Calypso
Queen Calypso
JR Motorsports has released driver Kelly Bires from his contract and will replace him with Jamie McMurray for at least nine of the remaining Nationwide Series races this year, the team announced Tuesday.
The 25-year-old Bires had a seventh-place finish at Auto Club Speedway in California in the second Nationwide race of the season but has not had a finish better than 12th since then. He did not lead a lap in the five events he competed in this year in JRM’s No. 88 car.
“We are extremely appreciative of Kelly Bires and wish him the best,†JRM co-owner Kelley Earnhardt said in a news release. “Internally, it was evident the chemistry that is imperative for us to succeed in this highly competitive industry was simply not there.
“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.â€
McMurray, who has seven career Nationwide wins and currently drives for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing in the Sprint Cup Series, will drive for JRM in the next six Nationwide races (Texas, Talladega, Richmond, Darlington, Dover and Charlotte) as well as the July race at Chicago, the September race at Atlanta and the October race at Charlotte. Hellmann’s will be the primary sponsor in all but two of those races, and the Suave Men brand will be featured on the car at Chicagoland Speedway.
The schedule for the No. 7 car remains the same with Landon Cassill driving in the next three. The remainder of the driver lineup, with the exception of the 10 races with Danica Patrick, is still to be determined.
The 25-year-old Bires had a seventh-place finish at Auto Club Speedway in California in the second Nationwide race of the season but has not had a finish better than 12th since then. He did not lead a lap in the five events he competed in this year in JRM’s No. 88 car.
“We are extremely appreciative of Kelly Bires and wish him the best,†JRM co-owner Kelley Earnhardt said in a news release. “Internally, it was evident the chemistry that is imperative for us to succeed in this highly competitive industry was simply not there.
“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.â€
McMurray, who has seven career Nationwide wins and currently drives for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing in the Sprint Cup Series, will drive for JRM in the next six Nationwide races (Texas, Talladega, Richmond, Darlington, Dover and Charlotte) as well as the July race at Chicago, the September race at Atlanta and the October race at Charlotte. Hellmann’s will be the primary sponsor in all but two of those races, and the Suave Men brand will be featured on the car at Chicagoland Speedway.
The schedule for the No. 7 car remains the same with Landon Cassill driving in the next three. The remainder of the driver lineup, with the exception of the 10 races with Danica Patrick, is still to be determined.
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