The Musical Chairs Of NASCAR

Every year, as the NASCAR season winds down, the Sprint Cup "silly season" begins to heat up again.  Most of the larger named drivers and teams try to have moves and plans nailed down by late summer at the latest, but most of the smaller teams have to make quick adjustments for the coming season late in the year.

This year is, of course, no different.  Most of us followed the signings of Carl Edwards and Danica Patrick as the larger ships to fall this year, but many questions are unanswered for several drivers heading into the offseason.

With the anticipated closing or reconfiguration at Red Bull Racing, Brian Vickers is currently awaiting come concrete plans for next year.  As Vickers' teammate, Kasey Kahne, is moving to the 5 car at Hendrick Motorsports, much curiousity has been given to what plans would Mark Martin have for 2012.  Now, with sources saying that Martin will be driving part time in the 00 for Michael Waltrip Racing, everyone is scrambling to see where David Reutimann will be driving.

The two current big question marks are Reutimann and David Ragan.  Roush Fenway Racing is currently saying that they are anticipating running 3 teams next year with the #6 running a partial schedule.  With that change, Reutimann and Ragan, both race winners, could be a great grab for some of the smaller NASCAR Teams.

As interesting as it is to see who is up for grabs, the possibilities of what seats may or may not come to fruition is astounding.  There with full time rides dropping at RFR, MWR, and probably at RCR with Bowyer leaving, some of the mid-tier two car teams may decide to add a seat to take advantage of a possible opening in the top 35. 

Richard Petty Motorsports has already voiced interest in the possibility of adding a 3rd team to their stable of Allmendinger and Ambrose.  Of course, they were toying with the possibility of an available Danica Patrick or Mark Martin at the time.  Also, Chip Ganassi may see an advantage to adding a car to his EGR stable as may Roger Penske with Penske Racing.

The fact is, there is a probability that going into the 2012 Sprint Cup season there will only be one 4 car team: Hendrick Motorsports.  The key reason for this is, of course, the lack of large sponsorship dollars needed to pay for a top tier team.  Will fields drop below 43, I doubt it, but there may well be a couple more start and park teams.

Posted in: Brian Vickers,Carl Edwards,Clint Bowyer,Danica Patrick,David Ragan,David Reutimann,Kasey Kahne,Mark Martin,Nascar,Nascar Blog,Racing,racing blog,Richard Childress,Rick Hendrick