Scrambling continues for owners points as drivers seek Daytona 500 starting spots
Brad Keselowski, driving for Phoenix Racing, is expected to be locked into the field for the Daytona 500, and there could be others also guaranteed starting spots in the opening NASCAR Sprint Cup races as various points transfers are being talked about as teams outside the top 35 in owners points try to secure those positions.
NASCAR has been quiet on the issue of who is getting whose points because it is still accepting entries for the Daytona 500, but it appears that drivers who once thought they could be locked in – most notably AJ Allmendinger at Richard Petty Motorsports – will end up having to qualify on speed for the first five races of the season when the 2008 owners standings are used to set the field.
Keselowski will be locked in, according to multiple sources. And among those who could be looking for points are Penske Racing driver Sam Hornish Jr. and Richard Childress Racing’s Clint Bowyer, who is moving to a different RCR team this season.
NASCAR does not allow a team to sell points outright but generally will approve offseason transfers as long as the original owner has some sort of ownership stake in the car going forward.
Some of the switches have already been announced: Paul Menard (No. 98) and Bobby Labonte (No. 96) are getting the two Yates Racing points from the Nos. 28 and 38 last year.
There are three cars with top-35 owners whose assignments have not been announced.
One of those is the No. 22 from Bill Davis Racing and the other two are from Dale Earnhardt Inc. and Chip Ganassi Racing. When the DEI and Ganassi teams merged, they had six cars with top-35 owners points.
Three of those from the merger will go to the three Earnhardt Ganassi cars driven by Martin Truex Jr. (No. 1), Juan Pablo Montoya (No. 42), and Aric Almirola (No. 8). That leaves the No. 15, No. 01 and the No. 41 from last year.
As part of an alignment with Front Row Motorsports, driver John Andretti will have one of those remaining three, Andretti said. Most likely that would come from the No. 15.
The other two are possibly up for grabs, although it would take some maneuvering because technically no one owner – Chip Ganassi or Teresa Earnhardt – can have a financial interest in more than five teams (four, plus one for up to seven races for an aspiring rookie looking to run a full season in the future).
Keselowski would count as an aspiring rookie.
That would fill one of the three remaining unaccounted for top-35 spots. As far as the other two, Hornish and Bowyer seem to be the most likely possibilities.
When asked last week if Penske Racing was attempting to get owners points from the No. 22 Bill Davis Racing entry, a Penske Racing spokesman said that the team is “exploring all of our options.”
Bowyer needs points since the No. 07 points stayed with the car and new driver Casey Mears while Bowyer is moving to a fourth RCR car (No. 33). An RCR spokesman said he couldn’t confirm if Bowyer has secured points.
Drivers who are waiting to see what will happen are those who were 36th or 37th overall in points last year. They would be locked in the first five races if one of the top-35 car owners doesn’t end up with some sort of association at Daytona.
In 36th last year was the JTG Daugherty Racing No. 47 car of Marcos Ambrose, which has an alliance with Michael Waltrip Racing. In 37th would be Richard Petty Motorsports’ No. 10, which is turning into the No. 44 driven by AJ Allmendinger.
Allmendinger, who originally thought he was going to be in the 500 and now most likely won’t be locked in, also could lose a spot in the Budweiser Shootout if Hornish can get top-35 points and be one of the top six Dodges in the field.
