On Thursday, UPS announced what their future NASCAR involvement will entail. And as expected, their team side sponsorship has been drastically reduced. For 2012 the shipping giant will scale back to being just an associate sponsor on Carl Edwards #99, and will serve as a primary for just one Cup race. This move, coupled with a lack of sponsorship at Roush Fenway Racing (the 17 is still not fully backed for 2012) will most likely mean the end of David Ragan’s days as an RFR driver.
We’ve been hearing for a few weeks that the outlook for RFR’s #6 car was grim. And the later we get in the year without an announcement, the worse the chances are that sponsorship can be obtained to keep the team running. It’s been clear for some time now that UPS would not be back with Ragan, and there hasn’t been even a peep of a rumor about another possible backer.
For Ragan, this could spell the end of what has been a mediocre run with Roush Fenway. 2008 was by far his best season, with six top five, and 14 top ten finishes. He just barely missed making the Chase that year, and finished the season 13th in the points. He has not come anywhere near that level of success since.
If he ends up being released from RFR, Ragan’s options in the Cup Series would be extremely limited. There was talk a few weeks back that he could be a candidate for a ride with TRG, and if that is even true, it would probably be his only opportunity. Ragan is without major financial backing, and no big team will put him in a decent ride. The best he could maybe hope for is a chance at a competitive Nationwide or Truck Series ride.
There is still a little bit of time left, and with it a small chance that something could still be done to save RFR’s 6 car and David Ragan’s seat. But if Ragan is smart, he’s been working the phones for the last few months trying to track down some backing and/or a new ride. For a guy as nice as Ragan is, hopefully somebody calls back.
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As I watched Kurt Busch cross the finish line first last weekend, all I could think about was one thing, wouldn’t it be sweet payback if he won the championship?
Busch of course left Roush Racing at the end of 2005, just a year after winning the championship, under very bad circumstances. Remember that traffic citation out in Phoenix? Needless to say there is a lot of animosity between Jack Roush and Busch. And that has carried on through the years.
Periodically, Roush likes to needle the driver. This season Roush took the shot while praising crew chief Jimmy Fennig.
“Jimmy is a consummate stock-car racer. Heck, he even won a championship with Kurt Busch. He can do anything.”
Ouch!
Despite the critiques from his former owner Busch sits tied for third with Tony Stewart, right in the thick of Chase contention. It’s got to feel good for Busch to finally have his move to Penske paying off – even if it took a few years.
Steve Addington is the other piece to the payback puzzle. He joined forces with Busch at the beginning of last season after being released from Joe Gibbs Racing. He had been with the younger Kyle Busch for several seasons at Gibbs – but things soured.
At the time of his firing, Addington said he was surprised about getting let go.
“Do I agree with it? No… But it is what it is, and I felt like we had a good run.”
Busch said they were either feast or famine that year and all involved chalked up the release to performance issues. Who wouldn’t have been angry about a four win season? Kyle’s only been slightly more consistent since Dave Rogers took over, but that’s neither here nor there.
Addington and Busch are, in some ways, the ultimate castoffs. Both left or were forced out of organizations with which they were having a lot of success. And together they have the chance to show their immediate past employers what they missed out on.
While there is still a lot of season to go, this is definitely an interesting story to keep an eye on.
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.
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.
With Carl Edwards locked up for the foreseeable future at Roush Fenway Racing, we found out today that Fastenal is the first company to sign on as a primary sponsor for Edwards’ #99 Fords. Starting with the 2012 Daytona 500, Fastenal will sponsor 17 races a year for Edwards over the next few years. Edwards’ current main sponsor, Aflac, has yet to announce whether they will return to RFR, but this announcement shows that at the very least Aflac is scaling back. But while its good to see a sponsor move from the Truck Series, through the Nationwide Series, and into Cup sponsorship, the move isn’t all good.
As we move closer to the end of the 2011 season, much remains up in the air for RFR. Greg Biffle, Matt Kenseth, Edwards, and David Ragan all have contracts for next season, but as of today, only Biffle (3M) has a full sponsorship deal. Edwards still needs about half his inventory filled, and questions remain for Ragan and Kenseth. We know for sure that Crown Royal won’t return next season as a team sponsor for anyone, as they’ve signed on to sponsor the Brickyard 400, and the future of UPS has yet to be announced. And RFR developmental drivers Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Trevor Bayne still don’t have firm plans.
As RFR pursues sponsorship for 2012, Fastenal’s move to the Cup Series really comes at the expense of their Nationwide Series program and the series as whole. As one of our Twitter followers (@kebzach) pointed out today, Fastenal now represents another sponsor lost by the Nationwide Series. The industrial supply company has been the primary sponsor for Edwards’ #60 NNS Fords for the last couple of seasons, and they’ve appeared on the hoods and quarter panels of the other RFR NNS teams as well. We already know that Edwards won’t compete full time in the NNS for 2012, but now we know we’ve lost a full time team and a major sponsor.
We’ve all heard it time and again, but moves like these are just another symptom of the current climate of NASCAR business. Teams need to find ways to keep their Cup cars racing, and poaching sponsors from other series is one way to go about it. Hopefully Roush is able to track down a company to back Edwards’ partial NNS bid, and fill the remaining inventory for it’s other Cup and NNS teams.
Now that the future at Roush Fenway is becoming more clear, we can begin to look at the other RFR drivers awaiting their fates. If the #99 seat was vacated, it was assumed that Trevor Bayne or Ricky Stenhouse Jr. would be in line to fill it. But since that now won’t happen, Bayne and Stenhouse’s futures are unclear. USA Today’s Nate Ryan wrote yesterday that Bayne expects to run a similar schedule next season as he ran in 2011. And Stenhouse told ESPN’s David Newton that there is no current definitive plan for him next season, but that he’d like to run another full NNS schedule and possibly Cup races for Richard Petty Motorsports (which has room to expand). With these two young drivers in the pipeline, RFR looks to be in a good position. But the situation begs the question, who’s the better Cup prospect?
Looking over their young careers, the two drivers have very similar statistics. Stenhouse’s NNS numbers (two wins and more top five and top ten finishes) are a tick better than Bayne’s, but both of their average finishes are right near 16. Stenhouse only has one Cup start (11th at Charlotte) versus Bayne’s 12 starts. But outside of his Daytona 500 win, Bayne’s best finish is a 16th at Michigan. In a close decision, advantage Stenhouse in the performance department.
In saying that however, I think it’s important to point out that Bayne missed time this season due to illness, and he’s in his first season with crew chief Chris Andrews. Both have played a factor in his performance this season. Stenhouse on the other hand has had significantly more time with veteran crew chief Mike Kelley.
Being successful and having a long career at the Cup level isn’t just about performance though. Marketability is becoming ever more important in the era of tough to get sponsorship dollars. Bayne has a clear advantage over Stenhouse in this area. An emotional win in the famous #21 at the Daytona 500, the media opportunities that followed, and Bayne’s personality all contribute. Stenhouse isn’t as well known despite his success, and he isn’t anywhere near the fan favorite Bayne is. During driver introductions, Bayne’s cheers rival that of perennial most popular driver Dale Earnhardt Jr.
All things considered, I think it’s very difficult to say one driver has more potential than the other. They both have long, successful careers ahead of them. I’m curious though, if you were a team owner with one open Cup ride, who would you pick?
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.
…but since the story won’t go away until Edwards finally announces a decision, I want to put a few things out there.
First, all we really have at this point is a lot of rumors. Talk and speculation has been running rampant through the garage all season about Edwards’ future, and none of it seems really concrete. When I heard that Lee Spencer of FOXSports.com had wrote something about Edwards possibly going to the 20 car, I thought maybe she finally had the first solid info. And then I read what she wrote:
…the latest scuttlebutt has Edwards driving the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing in 2012…
Spencer has some very good sources in the garage area and when she reports something is happening, you can trust it will happen. But her choice of words here doesn’t convince me that she really trusts the info. And if she doesn’t trust it yet, you probably shouldn’t either.
Next, I believe Edwards is a very savvy individual. The guy does serve as his own agent. He’s been criticized at times for doing so, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. For one, you don’t have to pay somebody else a percentage. But if you are trying to negotiate the best deal possible with Roush Fenway, what’s better than continuing to leak details about a possible contract with Joe Gibbs Racing? It’s a great way to apply pressure. When was the last time we knew such specific information about a driver’s deal? $8 million a year, plus a $10 million signing bonus is pretty specific. They are to the point now that even Ford has stepped into the negotiations.
The other thing to consider here is how Edwards is doing this season. He’s the current points leader, and RFR has shown all year that they came to play in 2011. An announcement before the end of year that he’s leaving for JGR would effectively end Edwards’ 2011 title hopes. Jack Roush hasn’t taken kindly to defections in the past, and you can be sure that the other RFR cars in the Chase would get the best stuff. For a guy as competitive as he is, is a move to JGR worth throwing away his best championship chance to date?
Just so you are aware, I don’t have any new information to add to this story. I’m just trying to pick through the mess and make some sense of what is happening. In the end, Edwards will want to capitalize on his earning potential, but he’ll also want to be with a team that has the resources necessary to compete for championships. We could probably debate for days about which organization provides the best opportunity to do so (I think RFR has the edge here), but even so that makes me think this is going to come down to money. Whoever is willing to pony up the most cash will end up with Edwards. Hopefully we find out sooner than later.
Just past the halfway point of the season, with just seven races until the Chase begins, several teams have decided now is the prefect time to start making some serious changes on the ground.
Roush Fenway Racing announced last week Greg Erwin was being replaced by Matt Puccia as Greg Biffle’s crew chief. The #16 team hasn’t performed as well this season as past seasons and the strain was apparent between Biffle and Erwin. Prior to this past weekend the pair had just one top-five and five top-10s – they sat 14th in the points.
With the first week under their belts, Puccia led Biffle to a 16th place finish – not a rousing start, but we’ll give the pair a little more than a week to make any judgments.
While Greg Erwin was out of a job for a few days, he found a new home just down the block at Richard Petty Motorsports, working with AJ Allmendinger. Allmendinger was with crew chief Mike Shiplett for most of the last three seasons. Together the two have scored three top-fives, 14 top-10s and one pole. Their best full season points finish is 19th, last season. The two haven’t had a bad run together, but things could definitely be better. Erwin has the experience and success at the sport’s top level, but does he have the support at RPM? Time will tell.
Earnhardt Ganassi Racing announced this week Juan Pablo Montoya would get his fourth different crew chief in less than five seasons. The driver’s been with immediate past crew chief Brian Pattie since the midway point of 2008. This was after stints with Donnie Wingo and Jimmy Elledge. Together, Pattie and Montoya have scored one win, 16 top-fives and 39 top-10s. These are solid statistics for Pattie to be proud of.
This season though has been a struggle for both EGR teams. And after issues like last season’s Brickyard 400, Montoya’s and Pattie’s relationship has been less than great. If there is a lesson to learn, it’s that when Juan’s not happy, no one’s happy.
Is Jim Pohlman any more the answer to Montoya’s performance issues than Elledge and Pattie were? Again, only time will tell.
So how do you feel about the crew chief shifts? Do you expect swift performance improvements? Any of the moves better than others? Let us know!
Sunday’s race at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway, dominated by fuel mileage, mistakes, and both Stewart Haas cars continued what has been a season of parity and added another contender to the Chase for the Sprint Cup.
Ryan Newman’s victory made him the 13th different winner after 19 races this season and gave him a one spot boost in the points. Perhaps more importantly, it gave Newman a win, further strengthening his chances at a spot in the Chase.
Past the halfway point of the season and with just seven races to go until the Chase begins, who gets in is still very fluid. At the top, Carl Edwards retook the points lead from Kyle Busch after Busch cut down a tire early on, and Jimmie Johnson and Kurt Busch made up spots. At the bottom, Dale Earnhardt Jr. lost one spot to ninth, while David Ragan and Kasey Kahne picked up two and three spots respectively to 13th and 14th (Kahne and Greg Biffle each have 523 points). Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin both have 570 points in 10th and 11th.
With wins being the ticket to the Chase outside the top-ten, there are currently four drivers who fit the bill and have been to victory lane – David Ragan, Brad Keselowski, Regan Smith and Trevor Bayne. Of those four, two have a realistic shot of making it into the requisite top-20.
The first of those two, David Ragan, is in good shape with his 13th place points position, but Brad Keselowski sits 23rd in the points – losing two spots this weekend. If Keselowski hopes to compete for a championship this year, he’s going to have to make up some ground – lucky for him there are only 95 points separating 23rd from 12th. With a good run over the next seven races that is certainly surmountable.
Competing with those two are the other chasers without a win, and those within the top-20 without a win. Considering the amount of parity there has been this season who makes it and who doesn’t is still wide open.
So what do you think? Who makes the Chase, who doesn’t? Feel free to sound off on the Championship Chase and the race at New Hampshire.