The clock is ticking, and as I type this we are 23 days from the green flag of NASCAR Sprint Cup’s season-opening Daytona 500.
Of course, the Nationwide and Camping World Truck series will take to the high-banked tri-oval before the Cupsters, but for today’s NASCAR preview I’m going to focus on the top-tier series.
The big stories at the end of last year focused on drivers and their accomplishments on the track: Jimmie Johnson’s record-tying third straight championship; Chase runner-up Carl Edwards winning a season-high nine races; and Kyle Busch, who won eight pre-Chase races but faltered badly in the playoff.
But lurking in the back corner was the elephant in the room — the national economic downturn and its affect on big-time racing. We had hints of it before the season ended, when Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates folded Dario Franchitti’s No. 40 team due to a lack of sponsorship and then again when Petty Enterprises turned itself over to Boston Ventures, an investment group, for capital.
It seems the good feelings from Johnson’s victory celebration in New York disappeared before the confetti had been swept up. The news became bleak, as teams scrambled to find sponsorship money at the same time many large corporations were looking for ways to cut expenses.
Next thing we knew the Big Three automakers were on Capitol Hill asking for a government bailout. Too bad all the crewmembers and mechanics who got laid-off or fired don’t have someone working that angle for them, isn’t it?
NASCAR insists the future of stock car racing is bright, and the sanctioning body is taking steps to help teams get their finances in order. NASCAR itself has laid-off employees and is operating under a hiring freeze, in an effort to set a good example.
Here’s what former champion-turned TV personality Darrell Waltrip had to say on Thursday’s Preseason Thunder show on SPEED:
“Look folks, it’s not all gloom and doom,” said Waltrip. “Yea, we got problems with the economy, we got sponsors and all kinds of things that we have to work on (like) attendance and ratings, but this is the most resilient sport with the best people in the world. We know how to get it done. We will work hard and we will survive.”
The biggest changes heading into 2009 can be put into the category of “Who’s who in the zoo.” Teams have merged, drivers have switched teams, and a few new faces are going to pop up.
Ganassi merged with Dale Earnhardt, Inc., creating Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates, or EGR. Despite making their merger early on, EGR’s efforts to find sponsorship for four cars went nowhere. Juan Pablo Montoya (42) and Martin Truex Jr (1) are set, but Aric Almirola (8) has nothing lined up after the Daytona 500 and the 41-car isn’t going to see the track anytime soon.
Petty Enterprises merged with Gillett Evernham, becoming Richard Petty Racing, or RPR. Joining former GEM drivers Kasey Kahne (9) and Elliot Sadler (19) will be Reed Sorenson (43) and A.J. Allmendinger (44).
Losing out in the Petty-GEM deal, former champion Bobby Labonte ended up with a merger team anyway, signing on to drive the 96 car for the new Hall of Fame/Yates Racing.
Of course, before the season ended Tony Stewart announced he was leaving Joe Gibbs Racing to become co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing. Stewart (14) will be joined by fellow Hoosier Ryan Newman (39), who left Penske Racing once it became clear Roger Penske was ready to move in another direction.
Meanwhile, Penske added David Stremme (12) and Gibbs put potential phenom Joey Logano (20) into Stewart’s old ride. Mark Martin (5) moved from DEI to Hendrick Racing.
Dave Blaney (22) lost his ride when Bill Davis Racing sold to a group that probably won’t go Cup racing.
This is by no means a comprehensive list, but a summary of some of the bigger moves. I encourage you to check out this recap by Yahoo! Sports’ Brant James.
Last season NASCAR announced a three-way swap between Talladega, Auto Club (Calif.) and Atlanta speedways.
Auto Club will get a Chase race this season, on Oct. 11, by taking over Talladega’s old date. Atlanta picks up Auto Club’s old date, on Labor Day, and Talladega gets Atlanta’s old date in late October.
Confused? Don’t be. It’ll pretty much look the same regardless of what date it goes down. You’ll still be able to drive an 18-wheeler between the cars racing “side by side” at Auto Club and Talladega will be groups of freight trains chugging around until someone makes that one slip up.
The format will be different for this year’s preseason Budweiser Shootout at Daytona.
This year’s field will feature 28 cars, representing the top seven teams from Chevrolet, Dodge, Ford and Toyota. That lineup will consist of the top six teams from each manufacturer based on the final 2008 car owner points, with the seventh team filled by a “wild card entry” based on the following criteria: any owner outside of the top six in year end 2008 owners’ points whose driver is a past NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion that attempted to qualify for all of the 2008.
Many of a cynical bent (who, me?) are calling this the “Tony Stewart” rule, as this will allow Smoke to compete this year.
The great thing about our free-market economy is that when one or more parts goes down the tubes, somewhere another part goes up. Sometimes you have to look hard to find it, but it’s out there somewhere.
Veteran NASCAR writer Mike Mulhern has found out that all of the mergers and teams folding has created a glut of available Cup chassis.
Yes, that’s right, if you want to get a genuine Car of Tomorrow, Mulhern says it can be done for around $10,000. That’s without the engine, of course, but at that price I may get one and turn it into a planter in my backyard.
Er, Maybe not. I’m not sure if I’ll have a job, either.
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