GEM Makes Carpentier a Free Agent; Allmendinger Decision Coming Soon?

Patrick Carpentier is a free man and the word on the future of A.J. Allmendinger & Red Bull Racing seems to be nearing.

On the Carpentier side of things, word came out Wednesday that Gillette-Evernham Motorsports has officially made NASCAR's favorite driving Canuck a free agent after his first season in a race car with fenders.

Carpentier is being let go effective at the end of 2008 in favor of the younger, more marketable but seemingly-similarly (say that five times) talented Reed Sorenson. Sorenson is departing Chip Ganassi Racing's No. 41 ride after having a disappointing foray into the Sprint Cup Series racing with that team.

Carpentier's story is one that just makes you want to frown and say "that just ain't fair" because of his noted improvement from when he started driving a NASCAR (hasn't even been a year yet) to now, on top of his interesting and always honest personality. Given the right opportunity with a patient car owner and sponsor, Carpentier could easily succeed as a solid driver in NASCAR.

Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like that's going to happen, and that's a shame.

Speaking of potential shames (Can you really make that plural? Probably not. Works for me, though.) the future relationship betwee Red Bull Racing and A.J. Allmendinger appears headed toward a crossroads in the very near future with a decision on 2009 coming soon.

Red Bull retained team general manager Jay Frye earlier this week after he traveled to Austria last week to discuss his own personal contract, as well as what the Red Bull driver lineup would look like in 2009. Frye had been linked to a possible move to Stewart-Haas Racing, but a multi-year contract with Red Bull ended that speculation.

Frye's move, though, doesn't indicate much in the way of Allemendinger's future, though here at FanHouse, we took A.J.'s side after his stellar sophomore season in the like-new Toyota operation.

For some reason -- I can't find the exact quote or source -- I'm under the impression that Frye is a fan of Allmendinger and that Frye signing on for more years at Red Bull is only good news for the talented A.J.

I'll claim my bias in this situation because I really feel like A.J. has done more than enough in 2008 to land himself a new contract with Red Bull. What say you, though? Should A.J. stick around at Red Bull? And should Carpentier stick with this stock car thing?

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

9-18-2008 @ 1:15AM

John S. said...

Absolutely AJ deserves to stay at Red Bull. I'm quite surprised that they haven't signed him yet

9-18-2008 @ 7:25AM

Maveness said...

You're not imagining it - it's been indicated by various news sources that Jay Frye is the one fighting for AJ. (For the life of me I can't find them now either. I cry conspiracy! *g*)

I've been baffled by some of the actions of the owners for a while. There was the "young guy" craze, then the "open wheel guy" craze. But sadly, what I fear for Patrick is, he just managed to luck into it (even though I think he's a great driver) and since other owners have gotten over the craze, that's the last we'll see of him in Cup.

AJ stands a better chance because he's much younger, has been in Cup two years now, and has a lot of other drivers almost championing his cause (Mark Martin most notably).

I still don't get, though, one thing - why, of all the crazes, has no one STILL ever had a Boris Said craze? Seriously! In all the crazes, when it's supposed to have been about talent, and a few of the owners have snapped up guys approaching 40, they still ignore Boris. I feel bad for Boris. He's given a lot to the support as coach and he just hasn't gotten that solid ride. (I'd love for him, for just one race, to get the most top notch equipment and let him have fun.)

9-18-2008 @ 7:45AM

Kim said...

Once again, Maveness....we agree completely! Boris Said is an amazing personality and has a huge fan base and potential marketing and sales increases for any owner who would pick him up. I personally love the guy and think he has an amazing attitude, not to mention a ton of knowledge that he is still always willing to share with others, while being shafted out of driving a car himself. He is talented enough, yes. He just lacks the money and equipment to be a bigger success.

Hey NASCAR owners.....are you reading???? Someone pick up Said!! The fans would love it and I believe you would not be dissapointed in your investment.

Kim

9-18-2008 @ 7:52AM

Now to answer Geoffrey's questions, yes to one and no to the other. I do not believe Carpentier should continue wasting time in Cup racing. He was a talented open-wheel driver and that's where his talent lies. As for Almendinger, last year I referred to him as " AJ I'madinger" because he just seemed too green behind the gills and couldn't manage to keep his car on the track without wrecking and usually taking others out with him. That being said, this year's performance for JJ has definitely been a vast improvement as has Brian Vicker's, his teammate. Should Red Bull keep AJ on at this point? Absolutely they should, IMO!

Kim

9-20-2008 @ 7:51AM

samgirl said...

I think Patrick should stay with NASCAR. He is a breath of fresh air and with time could become a great stock car driver. He has done well with inconsistant equipment and will only get better...and no one qualifies like him! As far as AJ goes, he also deserves to stay. He has shown real improvement and bringing Scott Speed will only send that team back to square one. Good luck to both of them. The both deserve to stay!

9-21-2008 @ 10:38AM

CJ said...

I hear that AJ could be heading to replace Reed Sorenson in the Target Dodge. Im not suprised by this since AJ drove for Ganassi in the Nationwide series last year and both Ganassi and AJ seem to have some chemistry built in doing so. I agree with Kim, i didnt think AJ had any business being in Nascar and i thought it had been a huge mistake, but im a big enough man i can admit when im wrong. But i do believe that Team Red Bull is more sold on Scott Speed than they are on AJ. I think the fact that AJ cant keep the car in the top 35 consistently and how impressive Scott has been on winning a Truck Series race and leading the points in the Arca Series has really sold the owners of Red Bull on Scott. Unfortunately for AJ, most of the best rides are sowed up and the only two teams ive heard are talking to him are Petty Enterprises and Ganassi and even though i think Ganassi's organization is still in the tank, at least the 41 car is in the top 35 in owner points still.
I really thought that they'd put Bryan Clauson in the 41 car, but from i've been reading, he's been testing the #40 cup car, so maybe they are trying to find sponsorship to back Bryan to bring that 40 car back. And if they are, then that makes the rumors of Ganassi merging with Waltrip or Gillette Evernham hard to believe. I dont see the GEM merger, simply because of Reed Sorenson going there, i think he wants to get away from Ganassi, plus i think Ganassi is more interested in the Toyota support, than sticking with Dodges. And the only way i could see the Waltrip deal happening, is Bryan Clauson sitting out for next year, and possibly replacing Mikey Waltrip in 2010, if Waltrip would step out and retire, which he should've done along time ago, and apparently has no interest of doing the right thing any time soon.
Bill Davis Racing has been mentioned as a merging candidate for GEM, and i heard the other day that deal fell thru, so if Ganassi wants to keep and move all three of his drivers, and wants Toyota support and possibly get another top 35 ride, that would be his best option, but i dunno if that'd happen. I do believe that Dave Blaney is out of a ride, and whether Bill Davis sells or not, i think Michael Annette with Pilot gas stations sponsorship will be moving up to the Cup Series. I love the merger talks and i love that even though most of the rides are filled up, there is still some silly season talk goin on. I will say this, even though i do not like Toyota, i think whether GEM or Ganassi or both would switch from Dodge to Toyota, i think they'd maybe not right off the bat start contending and running for championships, but i do believe they'd start winning races and possibly get one or two cars in the chase. I think you'd see a HUGE improvement in Penske and would start to see Sam Hornish Jr running a whole lot better and you'd see the Kurt Busch that use to drive for Roush again if Penske would switch to Toyotas. I'll also say that after hearing that DEI might lose Paul Menard, which from a talent point of view isnt losing much, but from a financial point of view, is losing alot, i think DEI is on the quick road to falling apart. I think they will lose Martin Truex after next year, i think Regan Smith will be out of a ride next year when that team is shut down for no sponsor, i think Aric Amirola will be in Regan's shoes next year in running a car with no sponsor, and Paul Menard will be gone. I say if one of these teams wants to get a chunk of the Chevy support, they might want to look into buying DEI cause unless they did that, if DEI was to just go away, all that support would go to Stewart Haas to get it off Hendrick's support and on it's own. I will also say, if Petty Enterprises was to somehow get AJ in their stable, they'd be really lucking out in that deal. I dont believe that it would save them, but it would be very beneficial to them.