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TEAM REPORTS (DAYTONA, FLA.) - EARNHARDT CUP/NATIONWIDE DAYTONA ADVANCE


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NUMBER CRUNCHING: In 13 NASCAR Nationwide Series starts at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has recorded five wins, six top-five finishes and seven top-10s. He won the pole position once and has led 467 laps. His average start is 12.9, and his average finish is 11.8.

EARNHARDT JR. IN THE NO. 5: This season, Earnhardt will compete in a total of nine Nationwide Series races for JR Motorsports in the No. 5 Chevrolet. Five of the events, including Saturday's race at Daytona, will be with the National Guard as the primary sponsor.

SHARING THE LOAD: Six drivers are lined up to pilot the No. 5 JR Motorsports Chevrolet, which will run a full, 35-race Nationwide Series schedule in 2008. Competing for the owner's championship this season will be drivers Landon Cassill (16 races), Earnhardt (9), Mark Martin (5), Jimmie Johnson (3), Adrian Fernandez (1) and Ron Fellows (1).

TEAMWORK: The No. 5 Chevy team is now fielded full-time by JR Motorsports in partnership with Hendrick Motorsports. The two companies officially combined Nationwide Series operations following the conclusion of the 2007 racing season. Rick Hendrick is listed as the car owner for the No. 5 entry.

LOCAL CONNECTION: Jay Nolan, 24, grew up in Jacksonville, Fla., just 93 miles from Daytona Beach. Nolan, a graduate of the NASCAR Technical Institute in Mooresville, N.C., has worked for Hendrick Motorsports for four years and served on the 2006 crew for the No. 5 Nationwide Series car. This season, he returns to the No. 5 Chevrolet as the engine tuner. Hendrick Motorsports provides engines to the team.

SAME FRAME: Crew chief Chad Walter has selected JR Motorsports Chassis No. 451 for Saturday's Nationwide Series race at Daytona. The car went to Victory Lane at the 2.5-mile track last July after leading the most laps (65 of 102) and winning the Nationwide Series event there. Earnhardt got some seat time in the car during the Jan. 20 Nationwide Series test session at Daytona.

DALE EARNHARDT JR., DRIVER OF THE NO. 5 NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET AND OWNER OF JR MOTORSPORTS (ON THE UPCOMING NATIONWIDE SERIES RACE AT DAYTONA.): "We were really pleased with the way our Nationwide cars tested at Daytona a few weeks ago. Chad Walter, Tony Eury Sr. and the guys on the team have worked hard this off-season. This is a big race for JR Motorsports. We merged our Nationwide Series team with Hendrick Motorsports late last year and now operate both of them out of our race shop, so this is JR Motorsports' first race as a multi-car team. I'm really looking forward to the great things we have in store this year, and it all starts this week. Seeing the faces of all the National Guard soldiers in Victory Lane last Saturday night was one of the coolest parts of winning the Budweiser Shootout. I'd like nothing more than to give them their second win in seven days."

KELLEY EARNHARDT ELLEDGE, VICE PRESIDENT AND GENERAL MANAGER OF JR MOTORSPORTS (ON THE DAYTONA NATIONWIDE SERIES EVENT.): "This is exciting. We've been waiting for this week a long time. I think back to when we first started tossing around the idea to put the JR Motorsports and Hendrick Motorsports teams under one roof. So much work went into the merger, and it's a tribute to Dale, Rick Hendrick and all the employees at JRM and Hendrick Motorsports that we've got two solid teams to compete in the NASCAR Nationwide Series in 2008. We look forward to watching Brad (Keselowski) and Dale race this weekend at Daytona. I know how special Daytona is to all of us, and Dale enjoys racing there more than anywhere else. It will be a big day for JR Motorsports to watch the No. 5 and No. 88 cars on the track together."