Sullivan trying to buy Bill Davis Racing

Sullivan has partnered with an investor to secure the financial backing to purchase the team from Bill Davis, who fields one car in the Sprint Cup series and three in the Craftsman Truck series, including one for ex-Formula One racer Scott Speed.

Davis has been seeking a buyer since last year in order to enhance his operation, mainly in the Sprint Cup, as his team is one of the top squads in the Truck series and employs former champions Mike Skinner and Johnny Benson.

Sullivan, who led the Red Bull Driver Search in the US that took Speed to Formula One, said in an interview with SI.com that he has held talks for some time already with Davis and claimed he has even gone as far as making an offer.

However, a possible deal didn't go ahead because he didn't get some paperwork they had requested from Davis. He also claims that the price being asked by Davis is too high.

"I have a partner who has lined up the money to do this and we've been kicking around on some stuff," said Sullivan. "[Bill Davis] is off on the numbers and had some bigger people chasing it. The last time I talked to him, I had the money but didn't get the documents that we requested."

Davis was surprised by Sullivan's quotes, but confirmed they've held talks regarding a buyout. However, he said the deal is far from being done, as there are other parties interested in bidding for his NASCAR team.

"We've had some conversations," Davis said. "I just heard some of those quotes and I was pretty amazed by them. We've continued to talk to Danny. We've talked to several people, yes. All we've ever talked about with anybody is the entire operation.

"We wouldn't be talking about that in public. It's not to that stage yet. That would be a question for Danny, what his plan is."

Last year, Davis made the headlines when he gave Jacques Villeneuve the opportunity to make his NASCAR debut in the Truck Series and later in the Sprint Cup series at Talladega.

However, as neither him, nor Villeneuve found the budget to compete this season, their partnership ended on the eve of the Daytona 500 when the Canadian failed to qualify for the season opener.

Craig Pollock, former manager for Villeneuve, was also working on a deal to buy the team last year but his bid was not successful.

Since then, the team has struggled further and they were later forced to close the Sprint Cup team they had lined up for Villeneuve this year. They've also recently lost their Caterpillar backing to Richard Childress Racing and a replacement has yet to be named.

Dave Blaney's car is currently 32nd in the Sprint Cup owner standings, while Johnny Benson is leading the standings for the team in the Truck series.