It was announced this week that Cole Whitt will attempt to make his Cup Series debut at Phoenix for Red Bull Racing. The team will enter a third car for Whitt, who will have to qualify on time. If it goes well, expect Red Bull to enter Whitt at Homestead as well. The move would seem to make sense, as Red Bull has backed Whitt’s Truck Series effort for much of the season, except for the fact that Red Bull is shutting down it’s NASCAR program after Homestead. Why spend money continuing to develop a driver for a team that won’t exist in a few weeks?
Whitt is currently competing in his first full season in the Truck Series, and has had a very solid year. Running for Stacy Compton’s under-funded Turn One Racing, he actually led the points earlier in the year, and is still solidly in the top ten. He’s also locked in a battle with Joey Coulter and Nelson Piquet, Jr. for the Rookie of the Year title. His performance this season certainly warrants opportunities to advance his career.
If Red Bull were continuing it’s NASCAR operation, getting Whitt more experience would be important. They would need to replace Kasey Kahne in the #4, and Whitt would certainly be a candidate to do so in the next year or two. We’ve heard that Jay Frye may be close to securing an investor to keep the team afloat, and getting Whitt up to speed might be a major selling point. Take that at face value though, because this rumor has surfaced several times over the last few months and a deal has yet to be made.
There is another rumor floating around about where Whitt could end up, and this one might have some teeth.
In a recent interview with NASCAR.com’s Dave Rodman, Whitt said “Red Bull has already committed to him a similar program as he had in 2011, for next season.” So even if Red Bull Racing shuts down, Red Bull will maintain some level of sponsorship involvement with Whitt next season. And the NASCAR.com article seemed to imply that Whitt may be shopping that deal.
With that in mind, the other rumor we’ve heard is that Whitt might be the third driver to fill out the lineup for Michael Waltrip Racing’s #00 next year. We know Mark Martin will run 25 races, and that Michael Waltrip will drive another five, so MWR is looking to fill the seat for the remaining six races. Whitt’s backing from Red Bull might be the key to getting him into those races.
These are nothing more than rumors at this point, but expect Whitt to end up in a decent ride for next season. As for these two possible Cup races, it’s certainly an interesting move for a lame duck team to bring out a third car for a developmental driver. Somebody clearly has a plan for young Mr. Whitt.
TheNASCARInsiders.com Follow the Insiders on Twitter or be a fan on Facebook!
You’re 41. You’ve got four NASCAR wins. You’ve worked for the same people for the most of the last decade. And now you’re out of a job with just three weeks until the end of the season. What do you do?
This is the question David Reutimann has to to answer right now. What does he do? He’s not young, he doesn’t have money or sponsorship to bring (that we know of) and he’s not miraculously going to be anything more than what he is. What you see is what you get.
Reutimann’s first foray into NASCAR came in 2002 with Joe Nemechek. After sporadic runs through that season and 2003, he was hired by Darrell Waltrip Motorsports. He eventually moved full time to the Cup and Nationwide Series with Michael Waltrip Racing in 2007.
During his time with the Waltrips, Reutimann has four wins, and points finishes of second and third in the Nationwide and Truck Series’. His best Cup season to date came in 2009 when he finished 16th in the points after one win, five top-fives and 1o top-10s.
Only Michael Waltrip has more wins in his equipment than Reutimann – and to date Reutimann can claim all two of the team’s Cup wins.
What’s more, this season he’s only a little worse than teammate Martin Truex Jr. – average of finish of 22.9 compared to 18.4 – and is four spots behind Truex in the points.
Reutimann’s release on Thursday was a stunning turn about. He had been granted a three year contract extension just last year and was a consistent force with the team. To his credit, Reutimann did a lot with sub-par equipment. Apparently it wasn’t good enough though.
The worst part of all of this is that Reutimann faces pretty bleak prospects on the market, especially given the timing. Teams are cutting back, have already filled spots or are only looking at drivers who are bringing something to the table. Like David Ragan, Reutimann will be hard pressed to find anything worth while or competitive, especially at the level he’s at now.
As they say, it’s not show friends, it’s show business. Thank you MWR for making that painfully clear.
The end of the 2011 season is drawing near, and it seems we hear every week about another team that is preparing to lay off employees. The U.S. economy has still not rebounded, and even though some signs are better for NASCAR (like TV ratings), it would appear that we haven’t yet found the bottom. It all adds up to what will be another tough winter for many employed in and around the sport.
Thanks to North Carolina’s WARN (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification) Act, we’ve had several public notifications within the last few weeks about impending race team layoffs. The state requires a 60 day notice if more than 50 workers will be laid off because of a company shutdown. Red Bull Racing, Kevin Harvick Inc., and Germain Racing have all filed with the state.
Red Bull and KHI are organizations that will be shut down completely at season’s end. We’ve obviously known about Red Bull for several months, and we learned within the last month about KHI. The Nationwide Series teams that were housed at KHI will be absorbed by Richard Childress Racing, so there is some hope for a few. But that still leaves several hundred people looking for work.
Germain, while still a bad situation, isn’t quite as dire as Red Bull and KHI. Germain knows for certain they have funding for 22 races for their Cup Series program for next season, but their Truck teams are in limbo. Brendan Gaughan may not return, GEICO won’t sponsor Max Papis, and they’ve been piecing together sponsorship for Todd Bodine for the last several seasons. With so much still to figure out, they didn’t have any other choice but to file their notice.
Besides these teams, we know there is a good chance RCR will cut back down to three Cup teams with the departure of Clint Bowyer. Roush Fenway Racing could be facing cuts, as sponsorship remains a big question for their #6 and #17 Cup teams. There is also word that their Nationwide Series program could be significantly smaller next season. And while we are talking about NNS teams, Turner Motorsports might be cutting back both their NNS and Truck programs because of lack of sponsorship. There are also questions at Rusty Wallace Racing, as it appears they need a replacement for 5 Hour Energy.
It isn’t all bad though. If Bowyer does end up at Michael Waltrip Racing like it has been rumored, that team would go from two cars to three. Also, Stewart Haas is adding at least a partial third Cup car with the addition of Danica Patrick. We also know that Eddie Sharp Racing will expand significantly next season, as the team has purchased the #8 and #33 trucks from KHI to add to their already existing #6 truck. Possible drivers for those seats include Cale Gale and Tim George, Jr. And besides adding KHI’s #8 and #33 NNS teams, RCR will start a third NNS team for Austin Dillon.
With eight weeks remaining, there are still a lot of unfinished plans. Drivers like Brian Vickers and Mark Martin still haven’t locked down seats for 2012, and there are plenty of other free agent drivers in the lower series. We also continue to hear that Red Bull’s involvement in NASCAR may not completely end. The chance still exists for that team to continue in some form or another. Either way, here’s to hoping everyone lands on their feet following Homestead.
You heard him say it. Sure he was angry and it’s not true – Waltrip did win two Daytona 500s after all – but it definitely adds an uncomfortable element to the Clint Bowyer to Michael Waltrip Racing rumors. Strange bedfellows?
We often say around here not to burn bridges – the community is too small and you never know when you might need someone’s help. While that’s especially true for crew members and other team employees, it also applies to drivers.
Beyond the obvious awkwardness, Bowyer generally finds himself in a very difficult spot.
In a year where a driver like Greg Biffle acknowledged he took a cut in pay with his new contract, Bowyer, according to some reports, was asking for as much as $7 million a year and helicopter rides to the track. While that may not quite be the case, we keep hearing the number is high. It’s no wonder he hasn’t locked anything down.
Even with sponsorship from 5 Hour Energy, a deal rumored to be just a partial season, Bowyer’s position isn’t a whole lot better. I think what we’re seeing is Bowyer without any really good option left, looking for a team willing to take a chance that it can close the gap. Enter Michael Waltrip Racing.
If all goes according to plan it looks like Bowyer will make the move. In reality the team represents a step down from RCR. In five full NASCAR Cup seasons MWR has just two wins and has firmly cemented itself as a weekly field filler with performance that can best be described as mediocre.
To Bowyer’s credit, he represents the hope and aspirations of an organization that has struggled through the years. Is he the answer for MWR? Only time will tell.
But what about that comment?
Even Denny Hamlin jokingly asked Waltrip about it last night on Inside NASCAR. An awkward exchange ensued where Waltrip half-laughing pointed out that Bowyer called him the worst NASCAR driver EVER. Yikes.
Obviously this is pretty meaningless in the grand scheme of things. And with the right amount of money, anybody can get over anything. I suppose it’s not like Bowyer called Waltrip the worst owner in NASCAR ever. That might have been unforgivable.
The only thing as sure as the next race is that there will be flux and change during the NASCAR season. And this year hasn’t been any different. This summer we saw crew chief shifts at some of the sport’s top tier teams – I even wrote about it here. From Earnhardt Ganassi Racing to Roush Fenway Racing changes were made in the name of improving performance, but has that actually happened so far?
Juan Pablo Montoya
Brian Pattie Average Finish: 17.6 Average Start: 16.5 Place in Points: 17
Jim Pohlman (9 races this season) Average Finish: 18.2 Average Start: 16.4 Place in Points: 19
Montoya and Pattie had been together since the mid-point of the 2008 season and had success together. It was apparent this season though the relationship was straining and with the EGR cars not as strong as they were last year, something had to give. And it was Pattie.
In the nine races since Pohlman took over Montoya’s performance, as evidenced by the numbers, has actually gotten worse. There’s certainly time for improvement before the end of the season, but so far this move hasn’t impressed. And with Montoya’s patience notoriously short we’ll see how long this lasts.
Martin Truex Jr.
Pat Tryson Average Finish: 19.6 Average Start: 17.3 Place in Points: 21
Chad Johnson (15 races this season) Average Finish: 16.2 Average Start: 17.7 Place in Points: 18
A slight improvement is perhaps better than no improvement at all. Pat Tryson, a seasoned and successful veteran of the sport, left Penske Racing at the end 2009 to join Truex at Michael Waltrip Racing. The move was highly touted but a less than successful pairing.
Chad Johnson has been atop the pit box for 15 races and in that time the two have had slight improvement in their finishes and made up three spots in the points. I suspect he’ll have ample time to prove himself in the role.
Greg Biffle
Greg Erwin Average Finish: 16.8 Average Start: 17.9 Place in Points: 14
Matt Puccia (10 races this season) Average Finish: 16.9 Average Start: 13 Place in Points: 14
This was another duo that had been together for a long time and found quite a bit of success. This season though was a struggle and like Montoya and Pattie chemistry was waning. Ultimately, from what we heard, Erwin walked.
Matt Puccia, a long time fixture in the Roush organization and a reasonably successful crew chief in his own right took over 10 races ago. And the move has been negligible. Biffle didn’t make the chase and they have seen no improvement in their average finish and no change in their points standing. Was Erwin the problem? You tell me.
Jeff Burton
Todd Berrier Average Finish: 20.8 Average Start: 19 Place in Points: 25
Lucas Lambert (9 races this season) Average Finish: 18.1 Average Start: 20.7 Place in Points: 24
Todd Berrier joined Burton at the end of the 2009 season after stints with Casey Mears and Kevin Harvick. The two looked great at the end of 09′ and had a decent year last year including a Chase appearance and six top-fives. Then came this season. After 19 races without a single top-ten RCR’s leadership had seen all it needed to see.
Lucas Lambert’s performance in the top job has looked pretty similar to the 19 races prior. One thing Lambert was able to do that Berrier wasn’t, was help Burton to a top-ten finish. This is an interesting one to watch.
AJ Allmendinger
Mike Shiplett Average Finish: 17.1 Average Start: 15.1 Place in Points: 16
Greg Erwin (9 races this season) Average Finish: 16.3 Average Start: 15 Place in Points: 15
Mike Shiplett had been through a slew of drivers (and owners for that matter), during his time with RPM and its predecessor organizations. And during that time there was only fleeting success.
Erwin’s addition was interesting, but color me surprised performance hasn’t picked up much. Erwin has proven himself to be a capable crew chief, but things are apparently not quite working at RPM. We’ll see if they improve.
It’s interesting none of the moves made so far this season have had much of an impact on performance. Like all things though changes in leadership sometimes take a while to have an impact. I think the jury is still out on all of the crew chief swaps so far this season but after 9-15 races the picture is becoming clear. Stay tuned.
For much of the early part of the season it was Carl Edwards who took up all the oxygen as the chief target of 2012 speculation. And after months and rumors, Edwards ultimately re-signed with Roush Fenway Racing.
Up next was Clint Bowyer who looked early on like another candidate to re-sign with his existing organization. Then came the end for Red Bull Racing and revelations that Bowyer was in advanced negotiations with the team. After that Bowyer began earnest negotiations with Richard Childress Racing, but in recent weeks those have fallen apart.
This weekend both Bowyer and team owner Richard Childress commented on the driver’s contract.
Childress said:
“We’ve tried and we’ve worked really hard to put the deal together to keep Clint. It’s not 100 percent off the table but it’s getting tougher and tougher as the day goes by.”
Bowyer, responding to Childress’ comments, said:
“That’s fair. Just working on everything. That’s the biggest thing, trying to get everything done as far as the future. There’s opportunities and stuff we’re trying to weight out.”
With the window for re-signing about closed it looked like Bowyer had a couple of alternatives in Richard Petty Motorsports, Michael Waltrip Racing and potentially Roush Fenway and Joe Gibbs.
Then on Wednesday Lee Spencer at FoxSports reported that RPM co-owner Andrew Murstein said the organization was no longer in discussions with the driver. She also reported JD Gibbs said a lack of sponsorship made pursuing Bowyer a “non-issue.”
So Bowyer appears to have burned the bridge at RCR and is left without opportunities at RPM and JGR. What’s available to him is a potential ride at MWR and the off chance of a ride at RFR. If I were Bowyer, I’d be reconsidering my managment right now.
He’s potentially leaving behind an organization with a combined 99 Cup Series wins and six Cup championships – with one driver currently tied for the points lead – and his only serious option is a team with two wins in five seasons of full-time Cup competition. Yikes.
Even if Roush is an option you have to believe with the existing holes the team has in sponsorship for several of its drivers, it wouldn’t sign another, presumably to take over for David Ragan, without serious dollars backing said driver.
There is absolutely a chance something else could come together – perhaps even a return to RCR – and there has been the long standing rumor that Bowyer has sponsorship from 5 Hour Energy (sponsorship that I suspect is not worth much if this rumor is true) but with the season winding down, Bowyer’s options are running out.
With just 10 races to go until we crown a champion, this will definitely be a storyline to keep an eye on. I wish Clint Bowyer good luck in finding a situation that’s even in the neighborhood of the one he has now.
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.
Michael Waltrip Racing announced Tuesday Pat Tryson would be replaced this weekend as crew chief for Martin Truex Jr. The team’s lead engineer Chad Johnston will take over. The organization said Tryson’s contract would be honored and he would be “redeployed” – what exactly that means, not even Tryson knows.
The #56 team has struggled this season, and last, to be anything but mediocre. In the last 39 races Truex has 1 top-five and 10 top-tens, and is averaging about a 19th place finish. He finished the 2010 season 21st in points. Even with the team’s struggles over the last two seasons, is Tryson really the problem? Truex’s and MWR’s stats suggest otherwise.
After winning two Nationwide Series championships in 2004 and 2005 – his first and second full Nationwide Series seasons – Truex was moved up to the Cup Series full time in 2006. With 202 career Cup Series starts under his belt Truex has one win, 14 top-fives and 47 top-tens. His average start? 19.6.
Through five full seasons his points finish are: 19, 11, 15, 23 and 22. He’s currently 21st in the points. With a career that has spanned stops at three different race teams and two great crew chiefs, there is a very clear trend that emerges – mediocrity.
The other half of the equation is of course Michael Waltrip Racing. Their head of competition, Steve Hallam, is a guy with a stellar open wheel background, but no stock car experience to speak of. The team’s other driver, David Reutimann has shown flashes of brilliance, but has struggled to be consistent.
To his credit Reutimann has been with MWR since the move to the Cup Series which includes a disastrous first full season, and has scored two wins, 11 top-fives and 24 top-tens. Like Truex though, he has average race finishes in the last four full seasons of 30.4, 23.3, 16.4 and 18.1; and points finishes of 39th, 22nd, 16th, and 18th. Again, mediocre.
The fact is there are performance issues at Michael Waltrip Racing. Add to that Martin Truex’s lack of a stunning Cup Series career and you’ve got a tough situation for Pat Tryson. Could he have done more with the team? It’s possible. Is he the sole problem or even the biggest problem? I don’t think so. But he is the easiest one to blame.
“Somebody always has to be that guy,” Tryson told ESPN.com. “I wouldn’t say I was part of the problem. As a company we aren’t running well. It’s a strange deal. I really can’t say much.”
Truex said in the team’s statement about new crew chief Chad Johnston: “The communication between he and I is impressive and we just click.” It’ll be interesting to see how his tune changes if and when performance doesn’t pick up.
Maybe he’ll prove me wrong.
As rumors have started to float around about where Carl Edwards could end up for 2012 and beyond, we asked our Twitter (@nascarinsider) followers last week if they’d be surprised if he left Roush Fenway Racing. The answers were pretty mixed, but our question seemed to spawn another question from many: where would he go? There are certainly going to be plenty of options, and it sounds as though he’s going to take all the time he needs to make a choice.
As Edwards begins to explore his options, lets take a look at where he could realistically end up. Outside of the RFR/Richard Petty Motorsports bubble, Hendrick and RCR are out, because they have signed drivers and no room to expand. Of the upper tier teams, that leaves the likes of Penske Racing, Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing, Joe Gibbs Racing, Red Bull Racing, Michael Waltrip Racing, and Stewart-Haas Racing. All either have drivers leaving, the ability to expand, or both.
In Edwards position, I’m not convinced that if he does actually leave RFR, it will be about money. The driver who serves as his own agent is already making some serious coin in his current spot, and the current economic climate may limit his earning potential somewhat. I’ve got to believe that Edwards wants to be where he has the best chance to win races and ultimately, championships.
Of the available teams, I’m not sure the argument could be made that any of them provide Edwards with a better situation than does Roush Fenway. A possible fourth team at JGR would probably be the closest option, but they’ve had their struggles in this young season and would he really gel as a teammate to Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch?
Another curious option is Red Bull. Owner Dietrich Mateschitz has the seriously deep pockets needed to bring in a driver like Edwards and they will be looking to replace the departing Kasey Kahne. But barring some sort of dramatic turn around, RBR doesn’t yet have the competitive pedigree necessary to attract a driver like Edwards.
Edwards’ recent comments to ESPN about not being in a hurry to get a deal done probably isn’t a great sign for RFR. With the future of his career at a serious crossroads however, it’s hard to blame Edwards for taking some time to explore all of his options. The question still remains though, would he really leave Roush?
Nothing surprises me anymore. Add ‘Travis Pastrana to NASCAR’ to that list.
While we don’t have an official announcement, signs are pointing to his making the leap to stock car racing, in one series or another, in the not too distant future.
Pastrana, if you’re not familiar, is a former motocross and now rally star, X Games medalist, and all around mad man. He holds the record for longest ramp-to-ramp jump in a car and he was the host (or head hooligan) of the stunt show Nitro Circus on MTV.
Pastrana has been pretty successful in everything he’s tried. He has two motocross championships to his credit and 14 X-Games medals in various events. And he’s about as fearless as they come. Still, does he have the skills to be successful in NASCAR?
That is something I’m not so sure about. We’ve seen multiple, very successful race car drivers try to transition to NASCAR. It’s either taken them years to find even minimal success, or they haven’t lasted.
Take Ricky Carmichael – a guy who is often referred to as the ‘Greatest of All Time’ for his unrivaled success in motocross. He started running late model races in 2007 under the tutelage of Mark Martin and other very talented drivers. He ran a full K&N Pro Series East season in 2008 and then scattered ARCA and Truck Series races in 2009 before going full time in the Truck Series this season.
Despite his success elsewhere, Carmichael is still a driver very much in development in NASCAR – even after three years. The good news is he’s running better and better every week.
With Pastrana, my hope is that Michael Waltrip Racing (or Diamond Waltrip Racing) doesn’t try to throw him directly into a Nationwide car. We’ve seen how drivers attempting the transition from another racing series have struggled in the cars and the series. As has been apparent with Danica Patrick, Dario Franchitti, Jacques Villeneuve and many others just because you can drive one thing with four wheels well, doesn’t mean you can drive all things with four wheels well.
The above said, I think if anyone is going to barrel into this successfully I think Travis Pastrana could reasonably be the guy to do it. He’s only 27 and has a lot of time to build the necessary skills and still be young. And, I said it once already, but I’ll say it again, the guy is fearless. If you ever watched his show on MTV, you probably saw him do some pretty ridiculous stuff.
I’ll admit this is a bit gimmicky, but it’s so crazy (or maybe Pastrana’s so crazy) it just might work. And as Marty Smith pointed out a few days ago, Pastrana would bring some very welcome personality and energy to the sport. I don’t think we should be pinning the sport’s hope on this however.
At the very least it’ll be interesting to watch. On a side note, I’m glad I’m not paying for the race cars.