The movers and the shakers for the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup season have all but had the ink dry on their new racing contracts. After the annual driver, sponsor and team game of snakes and ladders, new team makeups for the 2010 season will ensure the green flag for the Daytona 500 on Feb. 14 will bring new looks to the country’s premier motor sport. Although Silly Season does not appear to be as horrendous as in years past (with multiple moves by major key NASCAR players), there are still some interesting factors that have been brought on by forced moves and the dwindling all-important sponsorship dollars.
Veteran team owner Jack Roush understood coming into the 2009 season that by year’s end he would have an overflow of drivers as he needed to cut his team from five to four drivers, as stipulated by NASCAR. The odd man out was Jamie McMurray, who after four years at Roush Fenway Racing experienced moderate success. However, McMurray was not without a driver’s seat for long, signing with the Earnhardt Ganassi Racing team to pilot the No. 1 Bass Pro Shop Chevrolet in 2010.
The empty seat at Earnhardt Ganassi had come after the departure of Martin Truex Jr. Truex, who won two Busch series (now Nationwide series) championships with Earnhardt Inc., had announced during 2009 that he would be heading to Michael Waltrip Racing for the 2010 season. Early indications are that Waltrip himself will scale back his duties to a part-time driver, giving the team owner points earned in his No. 55 Toyota to Truex and the newly formed No. 56 team. This will ensure Truex has a guaranteed start in the first five races of the season, a privilege all teams in the top 35 in owner’s points earn.
The ever-improving youngest Brad Keselowski impressed during 2009 not only in the Nationwide series (finished third in points) but also with his 15 starts in Cup (one win, one top five and four top 10s). His success would earn him the controls of the No. 12 Penkse Dodge, pushing David Stremme to the curb after just one year at Penske. In a big team shakeup, crew chief Jay Guy will replace Roy McCauley on the pit box for the No. 12 season.
Reed Sorenson also looks to be a victim of too many drivers and not enough seats. The 2009 season began with a lot of promise as Sorenson took over the famed No. 43 for the newly formed Richard Petty Motorspots (RPM), a team created when Petty Enterprises and Gillette Evernham Motorsports joined forces. However, toward the end of 2009, RPM announced a merge with struggling Yates Racing. The merger would bring Paul Menard to join Kasey Kahne (No. 9), Elliott Sadler (No. 19) and A.J. Allmendinger (moving to the No. 43) for a four-driver team at Petty. Let’s hope no team name changes are enforced, as Richard Petty Gillette Evernham Yates Racing is too much of a mouthful. The team also announced a switch to Ford after Dodge’s well-publicized financial woes.
Several drivers have found employment problems in 2010 due to a lack of sponsorship for their teams. The No. 07 out of the Richard Childress Racing (RCR) stable lost sponsor Jack Daniel’s at the conclusion of the 2009 season, leaving the future of RCR driver Casey Mears in limbo. The rumor at press time was the No. 07 would be on the grid for the Daytona 500. However, unless a sponsor was found it would be the team’s one and only race for 2010. No definite plans have been released regarding Mears’ plans after the Daytona 500.
The future of 2000 champion Bobby Labonte is also dependent on sponsorship. Labonte spent the majority of the year with Hall of Fame Racing in the No. 96 Ask.com-backed Ford. However, the former champ was extracted from the car after sponsors sought to have Erik Darnell behind the wheel rather than Labonte. Fast-forward to 2010 and the No. 96 team is still unsure of its place in the new season. Labonte is rumored to be on board with the No. 71 TRG Motorsports team for 2010.
The racing industry is coming out of a tough financial year and is looking to bounce back. Teams learned to tighten belts as many of NASCAR’s teams cut employees and re-visited budgets to survive the year. It is still unsure if 43 full-time teams will start the 2010 season; however, there are plenty of smaller part-time teams who are keen to fill empty spots. All eyes will be on the drivers as performing well has become a must with a large number of jobless and skilled drivers looking to take any seat that becomes available. So zip up the fire suits and tighten the belts as it could be a very hot and blistery season.
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