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.
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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.
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.
The 2011 Truck Series season started on a high note in Daytona with 46 trucks on the entry list and an emotional win by Michael Waltrip on the 10th anniversary of his Daytona 500 win. In the weeks and months that followed, the field began to thin.
First, Randy Moss Motorsports shut down it’s second team with Tayler Malsam before the trucks reached Martinsville in April. Then Vision Aviation Racing dropped from two teams to one before completely closing down in mid-May.
Germain Racing followed up in June by shutting down Justin Lofton’s team. Lofton left for Eddie Sharp Racing, where Craig Goess had recently departed.
Randy Moss Motorsports pulled the plug in July, forming an “alliance” with Germain Racing and handing over sponsor Navistar for the remainder of the year.
Since that time Kevin Harvick Inc. has announced it will be shutting down its truck teams at the end of the season and Germain Racing has said it will scale back.
To say the least there has been a lot of change in the series this season. It’s incredible to see some of the mainstays, including RMM/David Dollar (in the sport since 1997) and KHI either unable or unwilling to continue. It has to provide some pause for those in charge.
Well paying sponsorships are few and far between, purses are pitiful and the series is comparatively expensive to run. To be fair, I think NASCAR recognizes that. One notable place they’ve been making visible changes is in the schedule.
The series has shifted away from the West Coast swings, ending it’s run at California and only going to Phoenix once a year, while adding stops closer to home at Rockingham and Iowa. We’ve also seen them incorporating or considering shorter tracks. Of course, smaller tracks means fewer trucks are necessary, which means, generally speaking, less needs to be spent on equipment.
The Truck Series has walked away from its roots in recent years – see stops at Daytona, Talladega and Pocono – and for the sake of growth has begun to push out those who supported it for so long. That said, the exit of KHI or any of these other teams is by no means a death knell to the series – great teams like Thorsport, Richard Childress Racing and Kyle Busch Motorsports, among others, continue to support it. But we all need to be thoroughly considering the reasons those who exited did so.
The Truck Series continues to be popular with fans, and TV viewership is growing. Still, NASCAR needs to be making tough decisions and rectifying the problems at hand if they want the series to be anything more than a place for start-and-park teams, funded drivers and has-beens/never-weres looking for a cheaper barrier to entry. I think it’s better than that.
Richard Childress Racing has, at least in recent history, been a team that cultivated talent and took chances on drivers. Clint Bowyer was plucked from relative obscurity and Kevin Harvick was given a shot after two mediocre Truck seasons with Spears and Liberty Racing. 21 Cup wins later, Richard Childress has proven himself very capable of driver development.
Currently the team fields Childress grandson’s Austin and Ty Dillon as well as Tim George and Joey Coulter in various series. All drivers have had varying degrees of success with the team. All are notably also in their rides, in part, because of money, or family.
As the future of RCR continues to be a discussion in the Cup Series, we’re hearing changes are coming to the team’s lower ranks. Tim George, who has been with the team in the ARCA Series for the last two seasons is said to be making a full-time move to the Truck Series in 2012. George has made select starts with RCR in the Truck and Nationwide Series over the last two years – including a DNQ last weekend at Montreal.
It’s been reported, and we continue to hear that 18-year-old Ty Dillon will join George in the Truck Series in 2012. Ty has been a dominant force in the ARCA Series this year winning seven of 14 races and building a 415 championship point lead over second place Frank Kimmel.
Childress has long said Austin Dillon would make the jump to the Nationwide Series next year.
What all this means for Joey Coulter is not entirely clear.
It’s interesting to see how RCR is positioning itself for the future. In recent years the team has brought on more “funded” drivers like George, Coulter and John Wes Townley – a practice it hadn’t really engaged in before.
And then there is the continued progression of the Dillon boys, who most certainly have a place at the team, but to what ends is not clear. Will there be room for both to have Cup rides in the not too distant future, or are tough decisions going to have to be made?
Watching how teams develop talent and plan for the future is always so enjoyable to watch because it’s so different from other sports. As guys like Jeff Burton and Kevin Harvick inevitably age and shift priorities, it’ll be interesting to see how RCR changes. It’s certainly a different team than it was just a few years ago.
I started to think about this post a few weeks ago. At the time, Germain Racing, for the second season in a row, was threatening to shut down Todd Bodine’s #30 team for a lack of sponsorship. It was stunning to think the reigning series championship was about to be parked for a lack of sponsorship. The troubles at Germain though are nothing new for Series champions. Consider the following cases.
NASCAR veteran Ted Musgrave won the 2005 Truck Series championship driving for Jim Smith and Ultra Motorsports. The two had a long and fruitful run together including 16 wins, 12 poles and that one championship. Not long after winning in ’05 though the team closed the doors after losing support from Mopar and failing to get support from Ford.
Musgrave was lucky enough to find another ride with Germain for the following two seasons, but never matched his success with Ultra. He had a short stint with HT Motorsports before exiting the sport mid way through the 2008 season.
Ron Hornaday, Jr. won championships in 2007 and 2009 and has undoubtedly had a very successful run with Kevin Harvick Inc. and Dale Earnhardt Inc. before that. It was after Hornaday’s 2009 championship that his long time crew chief Rick Ren left KHI for the newly created Kyle Busch Motorsports.
Since then Hornaday has won just three races (compare that to six each in 2008 and 2009) and has just 17 top-fives (compare to 15 in 2009 and 14 in 2008) and 20 top-tens (compare to 20 in 2009 and 18 in 2008).
Certainly winning the championship hasn’t been devastating to Hornaday’s career, but the once dominant team is no more. Losing Rick Ren was nothing short of very bad luck.
The saddest case of all is Johnny Benson who won the 2008 Truck Series championship with Bill Davis Racing. Benson joined the team in 2004 and together they scored 14 wins, 50 top-fives and 72 top-tens. Benson though faced a fate similar to his contemporary Ted Musgrave when the team shut down shortly after the end of the season.
Tom Deloach and Red Horse Racing brought Benson on in 2009 but he made it just eight races before the team was shut down due to a lack of sponsorship. Just a week after that Benson was seriously injured in a SuperModified race.
It looked like Benson may have a chance to return in 2010 with Kyle Busch Motorsports, but sponsorship never materialized and Benson raced just a few times for various organizations.
That brings us back to Todd Bodine. He received a reversal of fortune after Randy Moss Motorsports, on its last legs but with a very lucrative sponsorship deal, agreed to a “partnership” with Germain to keep Bodine in a ride through the end of the season.
Is there a curse? Maybe not. But in the last six seasons at least, it’s undeniable that there are some strange instances of bad luck for the series’ championship winner.
We are hearing today that Germain Racing and reigning Truck Series champion Todd Bodine have secured sponsorship for this weekend at Iowa from International Trucks. Bodine will race on Saturday with Mike Hilman Jr. crew chiefing, but some details have yet to be worked out, including the truck’s number.
After last Friday night’s race at Kentucky Speedway, Bodine told reporters that unless a deal was in place early this week, his team wouldn’t be racing in Iowa. The team has struggled to put together regular sponsorship for Bodine since Lumber Liquidators left following the 2008 season, and they were facing the reality of parking their #30 for multiple races through the end of this season. And, it’s only been a few short weeks since driver Justin Lofton left Germain for Eddie Sharp Racing.
There is no word on if this deal with International is for the remainder of the season, or what it means for Randy Moss Motorsports, who’ve had the International sponsorship since last season. We will keep you updated as we find out more.
None of the three things I mentioned in the headline are connected, I just decided to write a hodgepodge post with a few different thoughts and observations. Feel free to comment on one or all (or not at all).
Fuel Injection The new fuel injected engines were on display for the first time on Thursday at Kentucky Speedway. The Cup teams were allowed to bring extra cars to an open test session in order to gather data on the new EFI systems. There is no shortage of information about fuel injection, and it sounds like the testing was pretty uneventful. Outside of the manufacturers using the new systems to develop technology, and the obvious marketing benefits, don’t expect much to change. The cars shouldn’t drive much different than they do with a carburetor, so the racing action should remain unchanged. Still no word on what this means for the superspeedways and restricting horsepower.
Jimmie Johnson Still think JJ is too vanilla or too corporate? Over the last five years, as he was running away with championships, one of the biggest criticisms of Johnson was that he didn’t have enough personality. He isn’t controversial like Kyle Busch or beloved like Dale Earnhardt Jr. Instead, he’s always polite and friendly in interviews, gets his Lowe’s mentions in, and has a hot wife and new baby. But this boring image might be starting to change a little bit. And it’s all thanks to Twitter. This season, Johnson has become quite active on his @JimmieJohnson account. He’s done everything from tweeting photos of himself in blond wigs to taking on fans who criticize him. There have also been tweets about golf and adult beverages, and he’s always good for a giveaway… or 10. He’s been able to show that he actually does have a personality and likes to have a good time. It’s just unfortunate that it’s taken this long for the public to see it. If you are active on Twitter, and don’t follow JJ, I’d suggest checking him out.
The Brickyard We got the official announcement this week that neither the Truck nor Nationwide Series will return to Lucas Oil Raceway Park (formally ORP and IRP) for the 2012 season and beyond. The NNS cars will become part of the Brickyard 400 weekend and a replacement event for the trucks is TBA. Journo wrote last week about how this move would be a mistake, and our fears have been realized. It’s a shame because racing at LORP was always great, and the stands were always full. Now, we are stuck with yet another companion event. Cup races at the Brickyard are usually not great, and Nationwide races will be even worse. If this were Twitter, NASCAR and the track people would get a big fat #fail.
I get it. Kimi Raikkonen is a Formula 1 champion and believes he should be racing with NASCAR’s best. If there is one thing race drivers are often not short on, it’s confidence in their ability. It’s commendable that he wants to move up as quickly as possible, but if Raikkonen really wants to succeed, he needs to slow down. One Truck Series test coupled with a 15th place finish in a truck race does not qualify one for the Nationwide Series. And at this pace, when is he expecting to make a Cup attempt? Kansas?
You certainly would have hoped that Raikkonen and his advisers did a little research before they started writing checks. There are numerous examples over the last several years of other open wheel drivers thinking they can make a NASCAR career happen, only to find out that driving in circles isn’t as easy as it looks. Jacques Villeneuve, Scott Speed, Dario Franchitti, and Patrick Carpentier are all examples of of guys who’ve come and gone. And it could be argued that all were brought along too quickly. Juan Pablo Montoya and AJ Allmendinger experienced similarly quick paths to NASCAR, but it took both several years to be able to run well, consistently. Hopefully Raikkonen isn’t on his way to being the next flame out.
It’s ridiculous to think that a guy like Raikkonen would be able to come in and immediately be competitive against guys who’ve been on circle tracks their entire lives. I’m fully aware of Raikkonen’s pedigree, and his immense talent behind the wheel, but it takes a completely different skill set to be successful in a stock car. Not only that, but it would appear the young Fin isn’t even aware of NASCAR’s rules. Crew chief Rick Ren had to explain the “lucky dog” rule to him mid-race last Friday night.
I don’t want this post to come off as me hatin’ on Kimi. Worldwide interest is great for the sport, and drivers like Raikkonen open up NASCAR to new fans. I think it also helps NASCAR when guys from around the world want to come race here. It does nothing but add to NASCAR’s legitimacy. And how cool would it be to see a guy put a Cup Series championship on his resume next to his F1 title? Raikkonen could be the first. But it won’t happen if his development is rushed.
A few years back I heard a story about an open wheel driver I won’t name. In an early test session in his career, this driver supposedly told his guys over the radio that stock car racing was “child’s play.” Needless to say, he would find out later that this wasn’t the case. Hopefully Raikkonen isn’t under a similar delusion. He’s got plenty of talent and the resources to be here for a long time, but Kimi just needs to give himself the chance to learn how to be successful.
This season NASCAR forced drivers to select one series in which to compete for a championship. The general idea being it would limit the number of Cup regulars competing in and winning in lower series.
What’s the result been? Truck and Nationwide Series regulars lead the points in their respective series, but there have only been three non-Cup winners in 30 races across all three series. And guess what? Neither of our two points leaders is one of those winners.
Obviously, NASCAR’s efforts have, thus far, not been very successful. This weekend though, we saw the potential of the Nationwide Series.
To start off, Iowa is such a great facility with a great fan base. Did you see that crowd? Fantastic. Then came the racing.
Rain washed out qualifying, so starting on the front row were Drew Herring, a 23-year-old with just four Nationwide starts under his belt, and Michael McDowell. Young Austin Dillon started 3rd.
Through the early portion of the race it was McDowell and Herring putting on the show. We saw four different race leaders, including Reed Sorenson who led the most (and is great on short tracks). And in his 500th start Kenny Wallace finished sixth. While we did see Cup regulars and Nationwide Series champions Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski as competitors throughout, it was Edwards and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. who fought down the stretch with Stenhouse as our eventual winner.
Stenhouse has really taken full advantage of this season. If you’ll remember just a year ago, he got yanked from his ride after a disastrous beginning pushed him outside the top-30 in owners points and he DNQed at Nashville. Now he’s a race winner and sits just 8 points out of the points lead. What a difference a year makes.
It was refreshing to sit and watch a Nationwide race where most of the competitors were series regulars. It was great to see some young talent showcased and some series veterans have a real chance. The fact is, Cup drivers are Cup drivers for a reason. And though the occasional start is certainly acceptable, having just 10% of your winners come from outside the Cup ranks is ridiculous. It totally defeats the nature of the lower series.
NASCAR is in a pretty good place at this moment, but this is definitely an area that still needs some work. That said, Sunday was great and truly an example of how things ought to be. Congratulations to Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – it was a well earned and deserved win.