Defending Truck Series champ Ted Musgrave may have a new suit to wear for '06. Credit: Autostock

Notebook: Ford stands by Ultra truck team

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Ford Motorsports' commitment to Ultra Motorsports' Craftsman Truck Series team was as strong in December as when owner Jim Smith closed the defending championship team last Friday, a Ford official said Monday at Daytona International Speedway.

"When Jim and I first started talking, it was about a two-truck team," said Greg Specht, performance operations manager of Ford Racing Technology. "We came to an agreement that I put in writing in terms of a letter of intent that I sent to Jim telling him what we would do for a two-truck team, which was equal to what we would do for all our factory-backed teams.

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"Subsequent to that, Jim came back and said 'I'm having sponsorship problems, so I'm only going to run one truck.' We were still interested in them having one truck, so I sent a contract out to him ... and I took the support that we had talked about for two trucks and cut it in half -- and that's what was in the contract."

Last week, Ultra's general manager, Eddie Thrap, said Smith had told him that Ford's contract price had decreased drastically from its original amount but did not indicate that Ultra's decision to run one truck instead of two had anything to do with it.

"When the contract came, it was not what they had agreed upon," Thrap said, "and it was locking us in for five years at a ridiculously low price that would have cost Jimmy millions of dollars out of his pocket over a five-year period."

Dan Davis, director of Ford Racing Technology, said lengthy deals are Ford's preferred method of operation.

"It is with us, because I don't really want people jumping around," Davis said. "To me, a commitment is a commitment. A lot of our contracts are for five years, and some of them are 10 years in length.

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"I prefer to do that because you're not putting all your energy into talking about contracts; you're putting your energy into trying to run better and win championships."

And Davis also stressed the manufacturer's commitment, citing the example of the Ford GT that was promised to Kurt Busch after Busch won the 2004 Nextel Cup championship.

The car, worth more than a quarter-million dollars, was delivered to Busch when it came off the production line at the end of the 2005 season -- after Busch had already committed to Penske Racing South, which runs Dodge Chargers in Nextel Cup.

Specht said the contracts, while long-term, are not inflexible in terms of needed increases in money.

"The language and the structure of the contract was the same as for our other teams that we back in the Truck Series," Specht said. "There's flexibility in there because we want these teams to be competitive, and if it takes more money to run it, we want them to have the support that they need to stay competitive.

"That's why we're here -- we're not looking for something for nothing -- but we do want the long-term commitment so we can plan our program, and we can also take a deep dive into the technical side of things in terms of tools and engineering."

Musgrave on verge of deal

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Defending Craftsman Truck Series champion Ted Musgrave, who was a victim of Ultra Motorsports' shutdown last week, might not be out of work too long.

Musgrave told the daily "Sirius Speedway" show on Sirius Satellite Radio that he was getting ready to sign a "jaw-dropping" deal to remain in the Truck Series and that it could be done as early as Monday night or Tuesday morning.

Junior not a cherry picker

When Dale Earnhardt Jr. was asked Monday how he felt about combining all the best personnel from last year's No. 8 and No. 15 teams at Dale Earnhardt Incorporated for his 2006 No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet team, he quickly offered a correction.

"First of all, when you say we comprised the best of the best from the 15, that's not really the case," Earnhardt said. "There were a couple of guys that went to Martin's [Truex Jr.] team that I would have loved to have kept.

"Like I said last year, the group I had last year as a whole were really talented across the board, and it was very hard to settle with just getting a couple. One thing you learn in racing is that people come and go, crew chiefs and guys you get used to working with -- guys you get a good rapport with -- friends and relatives.

"This work changes so fast from one year to the next, so Martin's got a couple of the good guys."

After Earnhardt and Michael Waltrip in the No. 15 Chevrolet were teammates last year, Earnhardt will be paired with two-time Busch Series champ Truex in the No. 1 Bass Pro Shops Chevy.

"Both teams are pretty much full of experience and knowledge, and both will be formidable to compete [this] year," Earnhardt said. "I think we will work really good together. We already have the relationship because of Tony [Eury] Jr. and Bono (Kevin Manion, Truex Jr.'s crew chief) having been across the alley from each other, working together, building the Busch team.

"That relationship is already there and will work pretty good together. It feels good working with Tony Jr. It feels good to go into the shop and talk to him about the cars and know when he is talking about his cars, he is talking about my cars, too.

"It feels good, and I'm looking forward to getting some races under our belts, getting into Victory Lane as fast as we can and start knocking off some wins."

Johnson on testing trials

Jimmie Johnson was one driver Monday who commented on how teams' philosophies might change given NASCAR mandating only six tests at designated tracks that the Nextel Cup Series competes at.

After Daytona, the next test is at the 1.5-mile Las Vegas Motor Speedway at the end of this month.

"This year is going to be new for everyone," Johnson said. "I think every test is going to have a lot of weight on it.

"We've got a procedure in place for the Vegas test, taking two different styles of cars to really try to make it a four-day test in a way -- with two different cars -- instead of just a single test with two cars [of the same configuration].

"So we're really working through some things to try and maximize the two days that we have in Las Vegas."