So many of you have complained about the fact that there has been no NASCAR programming during the offseason. I'm complaining with you. Because of this we've missed out on so much news that has happened during this critical 2 month period. Let's recap.
Petty Enterprises and Gillett Evernham Motorsports merge. Both teams have been in the news for many different reasons. PE released 2000 Cup champion Bobby Labonte from the 43 car. They had already lost sponsor Cheerios from that car. PE also had apparently parted ways with Kyle Petty. GEM had released Elliott Sadler from the 19 car, replacing him with AJ Allmendinger. But Sadler threatened to sue- citing that he still has 2 years left on his contract- and GEM put him back in the 19 car for 2009. After the 2 teams agreed to merge, it has been decided that Reed Sorenson will be in the 43 car. What's not clear is what will happen to Allmendinger or the 10 car.
DEI and Chip Ganassi Racing merge. This happened during the week before Homestead, but it has been unfolding since. What's known is that Martin Truex will be in the 1 car with sponsor Bass Pro Shops. And the Ganassi cars will switch to Chevrolet. After that, everything is hazy. Aric Almirola was supposed to run the full season in the 8 car, but now he may only run a handful of races. This may be due to the fact that the car has no sponsorship. Juan Pablo Montoya may move to the 41 car. He only has half a season's worth of sponsorship, from Wrigley's. The rumor is that Target could fill the sponsorship for the races that Wrigley's doesn't have. And there's a chance that Bryan Clauson may run some cup races in the 40 car.
The Truck Series is in crisis. Very few cars have sponsorship for the whole season. Former champions like Jack Sprague, Todd Bodine, and Mike Skinner may be out of rides. Bodine's #30 truck, owned by Germain Racing, lost sponsorship from Lumber Liquidators. They have no sponsors lined up, and may be forced to run a partial schedule. Skinner is out from the 5 truck after Bill Davis sold his team. Dodge has pulled out from the series. Toyota is making cutbacks, and the Truck Series may be part of that. There is speculation that as few as 15 trucks may show up for all 25 races. Also happening in the series is that the Mansfield Raceway has been dropped from the schedule, replaced by Iowa Speedway.
Yates racing making changes. They absorbed the 96 car from Hall of Fame Racing. Bobby Labonte will drive that car, and ask.com will sponsor it. David Gilliland looks like he's on his way out. Travis Kvapil appears to be staying with the team in the 28 car. Paul Menard will be moving to Yates. He will be in the 98 car, sponsored by Menards.
Tracks lowering ticket prices. This is a story that affects you and me directly. I wasn't going to go to the Daytona 500, but now that they've lowered prices, I might go. Superstretch tickets at the Daytona International Speedway for the 500 have been lowered from about $100 to $55. Richmond International Raceway has lowered prices. Bristol has started offering season tickets at a lower prices. Overall, every track has been considering or has already activated lower ticket prices.
These are just some of the major stories that's been going on this offseason. There have been many more stories than this. Overall, this offseason has been one of the most shocking, saddening, confusing, and under-covered 2 months in NASCAR's history. Thanks for reading.
No comments:
Post a Comment