARCA experience, competed in three Busch (now Nationwide) Series events last year. He has been considered the leading candidate (pending sponsorship) to drive the No. 00 car after David Reutimann replaces Dale Jarrett in the team’s No. 44 car starting with the sixth NASCAR Sprint Cup race of the season.

The team has not announced a sponsor nor a driver yet to replace Reutimann.

“I know that we’re supposed to make an announcement at the end of the month,” McDowell said during a break in testing for the Rolex 24 At Daytona.

McDowell said he is going through the Sprint Cup approval process and will compete in the Nationwide Series event in February at Daytona.

He spent at least five days during the offseason testing and has worked with new crew chief Bill Pappas, who has an extensive Indy-car résumé and is making his first foray into stock-car racing. Pappas will be the crew chief for Jarrett and then whoever replaces Reutimann in the No. 00 car.

McDowell said he believes he could be ready for his Cup debut if tapped for that ride.

“I’m definitely not underlooking the challenge,” he said. “I understand how difficult it is going to be. I don’t want to sound like, ‘Hey, I’m ready to go.’

“... The timing is perfect to try to do something now rather than waiting and giving everybody a full season in the new car. Now, testing [for me] is really important, and if I can get up to speed and be ready to go, then we’ll do it.”

Petty Hires Finley

Petty Enterprises officials announced Jan. 4 they have hired Derrick Finley as the team’s technical director. Finley has served as crew chief and in engineering roles for several Cup teams. He holds a mechanical engineering degree from the University of New Mexico.

Petty Enterprises, which fields Cup entries for Kyle Petty and Bobby Labonte, has made several changes for this season, including a move to the former Robert Yates Racing shop in Mooresville, N.C.

Jeff Gordon’s car chief, Jeff Meendering, has been hired as Labonte’s crew chief. Finley has worked with Michael Waltrip Racing and Bill Davis Racing the last two years.