Reports Say NASCAR's Elliott Sadler Shuffled from GEM in Favor of A.J. Allmendinger

First, let me state that I LOVE AJ Allmendinger and think he's a great raw talent that any team would be stupid to pass up (and yes, I'm looking at you Team Red Bull, even though I like Scott Speed and adore Brian Vickers).

But I'm really, really not sure what the heck GEM would be thinking to boot Elliott. First off, if I have three drivers and need to lose one, I'm losing Sorenson. Sorry Reed, but even with Elliott's crappy luck this season, I'm taking a solid seasoned vet over the young guy that's not quite put it all together (even though I like Reed as well). I know the sport is really crazy right now, and sponsorship is a huge deal...but wait, Elliott's a big sponsor draw! I don't know. Maybe they're thinking Elliott can land a ride somewhere because sponsors will want him. Maybe another team is eyeing him because they know he's solid and would be a good anchor and could bring in a sponsor. Hey DEI - maybe you should be eyeing Elliott. (Quite honestly, if Elliott's out, this sucks as a Christmas/wedding present.)

The thing is, it reeks of owners who don't know the sport well. We're in a bad time for everyone, even the big guys. Teams are going under like crazy, sponsors are hard to find, drivers that are good are getting shuffled out. Ownership is NUTS, and that's just from the standpoint of how many new owners we have. Quite frankly, in a time when everything's up in the air, you go with what you can control. If you have a solid driver, that gives you a baseline to work from. Kasey and Elliott are solid guys. Experience from them gives the team a base. You need that experienced base because at the end of the day, they'll finish the race.

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Stupid move; disagree with it completely.

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Well, does AJ have the potential, sure i agree with that, but not so much to boot Sadler, but i have to say, i was hoping Sadler would eventually leave GEM, but i had hoped it would've been earlier in the year. I was shocked because back in June, when it made me cringe, Sadler signed an extension when at the time i thought he should've been bolting for the door and i think he would've had a real shot of getting the 33 RCR ride, 12 Penske ride, or 20 Gibbs ride, but he stayed, like Bobby Labonte, which they were both boneheads to do. And contrary to what Maveness says, i think Reed actually has more talent and if they were going to replace Sadler with something, which like i said was stupid, then it should've been Sorenson to the 19 and not AJ. I think Reed has real potential, even moreso than AJ, and that i think he was the most underrated driver out there on the market to pick up. I think he was just aligned with the wrong ride and team at Ganassi and i think Cheerios, Kelloggs, Home Depot, or Alltel is a fool for not having him representing one of their companies. I have heard though that when the merger between Gillett and Petty is done, that Reed will be moved to the 43 and that possibly the 10 car will be done away with and the 43 has more of a better reputation with it's drivers than the 19.
As far as Sadler, there have been two rides rumored that are slightly top notch for him and that's the 77 Penske ride and the 41 EGR ride. Now, im fairly certain Bobby Labonte will get the EGR ride, but the 77 could be an interesting proposition. Of course, it's not as lucrative of a ride as the 12 car, but after the year Sam Hornish had, i wouldnt be suprised if it hasnt at least crossed his mind about that soon to be vacated Helio Castroneves ride, and im a big supporter of Sam Hornish and i'd love to see him succeed in Nascar, but i think he would've been better off to be in the 12 and i think David Stremme will be a one and done year in the 12 so if Sam goes back to open wheel, runs some Nationwide races some next year to gain seat time and then come back to replace Stremme in 2010 i think Hornish Jr would have a much much better start in Nascar. If someone wanted to give AJ a chance, i understand that, but it shouldnt of came at Sadler's expense.

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Sadler is a joke, He's just a spot filler, Nascar allready has to many out there who can't win,EVER!!!!!!

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And what the hell has AJ won? NOTHING! I wouldnt be ripping guy who havent won GO AJ when your guy hasnt even been there at the end of a race competiting for a win, not even in a fuel mileage race! Not to mention that your guy got fired for the next up and coming guy who actually has won in a Nascar series and competed for a championship in the ARCA series!

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Oh lord. Let's get some things straight - first, AJ was thrown straight into Cup (a move I don't agree with, but a move Team Red Bull decided to make). Scott Speed was getting the luxury of working up through ARCA and some Truck races (although still not enough in my estimation), something AJ didn't get. AJ got thrown to the wolves, was told "We don't have the equipment right, but you have to succeed" and when he didn't, he got fired. Mike Skinner flat out told them that AJ was right in the feedback he was giving. So the performance in the 84 wasn't all the driver. What it means is that until that team gets turned around (and Jimmy Ellege is doing his best to fix it and has made strides), even Scott is screwed.

Second, Scott Speed himself said that he felt that his results in ARCA and the Truck Series were actually making him look better than he was, and he wanted more experience first before going to Cup. If AJ hadn't turned down a one and done deal that would have put him in limbo for another year (which, in hindsight, might not have sucked, but it was before the bottom fell out of the sport), Scott wouldn't have been brought up yet.

We're not going to mention the whole "hasn't been near the front at the end of a race" thing, because if an organization as a whole is sucking, they're not going to be near the front no matter who the driver is. This past year, Ganassi has sucked donkey balls. Team Red Bull was better. And AJ got top fifteen finishes (in a highly competitive environment), even though his team was in worse shape.

Sadler had horrible luck this year. I think he went into GEM at the wrong time, as Dodge was headed downhill. Reed has had the misfortune of driving for Dodge and, in my estimation, getting pulled in too early because of the youth bandwagon. Good needs time to develop. Very, very few drivers are a Kyle Busch or Jeff Gordon. Most don't start to peak until their early 30s. I think Reed has a ton of potential...but at the end of the day, looking at who did what in the equipment, you have AJ, who in his time in a GEM car did really well for the way that car has run (and for the GEM organization as a whole). Yes, Elliott's year was subpar for Elliott, but those seasons happen. He still has three career wins. Kasey is a no brainer. If I had to make a hard academic decision and was given no choice, it would be Reed based on numbers solely.

Then again, I think it should have been all moot. You don't replace guys at this point when they just signed a contract. Neither Reed nor Elliott should have gotten the boot. AJ and Bobby Labonte were obviously the top two free agents and would have grabbed rides pretty quickly because they appeal to different organizations. I think Elliott and Bobby will be appealing to the same organizations, sadly, although maybe they can work something to their advantage.

Even more confounding, now that I think about it, is that testing is over as of Jan. 1. From the time the 2008 season ended until Dec. 31 at midnight, the teams had free reign to test all they wanted. Why the heck would you have a guy that you've probably been testing with fired when he's probably provided feedback that makes a difference in how you set up your cars? That information applied to the team, yeah, but his own cars...that throws the crew chief for a major loop! Way to make it harder on your team there, Gilette!

And for those that pick on spot fillers, those are the guys that give solid feedback to owners and give them information that makes their teams better. They rarely win, but they're drivers that work hard and contribute greatly. The teams wouldn't be what they are without the solid drivers. Superstars aren't common.

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I agree with you for the most part Maveness. Yea, i agree that AJ was thrown in too quick, but im also quick to discount open wheelers as i was right with most my predictions of them failing and even think Juan Pablo is a failure, nobody is willing to admit it. Now Sam Hornish Jr, even though people think im crazy, i think he does have the potential to succeed. If i would've been Penske, i would've moved him to the 12 car after Ryan Newman left cause it's a more established ride with a pretty good crew chief, whereas right now Hornish Jr's crew chiefs have been horrible and has already been changed once already, but only time will tell. I like to believe that Hornish Jr could do like Jeff Gordon, where Gordon tore up alot of cars and was a miserable failure, and then his sophmore season really turned some heads.
So yes, AJ exceeded my expectations, has potential, but as far as free agents, i would hire Bobby Labonte, Elliott Sadler, Scott Riggs, and if all them turned me down, then i would consider AJ. I also agree with you on Dodge in that they will be the first manufacturer to pull out, as they have no chance of ever winning a championship in my opinion, and from what i hear, they say a bailout wont even save Chrysler from going under, although it sucks because i looked forward to possibly seeing the Dodge Challenger in the Nationwide series in a couple years. Good news is that Ford is considering running the Mustang which would be great, but Chevy and Ford are considering running their Cup series models, which sux cause i like the sportie designed vehicles. Since Ganassi went to Chevy's, ill go ahead and predict that GEM and Penske will eventually align with Toyota, and the Pettys will either merge or be out.
I know Toyota has the room with Bill Davis out, and i question how much longer MWR will be up and running, and of course GEM tried to buy BDR to align with Toyota, but Gillette failed to come up with the money, and ive heard rumors Penske was going to start a satellite team to help start building engines and preparing them to move in 2010 to Toyotas, and Robby Gordon was leasing engines from Penske at the end of the year last year, maybe he's that satellite team getting ready to help Penske switch? I think so.
In the end, it's a shame because i think Bobby would've been a perfect fit at RCR in the 33 and Sadler at Penske in the 12.

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I want to know how they will pay off Sadler if he just signed a contract extension. I would sue GEM for a whole lot of money if they screwed me that way!

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The smart man in this deal was Ray Evernham. He took Gillets cash and couldn't take his ego. He left the building and said good luck. Gillet needs to stay with his rich friends and drink martinis. Guys like him are ruining our sport!

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i think that ray everham should keep sadler and put aj in the 10 car! wehre did it go . sadler is a mentor for the teams. kasey would do alot better if ray would work with him like he did with gordan. kasey is a great driver but every time he works himself into a top 10 r top 5 position his pit stops kill him they need to work on this! i am a kasey kahne fan and followered bill elliott for 22 years when he went to dodge i hesitated but the # 9 was back and bill tryed to help ray to get things going so when kasey took the wheel with bills help things went great now he has budweiser for a sponsor and ray has let things just go why ray? get out of the booth and give the teams that bill helped u start and get them back into victory ! if sadler and kahne do not grt the agreements as promised then the two of them need to go back to a ford!

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I think Gillett is a dishonest person. He obviously owes a lot of money. It seems he makes a habit of borrowing money to buy companies and doesn't care about the employees he hurts in the process.

http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081203.wspt_gillett03/GSStory/GlobeSportsHockey/home

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DOUG YATER R JACK ROUSH SHOULD PUT ELLIOTT AND KASEY BACK IN A FORD I NEVER WOULD HAVE GONE TO A DODGE IF BILL ELLIOTT HAD NOT GONE WITH EVERHAM TO START IT BACK INTO NASCAR THEN THE #9 WAS GIVEN BACK TO BILL SO I WENT WITH THE DRIVER. AFTER KASEY TOOK OVER THE #9 WITH BILL'S HELP I WOULD NOT HAVE STAYED. NOW EVERHAM IS SITTING IN A BOOTH AND JACKING HIS JAWS AND LETTING SOMEONE DO THIS TO HIS TWO LOYAL DRIVERS SADLER AND KAHNE BOTH HAVE PROVEN TO BE GREAT DRIVERS WITH THE RIGHT EQUIPMENT UNDER THEM AND THEY R HAVING TOO SLOW PIT STOPS AND NO BACKING FROM THE MAN THAT PUT THEM IN THE CARS! MAYBE DOUG YATES R JACK THE HAT MIGHT NEED THESE TWO GREATS! KASEY WON HIS FIRST BUSH WIN IN A YATES FORD! BUDWEISER WAS ON A FORD WHEN BILL ELLIOTT DROVE FOR JUNIOR JOHNSON REMEMBER AND IF TODD PAROTT CAN MEND FENSES WIT YATES THEN MAYBE BUD AND KASEY CAN MAKE AN UNEXPECTED MOVE FIRST. KASEY DO NOT LET THEM DO THIS TO YOU BOTH YOU AND SADLER HAVE NOTHING TO PROVE THE 10 CAR AND THE 43 AND 45 OF PETTY COULD HAVE BEEN A PLACE FOR AJ. IHAVE NOTHING AGINST HIM HE JUST SHOULD HAVE BEEN PUT IN THE 10 CNOT THE 19!!! KASEY WATCH YOUR BACK! MY HUSBAND HAS PULLED FOR ROBERT YATES EVEN BEFORE WE LOST DAVY ALLISON AND STAYED WITH HIM ALL LAST YEAR. NOW I WILL STAY WITH KASEY UNTILL HE GETS TIRED OF NOT HAVING THE RIGHT CARS UP UNDER HIM!

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