Mark Martin will sub for Denny Hamlin only at Martinsville
Mar. 29, 2013
By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service
Not so fast, says Michael Waltrip Racing.
A day
after Joe Gibbs Racing announced that Mark Martin would replace Denny
Hamlin in the No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry "while Hamlin recovers from an
L1 compression fracture,"
MWR issued a release saying that Martin would return to Waltrip's No.
55 Toyota after subbing for Hamlin in the Apr. 7 race at Martinsville.
"Martin
will return to the No. 55 Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota Camry at Texas
Motor Speedway on April 13 and resume his previously scheduled run of
events with MWR for the
remainder of the 2013 NASCAR Sprint cup season," the MWR release said.
In what
has been the plan since the start of the season, Brian Vickers will
drive the No. 55 Aaron's dream machine in the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at
Martinsville, where Martin
was not scheduled to compete before Hamlin sustained the fracture in a
last-lap crash at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif.
That
leaves JGR looking for a replacement for Hamlin for the races he'll miss
after Martinsville during a convalescence expected to take six weeks.
Martin is scheduled to drive
the No. 55 Camry at Texas, Kansas (Apr. 21) and Richmond (Apr. 27)
before team owner Michael Waltrip gets behind the wheel May 5 at
Talladega.
"I
think it is great that a driver of Mark's caliber is available to
support our fellow Toyota team during this difficult time for them,"
Waltrip said in the team release.
"We wish Denny a speedy recovery.
"Mark
is a big part of our organization and is committed to our sponsors,
especially Aaron's and Toyota. We have a lot of goals yet to reach this
year, and we are very focused
on accomplishing them."
Both
the No. 11 and No. 55 cars are fighting for a place in the owners' Chase
for the NASCAR Sprint Cup and could qualify for the owners'
championship despite using multiple
drivers. The No. 11 Camry currently is 11th in the owners' standings,
while the No. 55 is 14th.
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