The Frontstretch Newsletter - July 2nd, 2008
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July 2nd, 2008
Volume II, Edition CXXIII
Top News Stories
Chip Ganassi Racing Shuts Down No. 40 Cup Team: Franchitti's Plans Uncertain
After running without a full-time sponsor for the first half of the 2008 Sprint Cup season, Chip Ganassi Racing has elected to shut down its No. 40 Sprint Cup team, the full-time ride of rookie Dario Franchitti.
"This is a difficult decision for Felix and I that did not come without its share of anguish," stated owner Chip Ganassi. "In this tough business environment, continuing to run the car without proper funding has become increasingly difficult."
And so was qualifying for races. With Franchitti behind the wheel, the No. 40 car found itself well outside the Top 35 in owner points heading into this weekend at Daytona; currently, they're 40th, 298 points behind a "locked in" qualifying spot. The team had struggled along with Franchitti as he made the transition to open wheel; an ankle injury suffered at Talladega didn't help, as Franchitti was forced out of the car and replaced with a variety of veteran drivers for five weeks.
The closing of the No. 40 team reportedly has resulted in 70 employees of Chip Ganassi Racing being laid off, and also leaves Franchitti without a ride only halfway into his first full-time NASCAR season. CGR in a press release stated that they remain committed to developing Franchitti as a stock car driver, and plans being worked on for him include a possible full-time Nationwide Series ride for the duration of the 2008 season.
The No. 40 team has been on a roller coaster ride so far this year. The team failed to qualify for races at Texas, Richmond, and Sonoma, and had to use a wide array of drivers including Sterling Marlin, Jeremy Mayfield, Ken Schrader, and David Stremme following Franchitti's injuries at Talladega. The team's best finish all season came when Franchitti finished 22nd at Martinsville in March.
It's Official: Almirola to Run the No. 8 Full-Time in 2009
Dale Earnhardt, Incorporated announced officially on Tuesday that Aric Almirola, who has shared the No. 8 Chevrolet the last two seasons with Mark Martin, will drive the car full-time in the Sprint Cup Series in 2009, as Mark Martin is rumored to be leaving DEI for another race team.
"When you get into racing, you always dream of competing at the highest level, and I've had the chance to do that on a limited basis for the past two seasons," said Almirola. "Now, I will have the opportunity to race the car full-time, and I could not be more excited about driving the No. 8 car each week for Dale Earnhardt Inc. This is a really great race team to work with."
The question of who will sponsor Almirola in the No. 8 was not resolved by DEI on Tuesday, and the announcement of Almirola's ride did not in any way mention the team's current sponsor, the U.S. Army. The Army is widely speculated to be looking for another ride to sponsor in 2009, possibly a second car at Bill Davis Racing. DEI has already been reported to be planning a cut to three teams next season because of their inability to find a sponsor for their No. 01 car halfway through the 2008 campaign.
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Today's Featured Commentary
Full Throttle – Franchitti Proves That Not All Open Wheelers Are Juan Pablo Montoya
There are all kinds of trends in stock car racing when it comes to hiring new drivers to put into race cars. Several years ago, it was drivers with dirt racing experience. It started with Jeff Gordon, Kenny Irwin, Jr. and Tony Stewart, then accelerated with Ryan Newman, Kasey Kahne, Dave Blaney and others. Almost simultaneously came the influx of the "young gun" craze, as Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Matt Kenseth, Kevin Harvick, and Jimmie Johnson entered the fold ... just to name a few. And it wasn't long after that when the sport moved on to the cradle-robbing, or the entry of the true young guns, Kyle Busch and Reed Sorenson. Now, the latest trend has been plucking drivers out of the open wheel series to place into full bodied stock cars. Despite little to no experience in fendered rides, owners have been hiring these unproven drivers to see what they can do.
It all started when Juan Pablo Montoya, who was going to be out of a Formula One ride at the end of the 2006 season, picked up the phone and called his old boss, Chip Ganassi, to inquire about an empty seat that he had in one of his race cars. Ganassi assumed it was his IRL seat, but was surprised to find out Montoya wanted to go Cup racing. So, Ganassi put the former IRL champ into a car for a race at the end of 2006 and then ran him ful- time in the 2007 Cup season. Montoya responded by winning the race at Sonoma, California, and becoming the Rookie of the Year (ROTY) in the series. Though there is certainly some precedent for putting open wheel drivers in stock cars -- A.J. Foyt, Mario Andretti, Dan Gurney, Johnny Rutherford, Tim Richmond and the aforementioned Stewart all moved over from established open wheel careers to win in NASCAR stock cars--it was Montoya's stock car success that spurred the most recent influx of open wheel drivers into the sport.
But so far this season, the open wheel invaders have seen less than stellar results. The three "open wheel" drivers who were running for this year's ROTY title -- Sam Hornish, Jr., Dario Franchitti and Patrick Carpentier -- have combined for a grand total of zero wins, zero Top 5s, and zero Top 10s. And, to make matters worse, just yesterday it was announced that Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates is shutting down the No. 40 team due to lack of sponsorship, putting Dario Franchitti out of a ride.... at least for the time being. It would appear as though, contrary to the kind of success Montoya realized last year, driving a stock car is a far more daunting task than it appears at first blush. And this year's rookie class shows that getting into a 3,400 pound car with far less downforce requires a far greater amount of car control and finesse than open wheel cars with bigger tires and better brakes.
Montoya's accomplishments aside, there's no doubt that Ganassi Racing has been struggling for some time in the Cup Series. Since Sterling Marlin almost won the championship in 2002, the organization has been in a steady downhill slide, to the point that they more resemble field fillers now rather than potential championship teams. Franchitti has done nothing to try and improve that standing for the team this year, as he's been reluctant to get in the car and test when the teams are not at the track on a race weekend. In today's modern NASCAR, that lack of effort has shown in the lackluster results that the No. 40 has put up this season. In contrast, when Hendrick struggled out of the gate, all four drivers were told that they would be testing until they started to turn their performance around. Franchitti simply didn't buy into that kind of thinking and seemed content with the fact that he was in his rookie season and would eventually figure this stock car thing out at some point in time. Unfortunately for him, his poor performances and failure to make races this season has resulted in the inability of CGRFS to sign enough sponsorship to continue to field his car the rest of the season.
Racing is a performance-based business, and Franchitti came into the sport after winning both the IRL championship and the Indianapolis 500. He signed a contract with CGRFS for a reported $30,000,000 and floundered from the drop of the green flag at Daytona. He made 10 of 17 races (missing five from injury and DNQing two) and had just one finish higher than 32nd place in those races. It's understandable that Franchitti could have trouble on ovals because they are a different animal in a stock car, but road racing is one of his specialties--failing to qualify at all at Infineon, a race that saw only four cars not make the field, had to be the straw that broke the camel's back.
Perhaps now that he is on the sidelines, Franchitti will realize that he needs to be testing as much as possible to become a better stock car racer, if that is indeed what he truly wants to do. If not, he will become just another successful driver from another series who could not make it in the upper echelon of NASCAR stock car racing.
Mike Neff is a Senior Writer at Frontstretch.com. You can reach him at mike...@frontstretch.com and don't forget to check out his weekly Power Rankings on Wednesdays and Picks N Pans column on Thursdays!
Send them Matt Taliaferro's way at matt.ta...@frontstretch.com; if you're lucky, you'll get your name in print when he does his weekly column answering back to you – the fans that keep Frontstretch afloat. Fanning The Flames returns next Thursday with a whole new set of Fan Questions and Answers!
Frontstretch On The Radio:
Join Frontstretch's Tom Bowles and Matt Taliaferro for their weekly version of the Frontstretch.com / Athlon Sports Racing Podcast Powered By Pepsi. This week, Tom and Matt will be joined by host Patrick Snow as they go the extra mile to figure out whose fuel held up in New Hampshire ... and whose tank got filled up with tears of sadness instead of raindrops. Together, we'll figure out Dario Franchitti's future, the ghosts of Silly Seasons Past, and if you're lucky, you might walk away with a prediction or two for the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona.
Unsure when to catch the podcast? Well, the newest version usually comes out by Thursday night and gets archived at racetalkradio.com each Friday. Download us by heading over to http://www.athlonsports.com /racing/inside-racing-powered -by-pepsi,, and don't forget to listen in on iTunes each week!! We're under "Athlon Racing Podcast."
And if you're up for it, we're always looking to hear from the fans; be sure to write in and give feedback at inside...@athlonsports.com! Tell us a topic we haven't been chatting about, and we'll be sure to mention it on the air. Of course, the two individual hosts can also be reached at tom.b...@frontstretch.com and matt.ta...@frontstretch.com.
Join Our Growing Frontstretch Community!
Still haven't joined the Frontstretch Forums? Here's a peek at what you're missing this week:
Weigh in on what you think of the incident between Juan Pablo Montoya and Kyle Busch.
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TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:
Mirror Driving : The Busch-Montoya Scuffle, A Silly Season Shuffle, And Saving The Truck Series With ... The IRL?
by the Frontstretch Staff
Top Ten Ways NASCAR Should Punish Juablo For Spinning Vyle Busch
by Jeff Meyer
Frontstretch Sprint Cup Power Rankings : Top 15 After New Hampshire
by Mike Neff
A NASCAR Fan With A True Passion : Mourning The Loss Of Bob "The Ford Guy" Whitehead
by Tommy Thompson
FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA
Q. This owner gave his driver a Rolls Royce for winning a race. Who was he?
Check back in tomorrow's Frontstretch Newsletter for the answer!
Tuesday's Answer:
Q. This former sometimes driver always purchased a seat for Elvis at any NASCAR event he raced in. Who is he?
A. Former Atlanta Falcon football coach Jerry Glanville always purchased a ticket for the King at any race he qualified for (Six Busch Series and 27 CTS races). In fact, he purchased Elvis a ticket at any sporting event that he participated in.
Frontstretch Trivia Guarantee; if we mess up, you get the shirt off our backs! If we've provided an incorrect answer to the Frontstretch Trivia question, be the first to email the corrected trivia answer to tri...@frontstretch.com and we'll send you a Frontstretch T-Shirt. Free!
Tomorrow In The Frontstretch Newsletter:
- Find out What's Vexing Vito this week, as he rants and raves about pop culture … and NASCAR, too.
by Matt McLaughlin
If you can't get stand the heat, get out of the kitchen; and once again, Matt is busy putting the NASCAR stove on broil with some pointed comments in the wake of Sunday's "race" at New Hampshire.
Fanning the Flames
by Matt Taliaferro
Once again, Matt's out to answer questions and comments directed at him by you – our loyal fans! If you've got something to say, don't hesitate to email him at matt.ta...@frontstretch.com.
Voices From the Heartland
by Jeff Meyer
Jeff's satire is in fine form, and it takes aim at all things NASCAR once again.
Fantasy Picks 'N' Pans: Daytona
By Bryan Keith & Mike Neff
Don't let the extra mile take your team down for the count! Bryan and Mike are here to give you everything you need to know about stocking your team for the high banks at Daytona.
Article TBD
by Amy Henderson
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