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Happy 4th of July, everyone! Along with celebrating America’s independence, since it just so happens to have fallen on a Friday this year, that means you’re also treated to a “special” edition of “Loose in Turn Three”. Along with me as always are Bruce Simmons from “Bruce’s Bits & Pieces”, and, of course, Charlie Turner from “On Pit Row”.

Earlier this week, Chip Ganassi announced that due to sponsorship woes, he was being forced to cease operations on his no. 40 operation, laying off 71 employees in the process and also putting NASCAR rookie, Dario Franchitti, out of a ride for the remainder of the season.

Ganassi has been fortunate to maintain sponsorship on all of his cars to this point in 2008, but there have been several other teams that have struggled with similar situations all season long. Yates Racing is perhaps the most publicized of these stories, running the no. 28 car of Travis Kvapil without a primary sponsor for most of the year, and the no. 38 of David Gilliland’s contract with freecreditreport.com is only for a limited number of races. BAM Racing also had to shut down operations earlier in the year, Bill Davis Racing shoved Jacques Villeneuve out of the series before he ever even got started, and Michael Waltrip Racing is known to have troubles on the horizon.

Q: With the recent folding of Chip Ganassi’s #40 operation due to lack of sponsorship, is this a trend we can continue to expect in NASCAR with other teams that have struggled with sponsorship … teams like Yates Racing? 

TZ: I think it is. The economy’s really turned everything upside down, even in NASCAR. Many of NASCAR’s long-term sponsors are starting to see a substantial decrease in profits, which means that they’ve got to start cutting down on their budget in areas like professional sports. Then, on top of that, you’ve got some of the top-tier teams such as Childress and Gibbs with plans on expanding their organizations with an additional car, and before ya know it, there’s just not enough water in the kiddie pool anymore.

Bruce:  If the team isn’t performing, the hood sponsor isn’t getting it’s $10 mil of advertising exposure, so yea, we just may see other teams lose sponsors.  BAM was trying something interesting with their sponsor packages but then they jumped manufacturers and then suddenly took a break.  I guess the sponsor program wasn’t the hit they were hoping it to be.

Charlie:  Every indication is that other teams are on the brink of closing shop. Ganassi is one of the organizations that you would think to be stable. Chip may have just missed on a hunch that in Dario he could catch the Montoya lightning again. Regardless they failed with that car.  I have a feeling that Yates will survive, but Waltrip could shrink by a car.

Franchitti has stated that he’d like to remain in NASCAR, and Chip Ganassi has since offered Dario the full-time seat in his Nationwide Series entry. No decisions have been made as to what they’ll do from here, but sources indicate that the two plan to meet and discuss Dario’s future going forward.

the Rest of the Discussion:
- Do You Think Kurt Busch Giving up his car points to Hornish hurt the team overall? (Bruce’s Bits & Pieces)

- What will become of Dale Earnhardt Inc? (On Pit Row)

Post from: EveryJoe

With Ganassi Folding the #40 Team, What Will Become of Some of the Others?

Montoya stated yesterday that it was strictly a “management decision” and that he had nothing to do with it, and that he had been pleased with the direction of their team since bringing Elledge on board.

“They told me, ‘We are thinking of getting rid of Jimmy’, and I said ‘Don’t do it’,” Montoya stated in a recent interview. “Next thing I knew, they did. That’s what happened. You are going to have to ask somebody else about it, because I wasn’t involved in this.”

Montoya went onto describe his disappointment in the lack of progression within the no. 42 team since he first entered the Cup Series late in 2006, and though he has plenty of faith in his new Crew Chief, Brian Pattie, he’s vented his frustration to team owner, Chip Ganassi, several times since the release of Elledge.

“I don’t think frustration is the word for how I feel,” he said. “I think it’s more. There’s a lot of effort to put into it, and a lot of people working their butt off, and we’re not getting better. It’s annoying.”

Post from: EveryJoe

Montoya Displeased With Latest Move

Image details: Daytona 500 Preview served by picapp.com

Earlier this week, NASCAR’s most popular driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr, took a giant step in his “off-track” career when he opened his new bar Whisky River in downtown Charlotte, NC right across the street from the downtown arena.

The club has a nice sized stage and dance floor, which combine for 27,000 square feet, and actually consists of three bars – the largest of which circles around a mechanical bull. Junior reportedly plans on hosting live bands at the venue, and he even made a comment that he hopes he can one day get the Foo Fighters to play there. Hanging on the orange walls are a slew of flat-screen televisions, which we’ve been promised will be airing the races on race days.

The addition of the bar to Junior’s resume is only one on the list of many ventures in which he has taken part of as of late. Aside from driving full-time in the Sprint Cup Series, Earnhardt also owns a Nationwide Series race team, is a partial owner of two race tracks, owns a real estate company, owns a television production company, and owns his own clothing line. Ironically enough, the bar is also located only a few blocks away from the NASCAR Hall of Fame is scheduled to be opened at in 2010.

In Other News:
- After a long, controversial week at Ganassi Racing last week after Dario Franchitti failed to qualify for the race at Martinsville, Chip Ganassi himself berated his own teams for failing to put together a solid enough effort to put the car in the show. Following that, he promised that if he continued to see a lack of results, serious changes would be right around the corner. Well, the first change is here, but employees of the hot-blooded racing vet can breathe a sigh of relief, because this particular change hasn’t resulted in anyone losing their job. Instead, Chip has decided to swap Crew Chiefs between the no. 41 and no. 42 Dodges of Reed Sorenson and Juan Pablo Montoya. Donnie Wingo has been with Montoya since he made the conversion to stock car racing midway through 2006, but will now try to turn around a struggling Sorenson. Meanwhile, Jimmy Elledge will depart from Sorenson after making a run of 80 races together to see what he can do with Montoya.

Post from: EveryJoe

Earnhardt Jr Sets the Bar

Drivers Have More Strong Opinions Concerning New Car. How Heavy Should These Complaints Weigh on NASCAR’s Decision to Make Modifications to the Car?

TZ: I think that aside from the fans, the drivers’ opinions should be the next in line on those that need to be considered. While the sentiments may not be shared unanimously across the garage area, every week that we come from one of these cookie cutter tracks, it seems like at least a majority of the drivers share a complaint. If the drivers aren’t happy with the box that they’re given to drive in, then more than likely it’s going to translate into a lackluster race. They need to start listening a bit more closely to the Tony Stewart’s of the world.

Bruce:  But Tim, don’t the drivers always have something under their skin at each track?  All joking aside, the COT is a work in progress and from what we can tell so far, the safety features were tested very well.  (Thanks Michael McDowell)  Yes, it’s a work in progress.  And yes, it’s taking the teams time to figure out how to make it work, how to make it turn into the corner and create a flying mud ball instead of a “flying brick”.  NASCAR’s real test session of this platform began in the 10 races in 2007 and each race will uncover something new.  The trick is when something keeps popping up at every race, then I’d expect something to change, otherwise the issues are sporadic data points and nothing more.

Charlie: Driver comments have to be considered in the evaluation of the car – sure. But just because a number of – even a majority of – drivers complain about the new car shouldn’t mean NASCAR has to change anything.  Why can’t NASCAR ask the drivers to change? Are drivers – who in many cases earn millions of dollars for driving race cars – entitled to a easy driving machine? Better question – should a team like the #99 of Carl Edwards be penalized by having the rules catered to teams that haven’t figured the new car out as well? I say let the thing ride as-is for the rest of 2008 and reward the teams that figure it out.

The Rest of the Conversation:
- Chip Ganassi Is Pretty Unhappy With His Own Teams! (Read)
- What Do You Expect When You Tune In A Sprint Cup Race? (Read)

Post from: EveryJoe

Loose in Turn 3 (4/11/08)

Chip Ganassi Racing has been one of the most successful organizations in the racing world, and they demonstrated that yet again by becoming the first team to ever win three consecutive Rolex 24 events this past January. The struggle for the team, however, has been trying to find a way translate all of their success into the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series where they’ve been just mediocre.

It wasn’t always that way, though. Back in 2001 when Ganassi was running only a single car full-time in the (then) Winston Cup Series, Sterling Marlin finished the season third in points, coming in 371 points behind series leader Jeff Gordon. The next year got off to another great start, and Chip decided to add a second team to the mix with the no. 41 car of Jimmy Spencer. Marlin continued his hot streak sitting atop the championship points standings through the first 26 races of the season. Three races later, however, he had dropped all the way to fifth and his season ended early due to an injury. He would be replaced by Jaime McMurray for the remainder of the season, and amazingly enough he picked up right where Sterling left off by winning the race at Lowe’s in only his second career Cup start. McMurray’s success closing out the 2002 campaign was so adequate that it caused Ganassi to form yet a third team with the veteran Sterling Marlin leading the charge in front of the high-hope rookies of McMurray and Casey Mears. McMurray took the series by storm by finishing 13th in points in his first full season in the Cup Series, but Marlin was never able to rebound. He finished the year 18th in points, and to this date hasn’t won a race since the 2002 season.

The Ganassi lineup remained the same until the completion of the 2005 season with McMurray finishing the highest in points between the trio, coming in 11th in 2004 and 12th in 2005. Recording consistent top ten finishes didn’t appear to be the problem, but getting the cars to victory lane did, as the team as a whole hadn’t won a race since McMurray’s win at Lowe’s in 2002. McMurray had remained consistent for Ganassi, but that was of little consolation since he signed a deal late in the 2005 season to drive for Roush Racing in ’06. Meanwhile, Marlin continued to slip further and further into obscurity and Mears wasn’t progressing quite as quickly as Chip may have hoped.

The team’s 2006 lineup was completely revamped as Ganassi replaced McMurray and Marlin with rookies David Stremme and Reed Sorenson, and they moved Mears over to the number 42 car. The move appeared to work well for Casey as we completed the ’06 campaign 14th in points with 8 top ten finishes. Sorenson finished 24th with 5 top ten’s of his own, and Stremme was thankful just to remain inside the top 35 in owner points, finishing 33^rd. Mears’ progression in 2006 was unquestionable, but again, it was of little consolation to Chip since Mears decided to part ways with the team and head over to Hendrick Motorsports. That wasn’t the big news this time in the Ganassi camp, though. Ganassi made headlines across the world when he announced late in the 2006 season that former Indy Series Champion Juan Pablo Montoya was making the move to NASCAR and would compete full-time in 2007 behind the wheel of the no. 42 car. The move paid off as Montoya finished 20th in points and won Rookie of the Year honors. Oh, and he also won the race at Infineon, giving Ganassi their first Cup Series victory since 2002. Sorenson and Stremme also finished the year inside the top 25 in points, and it now appeared that Ganassi may have things back on track.

Heading into 2008, Chip Ganassi has made yet another bold move by relieving Stremme of his driving duties and replacing him with yet another former open-wheel champion in Dario Franchitti. Franchitti is already an early favorite to win the Rookie of the Year honors this year and will have Montoya there to coach him on just what exactly he needs to do to make sure that happens. With Sorenson  slowly progressing each year and Montoya now having a full season of seat time under his belt, the future of Chip Ganassi Racing now hinges on whether or not Ganassi leading the charge for the open-wheel drivers to make the jump over to NASCAR will pay off or not. Over the course of the next few seasons I think it will, and this year we just might see a few more wins come out of the Ganassi camp.

Cup Series Roster:

40: Dario Franchitti – In 2008, he will become the first ever European born driver to compete full-time in NASCAR’s Cup Series, and he comes into the season as the all-time winningest driver in US open-wheel history to hail from Great Brittain. In 2007 not only did he capture the Indianapolis 500 – arguably the most prestigious race in all of motorsports – but, he also closed the season out by bringing home the IndyCar Series Championship. He heads into this season as one of four rookie drivers that formerly competed in open-wheels, but he has the advantage over all but Sam Hornish in the fact that he will begin the season already ranked in the top 35 in owner points thanks to last year’s efforts of David Stremme. That means that Franchitti will have guaranteed starts in the first five races of the season while Jacques Villeneuve and Patrick Carpentier will be forced to qualify each week based on time. While that’s definitely a huge plus for Franchitti, it also creates a lot of added pressure coming into the year knowing that you’re an early favorite for success and knowing that you have an advantage over most of the other rookies in your class. I think he’ll be able to handle the pressure. While he probably won’t win any races or record any top ten’s in those first five races, I believe he’ll finish well enough to maintain his status in the top 35 and ensure his starts throughout the course of the season. He’ll remain dangerous on both of the Cup Series visits to road courses, and I’d expect his season to finish out much like Montoya’s rookie year … perhaps slightly better.

41: Reed Sorenson – In his first two seasons in the Nextel Cup, Sorenson compiled a total of four top five’s and eleven top ten finishes, which is actually better than Casey Mears’ first two seasons in the series. His points finishes have been a very respectable 24th and 22nd, and he appears to be maturing on the track rather quickly. He’s really the least talked about driver in the Ganassi garage thanks to all the media hoopla surrounding the open-wheel surge into NASCAR, and that actually bodes well for Reed, giving him the opportunity to grow into this sport at his own pace without over-anticipation from the public. You should continue to see much more of the same from Reed in 2008, possibly competing for some wins here and there. He should be able to bring home about 7 or 8 top five’s on the season, and by the end of the year could possibly be competing for a top 15 spot in the points standings.

42: Juan Pablo Montoya – 2007’s Rookie of the Year recipient started the season off with a 19th place showing at the Daytona 500, and that’s about where he remained for the majority of the season. With the exception of his road course performances – particularly his win at Infineon – he very rarely looked spectacular on the track, but remained consistent enough to finish the year out ranked 20th in points. Now that the team knows that they’re able to translate Juan’s open wheel success into success at the road courses in a stock car, that’s one less item to mark off their list. They’re likely to be coming into this year with their primary focus centering around figuring out the intermediate tracks on the circuit, where they had an average finish last year of right around 22 over the span of 24 races. Attaining a certain degree of consistency at these tracks would enable Juan to not only compete for a top 15 points finish, but possibly even compete for a spot in this year’s Chase field. I think it’s a longshot at this point to look for that to happen, but I’d be willing to bet that he’ll crack that field at some point within the next three years.

Driver Roster: B-
Off-Season: B
2008 Outlook: B-

Post from: EveryJoe

Season Preview: Chip Ganassi Racing

1/26 – Dover International Speedway – known to racers as “the Monster Mile” – now has a 46’ tall statue known as “Miles” that will stand in the track’s newly created Victory Plaza.  The monument will be the largest attraction at any NASCAR track.  Read More.

1/26 – As Greg Biffle enters the final year of his contract at Roush Fenway Racing, he’s made it a point to state that while he’s listening to all options, staying with Roush is his first choice.  Biffle also talks about how the promotion of Robby Reiser is a huge plus for the organization.  Read More.

1/26 – Kenny Wallace has finally landed a ride in the Nationwide Series with Fitz Motorsports. The car number and sponsor have yet to be announced.  Read More.

1/26 – Team owner Chip Ganassi set a new record by winning three straight Rolex 24 events, this year with the team of Montoya, Franchitti, Rojas, and Pruett.  Read More.

1/28 – This year’s Daytona 500 will carry a record purse of $18,689,238 (about $300k more than 2007’s race).  Read More.

1/28 – The no. 19 Dodge driven by Elliot Saddler will have a tri-mary sponsors in 2008 with McDonald’s, Best Buy, and Stanley Tools all sharing the primary sponsorship role this year.  Read More.

1/28 – Dale Earnhardt Jr. is reportedly upset with the fact that DEI has supposedly removed any indications of his stint with the company since his departure from the team, though DEI claims it’s all a result of a mix-up.  Read More.

1/28 – Kyle Busch has announced that he will participate in the Track Walk at Las Vegas Motorspeedway on March 2. The Track Walk is an event held by the NASCAR Foundation in support of various charities.  Read More.

1/28 – NASCAR rookie Jacques Villeneuve has parted ways with his long-time agent, Craig Pollock.  Villeneuve stated that he no longer needs a manager to handle his affairs.  Read More.

1/29 – Juan Pablo Montoya turned in the fastest lap in the 2 days of Sprint Cup testing at Las Vegas Motorspeedway with a lap of 28.914 in the Tuesday afternoon session.  Read More.

1/29 – Max Papis, a car tester for Hendrick Motorsports, is reported to be looking for opportunities to run the road courses in the Sprint Cup Series this year in addition to his part-time Nationwide schedule for Rusty Wallace Inc.  Read More.

1/30 – Darlington Raceway has announced the debut of their “all-you-can-eat” ticket package.  Read More.

1/30 – “Inside Nextel Cup” on the Speed Channel has changed its name to “This Week in NASCAR” with Steve Byrnes taking over as the new host.  Drivers Michael Waltrip, Ken Schrader, and Greg Biffle will remain as panelists and will be joined by various Crew Chiefs, including Chad Knauss.  Read More.

1/30 – Braun Racing has signed Cup stars Brian Vickers, Kyle Busch, and Denny Hamlin to all run part-time schedules in the no. 10 and no. 31 Toyota Camri’s sponsored by Dollar General in the Nationwide Series this year.  Read More.

Post from: EveryJoe

Wednesday Mid-Week Wrap

I wonder what they would say to Scott Pruett?

Oh no!  Now they are telling him that they thought Formula 1 drivers were pretty aloof but he’s just a really nice guy.
At least when Elliott Sadler started asking questions, they were to the point.  And to Juan’s credit he gave some fairly straight answers.  Neither he nor Scott had won a Busch race yet – they were 1 – 2 and who knew when the yellow might drop.  He thought he was going to make a clean pass but in a split second it didn’t turn out that way.  OK – that’s reasonable – if it’s true.  I think many will be watching him closely over his first full year here.

Here’s the thing – it was just as much his attitude afterwards as it was his action on the track.

Now Chip Gannasi is on and he is very level-headed.  A cool customer and a very winning owner.  He has had Juan as a driver for a long time and if anyone can keep him grounded, his owner can.  I might have to suspend my disapproval for a bit.

It’s an interesting controversy that won’t probably go away soon.

Post from: EveryJoe

NASCAR Driver Juan Pablo Montoya