Menard was one of two drivers at DEI that had a full sponsor, but he will be taking that with him to Yates. Now, only Martin Truex, Jr. is left at DEI with a full sponsor. Menard has gone 68 career races with reaching the winner’s circle and posted only one top 10 finish in his career at DEI. Menard’s first race for Yates will be in 2009.

Speed will be joining the NASCAR Sprint Cup series after running in the Craftsman Truck Series. Speed will begin running the No. 84 car on Oct. 19 at Martinsville. Speed was able to run a test on the Red Bull car at Lowe’s Motor Speedway last week. However, Mike Skinner will run the next two races in the No. 84 car, including at Lowe’s Speedway, before Speed takes the wheel.

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Speed and Menard make headlines in changes

Allmendinger started the race in 14th and moved up to a high of sixth place in the race, yet finished in ninth. “I always feel like I have something to prove, especially when you’re told you might not be the guy that’s going to be back next year,” said Allmendinger after the race.

It’s been rumored that Allmendinger will be replaced by Scott Speed. However, I would expect Allmendinger to land with another team in time for the 2009 Sprint Cup season.

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Allmendinger impresses at Kansas

Image details: Pocono 500 Qualifying served by picapp.com

With Aric Almirola now slated to drive the no. 8 car full-time for DEI next season, it appears as though the driver / mentor program that the organization set out to accomplish with veteran driver, Mark Martin, is now coming to a close. With Silly Season already in full effect, rumors are now circulating that Mark could announce his plans for the 2009 Sprint Cup season this weekend at Daytona, as reported by SPEED’s Wendy Venturini.

With the Silly Season talks turning into a chess match – or, even a poker game if you will – do not underestimate the importance of what the perennial Hall of Famer could have to say this weekend. Despite the fact that most people feel that Tony Stewart and Hendrick Motorsports are holding all the face cards in the deck, Mark Martin could very well have a lot to say in who winds up where by the start of the 2009 season.

After all of the early speculation that Stewart could be looking for an early release from his current contract with Joe Gibbs Racing to move to Haas CNC Racing in a deal that would involve Tony gaining partial ownership of the team, many sources have since refuted those rumors, stating that Stewart is now pushing back plans for ownership of a Cup team until after he officially retires. If these latest reports hold true, then that makes Hendrick Motorsports’ no. 5 car – recently made available with the release of Casey Mears – more than likely the only seat with enough drawing power to lure Stewart away from Gibbs prior the conclusion of 2009. Likewise, this could very well take Haas CNC right out of the Silly Season game as a major player, as without Stewart on their immediate lineup, the likelihood of landing a name like Ryan Newman or Martin Truex Jr. in this upcoming offseason is slim to none.

That said, Mark Martin should be looking at one of three possible options for next season: A) Running a part-time schedule on another driver / mentor program; B) Running a full season in an effort to finally win his elusive first Cup championship; or C) Retire altogether. Whichever of those options Martin chooses to pursue, his decision could be directly linked to what the other big names for this off-season decide to do as well. Here’s how each of the three scenarios could play out:

A) Part-Time Schedule:
Should Mark decide that he’s found his beckoning as a mentor to rookie drivers at this stage in his career, then there’s two viable options that immediately stick out – splitting time in the no. 5 car with Brad Keselowski to help bring him through the ranks at Hendrick, or hooking up with Red Bull Racing in an effort to get Scott Speed ready for a career in the Sprint Cup Series. If he does in fact hook up with Hendrick, then what that does is keep Tony Stewart at Gibbs for another year, and also probably keeps Newman with Penske on a short-term deal. Additionally, this would likely give Roush-Fenway Racing a reason to hold onto Jamie McMurray through the ‘09 season because they have a different agenda than the other major players involved. In 2010 they’ll lose one of their five team cars, and they’ve already locked up Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth, and Greg Biffle to long-term deals and are working on one with David Ragan. Essentially, even if they were to release McMurray, they still don’t have a long-term ride to offer.

If Martin were to take the path towards Red Bull Racing, however, this would then open the doors for a potential move of Tony Stewart or Ryan Newman to Hendrick, which in turn, would then open a seat at either Penske or Gibbs – possibly both if Stewart went to Hendrick, and Newman took the no. 20 seat at JGR. In this scenario, Casey Mears could then wind up driving the no. 12 car for Roger Penske.

B) Full-Time Schedule:
There’s been talk of Mark possibly coming back next season to run full-time, and again, the early speculation was that he would run for Hendrick. This scenario would pretty much play out in the same manner as if he went there on a driver / mentor program, with the exception being that with the team not investing any time or money into the development of Brad Keselowski, Tony Stewart could still wind up with the team in 2010 after Mark retires for good.

But, if Mark’s goal is to run a full-season next year, then I don’t think Hendrick is where he’ll wind up. The possibility that nobody’s talking about, and is actually possibly my favorite, is that Jack Roush releases McMurray at the conclusion of the season, and with the no. 26 car’s final season being 2009 anyway, Mark returns to Roush for one final hoorah. This would give Roush-Fenway an additional bonafide championship contender for ‘09 without forsaking any of their long-term commitments, and would also give Mark the opportunity to retire ‘at home’. This scenario also solves very little in the rest of the Silly Season mele’, as that leaves the slot at Hendrick unresolved, which in turn leaves the decisions for the rest of the teams and drivers unresolved … and, adds McMurray’s name to the list of drivers looking for a ride.

C) Retirement:
Most feel that this is the least likely of the three options for Mark, but it remains an option nonetheless. This scenario wouldn’t play out much differently than if Mark were to run full-time outside of Hendrick, with the exception that McMurray would stay with Roush for one more season, making it one less name in the driver pool to add to the headache.

Regardless which of the three paths Mark Martin should choose to head down, it most directly effects what happens to both Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman. That will then sort out which of the top-tier teams in the sport have rides available for next season, which will then lead to determining who Casey Mears and possibly Martin Truex and Jamie McMurray will drive for … thus, where the “domino theory” stems from.

Even with Mark addressing the media this weekend at Daytona, I wouldn’t expect an outright answer as to where he will be next season, but it should shed some light on which of the three paths he aims to follow. As is always the case, it’s pure speculation at this point, but my gut tells me that we should be looking for a reunion with Jack Roush and I fully expect this to happen, which means we’re likely to spend yet another couple of months playing the guessing game with Hendrick, Stewart, and Newman.

Post from: EveryJoe

Why Mark Martin Could be the Key to the Silly Season Domino Theory

A caution flag with six laps remaining bunched the field up for a final restart. Darnell led the field when the green waived with just three to go, with Scott Speed and Benson following behind in 2nd and 3rd. After an exciting side-by-side battle, Benson was able to make the pass on Speed to take over second, and then began working on Darnell. The two battled side-by-side all the way to the finish line, and it was eventually determined that Darnell edged him by mere inches.

Scott Speed went onto finish 3rd, followed by Todd Bodine and Brendan Gaughan to complete the top-five. Kyle Busch – again pulling triple duty this weekend – finished in 7th, and Mike Skinner finished 8th. The Kevin Harvick Inc. duo had a rough weekend. Jack Sprague finished 8 laps down in 30th place, and Ron Hornaday spun out on the final lap, relegating him to 23rd. Hornaday’s disappointing finish dropped him out of the points lead all the way down to third, with Johnny Benson and Todd Bodine each picking up two spots to move into 1st and 2nd.

Check here for the Cool City Customs 200 complete results.

Craftsman Truck Series Standings:

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Darnell Takes the Photo Finish

Ron Hornaday picked up his 35th career victory in the Craftsman Truck Series on Friday – and, his first at Texas Motor Speedway - as he held off Kyle Busch on a green-white-checkered restart to get the win at the Sam’s Town 400. The restart was setup after rookie, Scott Speed, slammed into the wall with only 2 laps remaining in the scheduled 167-lap event.

Busch had to start in the back of the field because he was not there to qualify his truck himself on Thursday, due to his commitment to run three races over the weekend in three different cities. As the team continually worked on his truck to make it fit Kyle’s style, though, he was able to work his way up to the top-ten after only 53 laps. Busch hadn’t led a lap all night long and trailed Hornaday by more than half a second when the final caution flag came out, but Hornaday pulled away on the restart, and Busch couldn’t capitalize. Kyle will also run the Nationwide race in Nashville on Saturday, and then head back to Pocono for Sunday’s Cup race.

Third place in the race went to the Bill Davis Racing Toyota of Johnny Benson, and Hornaday’s Kevin Harvick Inc. teammate, Jack Sprague, finished fourth. Todd Bodine completed the top-five. Hornaday’s second win of the season was enough to bump him up two spots in the standings, as he now assumes the points lead over Matt Crafton, who finished seventh. Rick Crawford entered Friday’s event with the points lead, but a 21st place finish at Texas has dropped him down to 6th place.

Craftsman Truck Series Standings (from nascar.com):

*Credit photo to Newscom

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Hornaday Edges Busch on Restart to Get the Win

Jack Sprague held off his Kevin Harvick Inc. racing teammate, Ron Hornaday, to finish second, while Travis Kvapil finished fourth, and last week’s race winner, Matt Crafton, finished fifth. Kyle Busch had the dominant car all night long, but transmission troubles sidelined him late in the race, and he went onto finish 27th. Todd Bodine came into the race as the series points leader, but a blown tire that sent him hard into the Turn 3 wall on lap 170 relegated him to a 27th place finish, dropping him four spots in the standings. The points lead was handed over to Rick Crawford after putting together a solid 9th place run.

Speed took the lead of the race when he passed Bodine for the position on lap 150, and opened up a lead of more than 3.5 seconds before the lap 170 caution saw that lead disappear. After the restart on lap 179, Speed ran away from the field, leaving Sprague trailing by more than four seconds before he finally slowed it down on the final lap as he made his way towards Winner’s Circle.

Following the race, Speed, who later revealed that he’d had his toenails painted blue prior to the race, stated, “Today we had a good strategy and an awesome truck, and we got everything we could out of it. The learning curve I’ve had has been amazing. Everytime I go out on the track, I feel I come away with a lot of knowledge. I’m just having an awesome time trying to learn this sport.”

Speed’s victory is the first on the season for Bill Davis Racing, whose camp also consists of veteran drivers, Johnny Benson and Mike Skinner.

Craftsman Truck Series Standings (from nascar.com):

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Speed Finds Speed at Dover

Speed led 55 of the 112 laps, and held a commanding lead over the rest of the field with only 10 laps remaining until a series of wrecks tightened the field up and gave Stenhouse the opportunity to make the pass for the lead on the second restart. Speed went onto finish second, and Ryan Fischer battled his way back from an earlier spin to finish up third. Speed’s teammate, Ken Butler III finished fourth, and John Wesley Townley rounded out the top-five with his fifth place finish.

Following the race, Stenhouse, who took over the lead in the points standings, said, “I don’t know if it has really sunk in yet. I think the win probably won’t sink in until a little later on. We’ve come out here and have had good runs, and to finally have a win is great.”

The series returns to action next Saturday night at Toledo Speedway for the Hantz Group 200.

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Roush Racing’s Ricky Stenhouse Gets First ARCA Win