Motorsports FanHouse

Earnhardt-Petty Racing? Teams Talk Merger

Geoffrey Miller — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 19:13:00 EST

Filed under: Dale Earnhardt Inc., Petty Enterprises, Sprint Cup

NASCAR's two biggest names -- Earnhardt and Petty -- might fall under the same banner in the near future in the latest sign of how NASCAR's middle-of-the-road teams are struggling to keep pace with multi-car and mega-supported teams in the Sprint Cup Series.

While Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty never were true rivals on-track, the competition between each drivers' stats always persisted. Earnhardt never matched Petty's incredible 200-win total, but in 1992, he reached seven championships in NASCAR's top division to tie "The King".

Knowing that, it seems especially weird that at least one team representative acknowledge this weekend that Dale Earnhardt Inc. and Petty Enterprises have had discussions about joining forces.

"I think in this time, in this sport, anybody running from one team to three teams is talking to somebody, and anybody with four teams is trying to get to eight teams," said Loomis, vice president of race operations for Petty Enterprises.

Loomis likened it to what has been taking place throughout the financial world in recent weeks. Organizations such as Petty Enterprises and DEI, which are short on sponsorship dollar commitments for next season, are trying to align themselves with larger companies that are on more solid financial ground.

So there you have it.

Tough times in NASCAR have made a merger of two teams that either have a history themselves or the history of its founding member that have dominated much of NASCAR's 60 years of competition.

Is that good? Is It bad?

Overall, I don't see mergers as a bad thing -- especially in the racing climate NASCAR has grown to. An Earnhardt-Petty Motorsports (or King Intimidator Racing?) is the only way either of those teams has an viable shot at race wins in the future, much less the unlikely championship.

Let's face it: NASCAR has nearly reached Formula One in how effectively large conglomerate teams dominate the sport. Granted the number in NASCAR fills a counting hand closer to capacity, but in all reality, Hendrick Motorsports, Roush Racing, Joe Gibbs Racing and Richard Childress Racing are the only teams that have a shot at winning each weekend at this point.

The combination of Dale Earnhardt Inc. and Petty Enterprises is an interesting twist if it goes through, but at the same time, it indicates how delicately smaller teams in NASCAR will have to tread in order to stay afloat in the future.

Earnhardt-Petty Racing? Teams Talk Merger originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sat, 18 Oct 2008 19:13:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LFL: Regan Smith Won 'Dega, Says Dale Jr.

Geoffrey Miller — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 15:30:00 EST

Filed under: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Regan Smith, Tony Stewart, Dale Earnhardt Inc., Talladega Superspeedway, Sprint Cup, Hendrick Motorsports

FanHouse's Geoffrey Miller is at the track in Concord, N.C. for Saturday night's Bank of America 500 in full fan mode. He's hoping to avoid Kevin Harvick's motor coach driver from his location in the Ford Grandstand, Section I.

Regan Smith may drive for the race team that Dale Earnhardt Jr. left in 2007, but that didn't keep the now-Hendrick Motorsports driver from taking Smith's side after last week's controversial finish at Talladega Superspeedway.

Smith, a rookie in the Sprint Cup series, was denied his first-career win after NASCAR declared his last-lap pass underneath Tony Stewart illegal and gave Stewart the win despite getting beat by Smith to the finish line.

I was thoroughly against the ruling, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. made his support of Smith clear and questioned NASCAR's judgment on Friday at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

"In my opinion, the 01 (Smith) was forced below the line," Earnhardt Jr. said on Friday at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

"The two did make contact - (Smith) was on the inside of Tony and he had no choice other than to move away from Tony and that sends him below the line and in my opinion, the 01 wins the race. I feel like Tony did what he had to do. In the car, everyone would have done what Tony did, everyone would have done what the 01 did. Neither one of them were wrong or right.

"What's curious is when are you forced? Show me some video. I want to know what's forced and what's not. I felt like that was being forced."

And can you argue with Earnhardt Jr.? His statement further exemplifies how confused drivers were on NASCAR's rule, and how they remain to be confused now even after NASCAR tried to clarify the rule this week.

Earnhardt Jr. especially took exception to the now-apparent policy of NASCAR saying that Smith should have either backed off and not gone for the win or tried to wreck Stewart.

"[Smith] can't sit there and hold his line," said Earnhardt Jr., who left DEI at the end of 2007 to compete for Hendrick Motorsports. "He's going to wreck Tony and probably wreck himself. That's ridiculous to expect someone to be that bull-headed about a situation like that and put everybody in jeopardy just to not be accused of passing below the line."

Ridiculous it is, Mr. Earnhardt.

A black and white playbook isn't a possibility in NASCAR, but something with much less gray with the current one is very possible.

LFL: Regan Smith Won 'Dega, Says Dale Jr. originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sat, 11 Oct 2008 15:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Postponing the Inevitable? Truex at DEI for '09

Geoffrey Miller — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 12:45:00 EST

Filed under: Martin Truex Jr., Dale Earnhardt Inc., Sprint Cup

Leading up to the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, word was that Martin Truex Jr. was going to re-sign with Dale Earnhardt Inc. for 2009, and potentially longer. Truex, though, wasn't happy about the report done by ESPN.com's David Newton:

"It's (expletive). I don't know what the hell (the reporter) is talking about. He doesn't know what he's talking about," Truex said.

It turns out, though, that Newton was ultimately right. Whether or not he was right at the time, though, is still up in the air.

Regardless, Martin Truex Jr. is expected to announce later Friday that he will be staying at DEI in the No. 1 car for at least one more year. In contract terms, Truex actually just accepted the DEI's proposal to pick up the one-year option for '09 that was already in his previous deal.

Truex's move takes away at least a fraction of the rumor game being currently played throughout the Sprint Cup garage area, as he has been rumored for any number of open seats in 2009 including Stewart-Haas Racing, Penske Racing, and Richard Childress Racing.

I figured that Penske or Childress would be a great fit for Truex Jr. mainly because DEI just hasn't elevated its game on-track to compete for championships like it should, and because Truex does have the talent to win races and championships.

Put together Mark Martin leaving the team after 2008, rumors about team president Max Siegel looking at new opportunities outside of NASCAR, and an array of young, under performing drivers in the stable, the DEI outlook isn't exactly a rosy picture.

Perhaps, though, that's exactly why Truex didn't sign a long-term deal with DEI. This move might come with an unwritten clause of "Get better or I'm gone" from Truex.

And Truex deserves that.

He deserves to be in equipment that can consistently challenge for wins and be a near shoe-in each season to make the Chase. If that doesn't happen quickly in 2009, expect a "one and done" effort for the New Jersey driver as he moves on to greener pastures in 2010.

Postponing the Inevitable? Truex at DEI for '09 originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Thu, 07 Aug 2008 12:45:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Martin Bit Again, Finishes 8th at Pocono

Geoffrey Miller — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 11:27:00 EST

Filed under: Mark Martin, Dale Earnhardt Inc., Sprint Cup

Mark Martin had a terrifically fast car for the second week in a row at Pocono Raceway Sunday afternoon.

Pit problems, though, kept him from battling his No. 8 DEI Chevrolet for its first win of 2008 in the closing laps of the Pennsylvania 500.

Martin started second in Sunday's race and jumped out to the lead early on as part of his race-high 55 laps led in the 500-mile event, but a problem with the socket on the air gun that removes the lug nuts from the tires early in the race got put Martin further and further back on two consecutive pit stops.

Crew chief Tony Gibson seemed a little flabbergasted after Martin started second and seemed to have the car to beat.

"You can't run the same socket all year long," Gibson said. "You've got to eventually change it because it will break. Something about it hung up on a nut. It wasn't [the crew's] fault. They didn't do anything wrong.

"It kind of threw us out of our gameplan and got us off sync on fuel. But, hey, we had the car to beat here today by far, and that was a good day for us. I wish we would have won it. Should have won it. But it didn't happen."

The team's new gameplan involved Martin staying out while the rest of the leaders came to pit road just before the red flag came out on lap 128 for rain.

The different pit sequence forced Martin to pit twice while the top 15 drivers or so had only one stop left -- effectively removing him from a shot at the race win because another caution never waved.

Martin's car was fast enough, though, to power back to his 8th-place finish, passing cars who had pitted one time less than him under green flag conditions.

It was the second time in two weeks that a problem not of Martin's doing kept him from challenging for the race win, despite having a car fast enough to do so.

At Indianapolis, Martin again had started second next to Jimmie Johnson but was bitten by a tire going flat before a competition caution waved, pinning him at the back of the pack with no long green flag runs to help him power back through the field. Instead, Martin wound up 11th.

Martin Bit Again, Finishes 8th at Pocono originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Mon, 04 Aug 2008 11:27:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Truex Jr. Appears to Have Contract Signed; McMurray Denies Free Agent Reports

Geoffrey Miller — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 17:20:00 EST

Filed under: Jamie McMurray, Martin Truex Jr., Roush Fenway Racing, Dale Earnhardt Inc., Indianapolis Motor Speedway, NASCAR Silly Season

FanHouse's Geoffrey Miller is on location & blogging away at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for Sunday's 15th Running of the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard.

Martin Truex Jr. appears set to end the rumor mill swirling around his future.

ESPN.com's David Newton reported on Saturday that "several sources" are confirming that Truex will now stay right where he's at -- with Dale Earnhardt Inc. -- until at least 2010:

The 28-year-old New Jersey native has agreed in principle to a two-year deal that will keep him at Dale Earnhardt Inc. through the 2010 season, multiple sources close to the situation told ESPN.com on Saturday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Sources said an official announcement is expected any day, and that details with multiple sponsors remain to be finalized.

Truex, asked if he has an agreement, said: "We're getting there, yeah. Things are going well right. I'm pretty happy. I just want to think about racing this weekend."

That quote from Truex seems to seal the deal for me, as he definitely didn't make any attempt to deny the report. He pretty much gave the "yeah, that's been correctly reported but I can't say anything yet so I'm going to get back in my race car and stay away from you media-types"-style answer.

I'm glad Truex has got his deal seemingly worked out with DEI, a team where he'll remain as the No. 1 driver in the camp. I don't think, however, that re-signing with the team will lead him towards a Sprint Cup championship any time soon.

McMurray Grows Weary of Constant Free Agency Reports

It must be tough to have the media firing you from a high-profile job before you get the news, unless, you know, the media is wrong.

That's what Roush Fenway Racing's Jamie McMurray is claiming after more speculation came about Friday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway that he would be out of the No. 26 ride effective at the end of the 2008 season -- one year before his RFR contract expires.

The speculation came after his team owner Jack Roush virtually threw McMurray under the bus during a press conference on Friday at IMS -- telling the world that he's been disappointed with Jamie's performance compared to the rest of the team among other less-than-loving statements about the Missouri driver.

McMurray responded on Saturday to both Roush's remarks and the rampant speculation that they induced in the media about his future:

"If you guys want to print the truth, the truth is I'll be there with Crown Royal," he said. "There's not a question. It's 100 percent. I know there's been some reporters that have speculated again on where I'll be and who the sponsors will be - and certainly everyone is entitled to their opinion - but I wish that for all the media that they would base it on facts."

He even stated that he was somewhat puzzled by his team owner's statements on the previous day:

"They haven't discussed that with me and I don't think that's really even been discussed," he said. "I can't control what Jack says, and sometimes Jack will go off a little bit and it maybe gets out of control. It's not that big of a deal."

It can't be too easy to focus completely on driving when not only the media is down your back about your future but also your team owner is offering any public help.

Regardless, McMurray -- currently 22nd in Sprint Cup points -- will start Sunday's Allstate 400 at the Brickyard from the 7th spot.

Truex Jr. Appears to Have Contract Signed; McMurray Denies Free Agent Reports originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sat, 26 Jul 2008 17:20:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Johnson, Martin Take Allstate 400 Front Row

Geoffrey Miller — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 14:00:00 EST

Filed under: Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin, Ryan Newman, Dale Earnhardt Inc., Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Sprint Cup, Hendrick Motorsports

FanHouse's Geoffrey Miller is on-location at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for Sunday's 15th Running of the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard.

Jimmie Johnson was the fastest man during Saturday morning's qualifying session for Sunday's Allstate 400, but Mark Martin backed up what he said at Pocono in June -- that he's a contender for this race.

Martin qualified second to Johnson's pole-winning lap of 181.793 mph in his No. 8 DEI Chevrolet.

Generally, Martin isn't one to make bold predictions about how well he could run, but after the June event at Pocono Raceway he told the media "I'm planning on winning the Brickyard 400 in the No. 8 car."

Martin figures to be a contender thanks to his strong qualifying effort and because he placed in the Top-10 in both practices on Friday afternoon. His DEI team also has saved the same race car he ran strong in at Richmond and nearly won Phoenix with, throwing a cover over it in preparation for Indianapolis.

Johnson, on the other hand, comes into the weekend as a natural favorite thanks to his 2nd-place effort two weeks ago at Chicagoland Speedway. The No. 48 appears to be leading Hendrick Motorsports on a mini-resurgence of sorts to get the team back to the level of success it had in 2007.

The Brickyard pole is a first for Johnson, the 2006 winner of the event, though it was nowhere near last year's pole-winning speed set by Reed Sorenson at 184.207 mph thanks to the new car being used in the Sprint Cup in 2008. The track speed record for a stock car is 186.293 mph set by Casey Mears in 2006.

The rest of the Top-5 for the 15th running includes Ryan Newman, Kasey Kahne, and Jeff Gordon. Failing to qualify are Bill Elliott (after making the field for the first 14 '400's), Johnny Sauter, Tony Raines, and Stanton Barrett.

Johnson, Martin Take Allstate 400 Front Row originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sat, 26 Jul 2008 14:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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