A.J. Almendinger – CaptainBlowdri

April 17, 2009April 18, 2009

The Dinger ???

Richard Petty Motorsports has just announced that the team has secured sponsorship up to Richmond in Sept. for the 2009 season. Additionally RPM has announced that they have signed “The Dinger” through the end of the 2010 season!

All this comes as sources in the garage area leaked that there was great interest in the availability of one A. J. Almendinger as a driver. It would appear that the management of RPM decided to lock “The Dinger” in to a contract so that other teams couldn’t snag him out from under their feet!!

For RPM, it appears that they have a young driver with a huge amount of talent in the #44 Dodge. “The Dinger” has exhibited moments of excellence. Most recently he finished third in the rain shortened 2009 Daytona 500. He is firmly sitting in 20th place in the 2009 Cup standings, which locks him into the races each week. So A.J. appears to becoming more comfortable in the NASCAR ranks, and seems to have finally figured out just how to manhandle these massively heavy race cars!

Sill, this reporter must question “The Dinger” hitching his wagon to RPM. This an organization of the merged Gillette-Evernham Racing and Petty Enterprises. Both of these organizations were weaker than their counter parts in 2008. The questions now would be, is this merged organization equal to the task of being a first tier team??? Can RPM win races??? What affect will the either merger of Chrysler with Fiat, or the bankruptcy of Chysler have on the NASCAR Dodge teams?

What is your take on this subject? Please participate in the poll below.

January 1, 2009January 1, 2009

The End of an Era!

THIS WEEK’S STORY LINES

1. IT IS OFFICIAL– PETTY MERGED WITH GEM:(foxsports.com)

2. ALMENDINGER REPLACES SADLER @ GEM:(espn.com)

3. LABONTE LOOKING FOR A NEW RIDE:(motorsports soapbox)

4. WOOD BROS. RUNS A PARTIAL SEASON:(espn.com)

5. EARNHARDT-GANASSI SCRAMBLES FOR SPONSORS:(racing one)

6. HMS SUES DEI AND GINN RACING:(SceneDaily)

7. 2009 TENTATIVE TEAM CHART: (jayski.com)

8. BILL DAVIS SELLS RACE REAMS: (scene daily)

9. EVERNHAM STILL WANTS A ROLE IN NASCAR:(Charlotte Observer)

The 2009 season will witness an end of an era!!! On Christmas Eve Petty Enterprises merged with Gilette-Evernham Motorsports. On the outside that statement really does sound like an earth shaking event, but let us look closer. Earlier in the 2008 season Richard Petty sold a majority interest in his family business of Petty Enterprises to Boston Ventures. That is the same Petty Enterprises that his father, legendary NASCAR icon Lee Petty, started in 1949 in NASCAR’s infancy. The same Petty Enterprises that dominated NASCAR in the 1960’s and early 1970’s. That is the same Petty Enterprises that produced the “Petty Blue” color scheme on the Plymouths of those glory years. Richard Petty and NASCAR have been synonymous for the last 50 years! With this merger, Richard Petty has relinquished his control and influence in Petty Enterprises!! The details have yet to be made public, but one thing is for sure, the number 43 is now in the Gilette-Evernham Motorsports stable!

Speaking of GEM, with this merger just being announce, there are some shake-ups in the driver’s seat there. It appears that, even after signing a two year contract extenion, Elliot Sadler has been ousted from the #19 Dodge. A. J. Almendinger is set to replace Sadler in that ride. It also apears that Reed Sorenson is set to jump into the “newly acquired #43 Dodge GEM Dodge”!!

In another sign of the tough times, Bill Davis has sold his racing operations to Triad Racing Development. The 2009 season for #22 Toyota is still up in the air. The new owners are trying desparately to secure sponsorship in order to put that car on the track for the 2009 season. The economic environment is proving to wreak havoc in the NASCAR garage for the 2009 season. The DEI-Ganassi merger, Earnhardt-Gannasi Racing (EGR) likewise is finding sponsorship a difficult chore. Even though the new team will be running Chevrolets, they are still “beating the bushes” for sponsorship for their four teams!

COMMENTARY:

When this reporter read that Petty Enterprises merged with GEM, it piqued my interest. When the details come out, it will reveal that Richard Petty will no longer have a stake in his NASCAR racing team. It appears that the Petty name will remain, but “The King” will not have an owner’s stake in it!

This reporter remembers his one and only conversation with “The King”. I was about 1987 at the Atlanta airport. I walked into the restroom in the C concourse “to let out some diet coke”. As I was standing there a tall slender gentleman walked up next to me. As I slowly looked to my right I noticed the big hat, sunglasses, and an embroidery of an STP #43 on his hip pocket of his jeans. Holy Moly, it is Richard Petty!!! As we washed our hands I engaged him in some conversation. I first acknowledged how much I loved watching him race! I then asked him a few questions, which he very gracefully answered. I then asked him a question that I heard was true. I asked “The King”, about his philosphy of signing autographs. He told me, “Son I will sign autographs til there is nobody left that wants one. I learned a long time ago that if there is nobody in the stands watching the races, then I don’t make any money! ”

Here I was talking to a NASCAR icon, an American Hero, presumably a wealthy race car owner and businessman. What really surfaced there was that Richard Petty, Mr. NASCAR, “The King”, was a very humble good ol boy and southern gentleman!! He was very appreciative that this young airline pilot at the time acknowledged him. But more importantly, he took time to talk to me, answer my questions and take an interest in what I was asking him. He wan’t all business!!

GOD BLESS YOU RICHARD PETTY!! THOSE ARE HUGE SHOES THAT YOU LEAVE TO FILL!!

ONCE AGAIN, I LOOKED IT UP SO THAT YOU WOULDN’T HAVE TO!!

IT IS 45 DAYS TILL “GENTLEMEN START YOUR ENGINES”!!!!!!

I WISH YOU ALL A VERY HAPPY AND POSPEROUS NEW YEAR

September 30, 2008

The Winds of Fate

THE STORY LINES:

1. JIMMIE JOHNSON WINS @ KANSAS:

2. WALTRIP COULD ADD AMBROSE? (SceneDaily.com)

3. ALMENDINGER IS OUT OF #84 NEXT WEEK: (NASCAR.com)

4. STANTON BARRETT TO IRL: (SceneDaily.com)

5. MIKE WALLACE TO DRIVE #33 FOR RCR @ TALLADEGA: (RCR PR)

6. PAUL NEWMAN PASSES AWAY: (ABC News)

7. PAUL MENARD MOVES TO YATES RACING: (AP)

8. KYLE PETTY OUT OF #45? (Winston-Salem Journal)

9. DEI STRUGGLING TO FIND SPONSORSHIP:

10. ARMY MOVES TO #39 STEWART-HAAS CHEVY: (captainthunderracing.com)

“The three horse race” just distanced themselves a little further from the pack Sunday. It appears the Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards, and Greg Bifle teams are turning up the heat on the rest of the “Chasers”!! Sunday they all, in their own way, showed dominance during the Kansas race. It was an extremely exciting final three laps!! With Johnson leading the race, Edwards made up about ten car lengths down the back stretch of the last lap. Going into turn three Edwards drove it so deep and blew by Johnson by approximately 3 car lengths, but couldn’t keep his Ford off the outside retaining wall. Edwards just hit it hard enough to slow his momentum and Johnson went back by him as they exited turn 4 heading to the finish line!!! What a finish to the race!!!!

Several driver changes were announced or hinted. A. J. Almendinger has been released from the #84 Red Bull Racing Toyota. The team announced that Mike Skinner and Scott Speed will share ther ride for the rest of 2008. Next year Scott Speed, the former Formula 1 and possibly new ARCA champ, will be the new pilot of that ride. Paul Menard will take his Daddy’s money, Menard’s Home Improvement Stores, and leave DEI for Yates Racing. Speaking of DEI, the Army sponsorship is leaving and moving over to the #39 Stewart-Haas Racing Ryan Newman Chevy. That leaves DEI in a quandry over sponsorship money!!! The #8 and #15 have no sponsorhip money, likewise the #01 has only a 12 race deal. There is likely a change of driver for the #45 Petty Dodge. It appears that there is a power stuggle going on in that organization! VP of Operations, Robby Loomis, is intimating that Kyle Petty has driven his last race in the #45 Petty Dodge. However, Kyle doesn’t seem to be going along with that decision!! Lastly, there is a rumor flowing through the garage that Michael Waltrip Racing may be interested in adding Marcos Ambrose and his sponsor Little Debbie’s to his stable.

In conclusion, this reporter would be remiss if I failed to acknowledge the passing of Paul Newman. Not only was Paul Newman an extrordinary actor, father, husband, entrepenuer, and philanthropist; he was an excellent race car driver in his own right and CART/IRL car owner. To this reporter, there were several characters he portrayed that were memorable! Newman played the title character in “Cool Hand Luke” and the phrase that resonates in my mind is “what we have here is a failure to communicate“!!!!! His role in “The Hustler” and reprised again in “The Color of Money” were classic!! Lastly his two pictures with Robert Redford, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and The Sting, were classic Paul Newman!!!!Newman started the company, Newman’s Own, giving all the profits to charity!!!

He was intrumental in starting “The Hole In The Wall Gang”, a non-profit camp for terminally ill children. He gave to charity tens of millions of dollars in his latter years! The Hole In Wall Gang idea was influential to Kyle and Patti Petty in forming THE VICTORY JUNCTION GANG CAMP.

Go rest high on that mountain, Paul Newman, your work here on earth in done!!