After months and months of speculation, Tony Stewart finally announced he was leaving Joe Gibbs Racing and become an owner-driver for what will become Stewart-Haas Racing.  This, no doubt, looks to be a challenge and also the opportunity Tony was looking for.  After winning 2 Championships and many races, including the Brickyard 400, Tony has done it all at Gibbs.  Stewart already owns several race teams, along with his own track, but it’s obvious that this will be the biggest task he has undertaken.  However, if anyone can become a successful owner/driver in NASCAR today, especially at the Cup level, it would be Stewart.

It is only fitting the last driver/owner win was one of great hardships, considering how difficult it is to run your own team today.  That last driver was Ricky Rudd, who won a grueling race back in 1998 in Martinsville.  If you don't recall, this was the race where Rudd's cooling system failed around lap 5 of 500 on a very hot day.  During the course of the race, several drivers had to get out of their cars and have relief drivers.  To add to the sizzling hot weather, Ricky was drenched with boiling hot water.  During a pit stop, he asked for some water to be poured down his back, but the hose they used had been left out in the sun all day.  Even with these very tough conditions, Rudd stayed in the car and held on to win.  If it wasn’t already clear how hard this was on him, he had to do his victory speech laying on the ground, breathing through an oxygen mask while being interviewed.  Aside from this race, Ricky had faced great hardships on the track- in terms of performance and success.

Rudd's last year as a full-time owner/driver was in 1999 where he finished 31st in points.  Out of the 6 years Rudd ran his own team, Rudd Performance Motorsports, he finished in the top-10 in points 3 years and won 6 races.  But the 1999 season was proof that times had changed, and it seemed like no one would be able to do what Alan Kulwicki did in 1992 ever again.    The competition had become too much in 1999, where multicar teams clearly had advantages and were better performing.  After losing his Tide sponsorship and with these difficulties, Rudd closed his shop and signed with Robert Yates. 

Since then, there have been several drivers who have tried to run their own team, but none were ever part of a team that had good resources or sponsor opportunities.  Perhaps that will change now that Stewart has signed with Haas, a team that receives resources from Hendrick Motorsports.   It is no secret the Haas teams have never performed that well, even with help from Hendrick.  They also have not had a driver anywhere near as good as Stewart. 

Stewart clearly brings a presence to that team, and with drivers rumored like Ryan Newman and Martin Truex Jr , maybe they will be able to capitalize on the relationship with Hendrick.  Big name sponsors rumored like Office Depot and Old ####e will certainly be a plus, and it shows they have faith in Stewart to be successful, despite the previous poor results from Haas cars.

It is interesting to note that Stewart is taking this path, like Ricky did, and both share a great deal of respect for each other.  Stewart mentioned Rudd in the awards ceremony last year when Rudd retired, and Stewart wanted him in his car in 2006 when he was injured.  While they have very different demeanors, both are tough as nails and will not take anything from anyone.  When he was asked who was the one guy in NASCAR he would not want to mess with, Stewart said it was Ricky. 

Perhaps next year, if the going gets really tough, Stewart will give Rudd a ring to ask for some advice.  Despite the challenges Stewart faces ahead next year, he certainly seems to be looking forward to it.  And as a fan of Rudd and NASCAR, I will be too.

-roosterrage

Some will see this title and think that I must be crazy. I would be fine with that because it does seem like Jeff Burton is not recognized as much as he should be.  Despite all of his success in his career, being a proven winner and a threat for the Championship yearly, I can't help feel like many people seem to "forget" about him.

For whatever reason, it doesn't seem like Jeff is seen as much of a star in this sport as he should be to many people.   Conspiracy theorists always seem to have something to talk about in NASCAR.   Some have stated that some of Jeff’s lack of coverage can be contributed to the fact that he has AT & T as a sponsor, a rival to the company sponsoring the Cup Series.  Just last year, AT & T fought to have their logos on Burton’s car after Cingular was rebranded.  While this is interesting to read, how much this really affects his coverage is debatable.   While I don’t really expect Burton to be highly shown in any NASCAR ads for the Cup series, or at least not his car, it seems far fetched that Burton’s coverage would be singled out.

Could it be because of Jeff’s demeanor?   Kyle Busch has been absolutely dominant this year, winning 1/3 of the races so far.  As much as his on track success has brought him publicity, his off-track actions seem to bring him just as much, if not more.  Whether you like him or not, he is constantly mentioned.  Take a look at any message board, and you’ll find plenty of threads on Busch.  Burton, on the other hand, is not one to find himself in controversy.   He goes out and gets the job done without the hoopla that many of the networks (and some fans) enjoy following. 

I would say most people recognize Jeff as a good driver, and respect him and his abilities, but he seems to be often left out of discussions about the big names in NASCAR.  When someone states “What about Jeff?,” the other person responds “Oh, yeah. I forgot about him.  He’s pretty good too.”  I think a lot of people don’t realize that he has 20 Cup wins.

I find this topic particularly interesting because I want to see drivers get the recognition they deserve.   I’m a lifelong Ricky Rudd fan, and I saw this happen with him too. 

Jeff has been “Mr. Consistency” this year with an average finish of 10.3, and had finished every race in the top 15 before getting caught up in a wreck last weekend at Daytona.  I don’t know if anyone will be able to beat Busch this year, especially if his dominance continues in the Chase.   Nothing against Busch or any other contender, but I hope to see Burton win the title- maybe then he would finally get the recognition he deserves.

This year's Silly Season continues to roll onward and has included many big names and sponsors.  With the big names like Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman, Martin Truex and sponsors like UPS, Office Depot looking to move, this is arguably the biggest Silly Season in recent years.  One driver that hasn't received much mention has been Reed Sorenson.   Despite not having the stats of the other free agent drivers, Sorenson deserves a good ride in Cup and doesn’t deserve to be fired.

For a season started with such promise at Daytona, the future is unknown for Sorenson.  This is his last year of his contract with Ganassi .  Supposedly, Ganassi has offered Sorenson a contract and he is mulling the offer.

Reading comments from people, there seems to be two main views about Sorenson.  One is that he is underrated and being held back by CGR’s equipment.  The other is that Sorenson doesn’t have what it takes to do well in Cup.  I do find it interesting that in one breath people are quick to point out Ganassi’s struggles in NASCAR, but in the next breath say Sorenson doesn’t have what it takes.

Good drivers in average or subpar teams do have strong results at least every once in a while, and he has shown he has the talent to be successful.  In Cup, Sorenson has had 5 top five finishes, 13 top tens, and 1 pole in 2.5 full seasons.   His best Cup finish came in the Fall Atlanta 07 race, where he finished 3rd.  His first Cup top-10 came in his 6th start, and his first Busch win came in his 6th start. Many say that he was brought up to Cup too early which is a valid point, but I also think you have to consider the situation he was put in.  He only ran one season in the Busch Series in 2005 and was brought into the Target Cup ride at only 20 years old.

It was that rookie season in Busch where Sorenson really began to show people around the country what he could do.  Prior to that season, he was highly successful in other series.  Sorenson’s rookie and only full time season in Busch resulted in a 4th place overall in points.  He won 2 races, 2 poles, and had 19 top-10s in 35 races, all at 19 years old.  He spent a good portion of the season ahead of Truex, Bowyer, and Hamlin.  Although Truex and Bowyer would finish ahead of Sorenson at the season’s end, along with Carl Edwards, he would still finish ahead of Denny Hamlin.  All of which had better resources, in my opinion.

Sorenson can drive- if he has cars that will let him.  The 2005 season was the last big year for Ganassi in NASCAR.  It was the year Sorenson finished 4th in the Busch Series and Jamie McMurray finished 12th in the Cup standings.  Since then, Casey Mears’s 2006 season has been the biggest positive, when he finished 14th in points.  Now in 2008, Ganassi’s NASCAR teams are arguably at their lowest.  Juan Pablo Montoya finished 20th in his rookie season, and is currently 21st this year.  Sorenson has yet to have a NASCAR veteran as a teammate, and having all of Ganassi’s NASCAR drivers be inexperienced in these cars cannot be a help to any of them.

This season should not affect Sorenson’s options for the future.  He should not be fired for the shortcomings of an organization that is struggling across the board in NASCAR.  Supposedly, Felix Sabates has stated that they have offered Sorenson a contract and he is mulling it.  Now whether or not he resigns with Ganassi or goes elsewhere, people should take notice of him.  He deserves to at least be considered for other rides such as the #33 of Childress, #12 of Penske, and at DEI. 

Personally, what team Sorenson drives for is not a really big issue to me, as long as it’s one that can give him cars and be successful, whether it’s at Ganassi or elsewhere.   Judging by past history though, Ganassi doesn’t seem to be the best option in that regard.  They don’t appear to have the resources other possible options have, and spreading your resources across NASCAR, IndyCar, and the Rolex Series has to take its toll.

Whether or not Sorenson leaves on his own doing is one thing, but he doesn’t deserve to be fired.  He does, however, deserve to have cars that can show his ability.