Future DEI drivers finish season on a high note
By SceneDaily Staff Report
Monday, November 19, 2007
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HOMESTEAD, Fla. - One era at Dale Earnhardt Inc. ended on a sour note. But after a pair of top-10 finishes in the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the future of DEI appears bright.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. ended his tenure with the team with a 36th-place finish. But Martin Truex Jr. was sixth and Mark Martin ninth in the season-ending Nextel Cup race.
"I truly feel that we are going to keep getting better and better," said Martin, who will share the No. 8 Chevrolet with Aric Almirola in 2008. "I'm pumped about moving into our first full season with Dale Earnhardt Inc. next year. I think there are plenty of good things ahead for this team. I'm sorry we didn't get a win for our soldiers, but we'll come back stronger next season."
Martin started the 2007 season with Ginn Racing in a part-time effort, finishing second in the Daytona 500. Ginn and DEI later merged, with Martin moving under the DEI banner.
Martin finished the season with 11 top-10 finishes in 24 races.
"This was just a great effort by [crew chief] Ryan Pemberton and the U.S. Army team," Martin said of the Homestead race. "I'm very proud to close out the season with a top 10. These guys have been through a lot this season. They wore the Army uniform with pride, and like our soldiers, they never quit. I am really excited about racing with these guys next season."
Truex wasn't too thrilled with his 14th top-10 finish of the season. He led three laps and at times was the fastest car on the track.
"We just fought tight all night," Truex said. "Then I hit the wall a couple of times and damaged the front and that made it worse. We kept working on it. We took two tires the last stop, and that didn't work out for us."
Truex won the first race of his career this season and finished with one win, seven top-five and 14 top-10 finishes. He ended up 11th in the Chase For The Nextel Cup.
DEI will field four teams next season: the No. 1 for Truex, the No. 8 for Martin and Almirola, the No. 15 for Paul Menard and the No. 01 for Regan Smith.
- Mentioned Drivers:
- Aric Almirola
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