Stopping the Silly Season
There was once a time NASCAR's Silly Season - the buzz about driver and sponsor changes - started soon after the the final race of the season.
Those were much simpler times.
This year's Silly Season practically started in 2006 with speculation as to whether Dale Earnhardt Jr. would remain with Dale Earnhardt Inc. after his contract ran out at the end of the 2007 season.
Earnhardt's announcement earlier this year that he was leaving his late father's company and subsequent decision to join Hendrick Motorsports in 2008 had Silly Season talk at fever pitch.
As a public service, here's a list of the hottest rumors in the garage area, on the talk shows and on the numerous television racing shows:
Kyle Busch's new team in 2008.
The front runners are DEI and Richard Childress Racing. A move to DEI would mean a straight swap with Earnhardt, a move to RCR would create a super team with Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton and Clint Bowyer.
Our take: Busch is a talented driver, if not somewhat immature. DEI is the favorite.
Also discount the rumors of Busch being bounced out of his current ride. It makes no sense for Hendrick, Carquest and Kelloggs to rid itself of a driver who will advance into the Chase.
Joe Gibbs Racing to Toyota.
The inaugural Nextel Cup season has been a disaster for Toyota, with only Dave Blaney's pole at New Hampshire to crow about. Plus, none of the Toyota teams are in the top 35 points, and probably won't be, meaning no automatic entries in 2008.
Our take: Gibbs Racing stands behind Hendrick and RCR as the top Chevy teams. JGR would be Toyota's flagship, and would have three cars in the top 35. It's a gamble. What would coach Gibbs call on fourth-and-one at the goal line?
Who's going to sponsor Dale Jr. in '08?
Budweiser will not follow Earnhardt to Hendrick, so the hood on the car of the most popular driver is open.
Our take: Mountain Dew. Together with Jeff Gordon, it gives Pepsico two of the biggest names in the sport. The money Pepsi saved by dropping its long-standing association with International Speedway Corp. will be used for Junior.
As for Budweiser, Busch (if at DEI) and Kasey Kahne and Evernham Motorsports are the front-runners for that sponsorship.
Sam Hornish to jump from the IRL for a Penske NASCAR Cup Dodge.
Perhaps the most intriguing rumor of all, involving two series and several top names.
One report has Ryan Newman leaving Penske, to be replaced by Hornish. Another has Penske expanding to three teams. As a result, Tony Kanaan and Dario Franchitti are the frontrunners to replace Hornish in the open-wheel car.
Our take: Now that he's won the Indy 500 and been an IRL champ, Hornish may be looking to conquer new worlds and make a pitch to being one of the great American drivers of all-time. But he has limited stock car experience, and that will influence his final decision.
Unless Hornish gets more seat time in a stock car, we look for him to stay full-time in the IRL at least for another season.
NASCAR will change the name of its premier series to NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in 2008.
It had been the Nextel Cup Series after Winston departed, but Nextel was swallowed by Sprint two years ago.
NASCAR wants to prohibit all wireless companies (Cingular, AT&T and Alltel) that compete with Sprint.
Our take: How is NASCAR going to convince any court in the country that it's OK to change the series name after a merger and not allow Cingular to morph to parent AT&T's brand.
It's a serious issue because there are millions of dollars at stake. There are sponsorship issues that could threaten the very core of NASCAR's ability to run its series.
The trial will most likely be boring, but the result will be an eye-opener.
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