Silly season missing from 2009 season
Jeff Owens
Jeff Owens has been covering NASCAR since 1991 and began covering the circuit full time in 1993. He has been with Street & Smith's Sports Group since 1998.
Amid all the excitement over double-file restarts and the drama over who will make the Chase For The Sprint Cup, there’s one thing noticeably absent from this season:
Silly season.
It’s usually a big part of each year as drivers about to become free agents jockey for position and negotiate new deals with new teams for next year.
Their moves and rumors of moves usually keep things stirred up from April to October, giving fans a nice side story to follow off the track.
Usually there is at least one big-name driver in play, dominating the headlines as he plays the market and considers where he’ll race next.
Two years ago it was Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s move to Hendrick Motorsports and all the drama and suspense surrounding his departure from his family-owned team.
Closely tied to that story was Kyle Busch’s release from Hendrick and his subsequent signing with Joe Gibbs Racing.
Then last year, Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman and Mark Martin were all in the headlines as they made big moves that have shaken up the hierarchy at the top of the sport.
Who are the movers and shakers this year?
There are none.
Not unless you count Martin Truex Jr., who is leaving Earnhardt Ganassi Racing to sign with Michael Waltrip Racing.
Truex, an underachiever the past two years, is leaving one second-tier team for another. It might be a good move for him but not one that is going shake up the order of things and excite a lot of fans.
The only other driver on the verge of making a move is Jamie McMurray, who, ironically, might be headed back to Chip Ganassi’s organization after an unsuccessful four-year run at Roush Fenway Racing.
Other drivers who could wind up needing a new ride are Reed Sorenson, David Stremme and Casey Mears.
None of those will leave fans checking for daily updates to see where they land.
The downturn in the economy and the lack of new sponsors entering the sport are the main reasons for the limited movement, that and the fact that there are no big-name drivers in the final year of their contracts.
That could change next year as drivers like Kasey Kahne, Kurt Busch and Kevin Harvick could be in play.
Then things might get silly again.
For fans, that would be a good thing.
