2012 Nascar Silly Season

[Jpmfan]

Originally Posted by Matt

ya that

[FIRE]

Grubb new crew chief of Hamlin.

[MJ_N_09]

Possibilities for free agents in Cup (every possible thing I could think of):

Kurt Busch is the big one. Stays in Cup. If he goes full time, he has no choice but to take the #51 of James Finch. There's no more Red Bull and I have no idea if Jay Frye is able to take assets to keep even one car running. There's also no way I see him able to start up his own team. There's no free, full time ride that is better than Finch's at the moment. It's either that or he takes a part time ride. Any of those can pop up.

Obviously, every other free agent will be gunning for the #22. They are David Ragan, Gilliland, Reutimann, Brian Vickers, Travis Kvapil, and JJ Yeley. of those 6, only Ragan, Reutimann, and Vickers have a legit chance of getting it. My prediction is that Vickers gets it. I'd prefer Ragan or Reutimann though for it.

For the five free agents that do not get onboard Penske, it's noted that neither Front Row, TRG, or Fas Lane have any drivers signed at the moment. They will probably settle for those rides, drop to NNS, and/or take a hit in pride for a S&P role. Of course, there's still the Phoenix #51 if Busch does not get it...

I know no one here wants to hear about Danica, but her part time ride could somehow be able to get enough funding to go full time. Any of the free agents would jump at the chance to drive the races that Danica doesn't. This is the 3rd team for Stewart-Hass, and I have a strong feeling it's gonna enter every race just for maintain a lock in position for her.

There's even the #55 that still has some races open for when Martin and Waltrip aren't in it. Would any of them be able to run those races for that team?

I could mention the #36, but I really don't see Blaney leaving....

Phew. That's everything I can think of.

[Jacques Rabbit]

Would add Landon Cassill as a free agent. Kept the Finch ****ter in the top 35 and gets rewarded by being released.

As for open rides, the #95 Leavine Family Racing car will run fifteen races, but David Starr won't be driving. I wonder if, being a Texas team, they'll go for Terry Labonte, a renowned distributor of PCP.

[Clive Brown]

You can forget Gilliland, Kvapil, and Yeley. They are not just 'has-beens', they are 'never wases'. Yeley should have been a star based on his short track record, but to my astonishment, he did nothing in the #18 car at JGR.
But then again, what has Joey Logano really achieved in the #20 car at the same team?

Reutimann is a good wheelman, but as I view NASCAR, he might be ten years too old. Vickers or Allgaier, in my book, or maybe even Hornish Jr.

[Jacques Rabbit]

Marc Reno strikes again! Landon Cassill didn't win enough races in 2011, so he's been fired for the "big-name free agents." Because Ragan is one hell of a big name. I'll never forget when he asked Mr. Gorbachev to tear down this wall and put up the SAFER barrier.

Sucks for Cassill. Just another example of how flawed the ladder system is. There are no rides anywhere on the ladder, so you have to go right on to Cup, drive some ****box, and either ruin your career by finishing where you're expected to, or in Landon's case, actually exceed what guys like Bobby Labonte and Bill Elliott were doing in that same car, but still go no where because team owners just want to recycle the same drivers. NASCAR is lucky no one actually retires in this sport because Labonte, Jeff Gordon, Jeff Burton, Tony Stewart, Mark Martin, etc. are all nearing or at that age and if they were to all leave, there would be absolutely no one to replace them.

Bitter old Jacques Rabbit will laugh when whoever gets that 51 finishes in the same positions Cassill has and then gets sacked mid-season for the Todd Parrott of drivers when it comes to "going back home" to the same teams: Mike Bliss.

In other news: Scott Speed in at Leavine Family Racing. According to the PR, he made his F1 debut in 2001.

[MJ_N_09]

Cassill will find something somewhere I am sure.

Anyway, some rumors I find disturbing, Kurt Busch to RPM's #43, or a 3rd car? Hornish Jr getting the 22???

Penske Racing continues to evaluate drivers to fill the seat of the #22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge.(Penske Racing), could the driver be Sam Hornish Jr.? as he is now listed as a Sprint Cup driver on his Penske Racing driver page.(12-14-2011)

RPM considering Kurt Busch in #43 car? UPDATE Sirius XM NASCAR Radio's Sirius Speedway with Dave Moody has learned that in an effort to retain sponsor Best Buy, Richard Petty Motorsports has proposed replacing AJ Allmendinger as driver of the legendary #43 Ford with Busch. RPM struggled to re-sign Best Buy a year ago, negotiating until early January before inking a one-year contract. The electronics retailer served as major sponsor of the #43 team in 26 events this season.
Richard Petty Motorsports Chief Operating Officer Robbie Loomis confirmed today that discussions have been held regarding Busch, saying, "Best Buy has been a great partner for a long time, and AJ Allmendinger has done a fantastic job for us. He's coming off his best season yet, but I can tell you there is a lot of interest on our part in having Kurt Busch in the fold. It makes sense to have Kurt with our team, if we can make it work.
"Our main focus is to continue building on what we finished the season with last year," said Loomis. "But right now, I feel like I'm running down two different sets of train tracks. From a personal standpoint, nothing has excited me more than when I heard Kurt had become available. I'm excited about the opportunity to add a driver like Kurt Busch to Richard Petty Motorsports. I would mortgage my house to make Kurt a part of this team. We value what he has done on the race track. He has won a (Sprint Cup) championship and worked for a first-class operation like Penske Racing. Guys like that don't come along every day."
Allmendinger finished 15th in 2011 Sprint Cup Series championship points, with one Top-5 and 10 Top-10 finishes. His best finish was a fifth in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in late May. Busch won a pair of races this season at Infineon and Dover en route to 11th in points, tallying eight Top-5 and 16 Top-10 finishes. He parted company with Penske Racing earlier this month, in the aftermath of a much-publicized verbal confrontation with ESPN pit reporter Dr. Jerry Punch during the 2011 season finale at Homestead Miami Speedway (Sirius Speedway).
AND no word what Allmendinger would do IF this happens; and not too sure Jack Roush [who Busch drove for before Penske and had issues with], who team supplies cars and engines to RPM would allow this to happen.(12-13-2011)
UPDATE: RPM struggled to re-sign Best Buy a year ago, negotiating until early January before inking a one-year contract. The electronics retailer served as major sponsor of the #43 team in 26 events this season. RPM did not release an official statement on the speculation that either Allmendinger had been released or if Best Buy was ready to remain with the team for 2012. The possibility of adding Busch as a third entry has also been discussed but contingent on finding additional sponsorship.(CBS Sports)(12-14-2011)

[gomick]

Hornish Jnr, dont think i rate him - has he actually completed a full season of Nationwide yet?
Hope Kurt Busch dont get the 43 ride - reckon AJ goes alright & is a big chance for the chase in 2012, isnt he???
Kurt Busch should start a cup team with Kyle - surely they got enough $$$ & could attract sponsorship rather easily...

[Jacques Rabbit]

Roger Penske has said from literally day one that it will not be Hornish in the 22, so I would be surprised. I think he knows he can wait to see if Kurt Busch displaces anyone talented, because guys like Ragan or whomever else he may be talking to are not going to sign with other teams until the Penske ride gets filled.

Jim Utter believes Busch will be in Kyle's Nationwide car. In my opinion, he will have already won the championship before the first race. I guess the logic is to fade out of the spotlight, go a year without controversy, destroy the Nationwide field, and try to prove he belongs back in good equipment in Cup while showing sponsors he's a changed man. Not sure that will actually unfold. Kyle will be running less Nationwide and Truck, if any at all, by Joe Gibbs' request.

The 43 will go to whoever can get sponsorship; unless RPM goes down to a one-car team, in which case, for history's sake, I expect the 9 will become the 43 and the 9 disappears. I personally don't think Busch or Allmendinger are going to have any easy time getting money. Allmendinger may have been P15, but he was also P15 with one top five the whole season. That's not what they want to see, especially when he had top five qualifying efforts. Not saying he doesn't deserve another chance, but sponsorship is hard to get and I don't know what's going to compel someone to do a full season with Allmendinger when they can get a partial season with an inoffensive, top competitor like Matt Kenseth who is consistently in the top ten in most popular driver voting and the championship...

...and that's basically what Best Buy have smartly done. Nine races for Kenseth, two races for Edwards. Associate sponsor in the remaining.

Which is a great move for Best Buy. My only complaint is seeing the NASCAR fanbase go Trackforum on everyone, pretending that Roush is some bad guy because team owners are supposed to act against their own teams' interests to do something that they personally think is better for the sport, whatever that means (it usually just means whatever gets the drivers they personally like in rides).

[GTRMagic]

So.. based on the changes in sponsorship at RPM... is Mr Ambrose's seat also at risk?

Would the RPM squad sacrifice Mr Ambrose to replace him with Mr Busch?

[FPV8U]

Originally Posted by GTRMagic

So.. based on the changes in sponsorship at RPM... is Mr Ambrose's seat also at risk?

Would the RPM squad sacrifice Mr Ambrose to replace him with Mr Busch?

You would think if this were an option Ambrose would have made a serious effort to get to that FPR test, if anyone is going i would expect it to be AJ.

[MarcosAmbroseFan]

Originally Posted by FPV8U

You would think if this were an option Ambrose would have made a serious effort to get to that FPR test, if anyone is going i would expect it to be AJ.

Anyway Ambrose has a giving RPM a win this year. Richard wont get rid of any driver unless he has to meaning sponsorship $$$. No 9 team is fully sponsored in 2012.

[DanicaFan]

AJ Allmendinger will drive the #22 car for Penske Racing next year.

I think its a great move for AJ. I hope he does well. He is a much better fit at Penske than crybaby Kurt Busch.

[Jacques Rabbit]

Originally Posted by DanicaFan

AJ Allmendinger will drive the #22 car for Penske Racing next year.

I think its a great move for AJ. I hope he does well. He is a much better fit at Penske than crybaby Kurt Busch.

I take it you didn't follow Champ Car much.

From karting on up, Allmendinger had a big reputation as a massive crybaby. Very self-entitled, very arrogant. He didn't get fired from RuSport for performance reasons...

He's just more private about it than Busch, though he had a public argument with Richard Petty in the garage at Daytona and a public DUI.

Wish him well, but he's no less of a douchebag than the guy he's replacing, and he is less of a proven talent.

[GTRMagic]

So what does RPM look like for 2012? One car or two?

The Best Buy final decision seems to be a very recent one, so it might not have alerted Mr Ambrose to make and/or enable alternate plans

[Jacques Rabbit]

Trying for two cars; David Ragan in the 43 partnering Ambrose in the 9.

[MJ_N_09]

I'm glad Allmendinger and Ragan (Hey, I like his personality) got great rides. Now there's Finch's car, which I predict will go to Reutimann or Vickers. Also, why is everyone worried about Ambrose? Stanley is coming back.

[gomick]

Not worried about Ambrose - he did good things for Stanley at the Glen & Montreal, just to name 2...
So AJ is confirmed at Penske?

[MJ_N_09]

Originally Posted by gomick

Not worried about Ambrose - he did good things for Stanley at the Glen & Montreal, just to name 2...
So AJ is confirmed at Penske?

Yes. News outlets confirm this.

[MJ_N_09]

What?

Bruno Senna considering NASCAR? Bruno Senna is considering NASCAR as a back-up option should his F1 journey end for now. That is the claim of the Italiaracing website, in the wake of the Brazilian's loss of his Renault/Lotus race seat. It is rumored Senna, 28, could return to the team's reserve role for 2012, but Italiaracing said NASCAR is another option, where his countryman Nelson Piquet Jr headed after his own F1 career foundered in 2009. Senna's fabled uncle Ayrton was F1's last fatality in 1994, when Bruno was 10.(SPEED)(12-22-2011)

[GTRMagic]

So.. is it right to assume that the Best Buy sponsorship has actually reduced in value in season 2012?

The sponsor went from a full car for most of the year (I recall seeing a Wix Filters branding more than once..) to an associate sponsorship deal and a part year.

Story Here about the 2012 value of the deal...

If a full season in Cup is US$15m, a US$6m deal isnt that strong now is it? Or did RPM sell the deal at a cut price to fill the gap?

[FIRE]

Originally Posted by MJ_N_09

What?

Bruno vs Nelson

Could bring some fire on and off track

[MJ_N_09]

#51 is taken. Kurt Busch signs for one year.

[Clive Brown]

Originally Posted by MJ_N_09

#51 is taken. Kurt Busch signs for one year.

I'm frankly amazed. Where do Finch's chassis and engines come from? Are they HMS?

[Axeman444]

Originally Posted by Clive Brown

I'm frankly amazed. Where do Finch's chassis and engines come from? Are they HMS?

yep...

i like this:
"James Finch is exactly what I'm looking for, as far as getting back into the race car to have fun." - Kurt Busch

well it wouldn't be for anything else would it Kurt