Chip Ganassi Racing

Sorenson with one foot out at Ganassi

After Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates made former open wheeler Juan Pablo Montoya when they fired his crew chief, Jimmy Elledge, against his request just a couple of weekends to go.

With Silly Season getting sillier, there is now speculation that Juan Pablo may make the move to Joe Gibbs Racing if Tony Stewart decides to leave the organization this year.

This scenario may be the only way Reed Sorenson will be able to stay at Ganassi.

Sorenson started as a developmental driver for the team in the Busch series (now Nationwide Series). He was quickly given a cup ride at the age of 20. In all, Sorenson has been within the CGR organization for five years.

Sorenson is a free agent after this season. With his performance at CGR, it is a long shot that he will be resigned.

Sorenson’s performance isn’t the only thing that could play against him.

One of Ganassi’s IndyCar drivers, Dan Wheldon is rumored to be interested in following the likeness of Dario Franchitti and Montoya in making the jump for the Sprint Cup Series next year.

Sorenson’s performance has not changed much for the better since his rookie year. He has now wins yet in the Sprint Cup Series. He only has 5 Top-5s, 12 Top-10s, and 1 pole. He has compiled $9,383,680 in career winnings, and out of 23,036 laps he has only led 132 laps.

When reached for comment from Amy Vadnais - Public Relation for Reed Sorenson - she wished not to comment until she had more information. So there is now word if there are contract negotiations at this time. I will be following this and other free agent stories throughout the year at NASCAR FanZone and the Finish Line blog.

Last time for Jarrett

The upcoming NASCAR Sprint Cup All-Star race in Concord, NC is planned to be the career finale for Dale Jarrett. Wouldn’t it be great if he could win his first career all-star race this weekend?

Dale Jarrett will be in the race because of his 1999 Sprint Cup Series championship.

Dale Jarrett started his luxurious career in 1977. Racing at a Track his father (Ned Jarrett) owned, Hickory Motor Speedway.

“Enjoy this. We all have our time in this, and mine has been fantastic. To me, it has been an honor and a privilege to be able to race in this series and say I raced with and against and sometimes beat the best in the world. Thanks for allowing me to do that. Enjoy it. It’s a great sport, and you guys make it what it is.”

That was the quote from Dale Jarrett prior to his last points race at Bristol.

Dale Arnold Jarrett has achieved many awards and honors in his life. Including 1999 Sprint Cup champion, 2004 USG Person of the Year, and in 1998, he was named one of NASCAR’s 50 greatest drivers.

In 680 races, Jarrett has 32 wins, 163 top fives, 260 top tens, 16 poles, he has completed 185,947 laps (236,209.6 miles) - leading 6972 laps. Over 24 years of racing in NASCAR’s highest series, he has accumulated $46,725,581 in winnings.

At Lowe’s Motor Speedway, 3 wins in 42 starts.

So, this weekend, NASCAR will be saying Goodbye to a champion, and one of the greatest racers in the history of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing.

(Left to right) H.A. ‘Humpy’ Wheeler, president and general manager of Lowe’s Motor Speedway, and Dale Jarrett unveil the car that the 1999 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion will drive in his final event, the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C. on May 17. (Photo Credit: HHP / Harold Hinson)

NASCAR Stocks: Moving Up, Going Down (Top 10 Drivers)

If the top driver rankings were a race it would look like this: there’s a pack of drivers shifting spots like a draft pack on a super speedway. While they shift a little, it’s still the same group of guys. Then there’s a driver in between packs, followed by another group of drivers fading back, but ahead of the rest of the field.

As we make our way deeper in to Turn One of the 2008 season, we may be able to identify trends that will set the stage for the remainder of the season. A driver can always zig-zag his way from the back a la Dale Earnhardt, but I think we have a pretty good idea who the top contenders are.

Here’s how my Top 10 shapes up this week:

#10- Greg Biffle (down from 9th)- I must admit that I’m surprised to re-discover that Biffle finished 9th at Phoenix. That has to be about the quietest top 10 there is. You may take out of this that the Vancouver, Washington native is still very solid, but there are others moving past him. Still, Biff is having a much better season than 2008 as he and his Roush teammates log one solid finish after another. He may not be a front-runner right now, but he’s looking like a Jeff Burton-type, hanging around, in position to win should somebody up front mess up.

#9- Kevin Harvick (down from 8th)- After a run of 4 top 10s and a 2nd place finish at Bristol, “Happy” hasn’t been so joyful over the last 3 events. His 19th place in the Subway Fresh Fit 500 is once again testament to his ability to overcome challenges, but Harvick’s got a group ahead of him getting better results.

#8- Clint Bowyer (up from 10th)- Bowyer snuck his way up front to a 2nd place finish Saturday- his 5th straight Top 10, and the closest the Kansan has come to victory lane in 2008. His recent average finish over the last 5 races of 6.2 is quite impressive and gives one the impression he may kick the door down soon.

#7- Tony Stewart (down from 4th)- Though the 3 place drop may seem dramatic, the fact is “Smoke” is just getting warmed up for his second half run. After the Atlanta debacle, Stewart has put forward a yeoman’s effort with an average finish of 8th over the last 5 races. Nothing to get real excited about, but 7th is still a very good place to be at this juncture of the season.

#6- Kyle Busch (down from 3rd)- Joe Gibbs’ newest addition hasn’t quite attained the same lofty results he’s had in the other series, as “Shrub” is fighting off a bit of inconsistency. He can be great one race, and pretty ordinary by Busch standards the next. By the same token, I’m sure there are 50 other NASCAR drivers who’d love to be 2nd in the point standings.

#5- Dale Earnhardt Jr. (no change)- I was just sure “Junebug” had a win in the bag Saturday. Earnhardt led for 87 laps before giving way to Mark Martin, and eventual winner Jimmie Johnson. Junior hasn’t closed the deal yet, but Talladega is in his “wheelhouse”, so look for #88 to keep building on a good start in 2008.

#4- Denny Hamlin (up from 6th)- I really like what Hamlin is doing right now. He’s reminding me why there was so much hype over he and Clint Bowyer at the beginning of 2006. Denny has 3 top 5s in a row, including the win at Martinsville. So….who thought #11 would be Joe Gibbs hottest driver at this point in the season? Hey- don’t lie to me! I’ll watch with interest how he handles the high speeds and wide open racing at Talladega.

#3- Carl Edwards (down from #2)- He may have never led at Phoenix, but he fought his to 4th, another nice finish after the 42nd place debacle at Atlanta. If not for the 100 point penakty resulting from the loose oil tank lid at Las Vegas, 2008’s leader in wins would be 2nd in points.

#2- Jimmie Johnson (up from 7th)- Johnson’s performance is becoming too difficult to ignore. While a “3-peat” may be asking too much of ANY driver, no matter how GOOD he is, there can be no question that the Lowe’s/Kobalt Chevrolet will be a factor. In fact, I’ll go as far as to predict that the final top five (not necessarily in order) will be Johnson, Edwards, Earnhardt, Kyle Busch and Tony Stewart.

#1- Jeff Burton (no change)- I came very close to giving this spot to Johnson, BUT you have to give J.B. props for being the most consistent driver of 2008. This is what sets Burton apart from upstarts like Edwards and Busch, who may be more spectacular. The 40-year-old just doesn’t drive himself into trouble. that can work two ways though, and if the aforementioned youngsters keep piling up the wins, Burton will eventually fade.

Ready to Strike: Martin Truex, Kasey Kahne, Matt Kenseth and Ryan Newman are all poised to move up. Truexmay be the guy to really watch in this mix with some good recent runs. Kahne, Newman and Kenseth have been snake bit of late. But as Frankie Stallone used to sing “I am down, but far from over.” (Pop culture reference of the day). 

We may have had some races that haven’t been that thrilling, but you must admit- there’s a lot more suspense in the driver’s standings than we’ve had in some time. You can’t get around the fact that the drivers at Roush, Childress, Hendrick and Gibbs are head and shoulders above the rest, but I still see Penske, Evernham and maybe even Ganassi, or Red Bull or perhaps even Michael Waltrip pulling off wins in 2008.