RaceWay Tours Blog

A Smaller NASCAR Field in 2009?

A Smaller NASCAR Field in 2009?
Posted by GEORGE December 18, 2008 11:30:41 AM

Here's a question from Sarah from North Carolina: "Thanks for keeping us updated about what's going on with NASCAR. I'm concerned that if we start seeing less than 43 cars in a race it will indicate that NASCAR is phasing out. What do you think?"

Although we may see fewer than 43 cars on the track in 2009, there will be races. It's the smaller teams who may be shutting down.

Back in the 70's, the field averaged 35 cars per race. With only 30 teams currently having full sponsorships for next year, smaller fields are likely. Thanks for your question. I hope this helps to eliminate your concern.

It didn't take long for Bobby Labonte to find a home after leaving Petty Enterprises. Or maybe I should say it didn't take long for Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing to pick up a quality driver in Bobby Labonte. It's not official, but it appears Labonte will join Martin Truex Jr, Juan Pablo Montoya, and Aric Almirola for the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. Incidentally, the Earnhardt-Ganassi merger means Ganassi cars will switch to Chevy in 2009.

Even with the tough times, Dodge has announced that they will continue to be involved in NASCAR racing. Statistics show that NASCAR racing sells more product for sponsors than any other form of advertising.

Robbie Gordon Motorsports has left Dodge and will be putting the number 7 on a Toyota for the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. This guarantees Toyota another spot in the Daytona 500.

There's more big news for the Iowa Speedway for the 2009 season. NASCAR has announced that the Camping World Truck Series, formerly the Craftsman Truck Series, will race at Iowa Speedway on September 5, 2009. Earlier this year, it was announced that the NASCAR Nationwide Series would race at Iowa Speedway in 2009 as well.

Here's a "2009 NASCAR Prediction, by George" which will raise a few eyebrows, and probably not win me any friends. The team of Dale Earnhardt Jr and Tony Eury Jr will end due to a lack of wins in 2009. Earnhardt Junior will not be happy about cousin Tony being asked to leave, but Rick Hendrick will make the executive decision. Dale Jr will make The Chase, as predicted, but the late-race disappointments will continue for him. If Tony Eury Jr is released early enough in the season, Earnhardt Jr could win the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship.

See you at the track!

The 2009 NASCAR Season Will be Challenging

The 2009 NASCAR Season Will be Challenging
Posted by GEORGE December 16, 2008 7:52:15 AM

In seven short weeks, NASCAR racing will be running full-throttle at the Budweiser Shootout at Daytona International Speedway. February 7th will be the date, and the weekend after that is the 2009 Daytona 500! I've had enough time off from NASCAR racing, and I'm ready for the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup season to begin. There were a bunch of surprises in the 2008 season, and though I think the 2009 season will be less unsettling, there will be some shockers next year too.

I'm usually not too shocked by happenings in the world of NASCAR because typically, we can see what's coming. Tony Stewart leaving Joe Gibbs Racing and the Petty camp pulling up stakes were fairly predictable. However, Jeff Gordon getting blanked for the 2008 racing season was a surprise to all of us.

In 2009, I think teams who fold up their tent after the Daytona 500 may surprise a few NASCAR fans, and I think the first NASCAR Sprint Cup race with less than 43 cars in the field will raise a few eyebrows.

What if the big three car manufacturers aren't "bailed out?" Would that mean everyone will be driving Toyotas in NASCAR races in years to come? This isn't going to happen, folks!

Joey Logano is one of the drivers who will likely suffer from the lack of NASCAR testing in 2009. Logano needs the track experience and time behind the wheel to work out the bugs. He will be in a car which has proven itself, but to be successful, the car will have to be adjusted to his liking.

Testing was going to remove some of the guess work for Logano, but he has found a way to help the situation. Joey is scheduled to test at Daytona this Friday and Saturday in an ARCA car. This will certainly give him some valuable track time. With any kind of luck, Joey Logano should be the 2009 rookie of the year.

The 25th-place car in winnings in the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup series was Juan Pablo Montoya. Juan Pablo took home a cool $4,651,163! Jimmie Johnson's winnings ranked first at $15,170,464 including special awards. Total prizes and winnings for the top 25 totaled more than $160,000,000 for the year. It appears to me there is room for cutbacks if NASCAR is serious about cutting costs. Couldn't Jimmie Johnson live comfortably with half of those winnings?

See you at the track!

No More Petty in NASCAR

No More Petty in NASCAR
Posted by GEORGE December 11, 2008 7:22:31 AM

For the first time in many years, there will not be a Petty behind the wheel of a stock car in NASCAR Sprint Cup Racing. Kyle Petty says it's official, and he has stopped going to work. His contract runs out at the end of this year, but Kyle says, he is already a driver without a team.

When Boston Ventures signed a partnership agreement with Petty Enterprises, the handwriting was on the wall for Kyle. Richard Petty had stated that he would continue to be involved with day to day decisions after the partnership, but that was short-lived, and decisions are being made without him.

Richard is a figure head with the new organization using him to bring sponsors, which has not been a successful ploy. The organization still has no full time sponsors for either of its cars for the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup season.

So now we have an organization being headed by people who know very little about NASCAR, let alone peole who know how to operate a NASCAR race team. A merger is in the works, which may salvage the sinking ship, but at the very least, it will put some NASCAR people closer to decision-making positions within the company.

Everyone knew that the job of bringing the Pettys back to the top of NASCAR racing would not be easy. After all, a Petty car has not won a race since 1999, and celebrations took place when one of their cars finished in the top 20.

I wonder if Kyle Petty's job would have been saved had Richard Petty been granted a decision-making position. My guess is probably not. In Kyle's career, he has been a decent driver, but never a top-runner. Most people will tell you the future of Petty Enterprises went south when Kyle's son, Adam, was killed. Adam had the skills to become a first-rate NASCAR driver, and he had his his grandfather's desire to win.

It won't seem right to not have a Petty on the race track, but in the long run, it makes little difference if a Petty never drives in NASCAR again. For all of us NASCAR fans, the Petty name will always come up in conversations as we discuss the most successful teams in NASCAR.

See you at the track!

The 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Banquet Wasn't Good

The 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Banquet Wasn't Good
Posted by GEORGE December 9, 2008 7:50:57 AM

Because I enjoy NASCAR so much, I find it difficult to criticize the sport. But I could not sit through the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Banquet.

After listening to part of Richard Petty's slow-moving rendition of how NASCAR got where it is today, I started recording the telecast, and I changed the channel. The next day, I watched the entire show while keeping a finger placed on the fast forward button. I soon got my fill of the comedian poking fun at himself with fat jokes which had nothing to do with NASCAR. It took me about 30 minutes to view the entire telecast, and I don't think I missed anything.

The show turned out to be a tribute to the many of the sponsors who contribute to each team. I know sponsors are important to NASCAR, but to use the biggest percentage of the banquet's time to mention them all turned me off. And to boot, a number of drivers, and the host, asked NASCAR fans to contact congressional representatives to ask them to vote for "bail out" money for the big three auto manufacturers. That's where they lost me!

Dr Jerry Punch did a fine job as host, and it was good to see the drivers paying tribute to Jimmie Johnson, Chad Knaus, and Rick Hendrick for what they have accomplished in the world of NASCAR. It was also good to see Cale Yarborough again, and Richard Petty should be at every NASCAR banquet, because without him, NASCAR would not be as successful as it is today. As a matter of fact, every successful NASCAR driver should thank Richard Petty for making them millionaires. Just don't ask the poor guy to deliver the history of NASCAR at the banquet again.

I always hope the NASCAR banquet will feed me enough NASCAR to carry me over until the next NASCAR Sprint Cup season officially starts. Unfortunately, this year's banquet didn't deliver. I've already recorded over the tape.

See you at the track!

2009 NASCAR Predictions, by George!

2009 NASCAR Predictions, by George!
Posted by GEORGE December 4, 2008 6:08:28 AM

I had an off year in terms of predictions for 2008. I did pick nine of the 12 Chase drivers, but my championship pick of Jeff Gordon missed the boat miserably.

Casey Mears, Ryan Newman, and Kurt Busch let me down in 2008 and, for various reasons, those names are absent from my picks for 2009. I hit the nail on the head predicting that Tony Stewart would be leaving Joe Gibbs Racing. I was also on the money when I said Kyle Busch would be the first to put a Toyota in the winner's circle. But my rookie of the year pick, Dario Franchitti, went down in a blaze of glory early, and didn't even finished the season.

2009 will be a better year for NASCAR Predictions, by George!

The 12 drivers who will make The Chase in 2009 are (in no particular order): Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr, Clint Bowyer, Mark Martin, Matt Kenseth, Greg Biffle, David Ragan, and Kasey Kahne.

My pick of David Ragan is probably a surprise to NASCAR fans, but the bigger surprise is probably the drivers I didn't pick. I have to leave Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman out for a year as they become acclimated to new teams.

Only one Joe Gibbs Racing driver appears in my 2009 Chase prediction list, because I think that fruit basket has been upset, and there is no clear leader at the helm. Kyle Busch will make it on sheer guts. Jeff Burton has seen better days, and will be respectable, but will not make The NASCAR Chase in 2009.

I understand Rick Hendrick is putting more emphasis on Dale Earnhardt Jr now that he understands what Dale Jr needs. I predict that Junior will crack the top five in 2009, but he won't be my pick to win it all.

Two out of the last three years, I've picked a driver other than Jimmie Johnson to win the championship, and he has proven me wrong. Johnson may win his fourth NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship in 2009, but I am not making that prediction.

I have to include Kevin Harvick, Jeff Gordon, and Matt Kenseth as "also rans" because they have the experience of knowing how to make the top twelve, but in recent years, they haven't shown the consistency it takes to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup championship.

David Ragan and Kasey Kahne have what it takes, although Kahne is probably a long shot, at best. In any case, these guys are going to make the 2009 season interesting, but there will be no championship for them.

Kyle Busch will fall down during the 2009 Chase once again. Greg Biffle or Clint Bowyer could sneak up on the championship trophy, but will have to have an almost flawless season.

2009 will be the last hurrah for Mark Martin, unless he makes The Chase. This is probably the 2009 NASCAR prediction which I'm least confident in, but my heart tells me to include Martin. No 2009 championship for Mark Martin, but he will have a great season.

This leaves the hottest driver in NASCAR as my pick for the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion: Carl Edwards. Carl will not only win the title, but will dominate the season. Edwards' form at the end of the 2008 NASCAR season, and the direction he's taking during the off season have me convinced that the other drivers will be chasing Cousin Carl during the majority of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup campaign.

There you have it, NASCAR fans! Don't take it to the bank, but keep it tucked away in your memory file knowing you heard it here first!

See you at the track!

NASCAR Merchandisers are Happy

NASCAR Merchandisers are Happy
Posted by GEORGE December 2, 2008 9:35:37 AM

There are some great sales out there on race team and driver merchandise, and they're happening at a time when NASCAR fans are doing their Christmas shopping. If you aren't concerned about wearing orange sweatshirts with the number 20 on them instead of Tony Stewart's new colors and number, now is the time to buy! With drivers switching around and teams shutting down, there are a lot of great deals on merchandise right now.

NASCAR merchandisers are trying to deplete their dated stuff, but what they're really happy about is new merchandise on the market for drivers like Tony Stewart and Mark Martin. In 2008, Dale Earnhardt Jr's move to Hendrick Motorsports made merchandisers rich, and now team-switching moves like Stewart's are going to create another profitable situation for them.

I know the economy is tough right now, and has affected NASCAR racing, evidenced by the recent NASCAR team layoffs. Some of these moves are undoubtedly due to lack of funds, but some are also due to recent mergers and buy-outs. The good news outweighs the bad, however. For instance, Texas Motor Speedway has just announced a major expansion. Will NASCAR racing survive the current crunch? Of course it will, and 2009 will be a banner year!

I feel the competition is going to be more intense during the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. There were so many drivers this year who could have won the championship with a break or two, and by eliminating a "bad luck race" here and there.

With a few of the lesser teams bowing out, 2009 will be one of the best years for NASCAR racing. It isn't important to me whether there are 43 cars, or 33 cars in the race; as long as they are the best cars with the best drivers, NASCAR will flourish.

Speaking of intense competition: That is what made my 2009 NASCAR predictions, by George, so tough. But I wrapped them up over the weekend, and I'm ready to spring them on the world in Thursday's article. We'll compare 2008 results to my predictions, and I'll let you know what I think is going to happen in 2009. As I said earlier, I have some bold surprises for you, so don't miss Thursday's article!

See you at the track!