FastCar Newsdesk for week of 12/11/08
Another piece of Petty Enterprises is breaking away. 2000 Cup champion Bobby Labonte, driver of the famed No. 43 Dodge announced his plans to leave the team, citing PE’s uncertain future as his reasoning. This announcement comes in the wake of rumors surfacing last week that PE is in discussions with Gillett Evernham Motorsports about letting GEM make the No. 43 car its 4th team.
“Petty Enterprises and I had serious and very sincere discussions about what was best for myself and everyone involved at Petty Enterprises moving forward. These discussions culminated with us agreeing that moving in a separate direction will be the greatest way to reach our end goals. It was by no means an easy decision,” Labonte said, regarding the situation.
The GEM-Petty negotiations are officially more than rumors. PE released 39 employees Monday, four days after the story broke about Petty’s future. GEM CEO Tom Reddin said this of the merger talks.
“We can confirm Gillett Evernham Motorsports is in exclusive negotiations with Petty Holdings.” He continued, “GEM has a very solid foundation and this is an exciting opportunity to build on that foundation with one of the greatest names in the history of motorsports. We will work diligently over the next several weeks and make further comment at the appropriate time.”
Up until this statement, officials from both Petty and GEM had denied the rumors or avoided commenting on the situation.
Labonte may not be out of a ride for long. Several published reports indicate that he has been in discussions with Earnhardt Ganassi racing about the vacant seat in the No. 41 Target Dodge.
If GEM indeed acquires the No. 43 car, A.J. Allmendinger is widely expected to be named the driver. The former Red Bull driver drove the GEM No. 10 Dodge for five races at the end of last season, after the team fired Patirck Carpentier. Reed Sorenson assumes driving duties for that team in 2009. Carpentier is still looking in all three of NASCAR’s top series for a ride.
No. 40 Ganassi Nationwide team shuts down; Fastenal leaves EGR
Shockwaves of the economic meltdown continue to cause NASCAR teams to crumble and collapse. Ganassi officials announced this week that the No. 40 Nationwide Series team is ceasing operations, because primary sponsor Fastenal is leaving the team.
Reportedly, Earnhardt Ganassi officials had been trying to talk the company into moving its sponsorship to a Sprint Cup ride, possibly the No. 8 un-sponsored entry of Aric Almirola.
Fastenal may be looking to join Stewart Hass Racing, to sponsor the balance of the races in 2009 that the U.S. Army is not funding on Ryan Newman’s No. 39 Chevy. The team has been searching for full sponsorship on the No. 39 since the Stewart Hass deal was announced.
There were approximately five layoffs as a direct result of the team closing down, including much-traveled crew chief Brad Parrott. There is no word on the future of the team’s driver, Bryan Clauson.
Parrott looking to GEM…just not the Parrott you think; Barraclough out at Yates
Someone please oil the hinges on the doors of the Yates Racing shop. Last week, a report surfaced indicating that Todd Parrott had either left or been let go as crew chief from the No. 28 Yates Racing Ford and driver Travis Kvapil. According to officials at Yates, that report is false and Parrott is still with the team. Other reports indicated that Parrott may be looking at the vacancy atop the pit box of the No. 19 Dodge. Another Parrott is.
The now-unemployed Brad Parrott (the aforementioned crew chief of the now-defunt No. 40 Ganassi Nationwide Series team) says that GEM officials have informed him that he is at the top of the list to become Elliott Sadler’s crew chief next year on the No. 19 team. Rodney Childers left that team last week to become David Reutimann’s crew on the No. 00 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota.
If Parrott does not land at GEM, he intends to bring some of the laid off members from the No. 40 team to another team with him, where they all can work.
At Yates Racing, Cully Barraclough actually is leaving his team. He worked last season with David Gilliland on the No. 38 Ford, but he will not be moving far. The former crew chief of the Yates No. 90 Nationwide Series Ford will assume the car chief duties on the No. 26 team at Roush Fenway Racing. Yates Racing is a satellite team of RFR.
Lots of flux amongst Dodge drivers; Robby Gordon may be switching from Dodge
With news of Bobby Labonte’s Petty departure, Dodge appears to only have five of its Sprint Cup Series drivers remaining in their same rides as 2008. Only Kasey Kahne, Juan Pablo Montoya, Elliott Sadler, Sam Hornish Jr., Robby Gordon, and Kurt Busch will drive for their Dodge teams, as of now. There are rumors that Robby Gordon may be switching from Dodge and possibly to Toyota. 10 teams amongst four organizations fielded Dodges last season.
2008 Dodge drivers have switched teams or been let go all over the garage. Ryan Newman departs Penske’s No. 12 for the No. 39 Stewart Hass Chevy. Reed Sorenson leaves the Ganassi No. 41 for the GEM No. 10, replacing Patrick Carpentier. Juan Pablo Montoya remains in the No. 42, but Ganassi is likely switching to Chevys, because of the Earnhardt Ganassi Racing merger. The Ganassi No. 40 team and driver Dario Franchitti shut down in the middle of last season. Bobby Labonte and Kyle Petty both left and have been let go from their rides at Petty Enterprises.
Truck teams in jeopardy
Just two weeks ago, Wyler Racing announced tentative plans to run a 2nd team in addition to the No. 60 Toyota and Jack Sprague. Now the whole team may close. Though Sprague is a former Camping World Truck Series champion, the team has not secured sponsorship for even the No. 60, which means that the team may not run next year. Jeff Wyler’s team has amassed three wins, including one at Daytona, since starting in 2005.
All three wins have come with Sprague.
Last off season, Wyler planned to expand to two teams with Georgia driver Richard Johns, but that deal fell through and left Johns without a 2009 ride.
2006 champ Todd Bodine and the team he won the title with, the No. 30 Germain Racing team may be on the verge of demise. Primary sponsor Lumber Liquidators is likely not returning next season and there have been significant layoffs from the team. Germain Racing has been planning to field at least two Truck Series teams full-time, a full-time Nationwide Series team, and a part-time Cup Series team. If the team folds, there is no word on Bodine’s destination.
Benson officially in at Red Horse Racing
2008 Truck Series champ Johnny Benson is officially the driver of the No. 1 Toyota for Red Horse Racing. Much of his No. 23 Bill Davis Racing crew is rumored to be joining him with the team. His crew chief Trip Bruce is officially with the team. Benson drove the No. 23 for the past three seasons, but left the team, because of an uncertain financial future for the team.
Wood Brothers scaling back Cup schedule to 12 races
The No. 21 Ford plans to run only 12 races in 2009, due to a lack of sponsorship. Motorcraft will be the primary sponsor of the team and Bill Elliott will drive in all the races. The team will only run at 1.5 mile tracks and the Daytona 500. The Wood Brothers ran part-time for many years and with great success, with driver David Pearson. That model has not worked in the Cup Series for many years. Here is the schedule:
Feb. 15, Daytona 500
March 1, Las Vegas
March 8. Atlanta
April 5, Texas
May 16, All-Star Race
May 24, Charlotte
July 11, Chicagoland
Sept. 6, Atlanta
Oct. 4, Kansas
Oct. 17, Charlotte
Nov. 8, Texas
Nov. 22, Homestead
No Hot Pass in 2009
Users of DirecTV’s NASCAR Hot Pass learned this week that the service will no longer be available. Hot Pass offered viewers a chance to watch a choice of several drivers’ Cup races from their in-car cameras and hear their team radios, as well as get exclusive commentary from select NASCAR reporters, like PRN’s Doug Rice or SPEED Channel’s Wendy Venturini. There is no word as to the reason for the decision to stop the programming.
Georgia drivers do not flake out in Snowball Derby
The disqualification of Brian Ickler as winner of the Snowball Derby allowed Georgia drivers Matt Hawkins, Shane Sieg, and Bubba Pollard to finish 2nd, 3rd, and 4th behind declared winner Augie Grill. Hawkins scored a podium finish in the same event last year.
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