Paul Menard is expected to announce that he and his sponsorship will leave Dale Earnhardt Inc.’s No 15 Chevy at the end of the season, moving over to Yates Racing.
An announcement could come this week.
The loss of Menard leaves DEI with one full time sponsor for next season, Bass Pro Shops, which will sponsor the No. 1 driven by Martin Truex Jr. The U.S. Army is expected to leave the No. 8 at the end of the season, and Mark Martin will also leave that ride.
That will leave the team with Aric Almirola and no sponsorship for that car; Regan Smith and no sponsorship for his car; and Truex with Bass Pro Shops. As of right now, things don’t look so good for DEI.
The team, however, could form a partnership with Robby Gordon Motorsports.
It looks like Dale Earnhardt Jr. left the team just in time before it all fell apart. But I’m not sure why Martin Truex Jr. decided to stick around.
[...] Menard will leave Dale Earnhardt Inc at the end of the season. Along with him comes his sponsorship (his father’s Menards store), and his associate sponsors with come as well. [...]
I think Truex decided that he could not legally leave Dale Earnhardt Inc if the team chose to pick up his option, which the team did.
I also think there’s some level of loyalty invovled, as DEI took a chance on Truex.
I’m not sure he’s going to sign a multi-year exentsion at this point, though.
[...] Racing. It lost three sponsors in Budweiser, US Army, and Menards. It lost drivers Mark Martin and Paul Menard. And is rumored to be in danger of losing Martin Truex Jr and Bass Pro [...]