Furniture Row hopes No. 77 runs in '18 but 'clock is ticking'

Furniture Row Racing team president Joe Garone says the No. 77 car's status for 2018 is not dead yet, but the clock is ticking.

FRR fields both the Nos. 77 and 78, but with Erik Jones going to Joe Gibbs Racing next year, sponsorship needs to be found for the No. 77 to remain active. Thursday night, owner Barney Visser reiterated that the team has yet to find a new partner and revealed the charter for the car has been sold.

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"Simply put, the fact is we don't have sponsorship to date. We're still working on obtaining sponsorship," Garone said Friday at Chicagoland Speedway. "If something happened in the next few weeks – it's not exactly dead, we definitely want to keep the 77 running – but we're running out of time.

"As far as the charter goes...we had to let it go. But there's going to be other charters available and truth is, you can run without one. So, running the car, in particular to Barney, is not a big deal for him on that part, it's more about getting the sponsorship and keeping it going."

The probability that FRR will return to being a single-car team is high, Garone admitted. However, he smiled and said it would be a one real strong team because there are no plans to lay off any employees. The organization will look to either keep them in house or perhaps move those who are interested to other business entities Visser has.

A few individuals will also be making the move with Jones to JGR, which was a decision previously agreement upon by both sides should this situation arise. In keeping most of its employees, FRR hopes to eventually find the right funding and run the No. 77 again in the future.

"There's not an actual date [to decide we're done] but the clock is ticking to a point where you have to be prepared [with] an engine program, additional support on extra chassis and parts and we're really there right now," Garone said. "But again, if a truck pulled up and dumped enough money on us, you know how things happen, I'm sure we would scramble and try to get it done. That's our intent, to run it."

FRR is also working with 5-hour ENERGY on details for next year, but said the sponsor will remain with the organization. 5-hour ENERGY was grandfathered into the sport when Monster Energy signed on as the entitlement sponsor of the premier series.

There has been interest from new companies to join the organization for the No. 77 car, but Garone said it was not enough to cover a full primary sponsorship deal. According to Garone, there is no interest from Visser in running the car for a partial schedule. Should the car run again, it would be with something solid to compete for a championship.

"There's companies that were and are interested but the problem is it takes more than what they would bring to the table," Garone said. "When you're trying to sell a full 38 races and not 15, it makes a big difference. And that's where it gets really difficult right now....We need a full primary."

The organization is not against signing two companies to split primary sponsorship roles.

"That's the thing you're trying to do and it's just really tough right now," Garone said. "Not only is it hard, it's hard to do in a short period of time. So, those are the kinds of things we've been looking at and trying to blend together. It's not killed but it's just not looking good."