McDowell to run for JTG-Doughtery

Quote :

Hearing that JTG will have Michael McDowell driving the #47 at Daytona and there is sponsorship with him for a partial schedule. Gene Nead will be the crew chief for the team. JTG Daugherty continues to work with Kelly Bires to run a limited number of races.(1-20-2009)

~Jayski

Kelly Bires deserves a full time ride - I hope someone picks him up...

No kidding? From what I seen of Kelly, I thought he was an awesome racer! Guess it all boils down to sponsorship & money again??? That's what happened to my buddy Petey too! I really feel bad for these guys!

It' s just too bad the Wood Bros., couldn't get Kelly back and get sponsorship for the entire season & start getting their chassis's from Roush again? He's a Ford driver, maybe he could end up over at Yate's??? At any rate, I wish him luck!

I feel bad for Kelly. He deserves a full-time ride.
Like cascar-fan said ..... it all boils down to sponsorship and money.
Guess it doesn't matter anymore what kind of a driver you are.

Michael McDowell behind the wheel?

Uh-Ohhh!

^^ I shouldn't laugh at your comment But I can't help it.

It's more important to have a driver (no matter who) on your team that comes with a sponsor.

Kelly will attempt Daytona 500, no plans after that:

Quote :

Mauston native Kelly Bires will attempt to make his Sprint Cup debut in the Daytona 500 next month, but he probably won't be too busy after that.

On a week when he wrapped up a deal for the biggest race of his life, Bires also learned that he no longer has the promise of any Nationwide Series races with JTG Daugherty Racing. Michael McDowell brought sponsorship for the first 16 races, Bires said. Bires could race in the second half of the year if the team finds money, but he also is free to pursue other opportunities.

As consolation prizes go, though, Bires' is not bad. He will drive for Blackjack Racing, a new, part-time team out of the ARCA series, at Daytona. The car is an ex-Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge that became expendible when that team merged with DEI and switched to Chevrolets.

"We could go there and run like crap, or we could go and run well and surprise a lot of people," Bires said. "Anything beyond making the show is an added bonus.

"If we make the race, we'll probably get more publicity out of that than I did out of a whole year and a half in the Nationwide Series."

Blackjack plans a limited schedule for its regular driver, Westby native Dexter Bean, but with only one NASCAR short-track race to his credit, Bean has not been approved by NASCAR to race on a superspeedway.

~JSOnline

Good for Kelly.... I wish him lots of luck

I probably shouldn't have said that in the first place, and I'm sorry for doing so. I know how important sponsorship is today in NASCAR, and I understand the reasoning for putting Michael in the car.

I just couldn't resist saying that after the big wreck he caused last fall at the Glen, though.

Kelly should still be in there.

lol McDowell

well he should do better there since half the field is start and park so well he can maybe beat that half