DEI drivers Regan Smith and Aric Almirola welcome strong qualifying runs

By Bob Pockrass - Associate Editor

Saturday, October 04, 2008

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John Harrelson / Getty Images for NASCAR

Regan Smith

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TALLADEGA, Ala. – Aric Almirola and Regan Smith will make it an all-Dale Earnhardt Inc. second row at the start of the Amp Energy 500 on Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway.

They both hope that sponsors notice.

DEI Vice President of Motorsports John Story acknowledged this week that the company doesn’t anticipate the U.S. Army coming back to the Almirola car next year (he currently shares the car with Mark Martin) and Smith has had limited sponsorship all season. It was announced Tuesday that the Menards sponsorship and driver Paul Menard would go to Yates Racing in 2009.

“I get paid to drive race cars,” Almirola said. “I am just going out there doing the best job I can every weekend. I am not giving any extra effort now, because if I were, that would be shame on me, because I wasn't doing my job earlier in the season.

“I am doing everything I was doing earlier in the season. I am doing the same things. It is business as usual. It is up to [DEI President] Max [Siegel] and John [Story] to take care of all that stuff. A part of me worries about it, but a part of me, I can't worry about it. That isn't my job."

Smith was the only one of three rookies to make the race.

“Our concern as drivers and as people working within the company is to run as good as we can each week,” Smith said. “We’ve got a lot of good people on the marketing side that are working to make sure that we’ve got sponsors on all these race cars and if we’re out there running good each week and doing what we can on the race track, the rest of this stuff will fall into place.

“From my standpoint, I’m just worried trying to win races here.”

But Smith also has to think about his racing future. He doesn’t have a contract for next year.

“My situation is up in the air as of right now so I’d be stupid not to talk to other teams,” Smith said. “I’d be pretty naive if I didn’t. I have every intention of returning to DEI next year. That’s where I want to be.

“I’ve got a lot of faith in the company, in the people working there, in my team in particular. I feel strong in the direction everything’s going and want to be back.”

Almirola is under contract with DEI to run his first full-time season next year in a Cup car.

“I’d be silly to say [sponsorship doesn’t worry me],” Almirola said. “I think everybody in the whole garage area is [worried]. The economy is tough obviously … To just go and find 20-25 million dollars that people have to spend on a race team is hard. We’re working hard at it and they’re trying to do all they can but this is a good start.”

It certainly is a good start. Not only do they occupy the second row, but Menard starts fifth and teammate Martin Truex Jr. starts 10th.

“[A] lot of stuff [went] on this weekend and it just shows how strong the company really is when we come out here and make all [the] cars that fast,” Smith said. “We’ve been getting better each week whether it’s a short track or an intermediate track or a superspeedway program. We’ll just see what we can do Sunday.”