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Posted on 11/21/2008 5:30:10 PM PST by WestCoastGal
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Yep cold and windy all day. We still had some snow on the ground this morning. On the way to the big city I saw even more. Tonight will be the coldest so far. Brrrrrrrrr
that one is amazing!! I agree. :)
God bless them all.
Don’t know where we ended up, but I know I left my jacket in the office 50 miles up the road.
Think Houston’s gonna be in trouble in the morning. At least we’re dry down here.
Your map from last night shows it going over there. It’s fairly early to get a cold blast like we had/have.
If Truex leaves, it could mean the end of merger and demise of DEI
NASCAR is a lot like the weather in Michigan. If you don’t like what you see, stick around because it will probably change soon.
Talk has re-emerged that Martin Truex Jr., who had signed up to drive for DEI (Now Earnhardt Ganassi) for the 2009 season, may in fact be looking elsewhere for a ride. The issue involves the contracts he and his sponsor Bass Pro Shops have with DEI, which require him to have two full-time teammates for the deal to stand.
Currently, in addition to Truex’s fully sponsored team, the #41 car has a full Target sponsorship and the #42 has a partial sponsorship from Juicy Fruit. The #8 DEI car currently has no sponsor for 2009. Though all four would show up at the track to compete each week, Truex may legally be allowed to get out of his contract by claiming the Ganassi cars are only his teammates as a result of this merger. Or even if they count as teammates, there is only 1.5 seasons worth of sponsorship, less than the two specified in the contracts as a requirement.
The details can be argued, and perhaps Truex is just posturing and won’t leave at all, but this is further proof how important someone with a sponsor has become in the garage during this difficult time for the economy. Truex is a solid driver, no doubt, but if you compare him to the rest of the garage he’s far from spectacular. He’s had some good runs, but I wouldn’t exactly call him a superstar.
But compared to his teammates at Earnhardt Ganassi (an unproven Almirola, a struggling Montoya and perhaps a past-his-prime Bobby Labonte) Truex is a stud and the team will do everything it can to keep him. If he were to leave, they would be in an even worse spot than they are right now. Both DEI and Ganassi have struggled mightily over the past few years, and this would be a crushing blow to the newly merged team. Considering there is no driver running around with an attached sponsor, it’s likely the team would only have three drivers.
Even more shocking is the possibility that the merger could be made null and void by a Truex departure. Look at the state of DEI. They had four cars in 2008. The #01 disappeared due to lack of sponsorship. The #15 disappeared when Paul Menard jumped ship. If Truex takes his sponsorship away to another team, the #1 could potentially disappear because there would be no way to operate the team without sponsorship money. That leaves the #8, which has a young, unproven driver and no sponsor.
Why would Ganassi want to stay merged to that?
That would leave DEI as a standalone team with one car and no sponsor … which would mean it’s time to sell the shop and lock the doors. (or, as an alternative, Jr. could swoop in with a few bucks to buy the team at a discount, fulfilling his dad’s hopes for the company).
In short, what happens with Truex will have much deeper implications than where he’s driving next year. It will be very interesting to see how it all plays out.
http://beyondthetrack.blogspot.com/2008/12/if-truex-leaves-it-could-mean-end-of.html
Dale Earnhardt Jr. will stay comfortable and stylish during 2009 with a continued relationship with the Wrangler(R) brand. Today, the denim giant proudly announced it will once again be the official jean of Dale Earnhardt Jr. for a sixth consecutive year. The NASCAR superstar will continue to be featured across a range of high-profile consumer promotions and Wrangler(R) marketing initiatives.
“It’s been an honor to work with Wrangler for all these years, and this relationship has always meant a lot to me,” said Earnhardt Jr. “Wrangler has been a great supporter of my family, my teams and the sport. I couldn’t be happier that we’ll continue to build on the things we’ve already accomplished.”
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/081210/20081210005164.html?.v=1
Global warming!
Heard it was spotty that way this morning. Never did catch son to see what they had, but if you drove through it, they got at least some.
Thank ya’ll for getting me on the ping list.
My current dog is a really old lady now. She’s one who suffered abuse and was, like yours, afraid of everything and everyone when we got her. Now she’s fat, happy, lazy and holds that crabby old lady attitude like she was born to it! She’s a doll. (and a lot like me with the attitude) I have to thank my youngest daughter for talking me into bringing her home. My daughter’s graduated and been away from home for 5 years now but I’ve still got the dog. ;-)
After taking 4 dogs from people who didn’t want them I really am convinced that they make the absolute best pets. I think they know we saved them from something!
Ya’ll had snow on the ground? YIKES!!! That’s too close for comfort, our sleet all melted as it fell.
And on the NASCAR note, I just realized I made it all the way through the last year and never picked up a little 88 car. Dunno how I did that, was cleaning my china cabinet this morning with those things in it and - duh - what happened to me?
Fortunately, it’s Christmas! And my kids know me.
Gosh ST, I can't hardly go from room to room without taking my jacket. I don't always wear it - but we don't have central heat here, and there's parts of the house where the drapes billow when the wind blows. (I been workin' on that.)
Well then, the possibility of Truex leaving DEI leaves a lot to ponder. It’s not a surprising bit of news, but sure brings an emotional outburst of “NO” for the DEI future. That is, unless Jr. thinks he wants to pony up and buy the company.
That would have to be a tough decision for Jr. I think. I would hate to see him lose his opportunity to take DEI, but I would also hate to see him lose these opportunities that Rick Hendrick has given him. And I wonder if driving for Hendrick and operating DEI wouldn’t be too much for him at this point. His dad did it with Childress, but is Jr. ready for that?
Well, you’ve given me another big off-season item to ponder in this down time. LOL
I wonder if Jr. is ready to jump back into that mess at this point? He’s got a promising career going with Hendrick and he knows he’ll have the vehicles he needs, as well as sponsorship, to get the cup eventually. After the upheavals of the trying to buy the company last year he might not want to dive back into that mess. OTOH, if the time is right, he might have to move now or watch his daddy’s company go down the tubes.
And as a side note, I think the writer here is selling Bobby Labonte short. IMO, if given the equipment again he would be able to make the same type of “comeback” that Jeff Burton has. I know RPE has given Bobby their best, but as much as I love all things Petty, the reality is that they’ve really not been contenders on the equipment side of things in years. ~sigh~ Yes, I also realize that DEI/Gnassi won’t have the equipment to provide a Cup contender either. Just my $.02.
I knew there was a reason I’d been wearing Wrangler for most of my life when I saw Jr. in ‘em. ~grin~
Okay, ya’ll can laugh at me because I know most people follow other sports besides NASCAR as well. I don’t watch any other sports unless I have a grandkid or nephew I have to watch personally. I like Jr’s Wrangler commercials. My oldest daughter and I always have to call one another when one of us sees Jr in a new commercial. LOL Well, we started seeing that other guy in Wrangler commercials and I didn’t know who he was. Daughter didn’t know him either, we thought those commercials were a rip-off. The way I found out was that I was at a friend’s house discussing Jr and his Wranglers when I mentioned that sometimes they have the *wrong* guy in them. My friend’s 10 year old son then had to vehemently tell me about Brett Favre!!! He took me to his room and showed me all this stuff on his walls about Brett Favre and football and just couldn’t believe I was so ignorant!
I changed all my windows on the north for just that reason. In reality though, I should have changed all the ones on the south and east because that is the predominant wind direction.
He would have had to ‘splain it to me too. ;)
I have great respect for Wrangler. When it wasn’t clear whether they were staying with DEI or gong with Jr, I e-mailed them about my concerns. They replied!! And not the usual canned answer.
They replied that I should wait just a bit and there would be good news that I would be happy with. :) And, sure enought they were smart enough to follow the boy that does make money for them.
Now as for today........and Bobby Labonte.
Per David Poole on The Morning Drive....Bobby Labonte will be announced as a free agent......
This morning at about 10AMET. According to David, nothing else will be announced yet, other than them saying that PE is in the process of negotiating a merger with another team.
He says it won’t be announced yet but speculation has Bobby going to the 41.
Understand ya. My problem windows are on the west side. Northers comes from the west-northwest mostly. I got 2 of ‘em taken care of last week. Got 5 more I need to deal with ~sigh~ one of ‘em’s in the bathroom. Gives a new definition to cold shower when it’s windy.
I’m glad to know that Wrangler gave you such a response. I find their ladies jeans most comfortable for me and of course they are excellent quality. I have liked Jr being with Wrangler from the first also because Dale Sr started out with them and that kept it a family legacy type thing. Good to know they behave as well as their jeans. ;-)
Well, I wish Bobby could get a great ride. I don’t think he’s washed up in the least but as we know, you must have a good car and team to do well. I was pleased with a lot that happened between him and RPE and had hoped for something better to come of that. He’s our only Texas boy in the series, gotta keep pullin’ for him!
NASCAR writer laid off: The Winston-Salem Journal is laying off 12 employees because of rough economic times. The newspaper reported that it will cut jobs in advertising and finance, among other departments. Most of the lost jobs will affect employees who build ads for local advertisers. The newspaper said three employees were laid off immediately and nine others will be laid off between now and February. Affected employees will receive severance packages. One of those let go was Mike Mulhern, who covered his last NASCAR race for the Journal last month. The paper has ended full-time staff coverage of stock car racing. Mulhern has covered NASCAR for 34 of his 35 years at the Journal.(News and Record), no word on Mulhern’s plans for 2009.(12-11-2008)
I’m halfway, got seven more to be all the way around, with the biggest ones already done. :)
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