Notebook: Nemechek puts Furniture Row back in field

FONTANA, Calif. -- One race into his trial run with Furniture Row Racing, Joe Nemechek has already accomplished his primary goal. After missing the last two Nextel Cup events with two different drivers behind the wheel, the No. 78 car will compete at California Speedway on Sunday.

That's why the Denver-based team hired Nemechek, known for his qualifying prowess, and without a regular ride since the former Ginn Racing team was bought by Dale Earnhardt Inc. Furniture Row general manager Joe Garone said Nemechek will drive the team's car through at least the Oct. 7 race at Talladega. A decision on whether Nemechek will finish the year in the vehicle will be made after that.

"We'll just see how it goes, see how the communication is, and then try and make a decision on what to do after that point," Garone said Saturday. "He's definitely interested in driving our cars, and we're interested in having him, for sure. But we just want to run together first."

Nemechek made 18 starts for the Ginn team before it was absorbed by DEI, and qualified for the race at Michigan two weeks ago in the No. 08 car of E&M Motorsports. Kenny Wallace raced the Furniture Row car before parting ways with the organization three weeks ago, and the No. 78 failed to make races at Michigan and Bristol with Scott Wimmer and Sterling Marlin, respectively, behind the wheel.

At California, Nemechek qualified 29th his first time in the car. Furniture Row stands 45th in owner points, and is not guaranteed a starting berth.

"If you go to the stats and look at average qualifying everywhere you go, of all the guys who are available, it's self-explanatory," Garone said. "You don't just get into races, you get into races by having good communication. It's not magic. We just think it's a great opportunity."

Petty on the mend

Kyle Petty sat in his motor coach after Saturday's final practice at California, a bag of ice on his right hand. Sunday's event is the first for the veteran driver since he broke bones in his hand slamming a cabinet in frustration after the Aug. 12 event at Watkins Glen.

Petty had a plate and four screws surgically implanted into the hand the Tuesday after the incident, and sat out the next two weeks while Chad McCumbee and Wallace drove the No. 45 car. This weekend he's driving with the last two fingers of his right hand taped together.

"The hardest thing, the most aggravating part about it, is getting in and out of the car," said Petty, who needed a provisional to get into Sunday's race, and will start 39th. "Pulling your seatbelts tight, buckling your helmet, hooking everything up. I kind of tape my fingers together, and that holds them together when I drive, so that's not an issue."

Wallace, Yates to talk

Kenny Wallace said he has a meeting with meeting scheduled for Sunday at California Speedway with Nextel Cup team owner Robert Yates about possibly succeeding Ricky Rudd in the No. 88 car.

"He called me up and said that his brother-in-law told him that the driver he needed to hire was right under his nose -- me," Wallace told reporters at Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Ill., site of Saturday's Craftsman Truck event.

"He asked if I could test his car, the No. 88 at Talladega. I said, 'Do I have to pay you, or what?' So then I said, 'So do we not talk anymore or not?' and he said to come see him Sunday when I got to California. I keep reading that they are considering J.J. Yeley, so we will see what happens when I get there Sunday. At least the guy called me. He called me, I didn't call him."

Wallace has been without a regular Nextel Cup ride since his split with Furniture Row. He qualified for 10 events in the No. 78 car, with a top finish of 21st in the spring Bristol race. Rudd said two weeks ago that he would retire after this season.