It's official: Hermie, Ince to use Yates motors

Driver/owner Hermie Sadler and crew chief James Ince will try to rebuild their NASCAR Nextel Cup careers in 2005 using Roush/Yates horsepower.

Hermie Sadler

Sadler, who ran nearly all of both the Nextel Cup and Busch Series in 2004 as either an owner or a driver, announced a plan to run No. 66 Peak Fitness Fords this season, using factory-backed Roush/Yates engines.

Sadler made the announcement in conjunction with Peak Performance Motorsports primary owner Jeff Stec, the CEO of Peak Fitness, who purchased a controlling stake in Sadler's SCORE Motorsports' Cup team last month and immediately began an aggressive plan.

"I know Jeff Stec and I know what his goals are and ambitions are," Sadler said. "I know James Ince and I know how committed and excited he is to have the opportunity to come back into the Nextel Cup Series and have an opportunity to prove what he can do.

"I know the support we're gonna get from Ford and I know I'm gonna have plenty of power under the hood."

James Ince

Ince, 34, who first served as a Cup crew chief in 1996 with Roush Racing but who stepped back in the last couple seasons to get some family business in order, said he's ready to make a point with his new program.

With an upcoming move to a 35,000-square-foot facility at Travis Carter Enterprises, Ince already has 10 employees hard at work.

"I feel like we're in pretty good shape all things considering," Ince said. "For a two-and-a-half week old race team, you hear that and most people are horrified by that.

"But the reality of it is we went from having no racecars and no people to having 10 people working in the shop and five racecars in stages of being completed.

"We're definitely growing. All of these things, coupled with the Roush/Yates engine package and the things Ford Motor Company is providing us, we're able to skip over a lot of hurdles that would have taken me at least six months to go out and gather up.

"All of the parts and pieces are laying there. Some of it isn't necessarily a perfect world, but at the same time, it's a whole lot more than I had a week ago (and) that gets me going.

Robert Yates

"My focus is to assemble the people and worry about racecars right now. Our focus is on the team and on the cars and being as good as we can be right off the get-go."

As a Cup driver in 2004, Sadler made 16 starts with a best finish of 23rd, at Talladega Superspeedway.

His SCORE Motorsports team, owned in conjunction with former NBA player Bryant Stith, finished 40th in the owner standings.

"Someone asked me a little while ago if I felt a lot of pressure because of the surrounding I have now as opposed to last year and the answer is 'no,'" Sadler said. "Pressure is showing up at a racetrack with one car and one engine and three people and you're trying to make the race for the weekend.

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"I look for this to be fun and I think we'll perform much better than people expect."

Ince himself is determined.

"The biggest thing for me personally is that you won't meet a man in this country whose desire is larger than mine is right now," Ince said. "I'm on a mission -- I've got a point to prove and I want to prove that point.

"Jeff Stec and Hermie Sadler have provided the opportunity for me to go do that (and) I'm hard-headed enough to believe I can make this work."