Bires out of JRM's top Nationwide car; McMurray to fill in
JR Motorsports has released Kelly Bires as driver of its flagship
No. 88 Nationwide Series team.
Jamie McMurray has been hired to drive nine races for JRM.
Team co-owner Kelley Earnhardt says no driver decisions have been
made beyond McMurray's initial commitment.
“Internally, it was evident the chemistry that is
imperative for us to succeed in this highly competitive industry
was simply not there," Earnhardt said. "That is the fault of no one
person. We owe it to our fans and sponsors to make necessary
adjustments in an effort to put our best product on the track, and
we’ll continue evaluating our progress until we are confident
that our full potential is being reached.”
McMurray, who competes full time for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing
in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, will drive in the next six
Nationwide races and then at Chicagoland Speedway (July 9), Atlanta
Motor Speedway (Sept. 4) and the return trip to Charlotte (Oct.
15). He has seven Nationwide Series wins, 59 top-10 and 27 top-five
finishes to his credit.
Bires is currently 20th in the Nationwide Series standings.
His highest finish was seventh at California.
He did not race the season-opening event at Daytona because a
sponsor commitment required Dale Earnhardt Jr. to drive the
Chevrolet.
The team also fields a second full-time entry that Danica
Patrick drives on a part-time basis.
