8 car could be returning to NASCAR

The folks at Dale Earnhardt Inc. are working at bringing the 8 car to both the Nationwide and Cup series next year.

The plan would be for Jeffrey Earnhardt, grandson of Dale, to drive the 8 car in the Nationwide series and have that team based out of the DEI shops in Mooresville, N.C. If sponsorship can be found, the 8 car would return to Cup and be based out of the Earnhardt Ganassi Racing shop in Cocord, N.C. (that also is home to the 42 car of Juan Pablo Montoya and the 1 car of Martin Truex Jr.).

"We do have plans to bring the 8 car back for next season,'' Jeff Steiner executive VP and general manager at DEI, told me Wednesday afternoon. "We are working with a number of sponsors. It's not a for sure deal. We haven't announced that we are officially bringing it back. We have a desire to bring it back. We have ongoing sponsor meetings looking at try to bring that back in 2010. I don't think we would see anything with the 8 car at the Sprint Cup level in 2009. I think based where we're at with sponsor discussions, I don't foresee that happening this year, but it is one of our aspirations to get that car back on the track together with the 1 and the 42.''

So, would the 8 come back fulltime or would it be acceptable to bring it back part time in 2010?

"I think we would consider something part time,'' Steiner told me. "In today's economy and today's NASCAR, we need to look at all potential opportunities to get either young developmental drivers or other people out on the track and if we have an opportunity to do that and get the 8 back on the track in 2010, I think we would certainly consider that. I think we need to be fairly open. That number is certainly appealing for many reasons, and in a lot of cases , the sponsors we have had discussions with are attracted to the number becaue there is certainly a marketing benefit a sponsor would have with being associated with the 8 car, that's attractive.''

As for Jeffrey Earnhardt:

"That would be something we would be looking at running him in an 8 fulltime in the Nationwide level,'' Steiner said. "We're still working on sponsorships. Our intention ... having him in a family number. I think we're hopeful (of a fulltime schedule for Jeffrey). It's not in the can for us yet from a sponsor's standpoint but we have a lot of positive activity with six or seven different sponsors that are all very, very interested in working with the program. We're pretty bullish on that potential for 2010.''

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