Earnhardt to move team to Cup series

On the surface the announcement that Dale Earnhardt Jr., Ryan Newman, Tony Stewart, Mark Martin and Scott Wimmer would share a 21-race schedule for JR Motorsports in the Nationwide Series was all about luring sponsorship. Not really. JR Motorsports announced on January 16th that Fastenal would be the primary sponsor for the No. 5 for 14 races before the driver lineup was nailed down. But having five drivers with 91 career Nationwide victories and a pair of titles doesn't hurt during tough economic times when sponsorship, particularly outside of NASCAR's primary series, is hard to find. It's also good for the series, which needs top Sprint Cup drivers to attract fans. Success in the series also could fast-forward JR Motorsports transitioning to a Cup team. Earnhardt said last season that with costs the way they are it makes sense to consider such a move if he can find the right sponsor and drive combination. He's said little about it since, and for now he's focused on the Nationwide program. "This #5 team carries a strong tradition and a lot of expectations and we are fortunate to attract such quality talent to help carry on that tradition," Earnhardt said. "We had a similar setup with this team last year and we were able to go to Victory Lane twice. Obviously with this driver lineup there's no reason we can't exceed last year's win total." ESPN.com