Mike Mulhern

Gibbs, Stewart Keep Mum; Questions Swirling around DEI, as Daytona opens for Saturday’s 400

Will Martin Truex Jr.  be back at DEI in 2009, or will he get his release?(Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR)

By Mike Mulhern

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.
Despite the sense that Tony Stewart and team owner J. D. Gibbs are on the verge of announcing a split at the end of this season, perhaps even in the next few days, both men kept mum again Thursday on their futures – together or separate.
“We’re still where we were before, with nothing new on that front,” Gibbs insisted Thursday as NASCAR teams warmed up for Saturday night’s 400. Stewart, who last week said he would be considering talking with Rick Hendrick about the ride Casey Mears will be leaving at the end of the year, had little to add.
Gibbs and Stewart weren’t the only men trying to keep low profiles amid a storm of speculation. So were the men at Dale Earnhardt Inc., who found themselves headliners, but not for all the right reasons, at Daytona International Speedway, where practice Thursday evening was marred by light rain.
And Kurt Busch, winner last weekend at Loudon, didn’t have a great opening day at Daytona: he blew a right front tire, slammed the wall, and had to go to a backup. “Is there a tire problem? Well, if they won’t go a pit stop, I guess there is,” crew chief Pat Tryson said with a grimace.
“We’re supposed to have a harder tire, and it is harder because we’re sliding around a lot,” Busch said. “But we have to have so much weight in the right-side, and with the camber (tire angle) we run with these new cars, they can’t build a tire hard enough to last.”

Goodyear, which changed tires for this event after some issues in February, with Mike Skinner, Jamie McMurray and Bobby Labonte testing the new tires in May, said they were still analyzing Busch’s tire. Goodyear also said several other Cup teams showed high heat on the inboard shoulder of the right-front, which is an issue Goodyear said the teams would have to work on. The new left-sides are a little softer; the right-sides, a little tougher.

Jamie McMurray, Daytona winner last summer, talks with crew chief Larry Carter (Photo by Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR)

DEI – once headliner here as odds-on favorite to reach victory lane, when Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Michael Waltrip were teammates – was in the spotlight, for several reasons.
—First, Martin Truex Jr.’s car was confiscated by NASCAR, banned from the weekend’s action, and taken back to Charlotte for further examination after it failed pre-race inspection, with the roof body templates at issue. “It fit our templates at the shop but it didn’t fit NASCAR’s template here at the track,” John Story, DEI’s vice president for motorsports, said. Truex will have to run his backup.
—DEI’s U.S. Army sponsorship appears up for grabs for 2009 and will likely be leaving DEI at the end of the season, according to sources. However DEI’s Story insists DEI was still in the running for renewal of the Army sponsorship: “The Army contract is always a one-year deal, and we certainly hope they renew. We’re working hard toward that. The deadline is usually pretty late in the year.”
—DEI itself may be in the market for a merger with an investment firm, similar to the dealings that Michael Waltrip and Richard Petty have undertaken, according to sources close to the situation. DEI’s Story said he couldn’t comment on the prospect of any outside investors coming on-board; Teresa Earnhardt, who owns the team, wasn’t available herself for comment. “That’s Teresa’s business, so I can’t comment on that, and I wouldn’t know where we might be with that, if anywhere,” Story said. “DEI is pretty solid right now; we’re in good shape. We have a few things to lock down, obviously. But with or without an investor we’re a good solid company and we’re doing fine.”
—Earnhardt has planned to hold Truex to the final year (2009) of his current contract, even though Truex has made it clear he would like to leave at the end of this season. “I’m not going to chase rumors and talk about that,” Story says. “We expect him to drive for us next year. We’re talking about the things we have to improve internally, so all our drivers have a chance to compete for the championship.”
—John Menard, the wealthy businessman (Menards, the privately owned home improvements company), may be losing interest in NASCAR racing after so many years, according to sources. Menard, whose son Paul is driving for DEI, is reportedly in negotiations with Ford’s Jack Roush, perhaps to help fellow owner Doug Yates keep afloat in this sport, which would involve a move from Chevrolet to Ford. “I don’t have any idea what might be going on there,” DEI’s Story said. “We just met with John, and everything is good.”

Is Jack Roush trying to broker a deal with racer-businessman John Menard to join his Ford camp, after several years with Chevy and DEI? (Photo: Autostock)

DEI isn’t the only operation in the center of a storm. Waltrip’s three-car team could be down to two cars next season, unless sponsorship comes through, and rookie Michael McDowell could be the man on the hot seat. Rob Kauffman, the private investor that Waltrip brought in last year to help right his struggling team, has reportedly been helping bankroll the McDowell operation.

Elsewhere in the Daytona garage:
—Sprint Cup crew chiefs have been debating how best to implement NASCAR’s proposed new more-open testing policy for 2009, and some say NASCAR could easily implement that new policy immediately – by letting teams test next week at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the upcoming Brickyard 400. That will be the first run at Indy for the new winged car, which has baffled most stock car crew chiefs this season. NASCAR officials declined to comment Thursday on the issue. But crew chiefs were quite vocal.
“We’ve tested 33 times already this season, and we’re planning to test another 30 times the second half of the year, and it would be nice to maximize the $100,000 we invest in each test by going to the tracks we’re actually going to race at,” Robbie Loomis, manager for Petty Enterprises, says. “And we would like for NASCAR to insist that the drivers themselves test their own cars, not substitute drivers.
Crew chiefs generally are looking for 20 to 22 days of track-specific testing next season, with at least one day at each of the tour’s tracks. “We need to test at the tracks we race at and on the tires we’re going to race on,” Greg Zipadelli, Tony Stewart’s crew chief, says.
Greg Erwin, crew chief for Greg Biffle and Roush, says open testing would likely keep Bruton Smith’s Charlotte track very busy: “If Charlotte (Lowe’s Motor Speedway) were open 360 days a year, I’m sure we’d be spending a lot of time testing there, and at Martinsville, and at Richmond, places close to home.”
However, Gil Martin, crew chief for Clint Bowyer and Richard Childress, isn’t a fan of open testing: “My suggestion would be for NASCAR to extend Friday practice at the track each week, so we could get four or five hours of practice, and then qualify on Saturday, and then have a Happy Hour. What NASCAR is proposing (with open testing) is ludicrous. Rick Hendrick is the only guy who could afford that.”

Randy Moss and David Dollar (Photo Credit: John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR)

THE NASCAR NOTEBOOK

With that $225 million discrimination lawsuit hanging over NASCAR, Randy Moss, the NFL All-Pro wide-receiver for the New England Patriots, picked a perfect time to announce his debut as a NASCAR Truck team owner.
Moss is buying a 50 percent stake in David Dollar’s Chevy team. The operation has had a number of drivers this season, with Scott Speed’s 10th at Martinsville and Landon Cassill’s ninth at Charlotte and third at Milwaukee the best runs.
No sponsorship was announced, nor were buy-in terms.

Joey Logano is ready for NASCAR Cup racing, men close to him say, pointing out he’s much more mature for his age—18—than even Kyle Busch was. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Will Joe and J. D. Gibbs have four Cup teams in 2009? It’s looking good.
“I wouldn’t rule it out….but we’re in no hurry,” J. D. Gibbs says. “If everything lines up well, great. But if you don’t have all the parts there, don’t do it.
“We’ve done this before. We’ve got the key guys already. So we’ll sit down with Mark Cronquist (the team engine man) and Jimmy Makar (the team manager) and the guys and talk it over. And if the time is right, we’ll do it. The driver is key, obviously. The crew, we’d be in good shape. The infrastructure is all there. But we won’t do it until everyone signs off on it.
“Joey Logano? What I’ve seen is the guys who are really talented, they don’t need much time. He’s been on a track since he was six. And, like we’ve seen with Tony (Stewart) and Kyle (Busch) and Denny (Hamlin), those guys ‘pop’ right away. Joey fits that mold.
“Some guys do get better after a while. But usually if you don’t come out of the box strong, it’s hard to say ‘he’s going to get better down the road.’”

Tony Stewart offered no hints as to 2009 (Photo Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

And how about Juan Pablo Montoya? Is he a candidate for a Gibbs’ ride?
“We think the world of Juan…though I wouldn’t ask Kyle that question this week,” Gibbs said, laughing about the Busch-Montoya run-in at Loudon Sunday. “I don’t know Juan’s situation….
“But to the best of my understanding he’s there (at Chip Ganassi’s). So we’re not going to look at that.
“We’re actually talking more about 2010 (when Stewart’s contract is up).”
As strong as Dave Rogers’ Nationwide operation has been for the Gibbs, that outfit might easily move up to Cup.

Richard Childress and Dale Earnhardt Jr. are both looking good this season in the championship chase (Photo Credit: Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Jeff Gordon says Chip Ganassi’s decision to drop one of his three Cup teams and release 70 men shows “We all can be vulnerable.
“It’s certainly a wake-up call. I would never have thought that they would struggle getting sponsorship. They probably didn’t think they’d struggle on the track as much as they have, especially the road course.
“It just makes you appreciate what you have. And it makes you work that much harder to stay competitive.”

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