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Petty closing doors — merging with Gillett Evernham

After more than 60 years in racing and 10 championships, it appears the most well known name in NASCAR is hanging up the keys.

According to FoxSports.com multiple sources have confirmed that America’s first family of stock car racing will shut its doors down and merge with Gillett Evernham Motorsports.

The report says that the deal was reached on Christmas Eve but will not be announced until some time next week.

Earlier this week it was announced that AJ Allmendinger would replace Elliot Sadler in the #19 Dodge, with Reed Sorenson taking over the #43 car. Kasey Kahne is still expected to drive the #9, while no mention has been made of who will drive the #10 car.

This is definitely a big disappointment to see the ‘King’ step aside from his team, but it comes as no surprise as Petty Enterprises has struggled in recent years.

According to the report on FoxSports, most of the remaining 39 employees at Petty Enterprises will conclude their duties at the Mooresville-based shop today. The company recently moved to what was formerly the Yates Racing complex in Level Cross, N.C.

Robbie Loomis, Petty VP of Racing Operations, is expected to assume a managerial role under the new partnership, which will likely be rebranded under the Petty banner, according to FoxSports’ Lee Spencer.

B-Blog

Top-10 New Years Resolution for a NASCAR fan

Top-10 New Years Resolutions for the NASCAR fan!

1. I will not punch my friend when he cheers after my favorite driver wrecks — OK, so we’ve all been in this situation before right?? No?? Well maybe my friends and I watch the races a little different than you all, but nothing aggravates a fan more than coming back from a commercial break and seeing the yellow-flag out because their favorite driver took a chunk out of the wall in turn two. So this year, pledge to hold in that anger and instead of punching your friend, simply begin to cheer that their driver hits a piece of debris from your driver, cuts a tire and joins him in the garage. This holds especially true for Jeff Gordon fans. Face it guys, you all like the most loved — and hated — NASCAR driver in the sport and almost every one will cheer when Gordon goes out of a race.

2. I will not cry when Jimmie Johnson wins his fourth championship in 2009 — You can almost bet that Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus will be vying for a fourth consecutive championship in 2009. The team is just awesome, well the team, the driver, the crew chief, the owner, everything about the #48 team is nearly unbeatable. Just when fans thought someone else would bring home the trophy in 2008, the Lowe’s team stepped it up and did just enough to hold off charging Carl Edwards for the championship.

3. I will be as fit as my favorite driver — So this one may be tougher for Edwards fans versus say Tony Stewart fans — no offense ‘Smoke’ — but it’s an interesting resolution to go along with the fan favorite of losing weight. There was a commercial during the 2008 season that was hilarious in which a fan asked NASCAR drivers what to do about a girl-friend who complained that he did nothing but sit on the couch during races. Johnson, Elliot Sadler and Kevin Harvick are the three drivers that give answers. Sadler suggests the caller skip the nachos to ‘reduce his drag’ while Johnson offers advice that the caller take a few ‘trips’ around the living room every time the drivers pit. Harvick outshines them all and suggest the caller ‘try a different girlfriend.’ Johnson’s idea here is interesting and is one way a fan can try and stay in shape, but instead of doing it during the pit-stops [one of the most fun parts to watch] try it out during the 50 commercial breaks.

4. I will try and make it to at least one race during 2009 — Come on NASCAR fans, it’s time to step back up and start going to the races again. I know the economy is down and people don’t have a lot of money to spend, but one sure fire way to get the economy back going is to spend the little bit of money you do have. Now I’m not suggesting you take money that is going to feed your family for a month and visit a race track, but if you can’t afford one of the larger venues such as the Sprint Cup Series, then try out a Nationwide or Camping World Truck Series race — heck if that’s too much, visit your local dirt and short-tracks and support the sport you love. Local tracks are everywhere and most offer racing every Saturday night for $5 to $10. That’s one less Big Mac meal during the week. NASCAR is struggling and the fans need to step up and get behind the sport they love.

5. I promise not to throw beer cans at the track when Gordon wins a race — I am by no means a Gordon fan, but come on people, throwing beer cans — and anything else for that matter — at the track is just wrong. Gordon may be one of the most disliked drivers in the series, but he deserves the respect that he is often not given. The man has won four championships and did so during a time when winning actually meant being able to drive a race car and not simply driving for one of the top teams. Gordon also won his championships while racing along side perhaps the greatest racer ever, Dale Earnhardt. If anyone thinks they can strap in a car at 200+ m.p.h. and race door-to-door with NASCAR’s greatest drivers, I’d like to see them try!

6. I will not wear my retired drivers gear to the race track — Face it ladies and gentlemen… Rusty Wallace, Richard Petty, Bill Elliot [for the most part] and so many other great drivers have RETIRED! That means they are done, and no longer race, so quit showing up to the race tracks wearing your 1989 championship shirt for Wallace, all the while slamming down Miller Lite’s because that was the sponsor on Wallace’s car before he retired. It’s all good to hold true to your #1 driver, but once they go on and retire, find you a new driver to follow. There are all kinds of drivers out there needing some love. See A.J. Allmendinger, Brian Vickers and Juan Pablo Montoya, all three of which would love to have you as a new-found fan!

7. I will not jump on the band wagon of the driver leading the points — This is a big one, and may even deserve to be higher then seventh place, but nonetheless, if you have a favorite driver, stick with that driver throughout the season. Nothing irritates me more than when one week you talk to a guy at the office and he says, ‘my man Carl Edwards is leading the points this week…’ and then the next week, Edwards wrecks and finishes last and Kyle Busch takes over the lead. On Monday, that same guy comes into work and goes, ‘did you see my man Kyle Busch take over the points lead  yesterday?’ You want to smack them right then in the face and be like, ‘you ain’t a true fan…’ The bottom line to being a fan is you have to hang on through the tough times [which seems to happen more so than not] and the good times. There will be races that your driver finishes in the top-5 or may even pull off a win, but there will be just as many, if not more, days that your driver finishes in the bottom-10 or dead last, it’s part of being a fan,  you have got to stick with your driver.

8. I will not complain when the same five drivers rise to the top — You know it’s going to happen… I know it’s going to happen… The same drivers year in and year out are going to rise to the top of the field, that’s why they are considered the best drivers in the series. Granted, there may be one or two changes among the top-5, but I can almost guarantee that the 12 that made the chase this past season, will be the 12 that make it this season, with minor changes. The teams have it figured out and know their way around the race tracks, that’s why they finish there every year. It’s tough if your driver isn’t one of those top-5 or even top-12, but that’s the name of the game. Hang in there Sparky, Michael Waltrip may one day return to prominence.

9. I will not turn off the race [or leave] if my driver is eliminated — Sure, who likes to stick around and watch a race when their driver is taken out going into turn one of the first lap? But, the real deal is that NASCAR needs it’s fans to stick around and continue watching the race. Sponsors want to see fans in the seats and ratings sky-high on television. Trust me, one day that may come back to bite you whenever the top sponsors pull out of the sport because nobody is watching anymore and the sport fizzles away [I know that's unlikely to happen, but it could!] First off, if you paid for a ticket to get into the race, you might as well stay and watch it. Find someone else to root for during that race and make things interesting. Start a poll with your buddies on who will lead the most laps and/or how many leaders there will be. There is a lot more to do while watching a race then just watching your driver go in circles for five hours!

10. I will not get plastered while at a race — Let’s get this straight fellers… NOBODY wants to bring their little child to a race only to have some 250 pound drunk guy with his belly hanging out cuss at Gordon for five hours. OK, nobody in general wants to see and/or hear that. It’s not amusing to watch someone get so drunk that they don’t even remember where or who they are anymore. Also, being someone who has never done it before, how do you even enjoy the race when you are so out of it that you probably don’t even remember who led the first lap? Anyway, it’s not fun to watch and doesn’t seem like it would be fun to go through, seriously, you pay $125 for a ticket, only to get drunk and miss the whole thing?

That’s my top-10 New Years Resolutions for the NASCAR fan in 2009. Some are funny, some are serious, but it’s all in fun and of course these are just my opinions.

Have a suggestion on what should be included, feel free to comment below and let me know what you think.

B-Blog

Sadler replaced by Allmendinger

It looks like the merger between Gillett Evernham Motorsports and Petty Enterprises is going to cost one driver his job — Elliot Sadler.

Sadler piloted the #19 Dodge in 2008, but according to ESPN.com multiple sources close to the organization have confirmed the change…

Allmendinger has limited experience at the cup level, but really stepped it up after being taken out of his #84 Toyota for multiple races during the past season.

In 2008, Allmendinger made 29 starts with 2 top-10s, including a career best of 9th at Kansas in September. He also won the Sprint Showdown in Charlotte to make the Allstar Race…

Sadler on the other hand finished 24th in the driver points and had 8 top-10s and 2 top-5s in 2008, including a 4th place showing at The Brickyard in July.

Sadler has 3 career wins in 10 seasons, but has not visited victory lane since 2004.

According to the article on ESPN: “GEM CEO Tom Reddin told team employees and sponsors the news just before Christmas, causing some sponsors to consider leaving, according to team sources.”

The article continues to say, “Sources also said Ray Evernham, who founded the team and sold majority ownership to George Gillett, cleared out all personal possessions from the team’s shop, including the 2002 Brickyard 400 trophy he won as owner of Bill Elliott’s No. 9 Dodge.”

With Allmendinger’s addition to the driving stable, GEM will field at least three cars — #9 Kasey Kahne, #43 Reed Sorenson [who was originally set to drive the #10] and the #19 for Allemendinger. No mention was made of who — if anyone — would drive the #10.

According to Fox Sports, Sadler is rumored to the #41 Chevrolet at Earnhardt-Ganassi or the #77 Dodge at Penske Racing. The site says Sam Hornish Jr. may be headed back to the Indy Racing League after current driver Helio Castroneves faces trial and possible jail time over IRS charges…

The same article on Fox Sports said that former DEI driver and reigning Rookie of the Year Regan Smith, will drive the #78 for Furniture Row Racing in 2009…

B-Blog

FastMachines.com Radio Episode #20 - The Apocalypse Episode!

Well given the apocalyptic events of the last two weeks we’ve decided we couldn’t wait until after the holidays to chat about it. Josh, Chris and George talk about the big news that Honda is out of F1 next year…and Chris sheds a tear for Audi…who has announced that they are out of ALMS next season. We also go around and around a bit about GM/Ford/Chrysler and the future of NASCAR racing factory support. And this is really the last one until January…seriously. For real.

Let us know what you think by commenting on this posting, or shoot Chris and I an email by sending to radio@fastmachines.com.

Click below to listen to us right now in your browser…

Click here to download the MP3 of this week’s podcast and load it on your iPod or whatever you listen to your tunes on.

The FastMachines.com Radio Podcast is brought to you by:

Michelin - Race to Learn, Race to Win

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FastMachines.com Radio Episode #19 - The Lost Episode!

Various circumstances and the ensuing holidays made the posting of this show about a friggen month late. Which is sad because it’s a pretty good one. Johnny from LiveFastRacing.com joined us to wrap up the various professional road racing motorcycle series’ seasons. We talk MotoGP, AMA Superbike, and World Superbike too. There are also some silly remarks about F1, and of course NASCAR (go back in time …to a time before Jimmie Johnson was a three time champion…find out who called it right). This is normally where I say “show notes below the fold” …but it’s been so long I just want to get this MP3 posted so we can all move on with our lives! Not sure when the podcast will be back, but I’m willing to bet it won’t be until January - so happy holidays if you don’t hear from us before then! We hope you enjoyed listening to this new podcasting “experiment” as much as we’ve enjoyed putting it out there.

Let us know what you think by commenting on this posting, or shoot Chris and I an email by sending to radio@fastmachines.com.

Click below to listen to us right now in your browser…

Click here to download the MP3 of this week’s podcast and load it on your iPod or whatever you listen to your tunes on.

The FastMachines.com Radio Podcast is brought to you by:

Michelin - Race to Learn, Race to Win