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Money woes force EGR to park No. 8
Yates Racing closed its No. 28 team last month when it couldn't find sponsorship for Travis Kvapil.
"We did our best to find a sponsor for the (No.) 8 that would take a larger number of races than the one-, two-, three-race deals we were able to do and just have not closed that type of deal yet," EGR president Steve Lauletta said Wednesday. "We are still working hard at it to get Aric and the (No.) 8 back on the track as soon as we can."
If sponsorship can be found, there is a possibility that the car could return but additional layoffs at EGR are forthcoming. Through the first seven races of the season, the team had picked up single-race sponsorship from video game Guitar Hero (four races total), portable GPS maker TomTom (one race), outdoor equipment maker Cub Cadet (one) and Champion Apparel (one).
Almirola's best finish in seven Cup races this season was 21st at Atlanta last month. The team is 37th in the owner standings, 59 points behind 35th-place No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing team — the last guaranteed starting spot.
Others who have driven the No. 8 Dale Earnhardt Inc. machine include Dale Earnhardt Jr. (1999-2007) and Mark Martin (2008). Almirola has been behind the wheel of the car since 2008.
DEI merged with Chip Ganassi Racing to form EGR late last season.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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