Hendrick can't buy the No. 8

Hendrick Motorsports will not be able to purchase the No. 8 from Dale Earnhardt Inc., nor is DEI allowed to sell it to Hendrick or any other team.

NASCAR on Monday reiterated its long-standing policy that the sanctioning body owns and assigns all car numbers, and spokesman Ramsey Poston said a team cannot sell its car number to another team on its own accord.

"NASCAR owns the numbers and licenses them to teams on an annual basis," Poston said. "A team may allow another team to use the number for that year pending NASCAR's approval."

The numbers, however, are not for sale, Poston said.

Poston said each year a team submits numbers it wishes to use. If a team has been using that number, it is generally reissued. If a team chooses to relinquish the number, the number returns to NASCAR and it will assign it to another team that has requested it.

NASCAR plays no role in why or how a team decides to no longer request a number's use.

Asked if a team could make a financial arrangement with another team to encourage it to give up the use of a number, Poston said NASCAR would discourage such arrangements.

Since the June 13 announcement by Nextel Cup Series star Dale Earnhardt Jr. that he would join Hendrick Motorsports next season, there has been speculation Hendrick would attempt to procure the No. 8 he currently uses from DEI.

Earnhardt Jr. stated during the news conference he hoped he could drive the No. 8 with his new team in 2008.

An ESPN.com story on Sunday quoted team owner Rick Hendrick as saying he would like to get the No. 8 for Earnhardt Jr. "I'm not sure what their position is or what they want for it," Hendrick said of DEI in the interview.

A direct team-to-team transaction is not possible, Poston said.

DEI spokesman John Story said Monday they were aware of the policy that NASCAR owns the car numbers and they cannot be sold.

Asked about other possible financial arrangements that could be made so Hendrick could obtain the No. 8, Story said, "It's way too early. There has been no significant dialogue in regard to the No. 8 other than fielding a couple of calls from people close to Hendrick Motorsports."

Officials at Hendrick Motorsports were not immediately available for comment.