We entered this season with a lot of great drivers at the end of their contracts. Among them were Greg Biffle, Brian Vickers, Carl Edwards and Clint Bowyer. Biffle has already re-signed with Roush Fenway, but the other three are still without contracts for next year and beyond.
While they hold out to weigh their options, I suspect they’re not finding a whole lot out there. The issue isn’t whether there are seats available but if there are seats available that improve upon the drivers’ current situations.
The prospect of a fourth car at Gibbs, and a third car at Penske and maybe even Ganassi or Stewart Haas exists; all though are very dependent on sponsorship. And while a big name driver helps in securing that all important support, there are no guarantees.
Another option is Red Bull Racing that, at the moment, doesn’t have a single driver signed up for 2012. The problem with this team though is that its performance doesn’t come close to matching that of rival organizations. It’s very much a downgrade for top prospects Edwards and Bowyer.
Even with Gibbs, Penske et al., the best Bowyer and Edwards can hope for is a lateral move (which is why neither will go anywhere). They’re both currently driving for two of the top teams in the sport. Vickers can look around, but I doubt he’ll find any opportunities for improvement.
For Edwards, his is very much the A-team at Roush. Though he has been looking, is he going to improve upon that position somewhere else? I doubt it.
While Edwards and anyone else who may be playing the field might not be going anywhere, what talking to others does do is improve their position with their current teams. Create demand for yourself and you’ll get what you want. I’m sure it will work beautifully for Edwards.
So the long and short is, if you’re looking to move, lots of luck this year. There are no dominos to fall and no blatantly open rides to fall into. It’s just not a good year to be a free agent in NASCAR.
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With big announcements flying this week, the teams are getting geared up to head for Bristol for a little short track Saturday night action. Don’t forget, the Truck Series races tonight at the ”World’s Fastest Half Mile.” If you don’t know what this post is, we answer any and all reader questions every Wednesday, right here. So if you’ve got one, click on the ”Ask the Insiders” tab at the top of the page and send one to us. On to the questions…
1. From Michael in SoCal:
Following up on Franq’s question from last week about using the road course at Indy for the Cup Series race, what about using one of the road courses at Pocono? If the Cup Series is going there twice within a span of about seven weeks, it might be a nice change of pace, Your site is a daily read! Thanks.
Thanks Micheal! The Pocono road course is nowhere near ready to handle a NASCAR race – as we saw a couple of weeks ago the main track isn’t either. Even if Pocono were interested in upgrading their road course, I still don’t think NASCAR is all that interested in adding road courses to the schedule. I do agree though seven or eight weeks is a little ridiculous between races, and any change would be welcome. – Journo
2. From Dan:
Hey guys I know you all remain anonymous but what I wonder about is how you get info (outside the technical stuff) without raising suspicions. The answer you gave last week ( Ask the Insiders #87) about the Target sponsorship and the deal they have with EGR/ CGR I would think would be only privy to those associated with that team. Of course that’s not to say you all couldn’t find out. But couldn’t someone connect the dots after seeing an answer to a question? Like hey I was asked that last week by so and so. Hope what I’m saying makes sense. Anyway just curious.
Well we would never ask someone a question that appears on the site for the exact reason you suggest. If we ever don’t know an answer to a question or can’t easily find out through inconspicuous means we’ll tell you we don’t know. As far as last week’s question goes, Ganassi’s program is very well known to those who are familiar with sponsorship in the sport. On top of those at the team that are familiar with the program you’ve got to consider all the people connected with those individual sponsorship deals that are also familiar with it – literally hundreds of people currently and formerly associated with the team and sponsors. – Journo
3. From red8814:
I understand that Sadler’s helmet, seat & HANS were all scheduled to be scanned for fractures following his wreck at Pocono. If a driver is in a far less severe, “moderate” wreck that takes him to infield care b/c the car won’t start up, is there any automatic review of his safety equipment, including the belts/harness?
Not that I am aware of. All over the rule book in the section about safety gear, it is repeated that the drivers are responsible for their own safety equipment and it’s proper usage. NASCAR is in no way responsible for any of it. – T.C.
4. From Michael in SoCal:
Any thoughts on why Robby Gordon put PJ Jones in the # 7 and moved himself into the # 07 last week at Michigan? Thanks.
Robby put PJ in the #7 car because he knew they would be guaranteed to start the race (PJ qualified 41st) – he knew he would be much better positioned to get into the race on speed (he qualifed 35th). And then they both start-and-parked – the double start-and-park, always a classy move. – Journo
5. From Ryan:
T.C.-After reading that Casey Mears will take over the Germain #13 car starting at Atlanta and full-time next year, I’m wondering how well do you think he will do?
I wouldn’t expect much from this move. While Mears is certainly more experienced than Papis, his performances certainly haven’t been stellar over his career. Let’s remember that this is the same Mears who struggled at Ganassi, Hendrick, Childress, and Red Bull. He certainly won’t resurrect his career in an underfunded Cup car for Germain Racing. – T.C.
6. From Denny:
Have been reading a blog which mentions something about Reuti running a non-approved intake supplied by TRD on the engine which won at Chicago. Even one of the announcers stated Reuti showed-up with a different intake for this race. How could they possibly get away with this, with all of the inspections going on, both before and after the race in Chicago. Also, reading that NASCAR will be testing engines after MIS. Does anyone, other than NASCAR officials get to view the actual testing? Will these be a real dyno test…..on a stand-type engine dyno or just a chassis dyno? Thanks for the great info, as always!
Honestly, I don’t know anything about this. If it’s actually true, both MWR and TRD have done a remarkable job keeping it quiet. NASCAR’s inspection process is certainly extensive, and if any other team caught any wind of this, it would have been reported to NASCAR immediately. That fact alone makes me question the validity of what you’ve read. And after Michigan, NASCAR did take 16 engines from various teams. Since they only took the engines, the dyno tests will be done on a standard dyno, not a chassis dyno. Don’t expect NASCAR to make the results public unless a drastic rule change comes about because of the tests. – T.C.
7. From Allen:
Why doesn’t NASCAR consider doing the “side by side” coverage, commercials on the right and the race on the left? If IndyCar can pull it off we can.
It’s all got to do with the way the advertising is structured within NASCAR’s TV deals, and I’ll be honest I really don’t know all the specifics. It’s feasible, we’ve seen them do it with the Coke Zero 400 on TNT, but I don’t know that NASCAR and their broadcast partners are all that interested in doing it. Here is an article from 2006 that answers some of your questions. – Journo
8. From Justin:
I know questions about payouts have been asked before, but none of it really makes sense. Just a few examples from Michigan. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 19th $86,050, David Gilliland 36th $86,148. Brad Keselowski 34th $98, 535, Sam Hornish Jr 32nd $79,950. Clint Bowyer 13th $89,975, Jeff Burton 24th $111,565. The payouts don’t make any sense. Why would one team apart of the same organization take part in different contingency programs? What contingency program could David Gilliland be a part of that Dale Jr isn’t?
It’s not all about what contingency programs a team is involved in. The reason some drivers make more then others depends on what contingency programs a team is involved in AND in what payout plan a team is in. I believe NASCAR has four different plans setup, and each team fits into one of those plans. I don’t know specific details, but the plans award prize money based on not only where you finish, but also past performance and longevity. – T.C.
9. From Newracefan:
I heard several times on Nascar Now about the HMS cars not having speed. I know when I listened to the 48 scanner Sunday on more than one occasion JJ was sayong the car was good but Chad was saying it he wasn’t fast enough. Is there something to this?
It is certainly possible for a car to have a good balance with the chassis setup, but just not be very fast. I’m just speculating, but maybe they were missing something aerodynamically, or they were possibly down on horsepower a bit. Let’s not forget that Johnson still finished 12th, so it must not have been that bad. – T.C.
10. From Lost in Texas:
With Kahne and Ambrose settled for next year, does this make Sadler the top free agent on the market for this year and who is the top ride that will be looking for a driver?
Well, unless a team does something drastic, or a team like Gibbs finally starts a fourth team, there aren’t really any open rides left. If Scott Speed and/or Brian Vickers don’t return to Red Bull, there might be an opening there, but that’s about it. Besides that, RPM is realistically the only team left with openings. Childress, Hendrick, Roush, Gibbs, Stewart Haas, MWR, EGR, and Penske are all full up for 2011. So I guess you could make the argument that Sadler is the top free agent driver, but without any openings, I’m not sure that means much. – T.C.
And that brings yet another “Ask The Insiders Wednesday” to a close. Thanks to everyone who sent in questions. And remember, if you’d like to be a part of next week, click on the ”Ask the Insiders” tab at the top of the page and send your question in!
There has been much speculation over the last several weeks regarding where Martin Truex Jr. will race in 2010 and beyond. This speculation has been fueled mostly by Truex’s own comments on a possible move, which started at the Talladega race in April. The turmoil surrounding the DEI/CGR merger, and the lack of performance from the EGR teams this season appears to be a big motivator. Since 2008, Truex has been rumored to be leaving DEI/EGR for Dale Jr.’s Cup team (that never materialized), Stewart-Haas Racing, Joe Gibbs Racing, Penske Racing, and most recently Michael Waltrip Racing.
Mike Mulhern was the first to break the news about Truex’s possible defection to MWR, and his story pondered whether the deal was actually already done. Since Mulhern’s article first appeared we’ve heard that the deal isn’t necessarily done but that NAPA is very interested in securing Truex. But there has yet to be an announcement from either side about the future and after talking about it initially, Truex has now become reluctant in answering any media questions regarding MWR and 2010.
Stepping back now from the rumors and speculation, I’m curious about what team would be the best fit for Truex moving forward. I’ve got to believe that a possible move from EGR to MWR would only be driven by a more lucrative contract. I say that because neither team appears to be better then the other in terms of performance and potential. Truex and his teammate, Juan Pablo Montoya, currently sit 19th and 15th in the points, while MWR cars are 11th, 18th, and 32nd respectively. The lone bright spot for MWR and a possible selling point for Truex has been David Reutimann and his Coke 600 win. But the win in a rain shortened 600 on a Monday had more to do with lucky strategy than it did with actual team performance. So jumping from the #1 team at EGR to the #55 team at MWR appears to be a lateral move at best.
The other wildcard in this situation is Truex’s long time sponsor, Bass Pro Shops. There was much talk earlier this season after EGR shut down the #8 team that Bass Pro had an out in its contract if either Truex didn’t have two team cars, or his performance wasn’t up to par. This appears now to be false, and according to press releases from 2007 and EGR’s Steve Lauletta, Bass Pro is signed through 2010. This would certainly rule out the possibility of Bass Pro Shops following Truex to MWR, SHR, or any other team.
Only time will tell where Truex ends up for the 2010 season and beyond, but I’m of the opinion that Truex will indeed jump ship. I feel like he’s had one foot out the door since the walls started crumbling at DEI, and I’m surprised he’s waited until now to possibly make a move. Usually, drivers who aren’t interested in a move to another team don’t become the topic of so many rumors. And if he wasn’t interested in moving, it’s very easy to put down the rumors and speculation and just say “I like where I am, I’m staying.”
On top of that, his performances this season have been less than inspired, and chances of a big contract brought to you by NAPA or possibly a better ride elsewhere may be enough to lure him away.