THE NEW SCHEDULE IS OUT AND IT'S GOOD NEWS FOR CALIFORNIA RACE FANS
NASCAR has officially released its 2009 schedule and there's some great news for California race fans. The highly anticipated date swap for the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana has been approved. The speedway's second date in 2009 will be moved from the present Labor Day weekend to October 11th. The date change will greatly alleviate the sweltering heat wave that envelopes southern California during early September. Making this news even sweeter is the fact that the Auto Club Speedway will host race number four in NASCAR's 2009 Chase For The Championship.
To make all of this happen NASCAR moved the second race at Talladega-Alabama to November 1st. The 2009 Labor Day weekend will go to the Atlanta Motor Speedway which will be a Sunday night race.
A TEST THAT IS BETTER LATE THAN NEVER.
Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company announced this week that they will conduct a special tire test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway September 22nd and 23d. This test will be an attempt to fix the massive tire problems that occurred during NASCAR's annual visit to the "Brickyard" earlier this month. During that race tire wear conditions were so bad that the teams had to make pit stops every ten to 13 laps. The entire race was a major embarrassment for everyone involved. Three teams are expected to participate in the upcoming test with one of them being Kyle Petty in the Petty Enterprises #45 Dodge.
THE SILLY SEASON: QUESTIONS ANSWERED AND QUESTIONS RAISED
Tony Stewart and his new NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Stewart-Haas Racing, continues to be a focal point for NASCAR observers this week. We already know that Stewart will be driving is very own Office Depot-Old Spice Chevrolet with the #14 on the side in honor of his long time mentor A J Foyt. It's also been confirmed that the team will use chassis and engines from Hendrick Motor Sports-HMS.
Stewart's departure from Joe Gibbs Racing after ten years also means he will be parting company with Greg Zippadelli who has been his only NASCAR Crew Chief at JGR. The word is out that Stewart may be visiting the HMS talent pool again to hire his next crew chief and the name Darien Grubb has been mentioned a lot. Grubb is currently the HMS Engineering Manager for drivers Casey Mears and Dale Earnhardt Jr. If this moves happens then it will make all the sense in the world to have a HMS engineer preside over a team that races a HMS chassis and engine.
Stewart-Haas finally concluded the melodrama last week by announcing the signing of Ryan Newman as the team's second driver of their #39 Chevrolet. The one remaining question is what corporate logo is going to be placed on the hood of that second car? The rumor mill says that the team has been seriously talking to United Parcel Service-UPS
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Speaking of UPS: there is still a lot of speculation as to exactly what team is going to receive a special delivery. UPS at this writing has yet to make a formal sponsor commitment for 2009 but their corporate officials certainly must be enjoying the lavish attention they're receiving from NASCAR teams who want their sponsor money and the Big Brown Truck television commercials. Those teams include Roush Fenway Racing who's looking for a sponsor to replace Triple A Insurance on their #6 Ford driven by David Ragan. Also in this mix is Gilette-Evernham Motor Sports and their #10 Dodge which may or may not continue to be driven by Patrick Carpentier. The delivery company is also being courted by Dale Earnhardt Inc who wants to put their logo on their #01 Chevrolet driven by Regan Smith. They are also reportedly talking to Yates Racing who are in dire straits to acquire full time sponsors for their two Fords driven by David Gilleland and Travis Kvapil. There's one thing for sure: UPS is not returning to Michael Waltrip Racing-MWR.
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Speaking of MWR: team owner Michael Waltrip is expected to make a formal announcement regarding the status of David Reutimann the driver of their #44 Toyota on Friday from the Bristol Motor Speedway. Indications are Waltrip will announce that they have picked up Reutimann's contract option and he will remain with the team in 2009. Regarding sponsorship there are indications that Aaron's Stores will leave MWR's #00 and become a part time sponsor of Reutimann in both the Cup and Nationwide Series. The #00 Toyota is normally driven by rookie Michael McDowell however last week MWR put veteran Mike Skinner into the seat to help the team get back into the top 35 owner's points standings and the guaranteed starting berths in the races. While MWR believes in McDowell's talent there may be a sponsor problem here that could impact the team to the point of having to temporarily shut it down.
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Joe Gibbs Racing-JGR has not officially confirmed the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series debut of their super rookie Joey Logano but expect a formal announcement from the team on Monday August 25th and expect them to announce that Lagano will make that Sprint Cup debut September 6th at the Richmond International Raceway. Logano is expected to drive a bright orange #02 in that race sponsored by Home Depot. Also expect next Monday's announcement to confirm that Lagano will be in the Sprint Cup full time in 2009 and will replace Tony Stewart in the famed #20 Home Depot Toyota.
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Any NASCAR observer will tell you that Paul Menard, driver of the #15 Chevrolet for Dale Earnhardt Inc-DEI, hasn't exactly lit up the scoreboard during his brief venture into NASCAR racing. There has been a bright moment here and there but overall there has been a huge string of finishes somewhere between 20th to 25th place. But the attractive aspect to this driver is the sponsorship package he brings to the table. That would be the Menards Home Improvement stores owned by his family. Both the driver and the sponsor's contract are up for renewal this year and everyone at DEI is saying that it's a lock and it's just a matter of finishing and signing the new agreement. However there are reports that Yates Racing is talking with Paul Menard and are trying to get him, and daddy's check book, to switch from Chevrolet to Ford. There are also reports that this effort is getting a major assist from Roush Fenway Racing who has a racing alliance with Yates.
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Expect an announcement from Richard Childress Racing-RCR, this weekend that will officially confirm that driver Casey Mears will become his fourth driver for the 2009 season. It's expected that Mears will be taking over the #07 Jack Daniels Chevrolet currently occupied by Clint Bowyer. Bowyer will be moving to the newly formed RCR fourth team which is the #33 Chevrolet sponsored by General Mills and their Cheerios brand. The two teams are also expected to swap owners points which means Bowyer will remain in the top 35 and Mears will have to drive his way into a race during qualifying. The reason for all of this driver and points swapping is actually rather interesting. Mears has had a long time professional relationship with Kellogs Cereals and General Mills/Cheerios reportedly was not too comfortable with that.
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Target Chip Ganassi Racing, presented by Felix Sabates, is expected to make an announcement this weekend that says they will searching for a 2009 primary sponsor for their #42 Dodge driven by Juan Pablo Montoya. Texaco Havoline is reportedly not returning next year. However Wrigley's Chewing Gum is expected to remain as a part time sponsor.
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Is Bill Davis Racing for sale? It appears that the answer is yes and one of the potential purchasers is Danny Sullivan. Yes that's the same Danny Sullivan who won the 1985 Indy 500. Sullivan is saying that he has a partner who has lined up the money to buy BDR but the two parties seem to be having trouble settling on a price tag. Sullivan was quoted this week saying "he's still dreaming about the price and he's off on the numbers." Bill Davis confirmed that there has been conversations with Sullivan as well as other interested parties. He also speculated that perhaps Sullivan's was thinking the numbers only applied to his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series operation. The fact of the matter is everything connected to BDR is for sale and that includes the highly successful NASCAR Craftsman Truck teams.
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COUCH POTATO RACING.
All three of NASCAR's national touring series will be in Thunder Valley-Tennessee at the Bristol Motor Speedway where the racing is always exciting. The Craftsman Truck Series will hit the concrete half mile on Wednesday and you can see it at 130 pm eastern on Speed. The Nationwide Series will run the Food City 250 on Friday night beginning at 730 pm eastern on ESPN2. The Sprint Cup Series will be racing under the lights Saturday night beginning at 7 pm eastern in the Sharpie 500 on ESPN.
Here are a few fast facts regarding this Saturday's Sharpie 500:
The concrete racing surface, combined with the 36 degree banking in the turns, makes Bristol one of the more formidable tracks on the NASCAR schedule. Anytime you place 43 full sized stock cars on a half mile track there is going to be plenty of action and driver temperament.
Jeff Gordon won the spring race at Bristol last March. Carl Edwards won the August 2007 event. In NASCAR's modern day era Jeff Gordon and Kurt Busch are tied for the most wins at five each.
In the past 95 races at Bristol 22.1% of them have been won by a driver who started on the pole position. 58.9% of been won by drivers who started in the top five and 82.1% were won by starters within the top ten.
The Sharpie 500 could play a huge role in NASCAR's 12 team Chase For The Championship especially for teams who are 9th through 12th in the standings. On the Chase bubble heading into Bristol is Jeff Gordon who is 9th in the standings and +82 points ahead of the 13th spot. He's followed by Matt Kenseth at +74, Kasey Kahne +47 and Denny Hamlin whose blown engine last Sunday at Michigan has dropped him to 12th at +26 points. On the outside looking in are Clint Boywer and David Ragan who are tied for 13th and -26 points away from that coveted 12th Chase position.
Finally for those of you who like to gamble on the results of a NASCAR race the World Sports Exchange has set the following odds for the Sharpie 500:
Kyle Busch 6 to 1 odds, Carl Edwards and Denny Hamlin 7 to 1, Tony Stewart 8 to 1, Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt 9 to 1, Kevin Harvick and Jimmie Johnson 10 to 1.
