FanHouse Ken Schrader

Sterling Marlin won't be back in the drivers seat for Morgan-McClure Motorsports, despite a report yesterday that he might find a ride in a second car from the team, XM radio reported.

The FanHouse wasn't exactly believing the idea behind Marlin moving in as a teammate with Ward Burton yesterday, either.

XM Radio got a hold of McClure Thursday.

Morgan McClure team owner Larry McClure told Claire B. Lang on XM Satellite Radio that the rumor is absolutely not true.

McClure: "I know nothing about it. I have talked to no one. I have not talked to Sterling in a year and I have not talked to any of his people."

CBL: By no stretch of the imagination would anyone think that Sterling Marlin is going to go work for you.

McClure: "No mam."

Interestingly enough, the Cup Scene Daily no longer has any mention of the article up on the site. (HT: Jayski)

Ken Schrader Makes One-Race Cup Return w/ BAM Racing

I'd imagine when Ken Schrader decided to allow Bill Elliott to fill his seat in the No. 21 due to champion's provisionals in May, he didn't expect the end of July to roll around until he found a new ride.

Scott Riggs will start 3rd Saturday in Richmond, his best start of the season and the best of those drivers sitting outside the top 35 who had to race their way in.

Riggs' qualifying effort for the Crown Royal Presents The Jim Stewart 400 marks the fifth consecutive race the 36th points position holder has qualified for on time. With only seven points to gain on Casey Mears, he's likely to move into the top 35 this week.

Dave Blaney, who added his name to the 2007 DNQ list last weekend in Talladega, will start 10th Saturday.

A.J. Allmendinger, the top qualifying rookie, starts 13th in his third race of the season, his first at Richmond International Raceway.

David Reutimann, the only Michael Waltrip Racing driver in the show this weekend, starts 14th for the second consecutive week--his highest for the season.

Ward Burton makes his 5th start and Kenny Wallace his 6th in 25th and 26th positions respectively.

NCTS driver Johnny Benson qualified 31st in his first Cup effort since 2005.

Losers of the Week (DNQs)
Brian Vickers (6), Ken Schrader (3), Michael Waltrip (9), Jeremy Mayfield (7), Dale Jarrett (1), Kevin LePage (9) and Mike Bliss (6).

Team Red Bull had a little fun with A.J. Allmendinger in their team meeting today, their first since Allmendinger's first Nextel Cup race. In celebration of him getting the qualifying monkey off his back, the team presented Allmendinger with a 'Got the Gorilla Off My Back' piñata:

It took three blindfolded swings for AJ to crack open the piñata. Out fell an assortment of Little Debbie snacks, in tribute to the Kenny Schraders' Little Debbies #21 car that punted AJ into the outside wall at Bristol on Sunday. Welcome to NASCAR, Rookie! Even though it was a rookie mistake to come down on Kenny when he wasn't clear, AJ still got his revenge today and the team got a good laugh.

They discussed the Schrader/Allmendinger incident on "Inside Nextel Cup" last night and noted the team held itself accountable for the contact. They also mentioned that after he got thrown into the wall, hearing "inside" had a whole new effect on Allmendinger--probably not a mistake he'll be repeating in the near future, assuming, of course, he has another opportunity.

I wonder what kind of Little Debbie snacks he got! I'm partial to the Star Crunch Cosmic Wafers myself.