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August 12, 2005
Ganssi moves Mears to a new car and moves Sorenson up
I read an article on That's Racin this morning and then another one on NASCAR.com confirming that Ganassi is definitely making the move to add a fourth car to his Cup stable. Casey Mears will be moving over to a fourth car sponsored by Home 123, no number announced yet and Reed Sorenson, Rookie of the Year contender in the Busch Series, will be moving up to the #41 Target Dodge.
While I understand that a lot of teams are feeling pressure from the mega-teams, I don't think this is a good move, at least not for 2006. Granted, Sorenson is doing great in his Rookie season in the Busch Series, but the fact that it was his first time racing at a lot of the tracks should tell you that he could and probably would benefit from being in the Busch Series one more year before being moved up.
Mears, on the other hand, may have more experience, but is it really wise to move him to a brand new car when he's finally got his rhythm going in the #41? He was left hanging for the longest time, wondering if Ganassi would exercise his option, one move I think Ganassi could have handled better. I mean if you want to keep a driver, you don't usually wait until the deadline before taking action on it. He's just lucky that Mears wanted to stay with him and didn't allow another team to do with Mears, what Roush did with McMurray.
As of the time of this post, nothing was mentioned about McMurray, whether Ganssi will make him stay or let him out early.
With this move, Ganassi will have two drivers going for Rookie of the Year in the Cup Series in 2006, Stremme and Sorenson. It will be interesting if they can handle the transition, especially Sorenson, since he's basically being thrown to the wolves as far as I see it. I'm not saying he's not good, don't get me wrong on that, I am actually a fan of his, I just think it's too early to move him up. Sorenson will also be driving the #41 Dodge in the Busch Series, for extra track time so they say, that seems to be putting a lot of pressure on such a young man.
Hopefully, they share a lot of information, Mears in a new car, Sorenson and Stremme new to Cup and McMurray will be the veteran of the team, so to speak with one win. I hope that if McMurray is forced to stay, that he will help his new teammates adjust, even though they will only be his teammates for a year.
picture credit - nascar.com
August 12, 2005 in NASCAR | Permalink
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After the “Kurt Busch Earthquake” Tuesday an announcement that Reed Sorenson will run a full Nextel Cup schedule next season is only a minor ripple on the NASCAR richer scale. The 19 year old will strap into a fourth team for Chip Ganassi... [Read More]
Tracked on Aug 12, 2005 8:15:18 PM
» Ganssi moves Mears to a new car and moves Sorenson up from NASCAR News
I read an article on That's Racin this morning and then another one on NASCAR.com confirming that Ganassi is definitely making the move to add a fourth car to his Cup stable. Casey Mears will be moving over to a fourth car sponsored by Home 123, no nu... [Read More]
Tracked on Aug 13, 2005 9:02:15 AM
Comments
he can`t leave. he signed my jacket on saturday at the atlanta motor speedway.. and he put number 41 so he can`t leave 41.. he is my favorite next to jeff gordon..
Posted by: anna spraggins | Mar 11, 2008 8:27:30 AM
Jon, that was my assessment also.
Posted by: David | Aug 14, 2005 11:46:26 AM
I don't think Harvick is fishing for somebody to come in and make him an offer. He genuinely wants to do well in the 29, even if it means lighting a fire under someone. You can bet he had already spoken about this with a lot of people in the organisation, the same as he would have when he was critical of the engine program. He wouldn't just run out to the media and complain without talking things through first. Kevin must have thought what he was saying was falling on deaf ears, or they weren't taking his concerns seriously, so he spoke out to the media as a last resort.
Posted by: David | Aug 14, 2005 11:44:38 AM
Nascar rookies seldom get the extra polish they should have before being thrown to the wolves. Todays rookies go from 0-Superstar in a wink and I think besides having some talent the the main requirements are...Fashion: Looks good in a uniform, well groomed; Orthodontal :Has them big pearly whites; Linguistic: Can spout off 14 Sponsors in order in less than 14 secs and lastly Demographics: Has to appeal to those youthful 29-35 shoppers. Imagine if a Jimmy Spence tried to move into Nascar today. All he had was talent.
Posted by: Keith | Aug 14, 2005 7:46:21 AM
Mister,
I am sure he has been working on a fourth team for a while, but my comment was about his three cars not actually being competitive and adding a fourth car will only make it worse.
Posted by: Jon | Aug 13, 2005 10:46:28 AM
jon
while you are right that they dont need a 4th car RIGHT NOW this deal with adding another car had probably been going long before rousch signed mcmurray and while ganassi was assuming he would have no driver shortage. deals with sponsors were probably already made and while it may be a little mismanagement on the part of gnassi (his willingness or lack thereof to get his drivers signed or at least let them know where they stood with respect to their future with ganassi) he does have Mc under contract and that piece of paper still means something if only for one more year and that is what allows him to field a 4th carand that 4th car will mean alot in terms of thier ablility to test at more tracks and maybe help them out in the long run
Posted by: misterschmo | Aug 13, 2005 10:44:15 AM
I agree that Sorenson is moving up to early, but atleast he has shown he can run well consistently and win, I am more baffled by the decision to put Stremme in the 40 car. Did not realize NASCAR had become nothing but a big billboard for sponsor. (silly me thought this was a racing series). By putting Sorenson in the 41, it will guarentee him a spot in each race at the beginning of the year, I'm sure Gannassi feels Mears will be a better qualifier and be able to qualify for all the races,which would explain the move to a new car number.(not saying that Sorenson will not qualify on his own, but he will be a rookie). Why should McMurray be released,he signed the contract,he should honor it(this from a one time McMurray fan,but no longer). And by the way,I am still laughing over Roush getting "hit by the weedeater" as Sabates put it.
Posted by: Kevin | Aug 13, 2005 9:08:52 AM
Marc,
I agree that Reed Sorenson will win the Rookie of the Year in 2006. I think only thing that will hold him back is Ganassi not giving him the equipment to succeed.
Posted by: Jon | Aug 12, 2005 9:40:48 PM
While I see no reason to move Mears out of the #41, (unless it means crew chief and pit crew moves also) having 4 teams in today's NASCAR environment is the only way to stay competitive.
This would also seem to reaffirm Ganassi's intention to keep McMurray through '06. And note this quote from Jack Roush as reported in Saturday's USA Today:
"He said, 'I don't want to negotiate with you for 2007,'" Roush said Friday at Watkins Glen International. "I said, 'OK,' and he said, 'I want to be released for 2006.' I said 'not OK.'"
That surpises me considering Roush let Ward Burton out of his contract when he decided to move on. BUT it's a long way til February and a few Ford, Dodge and sponsor talks (i.e. money) may change both team owners minds.
As Kathy points out both Stremme and Sorenson will be running for Rookie of the Year in '06. If memory serves, I don't think that has ever happened between teammates before.
I'll go on record, Sorenson will win Rookie of the Year.
Posted by: Marc | Aug 12, 2005 8:36:33 PM
Casey is getting shafted. He should be able to keep his car number, his crew, and his crew chief. Why should Reed be special? You will have 2 rookies next year, a driver who was shafted, and then there is Jamie who will probably not give a damn about Ganassi.
Way to go Chip! You really screwed it up!
Posted by: Krissy | Aug 12, 2005 7:15:47 PM
I think Ganassi is out of his mind to add a fourth car when his three cars aren't competitive now. Maybe McMurray should wreck a bunch of cars and see how fast Ganassi lets him go.
Posted by: Jon | Aug 12, 2005 6:22:08 PM
They should move everything from the 41 over to the new team - from what I read Sorenson is the "new" team. It doesn't seem fair that Mears (who I am a HUGE fan of) should keep racking up owner points for a team he isn't even going to be driving for...only seems fair to put the team, and owner points - that's really all I care about - with Mears and the "new" team. If not, then Chip is just setting him up to fail.
Does Target return?
I have said that CGRw/FS is mis-managed - if you are a 2nd fiddle team with 3 drivers - how in heck are you going to compete with 2 rookies - and 2 drivers both under 30, with 4 years of experience (in 2006) under their belt. What do you do in 2007 when McMurray (who was visably P.O.'ed at the press conference today - not speaking to the media and walking out w/o answering questions) leaves for Roush? Who's your savior then?
I dunno - neither does anyone else (if someone does - speak up) but this is typical w/ Ganassi...
Posted by: Jason | Aug 12, 2005 6:02:17 PM
The way Ganassi's teams are running in most series, who KNOWS what he has in mind? I hate to see Casey M get the short end of the stick--but at least they kept him in a good ride for one more year. He's a really nice guy and I'd like him to do well.
Now it's HARVICK publicly fishing for another offer (DEI? Roush?). Some of these guys seem to think that if they're not happy, that legally invalidates their contracts (especially after the courts folded on the Kasey Kahne suit). They're in for a real surprise, I fear, when the lawyers get involved...
Posted by: Jo | Aug 12, 2005 5:50:22 PM
So Mears is leaving the 41 car? What exactly does that mean? His car will have a different paint scheme? Is his crew moving with him? That's the question, not the number on the door. Sometimes it's frustrating being a NASCAR fan - there's so much going on behind the scenes that we'll never know about. What possible difference does it make what number car he drives?
I also don't understand having a four-car team with lame duck McMurray, but it seems that having more cars translates into more results. Ask Jack Roush.
Finally, in one of the many Silly Season stories making the rounds, Junior has insisted that he be the oldest driver at DEI. Now THAT's a sound economic and engineering decision. Huh?
Posted by: Doug | Aug 12, 2005 4:35:50 PM
Ganassi can't field a competitve car week in week out with 3 teams. How can expect to compete with four. He is a terrible owner. Look how he treated Sterling whose car won all 5 races for Chippo the Hippo. (Marlin had 4 and Jamie's lone win came in driving Marlin's ride). Then he leaves Jamie dangling and Jack sweeps in.CGR cars are over engineered, lack stable HP, and don't use real wind tunnels for testing. This is a bad move, I'm glad Sterling is going someplace else.
Posted by: Shannon | Aug 12, 2005 2:45:00 PM
Why on earth are they moving Mears? Its not like they don't have a knowledgable veteran driver, Sterling Marlin, who could be of real use getting a start-up team off the ground and running respectably.
Inexperienced driver + starter team = disaster seems to be a fairly reliable formula. It took a year and a half and 2 crew chiefs for Biffle, with two or three times the experience of the average Cup rookie, to do anything with the 16.
I'd hate to see Casey Mears's reputation and potential ruined. I don't exactly root for him, but he comes across as a good guy with a lot of potential in the right situation.
People will probably be apt to forgive Sorenson a few lousy years and blame Ganassi for pushing him up too early instead of deciding that Reed is useless. But I can't imagine how Mears is going to come out of this in good shape unless, by some miracle, they announce that they've managed to lure Chad Knaus from Hendrick.
Posted by: MBVoelker | Aug 12, 2005 1:25:47 PM
personally i think it explains alot as to why ganassi wouldnt let mcmurray out of his contract. you have to understand that this deal with creating a fourth team and the sponsorship thereof has probably been going on for some time ( definetely before this whole Mcmurray deal) and im sure the deal was contingent on several issues, not least was who was going to drive the new car. it has been well known that coors was wanting someone younger in their drivers seat for marketablilty reasons so you know he was going. all this seems to give more credence to to reasoning that chip ganassi couldnt just let mcmurray out of his contract. they are pretty tight on drivers these days and knowing that reed was coming up still left them a driver down. keeping mcmurray allows them additional time to find a driver that everyone (sponsors,owners,drivers)wants.
Posted by: misterschmo | Aug 12, 2005 12:31:52 PM
I just don't understand Ganassi in this one. And I just may be looking at the whole thing in the wrong light, so someone tell me if I'm not thinking correctly... If Ganassi wanted to bring Sorenson up to Cup, then why didn't he just let McMurray go to the #6 and put Sorenson in the #41 and move Mears to the #42? I just don't get Ganassi's thinking in this one. I don't think that McMurray is just going to go out and blow all next season cuz he's mad that Ganassi kept him, I don't think a real "driver" would do that - you want to win as many races as you can no matter who you are racing for. But what's the point of keeping him around?
And I agree with you 100%, Kathy - he's bringing Sorenson in way too early. Don't get me wrong - I think Sorenson has a LOT of talent and will eventually do well in Cup, but just to throw him into Cup his second year? Sorenson should have next year to fully concentrate on winning that Busch Series title and then move on to Cup the following year.
Ok, these are just my opinions, no matter how stupid they may come across!
Have a great one!
Posted by: Christina | Aug 12, 2005 12:14:53 PM
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