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RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — His 2008 lineup finally set, team owner Rick Hendrick said he's about two weeks away from announcing a sponsor and car number for Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Hendrick said he's close to completing the sponsorship part, but the number end is still a work in progress.
The only thing that's certain, he said, is that Earnhardt won't drive the No. 8 or the No. 25. Junior has used the No. 8 since entering the Cup series, but DEI won't let him take it with him at the end of the season.
The No. 25 is the existing number at Hendrick, which has been in use since 1986 when Hendrick gave it to the late Tim Richmond. But Hendrick said he's ready to "walk away from the 25."
"The curse of the 25, I've heard that so many times," Hendrick said. "(The No. 25) meant a lot to me over the years. I think now is time for a change. I hate to see the number go, but I'm actually looking forward to having a completely clean sheet of paper going forward."
Hendrick said he'd like to find a number that includes an 8 for Earnhardt, and the team has applied for trademarks on the 28, 38, 51, 58, 81 and 82.
NEW NO. 8: Mark Martin will replace Earnhardt in the No. 8 next season, and at least one person believes the late Dale Earnhardt would have approved of the hiring.
Richard Childress, who fielded cars for six of Earnhardt's championships, said Earnhardt once put Martin on a short list of drivers he would like to see drive the No. 3 one day. The No. 3 has not been used since Earnhardt's 2001 death.
"I told Mark, I said, 'I think Dale would want to see you in the 8, and he'd be proud to see you drive it,"' Childress said. "I think the 8 was made famous by Dale Earnhardt Jr., but it's also the property of DEI."
Martin will run a partial schedule next season in the No. 8 for DEI, splitting seat time with Aric Almirola. He said Childress assured him driving the No. 8 was the right decision.
"Richard was the one that really made me feel good about it," Martin said. "He had some really awesome things to say about it and unfortunately, in this business, the numbers pretty much stay with the owners. That's all they have. Dale Earnhardt Jr. gets to take his name and superstardom anywhere he wants to go."
Martin said he knows some fans won't accept anyone besides Earnhardt Jr. in the No. 8, even a respected veteran such as Martin.
"I know that there will be a backlash from a certain number of his fans," Martin said. "But you have to understand that that number has a lot of meaning to DEI. I raced against Dale Sr. in the No. 8 Busch car owned by DEI in 1984. So its very important to this company and its part of keeping Dale Earnhardt's legacy alive.
"I'm sorry for the ones that don't like it, but for the ones that do, I appreciate them."
MORE CHANGES FOR MEARS: The pressure is on Casey Mears, who will move to a team that has qualified for the Chase for the championship the last two seasons.
Mears is moving into the No. 5 at Hendrick Motorsports next year, and Kyle Busch has made that team a consistent title contender. Mears, who scored his first Nextel Cup victory in May, has yet to qualify for the Chase.
But he's looking forward to the new opportunity.
"Hopefully we can just continue what the 5 has been doing and hopefully run better than what they've been doing this year," Mears said. "I think a lot of the guys are excited. I'm very excited about it."
Mears is moving as Hendrick makes room for Dale Earnhardt Jr., who will step into Mears' slot. Mears is technically replacing Busch and will inherit crew chief Alan Gustafson and that crew.
This will be Mears' fourth team in four years: He drove the No. 41 for Chip Ganassi, was moved into the No. 42 at that team last year then moved to Hendrick's No. 25 this season.
He said he's anxious to get a little bit of continuity with one group.
"At some point it's going to be nice to have a good couple of years in a row with the same crew chief and all the same sponsors... just kind of build the relationships and carry it on over into the next season," he said. "But a lot of the guys that are on the team right now are still going to be part of the organization in some capacity. I don't know exactly how all that's working out yet.
"I've built relationships with all those guys. We're within the same team right now, the same shop. It's not like everything that we built this year is just gone now. It's all still going to be there. I'm looking forward to it. I think it's going to be fun."
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