Dover notebook: Earnhardt introduces new driver, Bowyer gets one-year ride

DOVER, DE - OCTOBER 02: (L-R) Team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Elliott Sadler, driver of the #1 OneMain Financial Ford, speak to the media before practice for the NASCAR XFINITY Series Hisense 200 at Dover International Speedway on October 2, 2015 in Dover, Delaware. (Photo by Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images)
DOVER, DE - OCTOBER 02:  (L-R) Team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Elliott Sadler, driver of the #1 OneMain Financial Ford, speak to the media before practice for the NASCAR XFINITY Series Hisense 200 at Dover International Speedway on October 2, 2015 in Dover, Delaware.  (Photo by Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images)
DOVER, DE – OCTOBER 02: (L-R) Team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Elliott Sadler, driver of the #1 OneMain Financial Ford, speak to the media before practice for the NASCAR XFINITY Series Hisense 200 at Dover International Speedway on October 2, 2015 in Dover, Delaware. (Photo by Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images)

With heavy rain falling Friday at Dover International Speedway, the only action was away from the track.  NASCAR canceled all on-track activity including practice and qualifying prior to noon; focusing the attention on the media center.  Among the announcements was a new driver for JR Motorsports in 2016.

The team owned by NASCAR’s most popular driver introduced veteran driver Elliott Sadler as one of its drivers in the NASCAR Xfinity series next season.  The team had scheduled a news conference at Dover but Sadler and team co-owner Earnhardt Jr. broke the news via Periscope prior to the official announcement.

“Elliott has raced a few times for us in the past,” said Kelley Earnhardt Miller MORE>>>

Greg Engle
About Greg Engle 7421 Articles
Greg is a published award winning sportswriter who spent 23 years combined active and active reserve military service, much of that in and around the Special Operations community. Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.