Earnhardt Ganassi Racing expects to keep Bass Pro Shops regardless of Martin Truex Jr. decision
Bass Pro Shops is the primary sponsor for the No. 1 Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet driven by Martin Truex Jr.
// LaDon George, NASCAR Scene
LOUDON, N.H. – Earnhardt Ganassi Racing President Steve Lauletta said no matter what happens with Martin Truex Jr., he expects Bass Pro Shops will remain with the organization for 2010.
Truex, who drives for EGR, is expected to be announced as the 2010 full-time replacement for Michael Waltrip at Michael Waltrip Racing on July 7.
“I heard about that [announcement] – I have no idea [its content],” Lauletta said in the New Hampshire Motor Speedway garage. “We have not re-signed Martin for 2010.”
Lauletta was fairly mum on whether the team would put current driver Aric Almirola (who started the year driving for EGR in Sprint Cup and has since been driving select Nationwide and Truck races for other teams) in the No. 1 car or someone else.
“We’re not going to talk about what we’re doing and what our options are,” Lauletta said. “We’ll keep that all internal.”
He said those discussions would include Bass Pro Shops.
“If something happened where we didn’t re-sign Martin, then we would be having dialogue with Bass Pro on who takes the seat,” he said. “When, if that time comes, we’ll be doing that as quick as we have to.”
As far as his manufacturer situation, Lauletta said EGR is in a similar situation as the rest of the Chevrolet organizations as it has been asked to cut back.
“Readjusting our budget based on the situation they’re in – we’re doing that,” he said. “We’re still real happy where we are with Chevy and with [Earnhardt Childress Racing Technologies] and we’re going to keep working with them the best we can. … Everything else is status quo.
“We haven’t gotten into having conversations about 2010 yet, so as of right now, we’ve got to sit down and talk to them and look at our options and determine what is the best course of action. Where we started the season and the support we’ve received from them, we hope to continue the dialogue.”
