Waltrip gone sooner than 2006?: Speculation has arisen that Michael Waltrip
may vacate his seat in the No. 15 DEI Chevy prior to the end of the 2005
season. Rumors are swirling around the garage that Waltrip has been offered
to drive the No. 11 Chevy at Joe Gibbs Racing for the last ten races of the
season and next year.
Both teams have denied the report.
Amongst other silly season rumors are: Bobby Labonte heading to the No. 2
Dodge for the 2006 season.
Sterling Marlin replacing the Mike Bliss in the No. 0 Chevy after his
contract at Ganassi expires and David Stremme assumes driving duties of the
No. 40 Dodge.
And Casey Mears out at the No. 41 Dodge to make room for Reed Sorenson.
Sorenson recently tested the No. 39 Ganassi Cup Dodge at Gateway
International Raceway in St. Louis.
Sorenson stated that he was unsure what he would be driving next season.
Finally, that the Eury's may transfer back to the No. 8 of Dale Earnhardt,
Jr. before the end of the season. Tony Eury, Sr. has previously denied that
he and his son Eury, Jr. would return to the No. 8 Chevy. But with
Earnhardt's championship hopes still up in the air; a change might help
buoy that team.
Crew chiefs not worried about tires at Pocono: The June Pocono event was
rife with Goodyear tire failures, but most teams don't seem to be concerned
this time around.
"I'm sure Goodyear has addressed something with the tire," said Todd
Parrott, crew chief of the No. 38 M&M's Ford. "I think the track made some
changes to the tunnel turn, which is a good thing because it was pretty
rough down there."
Jimmy Fennig, Kurt Busch's crew chief also feels that the problems suffered
last race were more due to the racetrack than the tire, "Goodyear brought
the same tire from what we had in the first race, but what they did was
they fixed the curb where everybody had issues.it wasn't Goodyear's tire,
it's what we induced in the tire and what the curb induced in the tire."
Ford Fusion to get track time: Dale Jarrett will test the new Ford Fusion
at Atlanta Motor Speedway next week. AMS was damaged by a tornado a few
weeks ago, but track repairs are underway and going well.
Martin will do one more year if needed: With Chip Ganassi Racing renewing
Jamie McMurray's option to drive the No. 42 Dodge next season, Mark Martin
has been asked by owner Jack Roush to postpone his retirement until the end
of the 2006 season.
Martin was set to retire at the end of this year, and has embarked all year
on a "Salute to You" tour to celebrate his fans.
"Well I am committed to do it," said Martin. "So, I guess that's that. That
is what everybody is wanting to know."
When asked what his ideal situation woud be, it was clear Martin would
prefer that McMUrray be able to take over next season, "McMurray in the 6
in 2006. In my opinion he's the most sought after driver in the garage. We
are fortunate to have him signed for 2007. If it's 2007, then it's 2007.
"I'll ride the car."
