Quick Hits: Talladega Superspeedway

As the Sprint Cup Series heads to Talladega for the fourth race of this year’s Chase for the Cup, many teams have already shifted their focus from running well this year to preparing for 2009.

Most teams have already set their driver lineups for the future and are already trying to add their new drivers to the mix this year. It seems that to everybody outside of the Chase, the 2008 season no longer really matters.

Already, Team Red Bull has pulled A.J. Allmendinger from the No. 84 Red Bull Toyota for this weekend. Allmendinger had the best finish of his career (ninth) at Kansas last week, but was removed from the car for Talladega and Charlotte in favor of Mike Skinner.

Red Bull’s driver of the future, former Formula 1 driver Scott Speed, will take over the car at Martinsville and beyond, in preparation for a Raybestos Rookie of the Year run in 2009.

This leaves Allmendinger unemployed for the last month and a half of the season, meaning that his future employer has a shot at acquainting him with his 2009 team right now. Rumors point to Allmendinger moving to a Dodge team, either the No. 41 at Chip Ganassi Racing or the No. 45 at Petty Enterprises next year.

As Reed Sorenson is leaving the No. 41, there’s the slight possibility that Allmendinger could replace Sorenson there by Charlotte, or even the week after at Martinsville. Sorenson would then be free to join Gillett Evernham Motorsports, where he will replace Patrick Carpentier in the No. 10 Dodge next year.

In the past, drivers have finished out the season with their lame-duck teams before moving on. However, more and more owners have moved towards ousting lame-duck drivers towards the end of the schedule in recent years, and more and more departing drivers are asking for an early release.

Kurt Busch was forced out of the No. 97 Ford for the last two races of 2005 by owner Jack Roush after being detained for reckless driving before a race at Phoenix. As 2006 replacement Jamie McMurray was unavailable, as he was still under contract to Ganassi, Kenny Wallace drove the car that weekend, finishing 16th and 21st.

Wallace’s solid performance, despite his lack of practice time in the car, contributed to Furniture Row Racing’s decision to enter him in a full Cup schedule in 2006.

Elliott Sadler was granted an early release by Robert Yates Racing in August 2006. Sadler moved to Evernham Motorsports, which had just booted Jeremy Mayfield from its No. 19 Dodge. Granted, Mayfield had made some acrimonious statements about owner Ray Evernham, but the team wasn’t planning on retaining him anyway after a major dropoff in performance.

While it’s not completely accurate to think that drivers and owners are now more inclined to abandon contracts towards the end of the season, it’s starting to become a trend in Sprint Cup. When next season becomes the focus, teams will do whatever they can to build momentum that they can carry into Daytona.

If cutting a lame-duck driver is the solution, owners won’t hesitate. If asking for an early release is the solution, the driver will go ahead and do it.

The driver doesn’t have as much to lose because he’s, usually, already guaranteed employment for the future. But, with a recent emphasis on driver development (and a lot of other talented drivers, such as Mayfield, currently unemployed), owners don’t need to scramble for solutions as much anymore.

Prepare for more driver musical chairs—here are this week’s five Quick Hits, all dealing with other rumors around the garage area:

5. Despite a 12 race sponsorship commitment from Wells Fargo, Kyle Petty is no longer wanted at Petty Enterprises in the No. 45 car, according to wife Pattie. She says that the team’s new management told Petty before the race at Watkins Glen that they didn’t want him in the car anymore.

She hopes that Chip Ganassi will consider taking Petty on for a part-time schedule next season, perhaps in the No. 40 Dodge that currently sits dormant. Petty drove for the the team, then knwon as Sabco, from 1989 to 1996, posting six wins and a pair of 5th place finishes in points.

4. Michael Waltrip Racing is entering a partnership with JTG Daugherty Racing for 2009, which will switch to Toyota power from Ford. Marcos Ambrose will drive the No. 47 Little Debbie/Clorox Toyota for JTG, which will be run out of Waltrip’s sprawling RaceWorld garage.

Waltrip is also looking to sign Dow Chemicals to co-sponsor David Reutimann’s No. 00 Toyota with Aaron’s Rent for next season. Assuming that both deals go through, and that Waltrip puts together a sponsorship program for Michael McDowell, four cars in-house at MWR for 2009 is a realistic possibility.

3. If A.J. Allmendinger doesn’t join Ganassi, Mayfield is a candidate for the No. 41 ride. Mayfield tested the No. 41 at Lowe’s last week and ran one race for Ganassi this year as a substitute for the injured Dario Franchitti. The car’s Target sponsorship is secure, as the company has been a Ganassi partner for over a decade.

2. Paul Menard will abandon the sinking ship that is Dale Earnhardt Inc. after this season, bringing his Menards family sponsorship over to Yates Racing. Menard will likely drive a third car as a teammate to Travis Kvapil and David Gilliland. Currently, Menard ranks 28th in points, with Kvapil 24th and Gilliland 26th.

The car will likely carry No. 32, No. 90, or No. 98: the first relates to Yates’ current numbers, 28 and 38, and the second and third are other numbers Yates has used in Cup before.

1. Here’s a wild one: 1989 Cup Series champion Rusty Wallace is reportedly considering joining DEI to replace Menard, according to his brother Kenny.

After watching Mark Martin announce a comeback to full-time Sprint Cup racing with Hendrick Motorsports next season, Kenny Wallace said to the Speed Channel that it’s “really tugged on Rusty’s heartstrings.”

Rusty has denied the rumor, citing a long-term contract with ABC and ESPN, but the possibility is still there.

Finally, congratulations to last week’s winners at Kansas: Denny Hamlin in Nationwide, and Jimmie Johnson in Sprint Cup.