A third car for Yates?
Yates said that if CitiFinancial agrees to sponsor the team's No. 88 Nextel Cup car next season, Leicht will be the driver. If the company decides to remain in the Busch Series, Leicht would drive that car and he also would be a candidate to drive the Cup car, depending on the sponsor. Yates also said if Leicht doesn't run Cup in 2007, then he would in 2008. Today, we like what we see," Robert Yates said Monday afternoon. "When you race, you've got to really feel good with what you line up with and make sure that you bet on it succeeding. Today, I think Steve has a good chance of doing that."
07/24/06 Robert Yates said there's a "realistic" chance that RYR could go to three Cup teams next season if 44-year-old Ward Burton, who has been out of Cup the past two seasons, comes up with a sponsor. CitiFinancial and M&M's, according to team officials, are looking for younger drivers such as Leicht, 19, and Gilliland, 30. "If Ward walked in with a sponsor today we'd say, 'Ward, you've got the ride,'" Yates said.NASCAR.com
The Yates crew is interested in Gilliland, sources tell Team Ford Racing, with veterans Ricky Rudd and Ward Burton as the team’s fallback position if they are unable to sign a young up-and-comer, Gilliland or someone else. Ford Racing