Silly Season 2009: Truex, Keselowski, Harvick and More

By Guest Columnist Ashley McCubbin

With Silly Season in full swing for 2009, lots of changes and rumors are making the rounds. What will happen? Who will end up where?

Martin Truex Jr. to Michael Waltrip Racing

Martin Truex Jr. is someone whom has talent - proof rests with his results in previous seasons and two Nationwide (then Busch) championships. The only thing missing at Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing (EGR) is the resources.

Welcome in Michael Waltrip Racing (MWR) and their situation with Michael Waltrip as a driver. Waltrip said at the beginning of the year that if this year didn’t go well, you wouldn’t see him full time in 2010. The proof of that lies in the results and it's not a team problem as David Reutimann proves every week that the team is good. Also, add in pressure from the sponsor mounting that success isn’t coming, something had to be done. So if Waltrip, the owner, adds a driver with talent (Truex) to his line-up, he’ll be set to have three good cars in 2010 as Marcos Ambrose gains more experience.

With Truex Jr. officially leaving EGR, what will happen to the No. 1 team? EGR keeps Bass Pro Shops on board and rumor has it that Aric Almirola will be taking over the No. 1 car for 2010. Almirola had some decent races at the beginning of the year, but the team ran out of funding so they shut down. They still have Juan Pablo Montoya under contract and he’s been finishing in the teens. So a little work and they’ll have a decent team with who they have right now.

Brad Keselowski to Penske Racing

Brad Keselowski got his start with JR Motorsports, which saw a merger with Hendrick Motorsports. After his Nationwide success and win at Talladega in the Cup Series, the rumor mill started. Keselowski said from the beginning that he was committed to trying to stick with a Hendrick associated team. The original plan was for him to split 2010 with Mark Martin, but that fell apart with Martin’s announcement to run full-time once again.

Rumors then began swirling with regards to Stewart-Haas, James Finch Racing, and JR Motorsports. Keselowski could’ve gone to Stewart-Haas in a third car as Tony Stewart talked about expanding, but could they get enough sponsorship? Keselowski could’ve also run full-time for James Finch, whom he won the Cup race for, but would James Finch be up to that? Would he also have the funding?

Lastly, JR Motorsports could’ve bumped their Nationwide program up to a Cup program with Keselowski, but those discussions broke down due to lack of funding. The only open door left was for Keselowski to leave the Hendrick and Chevrolet family to drive a Dodge for Roger Penske at Penske Racing. This looks to be a good move as David Stremme has struggled all year -- and the team is a good team, as Kurt Busch right now sits high in points.

So with that said, who’ll replace Keselowski in the No. 88 Nationwide Series car at JR Motorsports?

Right now, the primary pick looks to be Kelly Bires, he’s a driver who has talent, just no funding to back his old team. Another choice would be Scott Wimmer, he ran part-time for Richard Childress Racing and now for JR Motorsports in the No. 5. In those starts, he’s been a top 10 driver, proving he deserves a chance.

Lastly, Landon Cassill may get the ride, he was under a driver development contract with Hendrick Motorsports and only got kicked out of the scenario due to lack of funding.

Kevin Harvick and Richard Childress

An interesting story broke part way through the summer, Kevin Harvick announced he wanted out of his contract at Richard Childress Racing. Following that, Childress denied letting Harvick out due to the commitment made by himself, Harvick, and their sponsor Shell.

Harvick easily could be backed by his request because of frustrations with the way the team has been running. Even with a crew chief change, the performance hasn’t improved as top 10s are rarely, if at all, seen.

Though Childress couldn’t afford to lose Harvick, he also couldn't afford to lose Shell -- meaning a fourth team without a driver or a sponsor.

A joint statement was released on September 1st stating that both were now committed to each other for 2010. Now, had Harvick gotten out of his contract, where would Harvick have ended up? One situation had him at Stewart-Haas in Stewart’s third car and Harvick bringing over Shell. That would have solved Stewart’s sponsorship dilemma.

Another situation had him turning his Nationwide/Truck team into a Cup operation at Kevin Harvick Inc. with either RCR or Hendrick backing. Everyone has seen the amount of success Stewart is having.

There are many more stories in this Silly Season, but one thing for sure is they all involve funding, or mostly lack of it. With the economy at its current state, funding is hard to come by, therefore making it hard for even good teams to do certain things. Expect more of the same until the economy improves or until then, this will always be a discussion.

The thoughts and ideas expressed by this writer or any other writer on Insider Racing News, are not necessarily the views of the staff and/or management of IRN.