DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) -The week has improved considerably for Chip Ganassi Racing.
The team shut down one of its Sprint Cup teams Tuesday, knocking former open-wheel star Dario Franchitti out of NASCAR's top series and leading to 71 layoffs, but found plenty to celebrate at Daytona International Speedway.
First, Scott Pruett came from behind to win the Grand-Am Series race Thursday night. Pruett, who teamed with Memo Rojas to give Ganassi his fifth series victory this season, edged Alex Gurney in the closest finish in Grand-Am history.
Then, rookie Bryan Clauson won the pole for the Nationwide Series race Friday night. It was the first pole of Clauson's career, and at 19 years, 19 days, made him the youngest series pole winner at Daytona.
``We had a tough week,'' Clauson said. ``We went through the big deal on Tuesday with people losing their job, shut down the 40 car and had a lot of friends in the company that aren't there anymore. It's been a tough weekend all around for our whole organization.
``To come out here and stay on task like we have, I've been really proud of all my guys.''
Ganassi shut down Franchitti's race team because of a lack of sponsorship, leaving the former IndyCar Series champion's future in doubt.
Franchitti, the 2007 Indianapolis 500 winner and series champion, has struggled in his first NASCAR season driving Ganassi's No. 40 Dodge. He ranks 41st in the driver standings, failed to qualify for races in Texas and Sonoma, Calif., and missed five with a broken ankle he suffered in a Nationwide crash at Talladega.
The poor performance came as Ganassi has searched all season for a sponsor for his third NASCAR team. Longtime sponsor Coors Light left at the end of last season, and Ganassi was unable to secure funding despite releasing David Stremme for the more marketable Franchitti.
``You get to a point where you have to say the bleeding has to stop here,'' Ganassi said. ``You run the risk of it pulling down two well-funded other cars, and I don't want to do that. That's not fair to the sponsors that are on the other cars.''
Franchitti still has to decide whether he wants to race for Ganassi in the Nationwide Series. If he decides to pursue other options, it likely would open up more seat time for Clauson.
``We haven't really got much into the future,'' Clauson said. ``We're just focused on Daytona this week. We feel like this is one of our good shots at winning and we came in this weekend focused and that's kind of where our focus has stayed, not really letting our minds wander too much on the future.''
---
CANDIDATES VISIT? Presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama could make campaign stops at NASCAR tracks in the next few months.
NASCAR chairman Brian France said Friday that he has extended invitations to both camps and expects the presumptive Republican and Democratic nominees to accept.
``We would welcome both of them at various times and places,'' France said. ``And I anticipate seeing both of them. NASCAR has historically been a place that politicians have come to interact and get noticed by our fans and just be part of our sport. My anticipation is we'll see both of them. We'll see.''
---
MODERN-DAY DEAL: NASCAR's newest partnership got started in an unconventional, but very modern way.
Veteran driver Mark Martin and team owner Rick Hendrick said Friday that half of their negotiations were done via text messages.
``I think that's pretty cool because I just learned how to text myself,'' Martin said.
Martin signed a two-year contract to race for powerhouse Hendrick Motorsports, getting one final shot at winning the NASCAR championship that's eluded him his entire career. The 49-year-old Martin, who has run a partial schedule the past two years, will drive Hendrick's No. 5 Chevrolet full time next season and part time in 2010.
The deal will team Martin with two-time defending Cup champion Jimmie Johnson, four-time series champion Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. The young and popular drivers were one reason Hendrick started texting.
``Junior and Jimmie Johnson, they are the ones that taught me how to text,'' Hendrick said. ``I had to learn how to do that, Mark, because they won't return your phone call.''
---
COKE GIVEAWAY: Thirteen drivers have a chance to get fans around the country a free drink.
If any of the 13 drivers sponsored by Coca-Cola win Saturday night's race at Daytona International Speedway, fans will be able to get a coupon for a free bottle of Coke Zero.
The 13 drivers are Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton, Denny Hamlin, Mark Martin, Greg Biffle, Elliott Sadler, Jamie McMurray, Bobby Labonte, Michael Waltrip, Clint Bowyer, David Ragan and Terry Labonte.
If any of those drivers wind up in Victory Lane, fans will be able to visit www.CokeZero.com before July 13 and get a coupon.
