Thread: NASCAR 2009 Silly Season

Well here is my attempt at a thread on the 2009 silly season for NASCAR. Remember, this is a rough draft. Expect frequent updates to this page due to the fast and ever changing scenarios coming out of NASCAR almost daily. There are a lot of cars, teams, and drivers, it wont be as easy as IndyCar.I will be listing the full-time teams and drivers first and then the part-time teams and drivers next. The last thing listed will be the unknowns in reference to drivers, cars, and teams.
If you see a question mark, it means it is an unknown, nothing definite.

Team / Car # & Driver / Manufacturer / Primary Sponsors

Hendrick Motorsports

#5 Mark Martin / Chevrolet / Carquest - Kellogg's - Cheeze-It
#24 Jeff Gordon / Chevrolet / DuPont - National Guard - Pepsi
#48 Jimmie Johnson / Chevrolet / Lowe's - Kobalt Tools
#88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. / Chevrolet / AMP Energy Drink - Army National Guard

Richard Childress Racing

#07 Casey Mears / Chevrolet / Jack Daniel's
#29 Kevin Harvick / Chevrolet / Shell-Pennzoil - Reese's
#31 Jeff Burton / Chevrolet / Caterpillar
#33 Clint Bowyer / Chevrolet / General Mills-Cheerios

Roush Fenway Racing

#6 David Ragan / Ford / UPS
#16 Greg Biffle / Ford / 3M
#17 Matt Kenseth / Ford / DeWalt - R&L Carriers
#26 Jamie McMurray / Ford / Crown Royal
#99 Carl Edwards / Ford / Aflac

Joe Gibbs Racing

#11 Denny Hamlin / Toyota / FedEx
#18 Kyle Busch / Toyota / M&M's-Snicker's-Pedigree
#20 Joey Logano / Toyota / The Home Depot

Earnhardt Ganassi Racing

#1 Martin Truex Jr. / Chevrolet / Bass Pro Shops
#8 Aric Almirola / Chevrolet / ?
#41 Bobby Labonte / Chevrolet / Target
#42 Juan Pablo Montoya / Chevrolet / Wrigley's Gum -Juicy Fruit/Big Red

Penske Racing

#2 Kurt Busch / Dodge / Miller Lite
#12 David Stremme / Dodge / Alltel
#77 Sam Hornish Jr. / Dodge / Mobil 1

Gillett Evernham Motorsports/Petty Enterprises ?

#9 Kasey Kahne / Dodge / Budweiser
#10 Reed Sorenson / Dodge / US Air Force - Valvoline
#19 AJ Allmendinger / Dodge / Best Buy
#43 Driver TBA- AJ Allmendinger ?

Stewart Haas Racing

#14 Tony Stewart / Chevrolet / The Office Depot - Old Spice
#39 Ryan Newman / Chevrolet / US Army

Michael Waltrip Racing

#00 David Reutimann / Toyota / Aaron's - Champion Mortgage
#55 Michael Waltrip / Toyota / NAPA

Robby Gordon Motorsports

#7 Robby Gordon / Dodge / Jim Beam

Red Bull Racing

#82 Scott Speed / Toyota / Red Bull
#83 Brian Vickers / Toyota / Red Bull

Bill Davis Racing (Team sold, full details fortcoming)

#22 Dave Blaney / Toyota / Bad Boy Mowers

Yates Racing

#28 Travis Kvapil / Ford / ?
#38 David Gilliland / Ford / Digital TV Transition?
#98 Paul Menard / Ford / Menard's

JTG Daugherty Racing

#47 Marcos Ambrose / Toyota / Little Debbie's - Clorox -Kingsford Charcoal

Hall of Fame Racing

#96 Possibly Ken Schrader or Scott Riggs / Toyota / Texas Instruments DLP

Boston Ventures - This team is unclear at this time pending the outcome of the most likely merger between GEM and Petty Enterprises. Could be full-time or part-time. It's also unknown as to Kyle Petty with this organization and the #45 car.

Drivers possibly - #43 AJ Allmendinger and #44 Chad McCumbee - Dodge

Part Time Teams & Drivers

Furniture Row Racing

#78 - Regan Smith - Joe Nemechek was bought out of his contract by this team. This team is set to run 12 races.

E&M Motorsports
#08 James Hylton / Dodge / Sponsor ?
Phoenix Racing
#09 Sterling Marlin ? / Chevrolet / Miccosukee Indian Gaming
Germain Racing
#13 Max Papis / Toyota / GEICO
No Fear Racing
#60 Boris Said / Ford / 7-Eleven Slurpee

*The big unknown driver - Elliott Sadler is now looking for a full-time ride.

Originally Posted by Lizardfolk

I'm very surprised to see Kvapil without a ride.

Just goes to show that NASCAR isn't "weeding out" the open wheel outsiders.

Oops. Thanks for mentioning him. I forgot to put him on the list. He is with Yates Racing next year. His sponsor is unknown at this time.

** He is on the list now.

Bobby Labonte is now a free agent. He is no longer with Petty Enterprises or Boston Ventures. Im thinking we may see him driving the #41 car for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing. I also think AJ Allmendinger is running for that car as well.

And in other news reference to the silly season. Robby Gordon Motorsports has switched from driving Dodge to Toyota. Next year, Robby will be driving a Toyota in the sprint cup series.

Well, more Bobby Labonte news. It is official, he will be driving the #41 car for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing next year. The sponsor is Target.

He will be teammates with Juan Montoya, Martin Truex, Jr., and Aric Almirola. I think this is good news for Bobby and I feel he will have a better season next year. (*First Post Updated Accordingly)


This still leaves AJ Allmendinger available for a ride now.

Yes, that Boston Ventures/Petty deal is interesting. Petty will most likely be merging with GEM so who knows how the Boston Ventures will play out and what will happen to the #43 car.

Yes, I think AJ Allmendinger not being signed yet is sad. He really stepped it up towards the end of the year. I hope he gets a ride and has a great season. I think he is well worth a shot at a full-time ride.

The news just came out that it looks like Regan Smith, NASCAR's 2008 Rookie of the Year will move to Furniture Row Racing. I know Furniture Row was set to do 12 races. Maybe now they may do more.

At least he will get some racing in.

Well now it appears that Bobby Labonte will be driving the #96 car for Hall of Fame Racing for 2009.

The reports of what Bobby will drive this year have bounced around a lot.