Evernham signs Mayfield, Atwood farmed to Ultra.

Former Penske Racing NASCAR Winston Cup driver Jeremy Mayfield will join Bill Elliott in Ray Evernham's two-car assault on the 2002 NASCAR Winston Cup with current Raybestos Rookie of the Year contender Casey Atwood joining Evernham's newest 'partner,' Ultra Motorsports.

Out of work Jeremy Mayfield only has to watch two more NASCAR Winston Cup events on television before stepping back into a Winston Cup car for the first time since September 30th at the Kansas Speedway, his last race for the No.12 Penske Racing team before he was sacked and replaced by Mike Wallace. Mayfield, who has been quietly working on a deal for 2002, will join forces with Bill Elliott and Ray Evernham as he replaces Casey Atwood in the No.19 Dodge Dealers Dodge Intrepid.

Atwood meanwhile, who came within a whisker of his first ever NASCAR Winston Cup victory last weekend at Homestead, will drive the No.7 Ultra Motorsports Dodge in 2002 after Ultra owner Jim Smith and Ray Evernham continued to combine efforts for 2002 with Ultra making the switch to Dodge before finding a primary sponsor to replace NationsRent for next season.

Mayfield will be hoping that a change of team, and car manufacturer will bring him out of an atrocious period of bad luck that dates back to an injury suffered mid-way through last season during practice for the Brickyard 400 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

With three NWC victories under his belt, Mayfield struggled badly in 2001 showing only the flashes of form that marked him out as a potential Champion as recently as the beginning of last season and after recording only seven top ten finishes in 28 races, Penske showed him the door.

Atwood on the other hand just seems to be acclimatising himself with the Evernham Motorsports set-up after an understandably rocky start to his Winston Cup career. Pole position at Phoenix and a fine run last weekend at Homestead, should have secured his place alongside the vastly experienced Elliott for next year but now it seems as though Atwood will have the task of developing the No.7 Dodge without the benefit of an experienced teammate.

Evernham and Ultra have formed a new partnership designed to "represent the continued growth strategy of the president and CEO of Evernham Motorsports, Ray Evernham, and his Winston Cup organisation" according to a team press release. Evernham will supply Ultra with engines and the two will work closely on trying to find finance for Atwood next year in addition to offering technical support when needed.

If nothing else the move assures that the No.7 will be on the NWC grid next year and several weeks of uncertainty over finding a budget. If, as is likely, no sponsor materialises the team will run the colours of either the Dodge brand itself or one of their 'in-house' companies.