Seriously … I would like somebody to answer that question for me. Silly Season started way back in the first month of the season when Richard Childress announced that he would field a fourth race team next season, and it’s been hell ever since. But, once the media caught wind that Tony Stewart had expressed interest in ownership at the Sprint Cup level and that he’d been approached by Haas CNC Racing with such an offer in mind, the writers have had a field day with it, and rightfully so. The problem with it, though, is that Stewart’s under contract until the end of 2009 and JD Gibbs - president of Joe Gibbs Racing - came out and said straight up that under no circumstances would the team let Tony out of his contract early. Yet, everytime a name comes up as a possible candidate for Silly Season, Smoke’s name still seems to wind up in the mix. What gives?

Just the other day on ESPN2’s broadcast of NASCAR Now, Marty Smithson was asked about the situation brewing over at Hendrick Motorsports involving Casey Mears and the no. 5 team, and then about Mark Martin’s status for next year with DEI and if he could be making the move over to Hendrick. Marty stated that we should not expect to see Casey return next year with Hendrick and that DEI was looking to field Aric Almirola in the no. 8 car next season, but where Mears and Martin would wind up largely depended on what happens with Tony Stewart as “that decision still hasn’t been made”.

In the article I referenced the other day from Lee Spencer over at FoxSports, she, too, found it necessary to include Stewart in all of the Silly Season ramblings and possibilities. What gives, people? I mean, are we thinking that just because Joey Logano has come into the Nationwide Series and had the success that he has that all of the sudden Gibbs is okay with letting go of their two-time Cup Series champ? Newsflash: The team expected Logano to be this good, so that’s really not a factor in this decision. Besides, they must have all missed the part where Gibbs stated that their intent with Logano is to have him field a fourth Cup car.

I dunno … I just don’t get it. It seems to me like some of these folks are having a bit of trouble following the story all the way through. In my mind, Tony Stewart has absolutely nothing to do with what happens in the 2009 Silly Season, and why should he? This is a banner year for Gibbs in the fact that they’re the most dominant team on the track. They’ve got two stout young guns in the series with Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin, and those two are going to bring them a ton of wins for years to come. They’ve got Logano coming up through the ranks with a very promising road ahead of him. But, Tony Stewart is still the guy that completes this team. He’s the guy that’s won them the titles, and he’s the guy that the garage raves as one of - if not the best. Even if Gibbs did decide to flirt with the notion of running Logano full-time next season, would their chances of success suddenly increase with Stewart not in the lineup? Gimme a break.

No, Tony Stewart will not dictate, nor will he headline this year’s Silly Season, but Ryan Newman will. Jamie McMurray and Casey Mears are both very likely candidates to get released from their teams, and Newman’s an excellent candidate to fill either seat (though I still think a move for Martin to the no. 5 makes the most sense). But, if Newman decides to leave Penske - which he will - then, whether it’s Childress or Hendrick or Roush-Fenway, wherever he winds up, that team’s just going to get that much more potent.

Image details: Goody’s Cool Orange 500 Practice served by picapp.com

Austin Dillon, grandson of Richard Childress and driver of the famed no. 3 car in the Camping World East Series, currently sits in first place in the points standings. In just his first year in the series, after four starts, Austin has already accumulated a win, 2 top-five’s, and 3 top-ten finishes. His lone victory came in the opening race at Greenville Pickens Speedway back in April, and he also finished 2nd at South Boston Speedway in May.

The 18-year old Dillon is most known for the popular notion that he will one day drive the no. 3 car for Richard Childress Racing in the Sprint Cup Series. Childress retired the number following the death of Dale Earnhardt Sr. back in 2001, but Austin’s aspiration to drive the car number that he has driven since he was a small child could very well pursuade Richard to bring the car number back out of retirement.

With nine races remaining on the schedule, Dillon currently holds a 55 point lead over second place Brian Ickler, and 57 points over third place Steve Park. The series will return to the tracks at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on June 27th.

This week, I’ve decided to compile a list of the top-ten future potential stars in NASCAR. The basis for this list isn’t based purely on driving skill, but also on other aspects that can contribute to their future success such as their organization, or even gender.

10. Justin Allgaier - 21 years-old, currently driving in his third full season in the ARCA/REMAXX Series. Has compiled one victory in each of the past three seasons.

9. Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. - 20 years-old, has recorded 2 wins and 4 top-five’s through his first 20 races in the USAC Series.

8. Brad Keselowski - 24 years-old, currently driving in the Nationwide Series for Bob & Kay Keselowski. Currently 7th in points with 4 top-ten finishes.

7. Steve Wallace - The twenty-year-old son of Rusty Wallace; finished 17th in the Nationwide Series points standings last year, and currently 15th in points with a top-five and two top-ten’s.

6. Marcos Ambrose - The 30-year-old Australlian native has won several accolades in lesser series, and is known as an accomplished road racer. He’s turning that into some noticeable stock car success, and through two seasons has 2 top-five’s and 8 top-ten’s. He’s currently 16th in the Nationwide points standings.

5. Brad Coleman - Brad has a future with Joe Gibbs Racing, though the timeline is still a bit sketchy as long as JGR has Joey Logano in the waiting. He made his debut in the Nationwide Series this year and is currently 17th in points with one top-ten finish through ten races.

4. Austin Dillon - Being the grandson of Cup Series teamowner, Richard Childress, is sure to have its perks, and having the fortune to know that you can one day bring Dale Earnhardt’s former number back into NASCAR one day is one of them. He already has a win this season in the Camping World East Series, and is expected to win quite a few more before long.

3. Chrissy Wallace - She earned herself a top-20 finish in her first career start in the Craftsman Truck Series in March, and has recently signed a deal with Germain Racing that will have her competing full-time in 2009. With her family name, superior backing inside the NASCAR garage, and her appeal as a standout female star, big things could be on the horizon for Chrissy Wallace.

2. Aric Almirola - He’s scheduled to run a part-time schedule this year inside the no. 8 car for DEI that includes 12 races, the first of which came earlier in 2008 with a top-five run at Bristol. He’s currently slated to run full-time for the organization when Mark Martin goes into full retirement, which could be as early as next year.

1. Joey Logano - His future lies with Joe Gibbs Racing, producer of three Cup Series championships, and could have a pretty sweet deal lined up for himself depending on what Tony Stewart decides to do at the end of his contract in 2009. He recently won his first-ever start in the ARCA series a little over a week ago in Rockingham, and will make his first Nationwide start at the end of this month when he turns 18 years old.

Peyton Sellers won the season-opening Camping World East Series event this past weekend at Greenville-Pickens Speedway in Easley, SC for Andy Santerre Motorsports. Following the race, however, NASCAR officials found that the 16-year-old’s car was in possession of an illegal shock, and NASCAR in turn stripped him of his victory. This is the first time in recent memory that I believe NASCAR has stripped a driver in any series of a win for any rules infraction, but the team definitely feels like they’re being made an example of.

Santerre said to reporters, “Needless to say we are shocked and disappointed. We are being made an example … We admit there was a rules infraction, but it was a shock to us with as much as it was unintentional and unknown prior to post-race inspection.”

The team is obviously disappointed that they have been penalized with the loss of their race win on top of whatever other penalties NASCAR decides to hand to them, but to make matters worse, they deemed the car with a  30th place finish. The win was then awarded to Sellers’ teammate and original second-place finisher, Austin Dillon – grandson to Sprint Cup Series car owner, Richard Childress.

In Other News:
- Due to the Nationwide Series’ race in Talladega and the Craftsman Truck Series race in Kansas both being held on Saturday, Kyle Busch has conceded running the truck race this weekend. The series’ points leader will be replaced in the no. 51 Billy Ballew Motorsports truck by Shane Sieg. Shane has made 29 career starts in the truck series and has posted two top-ten finishes. One of those top-ten’s actually came behind the wheel of a Billy Ballew Motorsports truck last year at Loudon.

- Haas CNC Racing’s recent release of Jeremy Mayfield has left them scrambling for drivers week-to-week to fill the seat behind the wheel of their no. 70 Chevy Impala. The first week after firing Mayfield, they put Johnny Sauter in the car at Phoenix en route to a 37th place finish, and this weekend they’ll be hoping for better results with Ken Schrader at the helm. The team has recently locked on another driver for at least two of the season’s events with Max Papis scheduled to drive the car at both of the road course races in Watkins Glen and Infineon.

Richard Childress Racing won the fifth race of the season prior in Bristol prior to the Sprint Cup Series’ off-week, and after last week’s run in Martinsville, they’re now in control of the top two spots in the Sprint Cup points standings. But, that’s not what’s got them in the headlines this week. For a few years now Richard Childress has expressed interest in fielding a fourth race team in the Cup Series, and on Tuesday afternoon, they made that decision final.

In 2009, Childress will add the no. 33 Chevy Impala to their lineup, which already features the 07, 29, and 31 cars driven by Clint Bowyer, Kevin Harvick, and Jeff Burton. About a month ago rumors began to surface that if RCR were to create a fourth team that Bobby LaBonte could be the primary candidate to drive that car for Richard based on their past relationships. LaBonte is currently in the final year of his three-year contract with Petty Enterprises where he drives the no. 43 General Mills Dodge Charger. Tuesday’s announcement from RCR have made things a bit more interesting with LaBonte, because their announcement entailed the fact that they have already signed General Mills as the sponsor of the no. 33 car for next year.

Typically losing a single sponsor may not always seem life-threatening in the case of most teams, especially when you’re talking about a team that’s compiled more Cup Series victories in their tenure than any other race team in NASCAR history, which is exactly where Petty Enterprises sits. Despite their rich history, however, it hasn’t gone unnoticed that the team hasn’t won a race since John Andretti pulled into victory lane back in 1999. That stat – combined with the current situation in which many teams in NASCAR have been experiencing sponsorship woes the last couple of years – could spell trouble with a capital “T” for Petty. The scenario presently facing the team means that they’ll probably have to start looking at sponsors that are less concerned with the on-track statistics that the team puts out there, and more concerned with other things that the Petty group has to offer, mainly surrounding their charitable functions such as the Victory Junction Camp.

Therein lies the problem for Petty. It’s already no big secret that they’re middle-of-the-road in terms of funding, and they’re not fully capable of equipping their drivers with top-of-the-line equipment every week. Now, when you start talking about removing a huge sponsor like General Mills from the equation, and it starts to become about as clear as mud as to why any top tier driver in the sport would want to run under those conditions.

RCR has won six Cup Series Championships – all at the hands of the legendary Dale Earnhardt. Although they haven’t had the head seat at the Awards Banquet table in New York since the passing of “the Intimidator”, they’ve been right there knocking at the door on several occasions. In the past two seasons they’ve won a nine combined races between their three teams, and haven’t had a car finish worse than 17th in those two years, which was Clint Bowyer’s rookie season in ’06. Compare that to Petty’s nine-year winless drought and the fact that LaBonte’s 18th place run last year was the best points finish a Petty car has had in over a decade, and all the sudden the deck really starts becoming stacked against Petty Enterprises. LaBonte is a former series champion himself back in 2000, but his last win came in 2003 with Joe Gibbs Racing, and the veteran driver will turn 44 years old this May. In all reality, he may see this as an opportunity to reignite his career.

Coincidentally, the very same day that we learned of RCR’s signing of General Mills for 2009, Petty Enterprises also announced that Chad McCumbee will replace Kyle Petty behind the wheel of the no. 45 Dodge for this weekend’s Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway. There have been no mentions as to whether this is a one-time deal, or if the team has long-term plans of getting McCumbee some seat time in the Series, but the timing of this announcement strikes me as peculiar. The move could be merely the aftermath of Kyle failing to get his car inside the top-35 in owners points, and then missing the race in Martinsville. The other part of me, however, has a sneaking suspicion that this could be somewhat of an audition for Chad.

McCumbee is a regular to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, where he currently sits 13th in points with two top-ten’s in the four races the series has run this year. He also filled-in for Kyle last season at Pocono when he joined the broadcast team in the booth. My line of thinking here is that with the 45 car already outside of the top-35, then this team really has nothing to lose if McCumbee bombs. The organization as a whole, however, has plenty to gain in McCumbee if he were to run well and LaBonte were to leave Petty following this season.

The three RCR drivers are currently first, second, and twelfth in points with a combined 11 top-ten’s between them in the six races run so far this season. The two Petty Enterprise cars are currently listed twenty-first and fortieth in points with no top-ten’s between them.

DYN Imposes”:
This week, Do You Nascar also asks its readers …

1. Would signing with RCR in 2009 be the right career move for Bobby LaBonte?
2. What can Petty Enterprises do at this point to save their organization?
3. If RCR is unable to sign LaBonte for the no. 33 car, who are some other likely candidates?
4. Where would an RCR lineup that included LaBonte compare to Hendrick Motorsports and Roush Racing?

The six Winston Cups that Dale Earnhardt brought to the famed #3 Chevy team owned by Richard Childress Racing from 1984 to 2000 without a doubt legitimized the Childress organization in ways that even Richard himself had never dreamed possible. That legendary status suddenly (and sadly) came to a screeching halt at the 2001 Daytona 500, however, and we all know the story behind that. After renumbering the #3 to the #29 and replacing the legend with a rookie, Kevin Harvick appeared as though he might continue that legacy for RCR by bursting onto the scene with 2 wins, a 9th place points finish, and Rookie of the Year honors in ’01 – despite running only 35 races – but, that “success” story has had its ups and downs itself.

Although Harvick has been the only driver in succession to Earnhardt in the [now numbered] 29 car, Childress has struggled mightily in finding permanent fits for his other cars. Things have looked bleak at times, with only 16 wins for the entire organization since the death of Earnhardt Sr, but they really started picking up the momentum the last two years.  Harvick’s 2003 performance was the only top ten points finish for an RCR team from 2002 to 2005, but in ’06 Harvick and Jeff Burton both made the Chase for the Cup field, and in 2007, all three Childress cars wiggled their way into NASCAR’s “playoffs”.

There’s been a lot of talk in the garage and in the media that it may be up to RCR to knock Hendrick Motorsports down a notch or two, but there are still a lot of question marks that remain within the teams. While all three of the Childress drivers possess enormous talent and potential, they’ve all also been either streaky or unproven throughout their careers. RCR’s 2008 campaign will be determined by the answer to three questions:  1) Can Kevin Harvick remain consistent for the course of 36 races?  2) Is Jeff Burton’s driving career past his prime, or have the last two seasons told the true Burton story?  3) Was 2007 merely a fluke for the young Clint Bowyer?  I honestly don’t know the answer to those questions, in my mind making RCR the ultimate wildcard for 2008.

Cup Series Roster:

07: Clint Bowyer – After looking impressive at times in his 2006 rookie season, Bowyer finished only 17th in points that season, but he absolutely exploded last year. He picked up his first career Cup victory, recorded 17 top-ten finishes, and for the first half of the Chase for the Cup remained in contention with leaders Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson, finishing third overall. I don’t think he will finish even remotely close to that high in points again next year, and honestly, he’s not one of my favorites to make the Chase field. I’m expecting him to finish somewhere around 15th or 16th this year. He just hasn’t proven anything to me yet.

29: Kevin Harvick – Seven years in the Cup Series, and four of them spent inside the top ten in points. After frustrating years in 2004 and 2005 – finishing 14th in both – Harvick has rebounded nicely with 4th and 10th place finishes, winning six races in ’06 & ’07. Aside from his confrontation with Juan Pablo Montoya last year, he also seems to be leaving a lot of the drama off the track, and that could have a lot to do with it. His short career has already had numerous ups and downs to this point, but I believe he’s as legitimate now as people thought he was earlier on. I’m sticking to my earlier predictions … the 2007 Daytona 500 winner will go onto finish 5th in the points this year.

31: Jeff Burton – His move to RCR late in 2004 has absolutely re-ignited his career. If you recall, at the end of his tenure with Roush Racing, Jeff couldn’t even get a primary sponsor for his ride in most of the races, and finally his relationship with Jack Roush had to come to an end. Burton has qualified for the Chase field in each of the last two seasons and has won two races for Childress. Despite his recently re-found success, I often find myself struggling at the notion of Burton being a legitimate force on the track. Still, I can’t deny the consistency he’s shown in the Chevy’s … somewhere between 8th and 10th for Burton this year.

1/30 – Dale Earnhardt Jr. has now reported that the comments he made in regards to DEI removing his memorabilia from their headquarters were mischaracterized and that there are no ill feelings over the situation.  Read More.

1/30 – Richard Petty will waive the green flag at this year’s Daytona 500, a race that “the King” has won himself on seven different occasions.  Read More.

1/30 – Hershey’s is honoring racing legend Dale Earnhardt by releasing four limited edition collector chocolate bars this month depicting different images of “the Intimidator”.  Read More.

1/30 – Richard Childress is among eight inductees this year into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame.  Read More.

1/31 – Billboards at Texas Motor Speedway promoting the Sprint Cup Series’ visit to the track with the wording “Reason # 88: Step-Mom” are being replaced at the request of Kelly Earnhardt, Dale’s sister.  The billboard will now read “Reason # 88: New Car Smell”.  Read More.

1/31 – Johnny Benson ran the fastest lap in the four testing sessions for the Nationwide Series held this week at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He turned in a lap of 29.552 in his no. 20 Toyota.  Read More.

1/31 – Cunningham Motorsports has announced that they will expand to the Craftsman Truck Series this year. CHM is already a top competitor in the ARCA Series and is now seeking drivers and sponsors for 2008 to run the trucks.  Read More.

2/1 – Robby Gordon Motorsports has signed a new partnership to align the race team with that of Gillette-Evernham Motorsports. Per the terms of the deal, Gordon’s single car operation will field Dodge’s on the track in 2008, and in return will receive the financial and sponsorship assistance he’s lacked in recent years.  Read More.

2/1 – Due to new state laws in Tennessee banning smoking in most public facilities, smoking at Bristol will now be restricted to the concourse areas.  Read More.

2/1 – Denny Hamlin led the pre-season Sprint Cup testing at California by turning a lap of 39.447 seconds in his no. 11 Joe Gibbs Toyota in the Thursday morning session.  Read More.

1/26 – Richard Childress has signed Stephen Leicht to compete in at least 2 races for his no. 21 Nationwide Series team.

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.

It’s great to see that Mike Skinner is having success in the Craftsman Truck Series, but I’ve often wondered why he struggled so much in the Cup cars (as they were called back then). He won the Dayton 500 pole in 1997, his rookie season, and it seemed to be the start of a great career. In 1999 he finished the season 9th in points and got sit at the “big table” for NASCAR’s end of year jubilee at the Waldorf Astoria. Things were looking up in the ‘Cup cars.

By 2000 however, he was starting to have a string of bad luck, with broken parts, bad decisions, and even worse driving at times, and it wasn’t long before he was starting to sound very bitter during on-track interviews (and usually after finishing a race early). He even implied to more than one NASCAR reporter that he felt his team wasn’t getting the full attention of Richard Childress during his struggles. In 2001, Childress let him go, and he in 2002 and 2003, he drove for Morgan-McClure Motorsports, but by that time, his ‘Cup gig was pretty much over, and he bolted for the Truck Series.

I have to believe that Skinner has earned some respect in the garage area, and it would be great to see a multi-car team give him another chance to see if he really has what it takes to make it in the Nextel Cup series.

Is Michael Waltrip the right man to lead Toyota’s march into NASCAR? Based on results from the 1st quarter of the season, I’d say definitely not. He committed a cardinal blunder in the first race of the season (Daytona 500) by entering a car that was caught with illegal fuel additives. How does this happen? Especially when you’re trying to make a great impression, not only to your new owners (Toyota, Inc), but NASCAR, your peers, and everyone else that are stakeholders in your team. And things have gone progressively downhill since then for Waltrip’s racing team.

What I don’t understand is why Waltrip was picked to actually run the entire organization. Yes, Waltrip is great at marketing his team and sponsors, week-in and week-out, and this has always been his strength. He’s always come across as somewhat goofy,but he’s everyman’s type of racer, and that sells in the greater NASCAR markets. But this hardly makes him qualified to manage and run an entire business organization. He’s been racing for 22 years in NASCAR and has 4 wins to his name, all when he was with Dale Earnhardt, Inc., and all on restrictor plate races. So he doesn’t bring a winning record to Toyota either.

And you have to wonder why didn’t Waltrip go to Rick Hendrick, Robert Yates, Joe Gibbs, and Richard Childress to pick their brains as much as possible. People make great organizations. Not technology. This has been true of successful businesses for ions and its no different in auto racing. If I’m Toyota, I give Waltrip to the July Daytona race to turn things around for at least one of his cup teams, and if not, then I’m looking for someone else.