There is no denying we are in the middle of the most uneasy times in 30 years. Every aspect of our everyday lives are in for some drastic changes. NASCAR is not immune. There are massive changes on the way, and we may not have seen the majority of them with the Daytona 500 just weeks away.
Since the checkered flag flew at Homestead in November, teams have layed off people, closed up shop and merged. Teams are hunting for sponsorship dollars and drivers are looking for rides. Tracks are announcing reduced ticket prices and NASCAR has eliminated all testing at sanctioned tracks. This season will look different from any in recent, or even distant, memory.
Among the biggest news in the off-season, so far, would be the merger between Petty Enterprises and Gillette-Evernham Motorsports, GEM. Petty and GEM announced just after New Year’s that they are closing the Petty shops and moving Petty operations to the GEM shops. Petty will cease operations of the 45 team, bringing only the 43 team to the stable. Driver Bobby Labonte was allowed to seek a ride elsewhere in December, in anticipation of this merger. The new team, numbers 9, 10, 19 and 43 will be driven by Kasey Kahne, A.J. Allmendinger, Elliott Sadler and Reed Sorenson, respectively. Sorenson is still speculation and Allmendinger will be part time.
Another major merger is the merger of Dale Earnhardt, Inc., DEI, and Chip Ganassi Racing into Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing, EGR. This was a big one, in that for the merger to work, one of them had to switch brands. As any ardent NASCAR fan knew, DEI would not switch from Chevy. That would have cause founder, Dale, to roll over in his grave, maybe even come out to take the company back. The only switch that made sense was for Ganassi to switch from Dodge, as Dodge announced it was cutting funding to its teams. There has been a lot of speculation on the teams that will compete for EGR. DEI was a three car team and Ganassi was a three car team, though both were having sponsorship problems, thus the merger. Most likely, the teams out of this stable will be the 1 of Martin Truex, Jr., the 42 of Juan Montoya (though hearing this may switch to the fully funded 41), with the 8 of Aric Almirola and the empty seated 41 up in the air. Truex and the 41 are sponsored, the 42 has about half a season of sponsorship and the 8 has none.
The only other merger, so far, is Yates and Hall of Fame, HOF. HOF has been through a couple of competition arrangements since its inception, Hendrick and Gibbs, but was without one for 2009. It had been rumored they would close their doors until this deal was announced. Now, they have announced Bobby Labonte as driver of the 96. There is no word on whether the new team will field three or four cars. Yates has Travis Kvapil, David Gilliland and Paul Menard under contract in the 28, 38 and 98, respectively, with only the 98 of Menard with full sponsorship.
Despite the hard times, Tommy Baldwin has decide to start a new team, Toyotas. Also, Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman are like a new team, since neither car they are taking over has guaranteed spots for the first 5 races. There are some new sponsorships, hearing Ask.com among them, that are getting into the sport, most likely feeling that bargins can be made. Unfortunately, it looks like only the really strong will survive this season.
If that is the case, expect Hendrick with its new super stable of Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., and Mark Martin, Roush and Gibbs to make a mockery of the field, again. As you’ll note, this blog has not been active in a while. I’ll admit that has mostly to do with the way last season turned out. I have always loved NASCAR, even when my driver wasn’t on top. Last season, though, it became boring and predictable, with only these three teams coming out on top week after week. That is not what this sport is about. In recent years, any of about 15 teams could produce winners. Now, it seems that only these three teams are capable, even though they constitute twelve teams.
If NASCAR is to survive this economic downturn, they must find a way to get greater parity. As a Roush fan, I wouldn’t want only Roush drivers to win. That would be too predictable and of no entertainment value. If teams like Stewart-Haas, Penske and Yates can get back to winning ways and maybe a few of the independents like Baldwin can break into the winner’s circle, the sport can return to its heyday of being the fastest growing sport in America. It just does not look like that will happen any time soon.
So, what will the new season bring? Well, I’ll put some thought into it, gaze into my crystal ball and get back to you in a few days. Look for my predictions here soon.
Cinch up those belts and let’s go racing. JR
