Gilliland Appears Out At Yates Racing

Hall of Fame and Yates Racing have confirmed a pair of owners' point transfers that put the status of driver David Gilliland in serious doubt for 2009.

The team says that Bobby Labonte and his new #96 Ford will use the owner points accumulated by Gilliland and the #38 car last season, while Paul Menard’s #98 Fusion will benefit from an owner points transfer from the No. 28 driven last year by Travis Kvapil. A press release issued by the team said Kvapil will begin the season as a “fresh entry” in the No. 28 Yates Racing Ford, having to qualify on time for the first five races of the season.

New Sponsor For Stremme: Penske Racing announced today that they will field a full-season NASCAR Nationwide Series entry for 2008 ARCA RE/MAX Series champion Justin Allgaier, with sponsorship from Verizon Wireless.

The team also announced that it will unveil a new color scheme on David Stremme’s #12 Dodge at next month’s Daytona 500. No new sponsor was announced, but language in NASCAR’s contract with title sponsor Sprint bars Verizon from rebranding its Alltel sponsorship on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

And Finally: Dale Earnhardt, Jr., was apparently not amused by Memphis Motorsports Park’s offer of a lifetime supply of barbeque ribs in exchange for him racing in the track’s NASCAR Nationwide Series race this season.

Earnhardt said, “Those kind of deals kind of get under your skin a little bit, because obviously I haven't raced there since 1999, and I probably won't be going back there any time soon. They just used my name to try to sell tickets and try to start some gimmick."

He also expressed unhappiness that the track plugged a restaurant that supports the speedway, rather than his favorite rib joint, Rendezvous.