Clearing up the confusion on the fate of the 26 car in Cup

There's been a lot written about and talked about of Roush Fenway Racing selling the No. 26 car to Vermont businessman Bill Jenkins.

I talked to NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston and here's the deal on the issue:

Jenkins has bought the 26 team and in a ONE-TIME EXCEPTION approved by NASCAR also gets the 26 team's points without the primary owner of the car from the previous season being a part of the new endeavor. In other words, Jenkins gets the points even though Roush _ who earned the car owner points last year _ is NOT a part of the ownership. This is a straight out sell from Roush to Jenkins. This is important because it guarantees that Jenkins' car will be in the first five races, including the Daytona 500, this year. The top 35 in car owner points at the end of last year are guaranteed starting spots in the first five races of the next season. 

Poston said NASCAR approved this exception because it was a NASCAR rule that forced Roush to have to sell one of his cars. Remember, a few years ago, NASCAR implemented the four-car ownership limit. At the time Roush had five cars. Roush was allowed to keep his five cars for as long as sponsor contracts lasted. They ended after last season. So, Roush was forced to get rid of one of his teams.

Poston said that NASCAR felt that was the fairest way to deal with the issue since it was forcing  Roush to dump one of his teams.

Any other time, an owner has to stay involved with a team if he sells (or merges) with another team for that new team to get those car owner points. That's why in the past Bobby Ginn and Bill Davis have each been listed as car owners of cars they really have very little, if anything, to do with after their mergers.

Hope that clears some of the confusion for folks.

COMMENTS ADVISORY: Users are solely responsible for opinions they post here; comments do not reflect the views of The Virginian-Pilot or its websites. Users must follow agreed-upon rules: Be civil, be clean, be on topic; don't attack private individuals, other users or classes of people. Read the full rules here.
- Comments are automatically checked for inappropriate language, but readers might find some comments offensive or inaccurate. If you believe a comment violates our rules, click the report violation link below it.