RCR will not run 07 car in Cup Series season opener

Richard Childress Racing will head to Daytona as a three-car operation.

A team spokesman confirmed Wednesday that the organization's No. 07 Chevrolet, driven last season by Casey Mears, would not make the trip to Daytona for the Sprint Cup Series' season opener on Feb. 14. As recently as last month, the team had indicated that the vehicle would appear at Daytona, where it has a guaranteed starting spot by virtue of Mears' 21st-place finish in owners' points last year.

Wednesday, though, the team said that was no longer the case, and that RCR would field only the cars of Jeff Burton, Kevin Harvick, and Clint Bowyer. Jack Daniel's, the primary sponsor of the No. 07 last season, left NASCAR after 2009 and a full-time replacement has yet to be found. Mears also has yet to announce any definitive plans for the 2010 campaign.

As for whether the No. 07 would hit the race track at some point beyond Daytona, the spokesman said there were currently no plans for the vehicle at this time.