FastCar Newsdesk for week of 1/2/09
The events of the last month regarding Petty Enterprises, Gillett Evernham Motorsports, and their possible merger have taken many turns. A.J. Allmendinger’s promotion to the No. 19 Dodge and Elliott Sadler’s removal from the team is one of he strangest. Last weekend, sources confirmed that Elliott Sadler had been released from his contract and replaced by A.J. Allmendinger, who raced the final five events for GEM in the No. 10 car.
Though GEM has not made an official announcement confirming this move, sources close to A.J. Allmendinger have confirmed it publicly. This development led some to believe that the GEM-Petty talks were off, but that apparently is not the case. Officials close to the situation say that an announcement is imminent and awaits final details to be ironed out.
The new lineup at GEM, even if it absorbs the Petty No. 43, likely will only include three cars, because of a lack of sponsorship. Kasey Kahne will remain in the No. 9, Allmendinger will be in the No. 19, and Reed Sorenson will be in the No. 43, instead of the No. 10 that he intended to drive. That move will insure that he starts the year in the Top 35 in points. Originally, Bobby Labonte or A.J. Allmendinger was supposed to be in the No. 43 car.
As for the drivers that have been left without rides in wake of the GEM-Petty talks, neither Sadler nor Labonte have landed another ride. The only full-time ride available is the No. 41 EGR Chevy that Sorenson drove last year. Labonte has been hotly rumored for that ride, but nothing has been announced. One ride that could open up is the Penske No. 77, if Sam Hornish Jr. decides to return to Indy cars in place of Penske driver Helio Castroneves, who may miss the season because of legal troubles. That scenario is purely speculative and has not been brought up at all by Penske.
Sadler signed a contract extension with GEM and May and had at least two years left on it, meaning the team still owes him that money. This is bad news for George Gillett because he owes big payments on an English Premier League team he owns and has had a poor return on an investment in car dealerships he has made in recent months. Gillett’s potential money problems may be the reason that the Petty deal did not happen sooner.
Sadler’s tenure at GEM was almost fruitless. In 86 races, he scored only two Top 5s and 12 Top 10s, as the team encountered big struggles in both 2007 and 2008. He did have a great relationship with sponsors and appeared weekly on SPEED’s Trackside. The decision to axe Sadler may have prompted some sponsors to leave the No. 19 team.
There has been lots of driver turnover at GEM since Gillett joined the team in 2007. Driver Scott Riggs was let go before the end of the ’07 season, in favor of Canadian open wheel driver Patrick Carpentier. Carpentier experienced little success in the No. 10 and was released from the team after failing to qualify for the Talladega race late in the 2008 season. Drivers including Allmendinger and Terry Labonte took turns in the No. 10 car at some point during 2008. The No. 10 may not run in 2009.
Ray Evernham reportedly was seen emptying his personal possessions from the GEM shop that bears his name. He has sold most or all of his share in the team he founded. Reports also state that Petty Enterprises employees’ last day at the shop was on Wednesday.
Davis sells team
Bill Davis is another long term NASCAR owner that has sold the majority of his race team. Triad Racing Technologies and owners Marty Gaunt and Mike Held announced that they have acquired Bill Davis’ Sprint Cup and Camping World Truck Series teams. Though the ins and outs of the deal have not been specified, the team’s new owners say that BDR GM Mark Chambers will remain with the team.
Other positions at BDR are yet to be determined. Many of the laid of employees from the team reportedly will be able to re-apply to the team for next season. The difficulty for these employees is that they are going against a job market that is saturated with former race team employees that have been fired since the season ended.
Though no sponsors have signed up for the Sprint Cup No. 22 Toyota, the team plans to run the Daytona 500. No driver has been announced and the driver of the No. 22 last year, Dave Blaney, is a free agent and is still in search of a ride. There is no official word on the impact of the new ownership on the team’s Truck Series operations.
Former rookie Smith to Furniture Row No. 78
Driver Regan Smith has some good news to report to start 2009. Prospects for a Sprint Cup ride were slim for the 2008 Rookie of the Year, since his No. 01 team folded in wake of the Dale Earnhardt Inc.-Ganassi Racing merger. With time in the offseason running out, however, Smith has secured a ride with Furniture Row Racing in the No. 78 Chevy for next season.
Furniture Row announced after the season that it was trimming its schedule back to a part-time itinerary. It also released their 2008 driver Joe Nemechek from a multi-year deal, so he could pursue other opportunities. Though Smith now has a ride, he is not guaranteed to make any races. The No. 78 was well outside the Top 35 by the end of 2008 and the 2009 part-time schedule will not change that. This means that the Cato, New York driver will have to qualify on time for every race.
Penske and Jasper parting ways
Penske Racing and Jasper racing are reportedly ending their partnership. Though no formal announcement has been made, published reports indicate that this is likely. The two entities began their partnership in 2004, when the Jasper No. 77 team moved to the Penske shop. The team ran with drivers Brendan Gaughan in ’04 and Travis Kvapil in ’05, before suspending operations. Supposedly, Jasper will continue to provide transmissions to race teams.
Newman and Carmichael to compete for KHI next season
Kevin Harvick Inc. will have two marquee drivers in its stable next season. Ryan Newman will run a part-time schedule for Harvick’s Nationwide Series team in the No. 33 Chevy. Newman won the first race he ran for Harvick in the Truck Series, going to Victory Lane in the No. 2 truck late last season at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Motorcross champion Ricky Carmichael is close to securing a sponsor to run a partial schedule in the Camping World Truck Series for KHI. Monster Energy Drink is the rumored backer for the No. 2 Chevy, but no deal has been announced. Carmichael has run races in ARCA and the Camping World East Series before with Monster.
Sauter in at Thorsport in Truck Series
After published reports placed Johnny Sauter at the Thorsport race shop earlier this offseason, the veteran driver has officially been named to replace Shelby Howard in the No. 13 Chevy Silverado in the Camping World Truck Series. Howard had one Top 5 and two Top 10s last season for the team.
Sauter has limited Truck Series experience, running a career total of 11 races, with two Top 10s and one Top 5. He ran only one race in the series last year, to go along with the eight Nationwide Series races he ran.
Hornaday and Crafton to run Toyota All-Star Showdown race
2007 Truck Series champ Ron Hornaday and veteran Truck Series driver Matt Crafton each will run in the Toyota All-Star Showdown in Irwindale, California later this month. The race features the best drivers from the Camping World East and West Series, as well as the Whelen All-American Series. Joey Logano won the race last season.
Miccosukee returns to Ballew No. 51 team
At least one Billy Ballew Motorposrts team will return next season. Miccosukee Indian Gaming will return as primary sponsor of the No. 51 Toyota Camping World Truck Series team in 2009, leaving Ballew in search of a sponsor for just one team now, the No. 15. Kyle Busch led the No. 51 to 16 Top 10s, 10 Top 5s, and three wins in only 18 races in 2008.
Download the FastCar podcast by yours truly weekly from CaptainHerb.net.
