Dale Earnhardt Jr. hints at driving for JRM after Cup career
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Regan Smith is putting his Sprint Cup aspirations aside to race another season for JR Motorsports.
Team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. eventually plans to do the same.
NASCAR's 11-time most popular driver casually dropped a nugget about his long-range career planning into a Friday news conference at Kansas Speedway. Earnhardt was asked about JRM re-signing Smith in the No. 7 Chevrolet for the 2015 season, keeping intact a lineup of the top two drivers in the Nationwide Series points standings (which are led by Chase Elliott, Smith's teammate).
"I'm really, really happy we'll have a carbon copy next year of what we did this season," Earnhardt said. "We've had a lot of success. I think we can build on that.
"I'd like to race for (JRM) one day, so I'm hoping to keep it healthy until that opportunity presents itself, whenever I'm done Cup racing to jump in a Nationwide car and do that for a couple of years in my own shop."
This probably wasn't an idle thought for Earnhardt, who has talked about racing Cup for another decade and has a long-term deal in Hendrick Motorsports' No. 88 Chevy.
The idea might have sprouted from being in an introspective mood lately — a byproduct of his impending 40th birthday Oct. 10.
"Definitely having this birthday come up makes you reflect quite a bit," he said. "On not so much the decisions or any regrets you have, just the fun stuff you have done and is the next 40 years going to be just as good, because the first 40 were pretty great."
JRM will play a significant role in determining that, and Smith's signing provides stability to an organization that once struggled with a fluctuating driver lineup.
With the return of Elliott and Smith, JRM will have the same pair of full-time drivers in consecutive seasons for the first time (sponsorship woes often limited the team to one full-time car since entering Nationwide in 2006).
Smith joined JRM two years ago after losing his ride at Furniture Row Racing, where his 2011 Southern 500 victory was the highlight of a 2008-12 stint in Cup). Smith, 31, wants to return to NASCAR's premier circuit, and there is an opening next season at Richard Petty Motorsports' No. 9 Ford (which is being vacated by Macros Ambrose).
But he preferred the chance to win a championship with JRM.
"I've been fortunate to have a great place to call home with good people, good sponsors and fast race cars," Smith said. "That's something you always look for -— an opportunity to showcase what you do every week. I've learned a lot over the past two years. I'm sure I'm going to learn a lot more next year.
"I definitely want to get back to Cup. I don't think I've ever denied that. There are some openings on paper on the Cup side. I think a lot of things still have to play out. A lot of things look like they still are taking place over there. Some quality race teams still are trying to figure out what they're going to be doing. I felt it was time to solidify things for next year."
During a Friday morning interview with Sirius Satellite Radio, JRM general manager Kelley Earnhardt Miller said the team talked with Smith about the possibility of returning to Cup.
"Regan and I have been very true to each other, even before he came to drive for us," she said. "We had talked for years about the possibility if anything ever opened up for him to run some Nationwide. I just really like Regan and his family, so we've always had this conversation.
"Regan obviously wants to be a Sprint Cup driver. All drivers are looking to be Sprint Cup regulars. He's always open if there are rides out there that are available, and we talked about the situation with the (No.) 9 when we heard those things were available. We've always told Regan if something like that comes available, come sit down and talk to us. No different than we did with Aric Almirola (who left JRM for a Cup ride with RPM in 2012). We let him go to have that opportunity because that's what these guys are out there for, and we don't want to hold them up."
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