Nascar and Racing A J Allmendinger

Racing series around the world are feeling a growing hole in their wallets thanks to this ol' economy, but that's no matter for a group out of Charlotte, N.C., that's looking to join up with pricey Formula 1.

The upstart -- their taking "USF1" as their working team name -- is aiming to have an American operation field two American drivers in F1 in the near future, and Tuesday, they discussed some drivers -- including a pair of NASCAR names -- they might interested in.

Some of those wheelmen (and a wheel lady, mind you) seem like logical targets, but the others? Well, not so much.

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. -- For Kyle Busch and Jeff Gordon, Thursday afternoon's Gatorade Duels at Daytona was a nervous affair because they didn't want to hurt their race cars for Sunday's Daytona 500.

But for four other drivers, just finishing the race high enough in the running order was downright breathtaking.

And for one driver, the feat of qualifying for the Daytona 500 was enough to bring tears to his eyes.

Kevin Harvick has found the key to winning the biggest races at Daytona International Speedway: lead as few laps as possible. Harvick, who won the 2007 Daytona 500 after leading just four laps, led just one Saturday night en route to winning his first Bud Shootout.

His improbable win was just the tip of the iceberg on a wild, full moon Florida night as 28 of NASCAR's stars knocked the dust of the steering wheel in the season-opening exhibition.

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 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.

FanHouse's campaign to preserve A.J. Allmendinger as a driver for Red Bull Racing has failed, thanks to an announcement from team head Jay Frye Tuesday morning.

From the team's web site:

Red Bull Racing Team and driver AJ Allmendinger have agreed to part ways for the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. Allmendinger is in his second NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season driving the No. 84 Red Bull Toyota, which currently sits 34th in owners' points.

"AJ is a talented driver and we really enjoyed working with him," said RBRT Vice President and General Manager Jay Frye. "He's come a long way in just two years and we wish him nothing but the best."

That last line -- "we wish him nothing but the best" -- just seems to have a certain Jay Frye-is-totally-BS'ing-us ring to it, doesn't it?