Silly Season part 2!!!!

[MJ_N_09]

Well...rumors will be cropping up at some point this season, so may as well start with some that I've heard.

Anyway watch Indycar? Graham Rahal is reportedly looking for a ride in Nascar. Another open wheeler comes over it seems.

One of the hottest stars right now, McMurray will now have McDonalds sponsor him for 11 races.

If anything else comes up, we will now use this thread instead of adding to the other one.

[fieldodreams79]

JamieMac and MACDonalds and another possible crossover; that's all you got for a new thread?




any links on Graham? i hope he sticks with OWs and Sportscars, to be honest...

[MJ_N_09]

Funny, isn't graham the OW guy who bashed Nascar often last year?

Rahal to look for NASCAR ride: IndyCar driver Graham Rahal said the chances of participating in the IndyCar season opener next month in Sao Paulo, Brazil are "zero," leading him to meet next week with NASCAR officials to see if there's something available for him in stock car racing. "Every minute going by and by seems to cause more of a concern," Rahal said Tuesday from his home outside Columbus, Ohio. "I should be there" [testing IndyCar at Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama]. Rahal, 21, son of 1986 Indianapolis 500 winner Bobby Rahal, joined the free agent market late in the offseason after parting with Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing when McDonald's withdrew its sponsorship to focus on the Olympics.(Indianapolis Star)(2-26-2010)

[fieldodreams79]

makes me wonder if he was on the list for the doomed USF1 team...sorry.

he needs to get in something, stockcar or not...the apple didn't fall far from the tree, IMO.

[Matt]

Why not drive for his dad in the ALMS....

[MJ_N_09]

Hmmmm......the wing may be gone and the spoiler may come back on by Martinsville time.

Spoiler probably to return at Martinsville: NASCAR president Mike Helton says the series is on track to remove the wings from the cars very soon. While Helton didn't provide a specific date, he said Monday that NASCAR is hoping "within the next two or three races" it will be time to put more traditional spoilers back on the cars. That timeline coincides with the March 28 race at Martinsville that most teams have expected to be the spoiler debut. Speaking at Texas Motor Speedway's media day Monday, Helton said he expects NASCAR to have "a race or two" already with the spoiler by time the series is at the 1½-mile Texas track April 18. There are two races before the series goes to Martinsville, then Texas is the second race after that.(Associated Press)(3-1-2010)

[rustyfan]

I'm interested in seeing how the spoiler will change the characteristics of the car. With the wing it seems the sideplate allows the driver to save it more easily when starting to go sideways as well as lessen the effect when it does spin out, often leaving a car sliding sideways for a quite a distance before the driver can straighten it up and carry on instead of being a more out-of-control type of spin.

[fieldodreams79]

the controlled spin was the only aspect of the wing that worked, but it working had nothing to do with NASCAR's thoughts or planning. at least they are smart enough to take them off at M'ville instead of Texas.

[MJ_N_09]

Ok......how does this whole lawsuit work? Didn't DEI merge with Ganassi a while ago? Does this mean that Chip gets sewed as well?

DEI being sued: Dale Earnhardt Inc., founded by the late seven-time Nascar champion, was sued by a financial firm that accuses it of reneging on a deal to sell the firm a $3.25 million claim in General Motors Corp.'s bankruptcy. The Seaport Group LLC, based in New York, sued Feb. 25 in federal court in New York. The company wants the court to force Dale Earnhardt Inc. to deliver the claim or to award money damages. "After DEI signed a binding contract to sell its claim to Seaport, the value of the claim increased dramatically, and DEI refused to honor the deal," Seaport Group wrote in its complaint. Dale Earnhardt Inc., based in Mooresville, North Carolina, agreed to sell the claim for $783,604, according to the complaint. A call to DEI wasn't answered.(Business Week))(3-2-2010)

[fieldodreams79]

Originally Posted by MJ_N_09

Ok......how does this whole lawsuit work? Didn't DEI merge with Ganassi a while ago? Does this mean that Chip gets sewed as well?

DEI being sued: Dale Earnhardt Inc., founded by the late seven-time Nascar champion, was sued by a financial firm that accuses it of reneging on a deal to sell the firm a $3.25 million claim in General Motors Corp.'s bankruptcy. The Seaport Group LLC, based in New York, sued Feb. 25 in federal court in New York. The company wants the court to force Dale Earnhardt Inc. to deliver the claim or to award money damages. "After DEI signed a binding contract to sell its claim to Seaport, the value of the claim increased dramatically, and DEI refused to honor the deal," Seaport Group wrote in its complaint. Dale Earnhardt Inc., based in Mooresville, North Carolina, agreed to sell the claim for $783,604, according to the complaint. A call to DEI wasn't answered.(Business Week))(3-2-2010)

If Dale Sr. was still around, none of this would happen....
Nobody, I mean nobody would sue the Intimidator.

[gomick]

If Dale Snr was still round, d'ya reckon he would be racing in Cup still?

[rustyfan]

Originally Posted by gomick

If Dale Snr was still round, d'ya reckon he would be racing in Cup still?

No, he was 49 years old at the time of the accident. Maybe that he would still be doing one-off appearences in the Daytona 500, a race that he loved, if DEI was doing well as a team etc, but other than that he would probably enjoy his retirement and focus on running his team.

[fieldodreams79]

i don't think Dale would ever do one offs, that is just IMO, but he WOULD still BE DEI.

i can't say if he would be still racing or not....and i don't anyone can, but if he was still winning races, i'd think he would be still out there.

[MJ_N_09]

Hmm.....He would have either retired/scaled back the same year as Bill Elliot, Terry Labonte, or at the latest, Rusty Wallace. He could have stayed around as recent as Michael Waltrip, you never know.

[MJ_N_09]

Okay....Rahal really isn't looking after all:

UPDATE: Graham Rahal figures by the time the IZOD IndyCar Series begins March 14 in Brazil, he will have essentially earned an advanced degree in marketing and promotion. What the 21-year-old really wants, however, is a job behind the wheel of a race car -- preferably a car without fenders. "I know there have been a lot of NASCAR rumors, but right now my focus is 100 percent on being in the IndyCar Series,'' Rahal told FanHouse this weekend. "I'm not just an IndyCar driver, but very much a fan of the sport and to make a big switch like that takes time to consider. As of this second, everything I have going is for IndyCar.'' So instead of joining Danica Patrick in the stock car ranks -- even as a part-time gig -- Rahal has been visiting America's corporate boardrooms hoping to attract financial backing for the 2010 IndyCar season. The timing, however, couldn't be worse.(Motorsports FanHouse)(3-3-2010)

[fieldodreams79]

good for Rahal...degree will help him after he stops racing and i'd prefer to see him in an IndyCar or as previously stated, a sportscar.

Originally Posted by MJ_N_09

Hmm.....He would have either retired/scaled back the same year as Bill Elliot, Terry Labonte, or at the latest, Rusty Wallace. He could have stayed around as recent as Michael Waltrip, you never know.

thats, ELLIOTT, with two Ts, please!

no we don't know about Dale but still don't couldn't see him scaling back; the man was "all or nothing."

[Axeman444]

Originally Posted by fieldodreams79

good for Rahal...degree will help him after he stops racing and i'd prefer to see him in an IndyCar or as previously stated, a sportscar.

think that degree comment was more tongue in cheek, rather than literal...

[MJ_N_09]

Errgghh. Danicafan beat me to the Kahne story, so these will have to do:

#

Bliss named to the #09 ride: Mike Bliss and Tommy Baldwin Racing [#36 Checy] have parted ways, effective immediately. Bliss will replace Aric Almirola at Phoenix Racing. Bliss ran five of the first seven races for Baldwin. He failed to qualify at Bristol and last week at Phoenix. TBR is currently 38th in owner points. "Mike has been rock solid in qualifying with a Cup car," Phoenix crew chief Marc Reno said. "We were struggling and we have to make races to keep our guys working. We're trying to survive until we can land a sponsor. Everybody loves Aric. But we needed someone that could qualify for races. (Owner) James (Finch) has helped Aric out in trucks and if we were in a better position, we'd love to bring him up to speed in Cup as well."(FoxSports)(4-13-2010) Share577
#

New driver for the #36 at Texas/Talladega: Tommy Baldwin Racing (TBR) has tapped Johnny Sauter to drive the #36 Wave Energy Drink Chevrolet for this weekend's Samsung 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. The race will mark Sauter's first time behind the wheel of the #36, which was driven by Mike Bliss for the season's first seven NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races. Sauter has driven the #35 TBR Chevy in three races in 2010, including last week at Phoenix International Raceway, where he finished 41st after qualifying in the 37th position. Sauter will also take control of the #36 for next week's race at Talladega Superspeedway. "I'm excited about having Johnny in the #36 for the next couple of races and look forward to seeing what he can do," said team owner Tommy Baldwin. "He has been strong at Texas, especially in the Truck series, and I'm confident he can give us a solid performance in the Sprint Cup car. We will have him for a couple of races here before he will need to focus on his Truck Series team, and we hope to have a full-time driver for the #36 named here in the near future," he added.(Tommy Baldwin Racing) Share577(4-13-2010)

[MJ_N_09]

Keyed Up Motorsports has pulled off the full season entry list. Rather that become a S&P, they've chosen to run a limited sked for the remainder of the year.

Keyed-Up cutting back schedule: Keyed-Up Motorsports announced that it will be reducing its schedule for the remainder of the 2010 season. The team has scaled back on crew members and those who remain will be prepping cars for the limited schedule. The team will continue its efforts in securing a sponsor and will not start and park for funding. "I set out with this team to race, not start and park", said Key. "However, a reduced schedule will allow us to continue operations and focus our time on specific aspects of racing to make us stronger when we return to the track". Doug Richert remains at the helm as crew chief and will continue to lead operations. There is no set schedule for the remainder of the season as some potential sponsors could change what is tentative for the team however the #90 will not be participating at Texas next week.(Keyed-Up PR)(4-12-2010)

[MJ_N_09]

Turns out that Keyed Up will come back at Charlotte and Scott Riggs will drive again for the team.

[fieldodreams79]

Originally Posted by MJ_N_09

Turns out that Keyed Up will come back at Charlotte and Scott Riggs will drive again for the team.

would that be for both the 600 and the All-Star event?

[MJ_N_09]

It should be. Even better, the team WILL NOT S&P. Scaling back is an attempt to strengthen the team and avoid the S&P route (similar to Wood Bros). We will see if it pays off.

[FIRE]

Shell/Pennzoil leaves RCR for the #2 Penske of Kurt Busch.

[fieldodreams79]

Originally Posted by FIRE

Shell/Pennzoil leaves RCR for the #2 Penske of Kurt Busch.

there it is!

but Kurt may be gone, and add a #22 car etc etc. there is a separate thread going on this already.

[MJ_N_09]

Now with Shell/Pennzoil gone from RCR, the mudslinging has begun between Harvick and Childress:

Harvick: Burned Bridges with RCR?: Richard Childress Racing has probably lost its faint chance to keep Kevin Harvick on the heels of Wednesday's devastating announcement that Shell/Pennzoil is moving to Penske Racing in 2011 to sponsor Kurt Busch in the Sprint Cup Series. RCR already faced a serious, uphill challenge in trying to retain Harvick, who is in the final year of his contract, even if it had managed to hold onto Pennzoil, sponsor of Harvick's #29 since 2007. Harvick, according to multiple sources reached by SI.com but never confirmed by the driver, wanted out of RCR at the end of last season, but team owner Richard Childress held him to the contract. The duo came out strong out of the gate this season -- they led the points after five races and are currently fourth, 141 behind Jimmie Johnson -- but the sour feelings between the two haven't changed. "Kevin has burned all his bridges here," said a source requesting anonymity following the news of Shell's departure. The source reiterated the chances of Childress and Harvick dissolving their marriage were close to 100%. Harvick is the top free agent driver on the market. His preferred destination is Stewart-Haas Racing, where he'd have Hendrick equipment. Tony Stewart is on the record as wanting to expand to three cars next season, dependent upon sponsorship. With Harvick to sell and the broad range of commercial possibilities available through the team's partner-like association with Hendrick, Stewart-Haas has far greater ability to find a sponsor for Harvick. Kasey Kahne's decision to join Rick Hendrick's organization in 2012 has led to widespread speculation that he'll be at Stewart-Haas in 2011. Kahne certainly will be in Hendrick equipment next season and it's the logical place. The other possibility would be for Hendrick to ask Mark Martin to vacate the #5 a year early to go to Stewart-Haas. In either situation, it would require Stewart-Haas to run four cars in 2011. That 's not beyond the team's reach and it's where Stewart wants to get eventually.(Sports Illustrated), so which team would be better?
Hendrick: Gordon, Johnson, Earnhardt Jr. & Martin...or
Stewart Haas: Stewart, Newman. Kahne & Harvick?(4-22-2010)