NASCAR's “silly season” of driver changes could be closer to an “ugly season” this year.
Not so much because of driver switches.
If Tony Stewart elects to fulfill the final year of his contract with Joe Gibbs Racing before striking out on his own as an owner-driver, there probably won't be a lot of changes this season.
Sans Stewart, the biggest switch will be made tomorrow when Hendrick Motorsports announces Mark Martin will come out of semiretirement in 2009 to replace Casey Mears in the No. 5 car.
Martin, 49, thinks being a teammate to Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. will enhance his chances of winning that elusive first Sprint Cup championship.
Meantime, DEI has already announced that Aric Almirola will become the full-time driver of the No. 8 car he shared with Martin.
Although DEI still hasn't reached an agreement with Martin Truex Jr. for 2009 and Ryan Newman hasn't finalized a contract extension with Penske South, Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle have agreed to terms with Roush Fenway Racing.
But the bigger changes in 2009 could be the loss of rides in the troubled economy.
The warning shot was fired Tuesday when Chip Ganassi Racing announced it was shutting down the car driven by 2007 IndyCar champion Dario Franchitti for lack of a sponsor.
Ganassi had no luck finding a sponsor for Franchitti, who was 41st in the Sprint Cup standings and had no finish higher than 22nd in 10 starts. Franchitti still has a contract to drive the Nationwide Series for Ganassi.
The loss of Franchitti's car leaves only 45 cars entered for the 43 spots in the field Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway. But will there be 43 cars next year?
At least six small teams are experiencing financial trouble because of problems connected with finding sponsors in this economy.
Theoret triumphs
Jean Theoret drove the Miss Beacon Plumbing to victory in the Unlimited Hydroplane season opener Sunday on the Ohio River at Evansville, Ind. Steve David's Oh Boy Oberto was second and Mike Allen's Formulaboats.com was third.
The tour is at Madison, Ind., on Sunday.
CHECKERED FLAGS
Kurt Busch: Gamble on the weather forecast pays off as he skips his last pit stop and ends his 29-race winless streak by leading when the rain stops the Loudon, N.H., race 17 laps shy of the full run.
Brandon Bernstein: Reaches the Top Fuel finals in two straight National Hot Rod Association meets.
Tony Kanaan: Deftly drives around the carnage on the .75-mile oval at Richmond, Va., to score his first IndyCar Series win of the season.
RED FLAGS
Dario Franchitti: He no longer has a NASCAR Sprint Cup ride. Still, the 2007 IndyCar champion is married to Ashley Judd.
Kalitta memorabilia: Although the proceeds are going to charity, isn't two weeks after his death a little soon to be hawking Scott Kalitta memorial decals and T-shirts?
Tony Stewart: Dominated the second half of Sunday's Sprint Cup race at Loudon, N.H., only to have the rain take away a seemingly certain victory.
SCHEDULE
Today
Rolex Grand-Am Sports Car Series, Daytona Beach, Fla.
Tomorrow
NASCAR Sprint Cup: Qualifying, Coke Zero 400, Daytona Beach, Fla. (2.5-mile, high-banked oval; Speed Channel, 1 p.m.).
NASCAR Nationwide Series: Winn-Dixie 250, Daytona Beach, Fla. (100 laps; ESPN2, 5 p.m.) – Kyle Busch won last year's July race with a wild pass that took him across the grass and survived a NASCAR review. Tony Stewart last week scored his fifth victory in seven Nationwide starts in 2008. Denny Hamlin was second and Busch third. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is the only two-time winner of the July race since it debuted in 2002. Clint Bowyer is atop the point standings with a 182-point margin over David Reutimann.
Saturday
NASCAR Sprint Cup: Coke Zero 400, Daytona Beach, Fla. (160 laps, TNT, 5 p.m.) – Jamie McMurray came from 35th on the starting grid to win last year by outrunning Kyle Busch in a sprint to the finish line by .005-second. Busch, who has won five Sprint Cup races this season, leads the driver standings by 64 points over Jeff Burton. Carlsbad's Boris Said, who won the pole for this race three years ago, will try to qualify for this race.
Barona Speedway: Street, factory and pony stocks; Dwarf Cars, 600cc mini sprints; qualifying and practice, 2 p.m., racing 5 p.m.
Sunday
Indy Racing League: Camping World Grand Prix, Watkins Glen, N.Y. (60 laps, 3.4-mile, 11-turn road course; Channel 10, 12:30 p.m.) – Scott Dixon has won the past three IndyCar races on this storied road course. But this will be the first visit to Watkins Glen since the IRL-Champ Car merger, which could favor the drivers from the road-racing Champ Car tour. Both drivers who followed Dixon to the checkered flag last year (Sam Hornish Jr. and Dario Franchitti) have since jumped to NASCAR. Points leader Dixon holds a 43-point edge on Helio Castroneves. Dixon has three wins and eight top-five finishes in nine races this season.
Formula One: British Grand Prix, Silverstone, England (60 laps, 3.194-mile, 14-turn road course) – Felipe Massa won the French Grand Prix two weeks ago to take the season points lead. BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica is second in the standings, two points back.
RACING NUMBERS
6 – World of Outlaw sprint car wins for Donny Schatz in June.
13 – IndyCars damaged in accidents that brought out nine caution flags last week at Richmond, Va.
79 – Career wins for Schatz, a two-time series champ.
