Roush continues sponsor hunt.

John Deere will now NOT be a part of the Roush Racing team next year in the wake of Chad Little's early departure from the team. The firm had been expected to continue backing the #97 Ford for at least one more season although that is no longer the case, leaving team-owner Jack Roush searching for his third new primary sponsor.

Already this year the Roush owned cars of Mark Martin and Jeff Burton have lost their current primary sponsor leaving the team boss with plenty to think about as Burton continues his most successful season to date.

Little had been expected to see out the current campaign in the #97 machine although it was revealed at New Hampshire last weekend that NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series front-runner Kurt Busch will now occupy the seat for seven of the last eight races this year. It is not known whether that had any bearing on John Deere's decision, however up until that point, Roush appeared to be confident of extending their partnership beyond the current season.

No serious candidates have yet to emerge as a replacement for the sponsor although Roush indicated last weekend that he would run Busch in 2001 with or without a main backer.

At present Roush has plenty to keep him busy as he tries to mastermind Burton's late season title charge whilst looking for a replacement for Exide Batteries. No deal has been signed although CITGO, who currently sponsor Elliot Sadler's #21 Wood Brothers Ford, have been linked to the team.

The situation surrounding Mark Martin's #6 Ford was resolved earlier this summer with the news that Pfizer/Viagra will replace Valvoline in 2001 but even so, this is not what Roush needs at this critical stage of the year.

Despite the task ahead, Roush remains optimistic that a suitable sponsor can be found. "An active search for a sponsor is currently underway," said Roush, who has Roush Racing president Geoff Smith working on the deal. "We have committed to running Kurt and the #97 team in 2001 with or without sponsorship. We have a state-of-the-art facility in Concord, N.C, and the personnel in place to become a winning team on the track."

No major candidates have immediately leapt into the spotlight for the ride and Roush may choose to look outside the current crop of WC sponsors. If that is the case then it will be interesting to see how many times the name Motorola comes into the equation. The tele-communications company made their Winston Cup debut on the side of Casey Atwood's car at Bristol recently and their agreement with the PacWest CART team may be in jeopardy now that the team have announced their split with driver Mark Blundell.

Whoever chooses to sign with the team will realise that they are joining on of the most successful multi-car team in the past five years. Time and time again Martin has come within an inch of taking the Winston Cup title for the team although Burton is the only member of the five-car squad that can still win this year's points chase.