J-Dub's JR Motorsports Update

((HT: Examiner.com))

Scott Wimmer knew his deal with JR Motorsports was going to be a short one. After leading 21 laps and finishing a season-best 10th place at Bristol, Wimmer ran his last race in the #7 Lifetime Army Wives Chevrolet April 3 at Nashville Superspeedway. Wimmer started 17th, and once again finished 7th – the second consecutive Top 10 finish for the #7 car.

Enter Landon Cassill.

Cassill, former JR Motorsports driver and winner of the Raybestos Rookie of the Year Award in the Nationwide Series in 2008, has been selected to drive four races in the #7 car. In 19 starts in 2008 (16 of those for JR Motorsports), Cassill took five Top-5 finishes and even took the pole at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Ironically, Danica Patrick will return June 26 to take over the #7 at NHMS.

Cassill’s first race will be in Phoenix this Friday (Apr 9) in the Bashas’ Supermarkets 200 at Phoenix International Raceway. Arizona is the home state of GoDaddy.com (Scottsdale), so the Internet domain name giant will be the sponsor for the #7 Chevrolet. The sponsor of Cassill’s next three races – Texas Motor Speedway (April 17), Talladega Superspeedway (April 24), and Richmond International Raceway (April 30) – is yet to be determined.

Cassill has three races under his belt at PIR, with his best finish being 6th on 11/8/2008. He has never led a lap at Arizona’s 1-mile oval.

"Landon is a familiar face at JR Motorsports, and it is with great pleasure that we welcome him back to drive our No. 7 Chevrolets these next few weeks," Kelley Earnhardt said. "We are committed to keeping this No. 7 team racing as long as possible, because with Tony Eury Jr. and an extremely dedicated group of employees, this team is too good to not be at the race track. We are fortunate to have GoDaddy.com on board at Phoenix. I know it's a big deal to have GoDaddy.com represented there, because the Valley is home to Bob Parsons and the GoDaddy.com team. They are great partners."

Also, Don "Hollywood" Yates has been selected to sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" before the Bashas' Supermarkets 200 at Phoenix, PIR President Bryan R. Sperber announced. Known for his role as "Wolf" on NBC's "American Gladiators" and as a championship bull fighter, Yates also enjoys a diverse career as a vocalist.