Nascar and Racing Elliott Sadler

Where: Dover Int'l Speedway
Time: Sunday 2 p.m./EDT
TV/Radio: ESPN, Motor Racing Network
Twitter: Updates @ FanHouseRacing
Forecast: Mid-70s, Partly Cloudy, 40% rain
Distance: 400 laps (400 miles)
Pole Winner: Jimmie Johnson
2008 Winner: Greg Biffle


If you've caught any coverage of Sprint Cup practice or qualifying this weekend from Dover, the chance you didn't hear a driver complain about the new Goodyear tire compound was razor thin.

Where: Richmond Int'l Raceway
Time: Saturday night 7:30pm/EDT
TV/Radio: ESPN, Motor Racing Network
Twitter: Updates @ FanHouseRacing
Forecast: Mid-60s, Partly Cloudy
Distance: 400 laps (300 miles)
Pole Winner: Mark Martin
2008 Winner: Jimmie Johnson

A friend from Denver -- a new NASCAR fan -- called up the morning after the Daytona 500 disappointed and feeling like he got short-changed.

He said stopping the race 48 laps short felt like watching an NFL game being played in bad weather with the referees just deciding whoever was ahead in the third quarter got the win.

As I explained to him -- and as Daytona 500 winner Matt Kenseth has unfortunately felt obligated to explain on every talk show appearance he's made since earning his first 500 trophy -- everyone knows the game and Kenseth's team simply played it best.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Here's a few rumblings and bumblings from a soggy evening at Daytona:

Are television viewers more important than full races? I think its a very valid question to wonder why NASCAR is so willing to push the snooze button later and later on Sunday afternoons with the start times of its Sprint Cup Series races.

It was just eight years ago that the Daytona 500 started at 12:30pm local time, while Sunday, it started after 3:40pm local time. The reason? Television ratings and commercial advertising rates go up the later in the day thanks to West Coast viewers and the "prime time" effect kicking in on the East Coast.

Paul Menard's new season with a new team is starting out on a refreshingly good note.

Menard, who left the Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing team following 2008 to drive the No. 98 Ford at Yates Racing, drew the pole for Saturday night's Budweiser Shootout at Daytona during a made-for-TV draw "party" Thursday night just outside of the speedway.

The lineup -- one that is set completely at random for the 28 eligible drivers -- has left some drivers that don't fall into "favorites" category sitting at the front while others, including last-place starter and former Shootout winner Jeff Gordon, will have plenty of traffic to negotiate at the green flag.

A.J Allmendinger, after an interesting month of rumors, finally has nailed down a ride for a portion of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

The former open-wheel driver with five Champ Car wins to his credit and two seasons of Sprint Cup racing with Team Red Bull that ended in 2008 signed with Richard Petty Motorsports Wednesday for up to two years.

The contract, at the moment, has afforded Allmendinger -- ousted by Team Red Bull towards the end of the 2008 season in favor of the unproven, yet talented Scott Speed -- nine races at the start of 2009 including next weekend's Budweiser Shootout at Daytona.

Did you really think the NASCAR world could keep quiet during this offseason?

First, we had Elliott Sadler being canned from his then Gillett-Evernham Motorsports ride just months after signing a multi-year contract extension. A.J. Allmendinger, they said, was taking over the ride.

Then, Richard Petty and the oh-so-struggling Petty Enterprises worked out a merger with GEM, a fellow Dodge team to create a still unnamed four-car team that includes the famed No. 43. Somehow, such a merger was a positive move for Sadler, as he was reinstated to the ride he had originally been taken out of.

Perhaps the newly-formed team didn't want to deal with a near-certain lawsuit Sadler was going to throw their way?

With Sadler back in, the Petty merger complete, Allmendinger signed up to run a handful of races based on sponsorship for the team, the NASCAR world appeared to slow.

I suppose you could chalk this up as one of those deals that just makes you want to go "hmmm."

Not only did one of NASCAR's most-storied organizations lose much of its independent identity thanks to a merger cued from financial necessity, but a driver thought to be on axe from the other merged team is back in the fold.

In other words, just another day in the always unpredictable world of NASCAR.

I bet this isn't what A.J. Allmendinger signed up for with Gillett-Evernham Motorsports contacted him about driving for the Sprint Cup team in 2009.

Allmendinger, along with GEM, majority owner George Gillett and Ray Evernham Enterprises were named earlier this week in Iredell County (N.C.) as defendents by an attorney representing Elliott Sadler in a possible suit alleging breach of contract, according to David Poole of The Charlotte Observer.

Sadler, as we were surprised about earlier in the week, appears to be on the outs from GEM's No. 19 Dodge in favor of Allmendinger in 2009 -- despite signing a contract extension this past spring with the team through 2010.

Poole noted in the article that "Sadler plans to seek injunctive relief, declaratory relief/specific performance, consequential and punitive damages as a resultof Defendants anticipatory and actual breach of Plantiff's Driving Services Agreement [...]."

All of the legal lingo could more appropriately described as Sadler being extremely irritated and desiring to grab all of the money from GEM he can because of the loss of external revenue (personal contracts, etc.) he stands to lose by not driving in the Sprint Cup Series full time in 2009.

We knew that Gillett-Evernham Motorsports wasn't so full of Evernham anymore, and we also knew that the Dodge Sprint Cup team was looking to sign recently-dropped Red Bull Racing driverA.J. Allmendinger despite lacking a sponsorship.

Well, reports say that all of that is coming true, but with one incredible twist:

Elliott Sader, who has driven the No. 19 for two years and is under contract for more, is being replaced by Allmendinger.

Say whaaa?

The NASCAR Scene and ESPN are both reporting this matter "according to sources close to the team" and Allmendinger's business managar Tara Ragan has confirmed he is in the final negotiations of signing a contract with the team.

There's no specific confirmation, however, that Allmendinger will replace Sadler. Regardless, such a move -- or a rumor of such a move -- is highly surprising.