Childress still uncertain about No. 07 car's future

CONCORD, N.C. -- Sometime before Thanksgiving, Richard Childress will have to make a decision on whether his No. 07 car will run full-time on the Sprint Cup tour next year.

The six-time championship car owner said Saturday at Lowe's Motor Speedway that he's still seeking funding for the No. 07, which will lose primary sponsor Jack Daniel's after this season. He's unsure of whether his organization will field three or four full-time vehicles on NASCAR' premier circuit next year.

Ultimately, that decision will have to be made around the Nov. 22 season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. But it hinges on finding sponsorship.

Mears

"It's tough for sponsorship right now, but we do have a lot ... not a lot, but we do have interest in it," Childress said prior to the NASCAR Banking 500. "We're wanting to run it. We can't turn it into a start-and-park. I don't want to do that. I won't do that. We've got some sponsorship for a few races next year, but to be competitive, that isn't the way to do it. We're kind of weighing our options to see what we're going to do."

The deadline looms as driver Casey Mears has reeled off four consecutive finishes of 17th or better, his best stretch of the season. "I would liked to have seen [Mears] in our cars a year ago, when we had our cars really going," said Childress, referring to a 2008 season when he placed all three of his vehicles in the Chase. "We don't know what happened. All of a sudden we fell off the wagon. We'll get back on it, through, I promise you."

Childress added that he hopes to put his grandson Austin Dillon in a Camping World Truck Series entry for next season. And he said he hadn't seen comments from Cup driver Kevin Harvick, who indicated in a television interview last week that he was ready to "turn the page" to a new organization after his contract with the Childress team expires after the 2010 season.

"We'll just see how everything plays out in the future," Childress said. "I didn't see his interview. I've heard some comments on it. But whatever happens, happens. We'll just move forward."