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Now that we know Carl Edwards is returning to Roush Fenway Racing next season, expect the rest of the Silly Season dominoes to start falling quickly.  But even though the Edwards drama is over, there is an aspect of the rumored move by Edwards to Joe Gibbs Racing that seems to have been overlooked by some folks.  If Edwards did indeed end up taking over the #20 Home Depot ride, there was talk that JGR would start a fourth team with sponsorship from NAPA.  That sounded a little unbelievable considering NAPA currently has a deal with Martin Truex Jr. and Michael Waltrip Racing through 2012.  But in a recent article by Lee Spencer over at FOXSports.com, J.D. Gibbs admitted that NAPA had submitted an RFP to JGR regarding sponsorship.  So while they may have a contract with MWR through 2012, it appears the auto parts retailer could have an out in their deal and are exploring their options.

A possible reason why NAPA could be looking at other teams to sponsor for 2012 and beyond is the performance of MWR and Truex’s #56 team.  Since coming to MWR following the 2009 season, Truex’s results have been disappointing.  In 56 races, the #56 car only has one top five and thirteen top ten finishes.  This lack of performance led MWR to replace crew chief Pat Tryson in June (we questioned the move then), but a big turnaround has yet to happen.  Truex’s average finish in the seven races with new crew chief Chad Johnston has improved from 19.7 to 18.4, but the team has actually dropped two spots in the points.  And after nearly two seasons together, NAPA may have seen all they need to see.

Besides a possible fourth JGR entry, there are plenty of top tier teams in need of backing for 2012 and beyond.  Of the four Roush Fenway cars, only one (Greg Biffle’s #16) has sponsorship for next season.  Clint Bowyer appears to be on the cusp of re-signing with Richard Childress Racing, but sponsorship for his #33 has yet to be announced.  We’ve heard RCR might be close to locking down funding for Bowyer, and it’s not unrealistic to think NAPA could be in play here.  There could also be a million other possible combinations with Stewart-Haas needing more funding, drivers like Mark Martin and Brian Vickers available, or the possibility of a deal with a young driver (Trevor Bayne & Ricky Stenhouse Jr. come to mind).  The point being that NAPA has plenty of options.

Whether NAPA actually makes a move remains to be seen, but their availability could add a new wrinkle to what’s left of the Silly Season.  If they’ve already submitted an RFP to JGR, we’ve got to believe that they’ve inquired with other teams as well.  And like we mentioned on Twitter earlier today, don’t believe anything (like denials in this case) until a deal is actually done.

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Following their usual quick exit from Cup races, the #66 Prism Motorsports team of Dave Blaney was met with a little surprise on Sunday at California.  Lee Spencer of FoxSports.com first reported about Blaney’s Toyota being taken by NASCAR for inspection.  Once the team was out of the race, the #66 was chosen as NASCAR’s “random” to be inspected following the race.

In case you aren’t aware of the normal post race inspection procedure, NASCAR usually takes the winning car, plus a few others back to it’s R&D center in Concord, NC.  There, the cars are thoroughly inspected to ensure they are legal, and then returned to the teams when the process is complete.  For more on what goes on during these inspections, see this piece Dustin Long wrote last season.

What has some people talking about this particular random pull, is this is the first time a start and park car has been taken by NASCAR, and this now leaves Blaney’s team with only one car to compete with at Las Vegas (barring a miraculously quick inspection by NASCAR which nobody believes will happen).  Spencer even questions NASCAR’s motives in her article, saying:

Is NASCAR attempting to send the message to “start and park” teams — those that enter a race primarily to collect a check and don’t always try to finish — not to stink up their show?

The answer is most likely yes, and no.

First, I believe NASCAR wants these teams to be aware that the sanctioning body is paying attention to them, even if all they plan on doing is running in the back for a few laps, and then parking.  If these teams are breaking the rules to beat out other teams and get into the race, they need to be caught.  They should be under the same scrutiny as everyone else.  So there certainly is a message being sent.

On the other hand, while I know NASCAR isn’t particularly a huge fan of these teams, they understand that on some level they do serve a purpose and that there really isn’t much that can be done about their existence.  Until the economy picks back up and companies return to racing sponsorships, these teams will have a place.

I also wanted to point something out about the level at which some of these start and park teams appear they can compete at.

Before his quick exit on Sunday, Blaney had qualified fifth and even led a few laps.  But that performance is deceiving.  Understand that these cars are built to do nothing but qualify.  These teams do things like run light weight motor oils, light weight transmission oil, and light weight rear end grease to make sure there is as little resistance as possible in the drive trains.  That way, the cars can run very fast for a few laps.  But the problem with setting cars up like this, is they would never last an entire race.  Those lighter weight oils and components would fail before the car made it to the end of 500 miles.

But because none of these teams plan to run more then a few laps, reliability doesn’t matter.  When reliability does become an issue for these teams, many would never even qualify.

So here we are talking about the start and parkers again.  Frankly, I don’t really even notice them anymore.  They don’t affect the actual racing going on, and as long as they aren’t taking the spot of a legitimate team, I don’t care if they do what they do.  I think most of the fans understand the game now, and just accept it for what it is.

It is nice to see though that NASCAR is willing to hold these teams to the same standards as all the others.  If you show up, expect to be under the microscope, regardless of your intentions.

I do wish though that just one of these owners would be honest with everyone and just come out and say they are just in it for the money.  It certainly would be a refreshing change from the usual “we’d race if we had money.”

Yeah, I’m sure you would.