Transactions:
- Hendrick Motorsports has announced the release of Casey Mears for next season.
- Richard Childress Racing has extended Clint Bowyer’s contract through 2011.
- Roush-Fenway Racing has extended Greg Biffle’s contract through 2011.
- Gillette-Evernham Motorsports has signed Elliott Sadler through 2010.
- Richard Childress Racing has announced the addition of the #33 car as a fourth Cup team in 2009.
- Petty Enterprises has signed Bobby LaBonte through 2012.
- Roush-Fenway Racing has signed Carl Edwards through 2011.
- Due to a lack of sponsorship, Chip Ganassi Racing is forced to shut down the no. 40 car driven by Dario Franchitti for the remainder of the season.
- Hendrick Motorsports has signed Mark Martin to drive the no. 5 car full-time in 2009 and part-time in 2010.
- Tony Stewart announced his departure from Joe Gibbs Racing to go to Stewart Haas Racing (formerly Haas CNC Racing) as a 50% owner and a full-time driver in 2009.
- Ryan Newman has announced that he will not re-sign with Penske Racing for the 2009 season.
- JTG Dougherty Racing has signed Marcos Ambrose to drive their new no. 47 entry in the Sprint Cup Series next year.
- Martin Truex Jr. has re-signed with DEI for the 2009 season.
- HOF Racing has released JJ Yeley and will replace him with Brad Coleman in the no. 96 car.

Teams Without an Assigned 2009 Driver:
- Dale Earnhardt Inc. - No. 01 car
- Penske Racing - No. 12 car
- Stewart Haas Racing - No. 4 car
- Dale Earnhardt Inc. - No. 15 car
- Joe Gibbs Racing - No. 20 car
- Wood Brothers Racing - No. 21 car
- Bill Davis Racing - No. 22 car
- Yates Racing - No. 28 car
- Richard Childress Racing - No. 33 car
- Furniture Row Motorsports - No. 34 car
- Chip Ganassi Racing - No. 41 car

Drivers Without a Definitive 2009 Ride:
- Regan Smith
- Casey Mears
- Ryan Newman
- Paul Menard
- Dave Blaney
- Travis Kvapil
- Tony Raines
- Reed Sorenson
- Scott Riggs
- JJ Yeley
- Johnny Sauter
- Jeremy Mayfield
- David Stremme
- Jacques Villeneuve
- Kenny Wallace
- Ken Schrader
- Ward Burton
- Dario Franchitti

*Credit photo to Newscom.

After what most would consider to be an unsuccessful run with Joe Gibbs Racing to get his career started in the Sprint Cup Series, it didn’t take JJ Yeley long to once again find himself looking for work. Hall of Fame Racing announced on Wednesday that they were parting ways with Yeley in favor of 20 year old, Brad Coleman.

Coleman will run his first race with the team on August 17th at Michigan, as the team already made plans to run road course specialist, PJ Jones, in the car this weekend at Watkins Glen. Michigan will mark Brad’s official debut in the Sprint Cup Series after just two season of competing in the Nationwide Series, during which he has compiled 3 top-five and 6 top-ten finishes. He’s going to have his work cut out for him as he takes over the reigns of the no. 96 car, which currently sits 38th in car owner points.

“J.J. is a talented race car driver and a great person and this was a difficult decision to make,” said Tom Garfinkel, co-owner of HOF Racing. “We all share responsibility that our performance hasn’t been what it needs to be, but we concluded it was time to make a change.

“I really appreciate Jeff Moorad and Tom for giving me this opportunity,” Coleman said. “I have really enjoyed my time testing with the people on the team and I’m looking forward to having a successful weekend at Michigan in the DLP HDTV Toyota and helping Hall of Fame Racing finish out the season as strong as possible.”

I’d like to welcome Bruce Simmons back to the forum this week as he is now officially back from his trip. Bruce, it’s good to have ya back. I’d also like to thank Roc for stepping up to the plate for us last week in his absence and keeping this alive. And, of course, with us as always is Charlie Turner from On Pit Row. Now, let’s get started.

At the end of April, future NFL Hall of Famer, Randy Moss, announced that he was looking to break into NASCAR as a team owner, more specifically in the Craftsman Truck Series in 2009. With Moss’ announcement immediately came speculation that he would get his team into a few races prior to the end of this season, and rumors began to fly surrounding the team’s manufacturer, sponsor, and affiliates. Many even believed that Moss would land one of the bigger stars from the Sprint Cup Series to debut his truck.

The rumors were finally laid to rest two months later when Moss announced that he had bought into Morgan-Dollar Motorsports as a part-owner, and that the team would be renamed Moss Motorsports. They renumbered the truck #81 in favor of Moss’ jersey number, and the new team debuted at Kentucky Speedway in July with Willie Allen behind the wheel, finishing 15th.

Things continue to evolve for the race team, however, as they have recently announced an agreement that will put two-time Sprint Cup champion, Jimmie Johnson, behind the wheel of the no. 81 truck at Bristol on August 20th. Johnson has never in his career competed in a Craftsman Truck race, and some feel that it may be the result of the partnership between Lowe’s - Johnson’s Sprint Cup sponsor - and Kobalt Tools, which will sponsor the #81 entry in the truck race.

Q: Is Randy Moss’ recent 50% purchase of what is now Moss Motorsports good for the sport?

TZ: I know there’s a lot of fans out there that probably only see this deal go down on the surface and immediately think to themselves, ‘oh, that’s crap’. Let me tell you, I don’t care if he’s white, black, or yellow, Randy Moss is a smart businessman, and he’s grown up an avid fan of racing. I also like the non-NASCAR star power that he brings to our sport, and it’s already taking its effect by putting Jimmie Johnson in a Craftsman Truck race for the first time in his career next month at Bristol. In my book, kudos to Randy Moss for venturing down this path.

Bruce:  I think it will bring a different demographic to the sport to some degree as Randy Moss fans might just tune in to see what this is about.  Right?  Maybe?  We can hope.  New fans are always a good thing, regardless of how many or few.

Charlie:  It is a step forward in NASCAR’s drive for diversity. But Randy Moss is an OWNER. He isn’t going to bring any star power to the sport beyond this initial slash of publicity as his new venture is announced. Do you doubt this. If so, name for me  - quick - three other Craftsman Truck team owners. If you can do it, look at the names and then quantify how many fans those owners bring to the races. Did Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman bring a bunch of Cowboys football fans to NASCAR? If Moss can hang in  for more than three years and build his team into something more than it is today, then he will have accomplished something significant.

Want more? The “Loose in Turn 3″ trio answers three questions each and every week, so be sure to check out the other sites to get the rest of our weekly discussion.

Over at On Pit Row, we answer “Should Tony Stewart look for the hot, young prospect, maybe someone from the open wheel ranks, instead of a current, high dollar star like Ryan Newman for his second car at Stewart-Haas?”

And, we conclude our talks over at Bruce’s Bits ‘n’ Pieces, where the question was posed, “With Tony Stewart acting out over in USAC, what’s that about? I thought he had gotten a grip on his outbursts? Do you think the stress of starting up a new team might be getting to him?”

Image details: Super Bowl XLII served by picapp.com

That’s right, folks, arguably the most talented Wide Receiver playing in the National Football League has decided to make a major multi-million dollar business decision, and it’s got NASCAR written all over it. Randy Moss, star WR for the New England Patriots, announced this past Tuesday the official formation of Moss Motorsports, LLC and his intent for the team to race a partial schedule in the Craftsman Truck Series as early as in the second half of this year, with a full-time schedule on his radar for 2009.

With sponsorship and personnel to be announced at a later date, Moss admitted that it would probably make more sense for the organization to attempt to find a driver with a veteran status that can get them into Victory Lane as quickly as possible, rather than attempting to build a team from the ground up centered around an unproven talent as many other race teams have attempted. Moss does not currently have anyone in mind, though, but is already scouting the market to see who will be available.

In terms of sponsorship, this is likely to be an area that Moss should find very little resistance. Aside from being one of the most marketable athletes in professional sports, the single season receptions record holder has purchased several local businesses, and has aligned himself with a slew of others. Though some of these companies may not necessarily serve as a full-time primary sponsor for his team, Moss does believe that these businesses will be delighted at any opportunities they may have to reach out to a new audience through this avenue. To help expedite matters, he has also contracted out with Integrity Sports Marketing LLC, one of the leading marketing companies for NASCAR.

Something that many of you may not know already, is that this is not the first venture in the racing world for Moss. He has been involved with sponsorship for local dirt track racing, and has also served as an ambassador for the Urban Youth Racing School. And, as we all know, he is certainly not the first person from the NFL to throw their hat into the NASCAR arena. A few years ago, hall of fame Quarterbacks, Troy Aikman and Roger Staubach, teamed together to form Hall of Fame Racing which they later sold towards the end of 2007. Oh, and it’s rumored that a former head coach by the name of Joe Gibbs may have something to do with the sport as well.

Moss told the media on Tuesday, “I am by nature a very competitive person and this is an outlet for me to compete at another level. There are some pretty awesome challenges in building a program like this from the ground up, but I am looking forward to it.”

The addition of Randy Moss to NASCAR’s roster is certain to be viewed as a positive step for the sport as it continues to evolve and reach out in their diversity programs. In the last few years, NASCAR has has already added drivers with immense international popularity, such as Juan Pablo Montoya and Dario Franchitti, and just earlier this year Chrissy Wallace signed a deal in the truck series that is expected to draw a larger female audience. This could prove valuable in their search for an untapped urban fanbase.

For more opinions and insight on this topic, please be sure to read Moss Motorsports to Hit NASCAR Tracks Running over at Full Throttle.