MB2 Motorsports' No. 01 Army car will have a couple of new soldiers behind the wheel next year. (Photo: Getty Images/Jonathan Ferrey) » More Photos

MB2 COMING TOGETHER MB2 Motorsports has firmed up its three-team 2007 Nextel Cup lineup MB2 newcomers Mark Martin and rookie Regan Smith will co-drive the No. 01 U.S. Army Chevrolet, with Ryan Pemberton as crew chief Martin will drive in 20 point races plus the Bud Shootout and Nextel All Star Challenge. Smith will drive in the remaining 16 point races. Sterling Marlin will continue to drive MB2's No. 14 with Richard "Slugger" Labbe handling the crew chief duties. Joe Nemechek will switch from the No. 01 Chevy to the new No. 13 team. Nemechek will be reunited with crew chief Peter Sospenzo, who was Nemechek's crew chief at Hendrick Motorsports in 2002 and 2003. Sponsors for the No. 13 and No. 14 will be announced later.

LOOKING UP Dodge's new racing boss, Mike Accavitti, said Friday that he's optimistic that the automaker has rebounded this season after a disastrous debut for the Charger in 2005. "I don't want to sound like the Detroit Lions football coach, but this was a rebuilding year," Accavitti said Friday at Phoenix International Raceway. "We really hit bottom last year and our performance was dismal. Certainly, we would have loved to have won a championship this year, but that was an unrealistic goal. I think we've made tremendous progress this year, going from three wins last season to seven this year and we'll still got two races left."

HARD ROAD One of the biggest disappointments of the 2006 season has been the performance of Jamie McMurray, who was expected to win races in his first year at Roush Racing, but instead has struggled mightily. On Friday at Phoenix International Raceway, McMurray admitted the grind has worn him down. "It's very tough on all of the guys on our team," said McMurray, who is 24th in points and hasn't finished higher than 17th in any of the last 12 races. "Everyone gets down and the thing is, the crewmembers, they work harder than any of the drivers do. They're the guys that after you get home Sunday night at 10 or 11 p.m., they have to be back at the shop at 7 a.m. and start working again. It's probably harder on crewmembers than what it is on the drivers. When you're a driver your name is on the door, so whenever there is a problem, you're the one that's going to get the blame. It's very stressful, I know, for everybody on the team. I've never really been in this position." Ask if the dismal performance makes 2007 a make-or-break year, McMurray added, "I think so. As bad as we've run this year, you can't go do that again. It's not fun for me and it's not fun for Jack (team owner Roush), and it's not fun for anyone at Roush Racing or the sponsors. We certainly are happy to turn it around for next year."