MB2 not for sale, may form alliance with DEI

By Mark Ashenfelter

Monday, June 05, 2006

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MB2 Motorsports officials say the team isn't for sale, but minority owner Jay Frye has had discussions with Dale Earnhardt Inc. about working together on the competition side.

"Becoming more efficient is what we've talked about going into next year," Frye said Sunday. "... There's lots of different programs that are starting next year with the 'car of tomorrow' and things like that.

"We've talked to them about how maybe, as a group, we can do things [like build transmissions, gears or even cars] more efficiently together. It's all just ideas at this point. Nothing [concrete]. It's, 'How can we work together to make things more efficient.' Everything else has just blown out from that."

Frye said the team, controlled by majority owner Nelson Bowers, is not for sale. But the fact that Frye has been to DEI's shop and Richie Gilmore, DEI's vice president of competition, has been to MB2 has sparked talk that DEI would buy MB2, with John Menard then buying DEI.

Gilmore agreed that nothing is for sale. DEI has previously said that it would field a third full-time team for Paul Menard (John Menard's son) starting in 2007. DEI would like to expand, but Gilmore said there are no plans to purchase MB2.

"We've talked about budgets and trying to figure out how to pay for [the car of tomorrow], and the story has grown legs," Gilmore said. "We have looked at three teams compared to four teams, but this story has grown legs because of meetings where Jay Frye was at our shop."

Frye said talks are still exploratory, sparked by the car of tomorrow. Teams will not only have to build versions of their current cars for 2007, but the newer car as well.

Frye said the two organizations would need to form an alliance within the next two months to get a start on next season.