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Existing drivers Sterling Marlin and Joe Nemechek have been considerably stronger this season, with Marlin as the only driver not ensured a spot in the field to qualify for the first five races of the year.
Ginn also beefed up his driver development package, where he’s tucked away 15-time motocross champion Ricky Carmichael.
“We have a five-year plan in mind and the conclusion is winning a championship,” Ginn said. “We took a risk on Mark Martin, and that’s paid off in spades for us. We aren’t afraid to be aggressive.”
The team leases its motors from Hendrick and is perceived to be a satellite of that powerful operation. It’s gotten Ginn mentioned as an outside equation in the Earnhardt race, but the team clearly wants to be a viable option.
“He is the man in NASCAR,” Martin said. “We would certainly like to talk to him.”
Ginn thinks his team suits Earnhardt because he runs it like a family operation and would fit much of what Junior is looking for. Earnhardt ideally would like to complement JR Motorsports, the Busch Series operation he owns, with his next employer.
Dale Earnhardt followed that model by driving for Childress while developing DEI, and Ginn thinks Junior can do it with him.
“Listening to what Dale has outlined, his Busch operation would dovetail beautifully with us,” Ginn said. “We believe he’d be a good fit. Our DNA’s match, our cultures are alike.”
Earnhardt reiterated Friday that he’s looking for a winner.
“I could live without winning a championship, but I would have to,” he said. “But I don’t want to. I want to win a championship and I want to win more races. I want to win on a regular basis.”
It’s why he’ll take some time away to decompress before he makes the next biggest decision in his life. He wants his next employer to be his last after six-plus seasons at his late father’s company. Junior has won 17 races at DEI, but the program has been on a slow decline since his father’s 2001 death.
Junior wanted 51 percent ownership to stay with the company, but stepmother Teresa wouldn’t turn over control. So he’s parting ways and should have no shortage of suitors.
“I would like to take a week or two to clear my mind a little bit, drink some beers and have some fun,” he said. “I have felt about as un-normal as I possibly could the past few days. Lost a lot of sleep. So I want to relax and just clear my head and get in a good football stance to go after this new deal that we’re seeking.”
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