Suddenly, the oft-temperamental, 22-year-old driver has been thrust into the role as the most coveted free-agent driver in the Nextel Cup Series and is drawing more interest from race teams than even Dale Earnhardt Jr. was. Fifteen races into this season, he is 11th in points. His crew chief, Alan Gustafson, can only hope that his race team can maintain its focus and make the season-ending Chase for the Nextel Cup. Gustafson does expect that he will be competing against Busch in the future for several Nextel Cup victories. He also added that Busch does need to mature a little bit.
"Actually, I'm just kind of flattered and excited about all the interest and phone calls that we've gotten," Busch said. "I haven't talked to any representatives from any teams. "I've got people that stand behind me that do that stuff for me, so when it comes down to the point where I feel like there's some people I need to talk to, we'll definitely sit down." "I'm interested in talking to anybody who wants to talk, so whether it's DEI, whether it's Gibbs, RCR, [Ray] Evernham, [Robert] Yates, whoever's got an open seat," Busch said, "whatever, let's go, let's sit down. Let's have dinner."
Car owners can hope they will be able to spark a change in Busch's oft-bitter persona. After all, he has gone through a great deal at such a young age without the warnings of exactly what it would take to adjust to a grueling NASCAR lifestyle. As of now, Busch is preparing to find his new home.
I am thinking dinner will not include Frosted Flakes.
Bobby Ginn has no problem with a beer sponsorship and is hotly pursuing NASCAR's most coveted free agent. Ginn has room for Dale Earnhardt Jr. and has planned to expand to four teams since taking over majority ownership of the team known as MB2 Motorsports last season. The Florida-based land developer said several weeks ago he would pursue Earnhardt, and Ginn Racing has emerged as a viable option through on-track performance by Mark Martin and Ginn's desire to field a winner. Ginn said Saturday he's had "exploratory conversations" with Kelley Earnhardt Elledge, but has yet to speak to Earnhardt himself. He said he never would have taken it this far if he didn't think his organization was a perfect fit.
"If I had no ability to do it, I wouldn't have embarrassed myself or wasted his time," Ginn said. "I believe we can support it and I believe he wants to win and I want to win. You put two people together that are damned determined to get there, that's a combination that has generally led to successes. "I don't want to bring him here, if I had any opportunity to do it, and make him believe he can't win a championship." Jay Frye, general manager at Ginn, is a St. Louis native who once worked for Anheuser-Busch, the parent company for Budweiser. Ginn believes Frye's past relationship with A-B, and Ginn's entertainment ties to the resorts he owns and golf tournaments he hosts makes it a perfect fit. But he firmly believes Earnhardt is the most important part of the puzzle.
"You can build great cars and have great teams, but you've got to have that spark plug that is going to put you in the winning," Ginn said. "To go after a winner, even if we had no chance to get him, it's like asking a pretty girl for a date. You have nothing to lose, you might as well ask. But I wouldn't have asked if I didn't think I could support him."
This week's hot-button debate focuses on Ginn Racing and whether or not the three-car organization is a real contender in the Nextel Cup Series. Ginn has seen successful results with Mark Martin behind the wheel of the No. 01 Chevrolet, but he is racing part time. Veterans Sterling Marlin and Joe Nemechek have been up and down, while rookie Regan Smith tries to acclimate himself to the Cup level. Read both sides of the argument and then weigh in with your take.
It was July 26, 2006, when Ginn Racing went from pretender to contender. On that date, real estate developer Bobby Ginn purchased majority ownership in the race team formerly known as MB2 Motorsports and started dumping truckloads of money into what had been to that point NASCAR's top mediocre team. Since then no Ginn Racing driver has won a race. No billionaire sponsor -- aside from Ginn himself -- has stepped in to help write checks. No prognosticator has spit that Ginn Racing is the future of NASCAR. But that day is coming.
At first glance, Ginn Racing is having a pretty impressive 2007: Four top-fives, six top-10s and a car in fifth place in the owner standings. But take Mark Martin out of the equation and things begin to look quite ordinary, especially when compared to many of the other three-car teams in Nextel Cup. Ginn has fared better this season than the established three-car teams of Evernham and DEI. However, two of the Ginn teams are right on the edge of the top 30, as Joe Nemechek is 26th and Sterling Marlin 30th. Ganassi's overall numbers are about the same, but two of the three Ganassi cars reside in the top 20. Then there's Childress, which has all three of its drivers in the top 12, and Gibbs, which is no worse than 21st. That places Ginn pretty much in the middle of the pack at best.
Denny Hamlin seems to have this Car of Tomorrow thing figured out. On Thursday night at Phoenix International Raceway, Hamlin qualified third for the Subway Fresh Fit 500 (8 p.m. ET Saturday, FOX), his third top-10 start in as many COT races. He led 125 laps at Martinsville, second only to Dale Earnhardt Jr. He finished third, after starting from the pole. He led 177 laps in the COT's debut at Bristol, second only to teammate Tony Stewart. But a fuel-pump issue slowed his effort and resulted in a 14th-place finish.
"The guys in the JGR [Joe Gibbs Racing] shop spent a ton of time and effort in preparing these cars and it is pretty clear they hit on something because we have been really strong," Hamlin said. "Really, only some random problems kept us or the 20 [Stewart] from winning at Bristol. "Then we were both good at Martinsville the next weekend so I do feel like we are ahead of the curve at the moment but this sport can change in a hurry. We know we need to keep working hard on these cars, and hopefully win one here."
Hamlin will start in a favorable position for victory at Phoenix. Three races from PIR have been won from the third starting spot, tied with second for most at the track.
Hamlin earned his first career pole at Phoenix, in just his sixth Nextel Cup start, when he took the controls of the No. 11 Chevrolet for the final seven races in 2005. He finished 13th in that race -- a missed lug nut ruined a possible top-five finish -- but was third in his most recent attempt there this past fall.
"Really, no track that we visit reminds me more of racing when I was younger than PIR. I spent my early career running flat tracks in Late Models and this track feels like that to me," Hamlin said. "Put us out there under the lights and you can't get any closer to the Late Models days than here at Phoenix and that is one of the reasons it's my favorite place to race."
It was reported today during NASCAR coverage on SPEED that the #72 Nextel Cup team, owned by Brian and Tony Mullet has advised NASCAR that it will not be continuing operations to qualify for Nextel cup races and that it would be running in the Busch Series. It was also announced that Brandon Whitt would no longer be the driver and that Jason Keller would drive the Busch car. The team is not entered in any of the Atlanta races this weekend.
However, reports on the CJM Racing web site, Jayski.com and Motorsport.com make this about as clear as mud.
The following is a statement from co-owner Bryan Mullet at CJM Racing pertaining to the speculation/rumors regarding CJM Racing and their future as it appeared on their web site, Jayski and Motorsport: "CJM Racing is dedicated to its involvement in the NASCAR ranks. We, as a team, are re-evaluating our position and working on a few different scenarios' that will allow us to grow and become a competitive force within NASCAR. Contrary to unsubstantiated rumors, to date no one has been hired and the team is currently consulting with a group to determine the best avenue for success. Sponsorship discussions are underway and future announcements are to be expected within the next few weeks." This statement was made on Thursday and posted on the teams web site on Friday.
Previously on ThursdayJayski reported that driver Brandon Whitt, General Manager Derek White and Crew/Car Chief Doug George were no longer with the team.
Jayski originally reported on Tuesday that it had been announced to CJM team members and driver Brandon Whitt that it would be moving to the Busch Series. The team was reported to be headed by Greg Pollex (formerly of ppc Racing), with Todd Gordon as Crew Chief and Jason Keller as the driver.
So, was the report on TV today acurate new news? Or was it repetition of a two day old rumor? Who knows? Nobody Knows. Well at least not this writer. So stay tuned while the industry sorts this one out.
Nevertheless it does appear that some owners are seeing the light that the Nextel Cup Scene is too competitive this year and that there may be opportunities at the Busch level. What? An aha moment? Haven't I been saying this needed to happen for two weeks now? Oh well, at least it makes me look brainier, finally.
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