RCR Searching For Fourth Driver With General Mills Sponsorship

Childress Beginning Search To Fill Driver Seat For Fourth Sprint Cup Entry

With Richard Childress Racing (RCR) last week signing a sponsorship deal with General Mills, RCR Owner Richard Childress "can now begin" the search for a fourth NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver, according to Lee Spencer of FOXSPORTS.com. RCR sources said that the team "offered up" to General Mills five drivers: Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards, Ryan Newman, Martin Truex Jr. and "initially" Bobby Labonte. Jeff Burton also could "be a factor in the mix." With AT&T's sponsorship of Burton's No. 31 car expiring at the end of this season, the car will "have its naming rights up for bid," and Burton "could fill the wish list of many sponsors in the garage or potential sponsors looking to be coddled through the initiation process." Childress: "The key to it is to have someone that's going to fit in. You have a great company like General Mills and we want to make sure we have the right combination." Meanwhile, Childress said that he is "'not at liberty to discuss' whether he's been in contact with UPS, a company that has been under the gun to hire a driver with star power." Spencer noted UPS two seasons ago "made a run at Kasey Kahne" before the company signed with Michael Waltrip Racing (MWR) to sponsor the No.44 Toyota driven by Dale Jarrett. Though UPS "had a history with Dale Jarrett, signing with MWR was more a gift of charity for the popular veteran than an expectation of winning" (FOXSPORTS.com, 4/5).

Gilliland Runs Without Primary Sponsor At Samsung 500 At Texas Motor Speedway

YOUR NAME HERE: During Fox’ coverage of Sunday’s NASCAR Samsung 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, Fox’ Larry McReynolds noted Yates Racing’s No. 38 Ford driven by David Gilliland did not have a primary sponsor on his hood. McReynolds: “If you look at the car, unlike all the other cars, no pretty paint scheme. (They’re) still looking for a sponsor on that car. I talked to (Yates co-Owner) Doug Yates and he said they’re more than willing to talk to anybody and he said one thing that he feared, and he wanted me to make sure that I sent the message out there, was there was talk Ford was pulling support back. He said Ford is not going anywhere. They are here to stay” (Fox, 4/6).