Nascar Nextel Cup Allstate 400 Race at the Brick / Indianapolis on NBC Sunday 8/7 , 2pm ET

This thread is dedicated to the men and women in our country's armed forces defending our freedoms.

Posted on Tue, Aug. 09, 2005

Sabates blasts Roush for contract dealings

By JIM UTTER

ThatsRacin.com Writer

Felix Sabates said he is "laughing my butt off" because Nextel Cup team owner Jack Roush now finds himself in a similar position to one Roush put Chip Ganassi Racing in earlier this year.
"Jack thought that he was above the rest of us," said Sabates, who is a part owner of the Ganassi team. "Now that he started all this, he'd better be big enough to end it."

Roush wants Jamie McMurray in his No. 6 Fords next season, but Ganassi and Sabates have said they plan to hold McMurray to the final option year of his contract as driver of their No. 42 Dodges.

Now Roush has a driver of his own, Kurt Busch, who wants out of a final contract year to move to the No. 2 Dodges owned by Roger Penske.

"When you conduct your business from the weeds, sooner or later the weed-eater will run over you," Sabates said. "It couldn't have happened to a nicer guy."

http://www.thatsracin.com/mld/thatsracin/12342258.htm

Here's more......

Busch is locked into a contract with Roush through 2006 and is seeking an early release so that he might replace Wallace next season. While refusing further comment, Roush organization officials are mulling Busch's request, saying it will take "an indefinite period" to reach a decision.

It might be surprising that Busch is looking forward to a new home seeing as how he's just 20 races removed from winning last year's championship, but such a move isn't without precedent. Both Darrell Waltrip and Rusty Wallace did it following championships won in the '80s. Wallace is the most recent champion (1989) to leave for another team a full year after winning the crown, as every Cup champ from 1990 on has stayed with the same organization with which he won the title.

Despite being a reigning champion, Busch could be seeking a status upgrade. In leaving Roush, Busch will go from being part of a quintet of drivers that includes another Cup champion (Matt Kenseth) and one of the sport's greatest all-time drivers (Mark Martin) to a trio including Ryan Newman and Travis Kvapil at Penske. As a Cup champion – and with the potential this season to become the first repeat champ since Jeff Gordon in 1997 and 1998 – Busch would become the de facto No. 1 driver in the Penske camp.

Even so, Newman has apparently given his blessing to the new marriage.

"Kurt Busch is a great driver and Ryan said he is looking forward to having him as a teammate and working with him," Penske team president Don Miller told the Associated Press on Tuesday.

Being a clear-cut No. 1 in the Roush organization just wasn't in the cards for Busch. Martin has long been looked upon as the unofficial top dog among the five drivers. And even though Martin is due to say goodbye at the end of this season – unless he comes back for a one-year encore in 2006 – neither Busch nor Kenseth, who have the longest tenures and the most success of all five drivers in recent years, would be officially anointed numero uno.

Translation: there likely would be a power struggle. It's almost inevitable, especially when McMurray enters the fold. With three young drivers in Kenseth, Busch and McMurray, along with rising star Carl Edwards and the suddenly successful Greg Biffle, Roush's "everybody's equal" strategy has the potential to fall apart rather quickly due to high-priced egos.

Busch apparently believes the grass is greener at Penske, and his decision to leave is just the latest hint that all might not be well at the Roush camp despite the team's recent success.

Consider the following:

Almost exactly one year ago to the date, Jeff Burton bolted from the Roush camp to join Richard Childress Racing.

Biffle threatened at midseason last year to leave after the season finale at Homestead unless he received better equipment and status within the organization. Things improved after that and Biffle earlier this year signed a new three-year contract to remain with Roush.

Kenseth criticized Roush for not consulting him before signing McMurray. Kenseth continues to make veiled threats that he might be leaving the company soon, with a potential new home awaiting him at DEI. It helps that Kenseth is one of Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s closest friends, as well, though Kenseth has downplayed that possibility.

The future for Edwards had become somewhat murky until Office Depot stepped up last month with a full three-year sponsorship (starting next season), thus keeping Edwards in the Roush camp.
Now Busch, the defending Nextel Cup champion, is on his way out.

Makes you wonder who's next.

More here

Well, there is this.......(what is he talking about?? Elledge going to the #40.) To me, unless contracts are hindering decisions this mean Mears is probably staying. Otherwise, I would think Elledge would go with Casey to DEI. But, I want to know why they are taking Elledge away from Casey?? What's up Mr. Ganassi?

From Jayski:
Ganassi Announcement on Friday: Chip Ganassi will be on hand for a special announcement at Watkins Glen International regarding sponsor activities and plans for the 2006 season on Friday, August 12, 2005 at the Watkins Glen International Victory Lane.(Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates)
Hopefully this will help clear up some of the Silly Season rumors, such as does Casey Mears stay in the #41 Target Dodge? move to a 4th team, #39? go back to Busch so Reed Sorenson can move up to the #41? does Jamie McMurray get out of his contract? if so, then who goes in the #42 Texaco Dodge? Mears? Sorenson? someone else? So far the only thing we know for sire is David Stremme in the #40 Lonestar/Coor Light Dodge in 2006...supposedly #41 crew chief, Jimmy Elledge will be his crew chief.(8-10-2005)

Here is an article that says a lot of nothing! Six paragraphs of what we already knew. --

DEI's short list gets shorter
By BRANT JAMES, Times Staff Writer
Published August 9, 2005

SPEEDWAY, Ind. - Dale Earnhardt Inc. director of motorsports Richie Gilmore would put Matt Kenseth in one of his team's Nextel Cup cars tomorrow. That isn't going to happen, tomorrow or next year, despite recent speculation. The 2003 series champion has one year left on his contract - though Roush signed Jamie McMurray away from Chip Ganassi before his deal is done next season - and Kenseth, a good friend of DEI's Dale Earnhardt Jr. , has let it be known he has unfinished business with Roush Racing.

"(Kenseth's) deal is, he looked at his teammates and saw there are teams that are running good and wants to see if he can get back and win championships," Gilmore said. "He has always been on DEI's short list. He was one of Big E's favorite drivers, and if we could ever get Matt, he would probably be our first choice for a teammate for Junior."

Kenseth finished fifth Sunday in the Allstate 400 - he has five top 10s in the past seven races - but is 15th in points, virtually eliminated from a second Chase for the Championship berth. Teammates Greg Biffle (third in points), defending series champion Kurt Busch (fifth), Mark Martin (sixth) and Carl Edwards (10th) currently qualify for the Chase. All but Martin have won races.

With Kenseth unavailable, Gilmore has trolled the garage in search of a young, marketable driver to replace Michael Waltrip in the No. 15 Chevrolet next season. Gilmore holds out hope Kenseth could drive a fourth DEI entry in 2007, but for now his choices are few. Gilmore said he hoped to have a driver secured within the next few weeks, but another option was eliminated when Casey Mears said he was "99.9 percent sure" he would return to Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates next year.

Mears, 27, in the final guaranteed year of his contract - Ganassi can invoke an option for 2006 - appeared to be a likely candidate. His crew chief, Jimmy Elledge , is married to Earnhardt's sister, Kelley , and DEI seems to value personal relationships in staffing matters. Mears' representative, Cary Agajanian , said Sunday the Ganassi deal was "done."

If Gilmore cannot replace Waltrip, DEI would field the No. 8 Chevrolet for Earnhardt and the No. 1 for defending Busch series champion Martin Truex Jr. Gilmore prefers to fill the No. 15 because NAPA would like to return for a 10th season.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.