Business as usual is the cry at Penske Racing this week as they access the results of their last race and prepare for the race this week at Richmond International Raceway amid Chrysler filing for bankruptcy protection Thursday and rumors of Dodge being forced to pull their support for their NASCAR efforts.

Dodge support is rumoured to be in trouble in NASCAR

It seems weird that these events would be occurring at a time when a Dodge driver stands triumphant in the lead of NASCAR’s premier series point’s standings after over a year of absence, the last driver to do so was Ryan Newman after victory in the 2008 Daytona 500 in a Penske-powered vehicle.

The negative tone a bankruptcy proceeding creates in the minds of many people hearing of these events is usually warranted, but in this case probably not likely to be true. In fact, a bankruptcy for a troubled company with viable assets and the ability to make the company financially viable in the current economic climate, like Chrysler certainly can, might in the long run make Chrysler much stronger and able to handle a future with new economic truths.

Richard Petty Motorsports, which has 4 Dodge cars in the Sprint Cup Series, has stated recently that they have been assured that Dodge will continue its NASCAR interests, that Dodge’s involvement in NASCAR is important to their overall marketing program, and an essential element to their future plans.

The bankruptcy proceedings are merely a chance to reorganize Chrysler’s balance sheet and the financial structure of the company as a whole. The employees apparently still show up for work at Chrysler and daily operations continue as before the bankruptcywas  announcement, accept for a few holiday announcements and the like.

All this has probably let the air out of the balloon that was poised above Busch’s head. Finally in the points lead after 149 races, a length of time that spans from the Las Vegas race in March 2005 to the present, and with three cars running in NASCAR’s premier series, he was probably expecting to see that balloon burst.

Busch and Penske Racing for their part have stated they feel confident in the strength of their relationship with Dodge despite the bad news for Chrysler and that they fully expect everything to continue as normal. That they really have no choice but to keep going as if nothing has changed and hope that Dodge is able to keep their end of the bargain, and that they will continue their relationship through-out the remaining years of their contract with Dodge.

Images: Newscom

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

Some would say that it’s been a trying season for Goodyear in 2008 as they continue to work on developing new tires to coincide with NASCAR’s latest project, the Car of Tomorrow. Things got heated early in the season between Goodyear’s racing group and some of the drivers in the garage area, particularly after Atlanta when several of the drivers bashed the tire in public forums. You might recall one man inparticular’s rants regarding the tires as they made headlines for several weeks. Yes, I’m referring of course to Tony Stewart.

It seemed as though things had finally cooled off between all parties involved until just a couple of weeks ago at Indianapolis. It was the first time NASCAR had ever taken the COT to Indy, and the tires that Goodyear brought to the track were inadequate to say the least. The end result was NASCAR waiving a competition caution about every 10 laps and the reviews for the event were terrible.

After a week long of apologies from both NASCAR and Goodyear, both parties were presented with a golden opportunity to redeem themselves during the Nationwide race in Montreal. With bad weather on the horizon, NASCAR decided to break out their inventory of “grooved” Goodyear tires, marking the first time grooved tires had ever been run in a NASCAR points race. The experiment was a tremendous success, and talk about the Indy tire fiasco has been slim to none ever since.

This week, the “Loose in Turn 3″ trio will take a look at the situation and decide the overwhelming success of the rain tires and a solid week at Pocono does in fact take Goodyear off the hook, or if they feel that there are still too many unanswered questions to make that call just yet.

Q: Did Goodyear finally clear their name in NASCAR with the success of their rain tires in Montreal?

TZ: They’re not completely out of the woods just yet, but for the most part, I would say yes. I was pretty upset with the fiasco that took place at Indy, and there’ve been a few other times this season I wasn’t thrilled with their output, but running in the rain at Motreal without any tire issues was a huge plus, and then they were able to follow it up with a successful day in Pocono as well. There are obviously a few tracks that they still need to get some things figured out, but all in all, they’ve rebounded quite nicely.

Bruce:  I’d expect more from a division of a tire company that is supposed to be making racing tires and not rubber confetti at Indianapolis.  Indy was a phenomenal waste of time and they should have tried something else rather than let NASCAR dole out a series of 10-lap trophy dashes, but without the trophy.  I don’t see this weekend as a rebound as much as it is, a “It’s about time they got it back on track.  Now let’s keep it there!”

Charlie:  Goodyear didn’t need to “clear their name”. In fact, NASCAR once
again put Goodyear’s good name at risk by using six year old rubber in a
featured race. They lucked out that the tires didn’t fail. NASCAR flipped
a coin again, just as they did at Indy. Goodyear makes tens of thousands
of race tires that are used at hundreds of races every week. A couple of
high profile failures should be expected when the company is trying to
make a NASCAR work in progress - the vaunted CoT - look better than it is.

the Rest of the Discussion:
There’s still plenty more to read this week from the “Loose in Turn 3″ guys. Make sure you take a trip over to On Pit Row where Charlie asks the question, “Who is the Best Crew Chief in the Sprint Cup Garage Right Now?“, and then head over to Bruce’s NASCAR Bits ‘n’ Pieces where we debate the motive behind Martin Truex Jr.’s Decision to Remain at DEI.

*Credit photo to Newscom.

Martin Truex Jr. finally put an end to the many rumors that surrounded a potential move for him to Stewart-Haas Racing, Richard Childress Racing, and Penske Racing in 2009 when he and the suits at Dale Earnhardt Inc. finally inked a deal on Wednesday that will have him returning to the no. 1 car next season.

It was reported over a week ago that Truex and DEI had reached a verbal agreement that would extend Truex with the organization through the 2010 racing season. Those rumors have not come to fruition, as Truex’ future beyond next year remains unclear, but several sources are reporting that both sides are still working on a longer term deal.

The deal will also put Bass Pro Shops back on the hood as the primary sponsor for Truex. They are currently committed to DEI through 2010. DEI has already signed Aric Almirola to replace Mark Martin in the no. 8 car full-time next year, and they are still working on a long-term deal with Paul Menard.

Despite being handed his walking papers from Hendrick Motorsports when the team announced at the end of June that Casey Mears would no longer be the driver of the no. 5 car in 2009, it’s not exactly the end of world for Mears. Really, if it had to happen, it couldn’t have happened in a better year with seats still remaining open at Richard Childress Racing, Penske Racing, and technically, even Stewart-Haas Racing for next season.

With Roger Penske and Ryan Newman recently announcing their split at the end of the year, the no. 12 ride at Penske has now become one of the more highly touted rides available for ‘09. Though early signs have indicated that the team may opt take the easy and less negotiable route by signing their current Sprint Cup test driver, David Stremme, to drive the car, one has to wonder if it doesn’t actually just make too much sense for Roger and company to head in another direction and start focusing on a potential deal that would land Mears in that car next season.

For starters, Casey’s uncle - 4-time Indy 500 winner, Rick Mears - spent more than 15 years driving for Penske in the open wheel ranks, and still works as a consultant for the organization. Casey’s father, Roger Mears, also competed in 4 Indy 500’s running a Penske chassis, so there’s definitely some family ties between Penske and the Mears family.

Additionally, upon his retirement from the Penske organization and racing altogether in 2005, the legendary Rusty Wallace petitioned for Roger to look at Casey as a candidate to fill his shoes in the famed no. 2 “Blue Deuce”, though the team ultimately decided to go with 2004 Cup champion, Kurt Busch.

At that time, Mears was still racing for Chip Ganassi Racing, which also runs out of the Dodge Racing camp - the same manufacturer of choice as Penske. Casey failed to put together a winning effort while running for Ganassi as he didn’t reach that pinnacle until 2007 with Hendrick, but he did experience his best points season with them in ‘06 when he finished 14th overall in the points standings.

Mears could arguably be the most established driver on the free agent market available to Penske, pending a fallout in the ongoing negotiations between Martin Truex Jr. and DEI, though the rumor mill there has Truex potentially joining the ranks of RCR should he happen to leave.

It’s no huge secret that Ryan Newman and Rusty Wallace were never exactly the closest of friends during the few short years that they teamed together at Penske Racing earlier this decade, and their relationship was again tested this past weekend at Indianapolis, and it was Rusty that fired the opening shots.

Baffled at the notion that anyone would ever dare leave a man that he has such deep respect for, Roger Penske and his organization, Rusty allegated that it was Penske Racing’s decision to let Newman go and that they’d fired him.

“He didn’t leave,” Wallace stated. “I’ve read many, many stories that said that. Roger Penske called Ryan Newman up to his office and said, ‘I don’t need your services next year.’ Ryan Newman didn’t come to him and say ‘I’m leaving.’ Ok? You all need to write about that. That’s exactly how it went down. Obviously there was some bad blood there when that happened. I love Roger Penske, so I’m going to help clear the story up for him.”

Newman was later addressed by the media about Rusty’s comments. Always the witty one, and never one to let himself get pushed around, Newman’s responses did not disappoint.

When asked if Rusty’s comments upset him, Newman responded, “Was he concious when he said it? …. It doesn’t matter to me. I know Rusty and his personalities - plural - and, everybody is different.”

Rusty was always apprehensive of Newman ever since the day that the Daytona 500 winner joined Penske Racing full-time back in 2002, and the two have never been on the same page ever since. The bad blood there could have a lot to do with the statements that Rusty made, but then again, there are probably few people in the sport as close to Penske as Wallace is. It is a bit shocking, however, that as one of NASCAR’s distinct faces in the broadcast booth now with ESPN taking the helm for the current portion of the Sprint Cup schedule, that Rusty would be so blatant in calling out one of the drivers, particularly one he has a history with. Darrell Waltrip caused quite a stir when he found himself in similar situation when he was bashing on Tony Stewart week after week, and many fans still take an anti-DW stance because of comments he made during that span.

Martin Truex Jr. has been one of the names mentioned these past few months as one of the top candidates to make a move to some of the vacated seats that teams are offering up for 2009, to include Stewart Haas Racing, RCR, Joe Gibbs Racing, and Penske. David Newton over at ESPN.com recently attempted to squash all of those rumors in an article that he posted stating that not only had Truex come to an agreement with his current team, Dale Earnhardt Inc, that would keep him in the no. 1 car in 2009, but that the deal would also carry all the way through 2010 with a myriad of sponsors taking the front hood of the car throughout that duration.

With Newton breaking the news Saturday morning, Truex was the target of the media following the practice session being run at Indianapolis Motor Speedway a few hours later. When the reporters approached Martin to get their answers about the contract signing, though, they were in for quite a shock.

“It’s bull****,” Truex said. “I don’t know what the hell Newton is talking about. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”

Truex has been in ongoing negotiations with DEI throughout this entire year. It appeared as though things had been finalized a few months ago when the team announced they’d picked up their 2010 option on him, but Truex later denied the legality of the contract, and several sources indicated that he could get out of it if he wanted. Don’t let all of this fool you, though, as the likelihood of him returning with the team next season remains very high.

“We’ve been talking a lot,” he added. “Things have been going well. We’re working on some stuff, and that’s what I told him.”

ESPN.com has been the target of several critics in the NASCAR media for some of their off-beat reporting throughout the year. On several occasions they have reported stories that highly contradicted what several other sources were saying, but then again, they haven’t always been wrong. They did, afterall, get the Tony Stewart / Haas CNC Racing deal correct after several other had already given up on it, but I wouldn’t say that they’re exactly batting 1.000 either.

As most predicted, Tony Stewart and Stewart Haas Racing’s announcement on Friday afternoon brought to a close at least two of the lingering mysteries surrounding the team’s future for 2009. Stewart announced that the side of his car next season would be labeled with the no. 14, previously made famous by his racing idol and longtime friend, AJ Foyt. They also announced that the second team car will carry the no. 4, which was the first car number Stewart raced with, way back when he was still racing Go-Karts.

Additionally, Stewart announced that the team has partnered with both Office Depot and Old Spice as the primary sponsor for the no. 14 next season. Old Spice, with whom Tony has had a long-standing relationship with in the Nationwide Series, will sponsor the car for 16 races, with Office Depot carrying the weight for the other 20. This deal seems to work well for both companies as Office Depot was unable to foot the bill that it would have cost them to return with Carl Edwards’ no. 99 team over at Roush-Fenway Racing in 2009, and it also gives Old Spice their break into the Sprint Cup Series.

Near the end of the press conference, Stewart was, of course, confronted with the question of who would drive the second car for Stewart Haas Racing in 2009.

“It’s about three guys right now,” Stewart said. “You look out there and there are not a lot of guys available to begin with that we think would fit the program. It’s down to three at most, and realistically two.”

About two hours after Stewart’s press conference, reporters also caught up with Ryan Newman, the alleged front-runner to drive what we now know is the no. 4 car. As you’d probably expect, Newman was fronted with similar questions pertaining to his future employer.

“One. I have it prett well narrowed down. For me right now, it’s more a matter of paperwork and finalizing everything before I can announced something,” Newman stated. “I don’t have a contract to drive anyplace right now, nothing on paper. I have offers and I am choosing the best one.”

Tony was also asked if he’d spoken with Newman how he felt about the car being numbered 4, to which Stewart responded, “I haven’t asked Ryan or the other two how they feel about any car numbers right now. It’s more about trying to figure out if they are going to be the right person for the organization and which one of them is really interested in us.”

Other drivers on or potentially on the free agent market thta are considered to be lead prospects for a move to Stewart Haas Racing include Martin Truex Jr. and Casey Mears. Truex is still working out his 2009 option and a possible extension with DEI, whereas Mears was recently released from Hendrick Motorsports for next season.

Newman, on the other hand, had previously stated that there were really only three options he was considering upon his departure from Penske Racing. Most people have believed those options to be Stewart Haas, the no. 33 car at Richard Childress Racing, or possibly even taking Stewart’s current ride, the no. 20 over at Joe Gibbs Racing. Most people believe, however, that the young Joey Logano is likely to wind up in the 20 car.

served by picapp.com

Several sources are indicating that Tony Stewart and his newly formed Stewart-Haas Racing are expected to make an announcement this Friday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. While many people are quick to jump to the conclusion that this announcement will put a close to the highly anticipated second driver scenario, that does not appear to be the case. Instead, Stewart is expected to officially announce that his car next season will be the no. 14 - the same number driven by racing legend, AJ Foyt - and, that he has come to an agreement that will partner Office Depot and Old Spice as his primary sponsors in 2009.

The general concensus is that Ryan Newman, who recently announced his departure from Penske Racing next season, will eventually be tabbed as the second driver for Stewart’s organization. While Newman says that he’s getting close to finalizing his decision on who he will drive for next season and Stewart says that they’re narrowing down their choices for a second driver, Newman is not expected to be involved in any announcements over the racing weekend.

Thanks to Richard Matson with SnagFilms for forwarding this video to me. This is a documentary dedicated to the career of racing legend, Rusty Wallace, former driver of the no. 2 car at Penske Racing and winner of the 1989 Winston Cup Championship. The documentary was filmed prior to the conclusion of Rusty’s racing career. Watch as he talks about the fans in the sport, his passion for driving, and his desire to win the Daytona 500.