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As Stock Car Talk reported earlier in the week, and now buffeted by a recent CBS Sportsline.com report, Joe Gibbs Racing may not be entirely comfortable putting Joey Logano into the #20 car full-time in 2009. There continues to be serious talk within the organization about putting a veteran driver in the car for most of ’09, allowing Logano to run a full Nationwide schedule and a few select Cup races before going full-time with the big boys in 2010.
Based on conversations with various garage sources, it’s sounding more and more likely that David Stremme will replace Ryan Newman in the #12 Dodge next year. And just why would that be? Because Penske Racing’s top choice as the replacement for Newman, Martin Truex Jr., is very likely headed to Richard Childress Racing if the wrangling over his Dale Earnhardt Inc. contract can be worked out. Stremme currently conducts tests for Penske Racing, and has seen the organization take a shining to him over the course of the last couple of months.
Speaking of Truex, the whispers of his moving on to Stewart-Haas Racing and being the driver of a yet-to-be-formed third team will not go away. There is no concrete evidence that there will even be a third team at SHR in ’09, let alone with Truex behind the wheel, but the rumors of such a move are out there and slowly gaining momentum.
Much like the above-mentioned Truex rumor, the talk of Juan Pablo Montoya leaving Ganassi Racing at season’s end and moving to Penske will not go away either. While the Montoya speculation is out there, two well-placed sources called Montoya leaving his current team a very remote possibility at best.
One place Truex will not be headed in ’09? Penske Racing, and you can take that one to the bank and forget any rumors you hear which state otherwise. Truex has heard the talk regarding the inner-workings at Penske, and does not want to go from one dysfunctional organization to another.
Casey Mears, released from his Hendrick Motorsports’ contract effective at the end of the 2008 season, could very well land at DEI should the rumors of Truex leaving DEI for RCR/SHR and Stremme filling the #12 Dodge spot come to fruition. However, there is one source SCT speaks to on a regular basis who continues to insist that Mears will land at Penske when everything is all said and done. No offense to the source, but such an opinion is seemingly based on Mears’ and Penske’s open-wheel ties, with Casey’s uncle Rick Mears serving as a consultant to Penske being the impetus to such a rumor.
It looks as though David Stremme is one of the drivers being looked at to replace Ryan Newman in the #12 Dodge next season. It was announced earlier today that Newman, whose contract runs out at the end of the 2008 season, would not be re-signed by Penske Racing. -- SOURCE: David Poole of the Charlotte Observer
A contract between Newman and Stewart-Haas Racing “is nearly completed, just some ‘i’-dotting and ‘t’-crossing left” an industry source told Stock Car Talk earlier this morning.
One report has labeled the deal between Newman and SHR as “done”, and that the announcement of said deal will most likely happen next weekend at Indianapolis. – SOURCE: David Moody of Sirius Radio and the Motorsports Soapbox
There is a quiet rumbling off in the distance that Juan Pablo Montoya could be headed to Joe Gibbs Racing, either as the replacement for Tony Stewart in the #20 car or as the driver of a yet-be-created fourth team at JGR. It’s believed Montoya has an owner-controlled option in his contract for the 2009 season, and it’s highly unlikely that Ganassi Racing would not exercise that option.
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