Elliott Sadler may not be the last veteran driver to lose his ride
While it is somewhat surprising that Elliott Sadler may lose his ride less than two months before the start of the 2009 season, it really shouldn’t be all that shocking.
It fits a pattern, one you are likely to see much more of in the coming months and throughout 2009.
Whenever a downturn in the economy makes it difficult to find sponsors – very difficult for about 16 teams heading into next season – there is one specific group of drivers that usually suffer most – the struggling veteran.
And Sadler, despite being one of the sport’s most popular and likable drivers, certainly fits that bill.
Though he has three career victories, he hasn’t won since 2004 and has finished in the top 10 in points just once. He has finished 25th and 24th in two full seasons with Gillett Evernham Motorsports, which is reportedly on the verge of replacing him with AJ Allmendinger next year.
GEM, which is trying to rebuild its organization with team founder Ray Evernham dissolving his interest in the team, appears ready to give up on Sadler and go with the younger Allmendinger, who showed potential last season with Red Bull Racing and then during a five-race audition with GEM.
GEM has produced one winning race team, with Kasey Kahne winning six races in 2006 and two last season with the No. 9 team. Sadler hasn’t been nearly as successful with his No. 19 team, and GEM is apparently ready to go in another direction.
Though GEM is one of NASCAR’s best second-tier organizations, it is still a team in flux. It gambled on former open-wheel driver Patrick Carpentier in its No. 10 car last year, ending that experiment in less than a full season. It will replace him with Reed Sorenson, who has been less successful than Sadler but still has youth on his side. It is also in negotiations with Petty Enterprises to acquire its No. 43 team in an effort to expand to four Cup teams.
Though GEM is a team on the move, it still has some big pieces to the puzzle to fill. It still needs sponsorship for Sorenson’s team and will need to find another sponsor if it lands the Petty’s No. 43.
A team making such major moves for the future apparently has no room for a driver like Sadler, who appears to have reached his peak and has not shown much progress or promise over the past few seasons.
And with sponsors hard to find and sponsor pressure at an all-time high, teams like GEM are in no position to settle for a solid driver who will finish in the top 25 in points but probably won’t win a race. The team and its sponsors want results fast, or at least want to see potential. Drivers like Allmendinger and Sorenson offer potential while Sadler’s has run out.
Sadler is not the only veteran driver losing this high-stakes chess game. Scott Riggs (who once drove for GEM), Dave Blaney, Joe Nemechek and Kyle Petty were all full-time drivers last season, but have no ride entering 2009. They join Jeremy Mayfield, J.J. Yeley, Tony Raines and Johnny Sauter, drivers who lost their rides during 2008 and haven’t been able to land another one.
Even youngsters like Regan Smith and Michael McDowell, who both showed some potential last season, are still looking for rides.
And with more than a dozen teams still needing sponsors for next season, their prospects are dim.
The one thing that all those drivers have in common is this: They either haven’t won a Cup race or haven’t won in a long, long time.
Just a few years ago, Mayfield was a winning driver and a two-time Chase contender for GEM. Now he can’t find a ride.
Is Sadler, who made the Chase in 2004, destined to follow in his footsteps?
While the jury is still out on his future – and hopefully he lands a new ride quickly – that is what happens to veterans who suddenly struggle and can’t seem to get back on track.
NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series is a dog eat dog world, one in which teams and sponsors have one reoccurring question: What have you done for me lately?
