Sources: Earnhardt Ganassi Racing suspends operation of Aric Almirola's Cup team
Earnhardt Ganassi Racing has suspended operation of its No. 8 NASCAR Sprint Cup team with driver Aric Almirola. // David Griffin, NASCAR Scene
Earnhardt Ganassi Racing has suspended operation of the No. 8 NASCAR Sprint Cup team while the organization continues to look for sponsorship for the car and driver Aric Almirola, according to sources familiar with the situation.
The move comes as no surprise as team co-owner Chip Ganassi said at the beginning of the season that the team needed sponsorship to run the full year. Team president Steve Lauletta said last month that the team would race through the April 5 event at Texas Motor Speedway, but needed additional sponsorship to run more races. He said sponsorship prospects were more promising for later in the season than for races in the spring.
Almirola began his NASCAR career at Joe Gibbs Racing before signing with Ginn Racing and then joining Dale Earnhardt Inc. when it merged with Ginn in 2007. He shared a Cup ride with Mark Martin for the second half of the 2007 season and in 2008 and was slated by DEI to run a full schedule in 2009. DEI merged with Chip Ganassi Racing last November, and Almirola’s 2009 season has been in limbo without sponsorship.
Almirola said last Friday that he didn’t know what his future held.
“I’ve put so much in my heart and soul and focus that I have going on right here, I don’t have a Plan B,” Almirola said. “I haven’t walked around and worked on a Plan B yet because I’m so focused on Plan A. That’s what I’m really worried about and concerning myself with.
“I need to do the best job I can to keep this going right now rather than worry about anything else.”
Almirola is 37th in the driver standings, and the No. 8 team is 37th in the owners standings, 59 points out of the 35th and cutoff position for a guaranteed starting spot.
