Schrader to attempt 500 in BAM's 49, Andretti out

CONCORD, N.C. -- Ken Schrader is back in a Cup car -- for one points race, at least.

The veteran NASCAR driver will pilot the No. 49 Dodge of BAM Racing in the Budweiser Shootout, and attempt to get the unsponsored car into the 50th Daytona 500 on Feb. 17. The 52-year-old Schrader replaces John Andretti, who drove the No. 49 in 10 events last season, and was scheduled to drive it full time in 2008. But the team and the driver have evidently parted ways.

• Daytona Countdown
• Acceleration
• Preseason Thunder
• Get your tickets
• Book your travel

How many races Schrader will run for BAM is still unknown. Schrader drove for BAM for three full seasons, from 2003-05, and made one start in the No. 49 in Indianapolis last year.

"Ken is going to start the year," Rhett Vandiver, BAM's marketing coordinator, said Tuesday at a Dodge function on the Lowe's Motor Speedway preseason media tour.

"I don't think we're going to be with Andretti. I know he's planning to run [the Indianapolis 500], and I don't know exactly what his plans are. But we're definitely starting with Schrader, and trying to get in the top 35, and that will open doors for us. I haven't heard anything other than that."

Team owner Beth Ann Morgenthau had a schedule conflict Tuesday, Vandiver said, and was unable to attend the Dodge media function. The No. 49 car finished outside the final top-35 in 2007 owner points, and it not guaranteed a starting spot in the Daytona 500. Whether Schrader drives for BAM beyond that, Vandiver wasn't sure.

"I'm unsure of how many races for Ken," he said. "I don't have an answer for that right now."