Jeffrey Earnhardt and StarCom Racing, the No. 00 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series team have parted ways. Earnhardt announced the departure in a Facebook post Sunday night (March 18) after finishing 36th at Auto Club Speedway, some 11 laps off the pace of winner Martin Truex Jr.
“They are wonderful people,” Earnhardt said of StarCom. “We’re very appreciative to have had the opportunity to work with them and begin the 2018 season. Jeffrey & JEI will be exploring other options and working on some new sponsorship programs. There’s some very exciting news on the horizon and we’re confident you’ll be pleased with the outcome.”
On their side, Starcom confirmed the move in a Twitter post in which they confirmed the parting was mutual.
We want to thank @JEarnhardt1 for his time with SCR, we have mutually agreed to move in different directions at this time. It was a pleasure working together & we wish success to Jeffrey & his team. Stay tuned this week for more information on who will be at the wheel of the 00!
— StarCom Racing (@StarcomRacing) March 19, 2018
Both sides had high hopes for the relationship, especially after Earnhardt ran a respectable 21st in the Daytona 500. (That was a career best for both he and StarCom’s No. 00 program). But Earnhardt has failed to crack the top 30 in the past four events, beating only cars who failed to finish in three of them.
Future plans for both Earnhardt and StarCom remain unclear at this time. If Earnhardt fails to start Sunday’s race at Martinsville, it’ll be the first Cup event without the famous last name in the field since Kansas in the fall of 2016.
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So the money ran out?
It doesn’t matter who gets the ride.
So…did JE buy the ride for the 500, and subsequent races? Did StarCon just use JE for the publicity of the 500, and now since the money ran out, cut ties? Did someone bring money and buy the ride? Is StarCon running out of money already?