Sim Racing Design

From Jayski's:

Quote:

UPDATE: The long-speculated partnership between Dale Earnhardt, Inc. and Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates now appears to be imminent. Sources close to the situation tell Sirius Speedway that while the deal cannot technically be classified as a merger, an announcement is expected within the next few days regarding a competitive and economic partnership between the two teams. The deal will allow DEI and Ganassi to field at least three cars next season with drivers Martin Truex, Jr., Juan Pablo Montoya and Aric Almirola. A fourth car is possible, dependant on sponsorship. There is no word on potential manufacturer affiliations, with DEI currently aligned with Chevrolet, and Ganassi in the Dodge camp.

This could be a big deal in the NASCAR garage.

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Manuel

Hell yea it could be. Im a huge Dodge guy. This would be a big hit for me. But also GM and Chrysler may be merging together. So that means Chevy and Dodge would be coming from the same place.

Official: Earnhardt & Ganassi form new four-car team

Originally Posted by CGRFS PR

MOORESVILLE and CONCORD, N.C. (Nov. 12, 2008) – Two of motorsports’ biggest names – Earnhardt and Ganassi – will launch a four-car team beginning in 2009 through the combination of the motorsports operations of Dale Earnhardt, Inc. (DEI) and Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates, Inc. (CGRFS). NASCAR stars Martin Truex Jr. and Juan Pablo Montoya will drive the Nos. 1 and 42 respectively and future star Aric Almirola will be behind the wheel of the No. 8. The driver of the No. 41 will be named in the near future. “In this ultra-competitive era of NASCAR, it is necessary to build and sustain the strongest team possible and our combining with the people and equipment at Dale Earnhardt Inc. will help create a strong four-car program for years to come,” said Chip Ganassi. “This is a win-win for both organizations as well as all of our partners.” “Having a partner like Chip who is heavily involved on the competition side of the business is an ideal situation for DEI,” Teresa Earnhardt said. “He has a long history of managing championship teams in the IndyCar and Rolex Grand-Am Series and I share his passion and goals of winning races and ultimately championships in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. I think this is a case where we are stronger together than we are apart.” Details of the new four-car operation will be announced at a future date.

source

With the Penske, GEM, Petty and RGM, I doubt Chrysler (Dodge) will care too much about the loss of the Ganassi Dodges. All it would take is GEM to add a 4th Dodge and Petty to add a 3rd Dodge to make up for the loss of the 41 & 42 Dodges in terms of car count, and then either Penske adding a 4th Dodge or RGM adding the 2nd team he keeps talking about but never actually does, and that'll make up for the lost 40 Dodge. Dodge doesn't really lose here at all just by losing Ganassi's underperforming teams. Also let's not forget, Felix Sabates ran Chevys before Chip Ganassi bought into the team.

The big loser in all this would seem to be Regan Smith's #01 team. That team will apparently cease to exist now, which is a shame all around. Regan won the race in Talladega, even though NASCAR's enforce-it-when-they-choose-to ruling took it away from him and that team. While Regan might land in the 41, RIP team 01.

Also, it wouldn't surprise me at all, now that this is official, to have the #8 run with the Target sponsorship currently assigned to the #41 team if no sponsorship can be found for the #8 team, and no driver is named for the #41 team by mid-January or so. That would leave Montoya on his own island with the #42 and only half a season of sponsorship. That's an interesting spot for him to be in.

Bottom line, I think this is a good move for all involved. Both teams were underperforming but showing brief sparks of promise. Bringing all efforts under one roof should help everyone there. Who knows, maybe we'll see Truex & Montoya back in the chase in 2009.

And in case anyone's counting...
Hendrick: 4 teams
Roush: 5 teams (must narrow to 4 by 2010 season)
RCR: 4 teams
Earnhardt Ganassi: 4 teams

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"I think Davey had a way about him that made people feel special when he spoke with them. When he was around them he had just a rare quality that was truly a star quality. I think people were drawn to him because of that. It has really lasted all of these years. He was a great guy." -- Liz Allison

"What kind of man would live in a world where there is no daring? I don't believe in taking foolish chances, but nothing can be accomplished without taking any chance at all." -- Charles Lindberg

Man I thought I would never see this happen!

Where would Felix Sabates stand ?

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Manuel

Both teams are struggling so I wasn't surprised at all. It has been in the news for quite some time. It looks like Regan's the odd man out in this, which is a shame. I hope he stays in the sport someway.

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"It's very important to be serious about what you do. But if you don't have any fun doing it, then some day, even your favorite things will become a burden"
-Belldandy (Ah! My Goddess)

he may end up in the 41 next year.

what about allmendinger in the 41?? i would like to see that he deserves a ride more then smith does

Allmendinger should already have a ride for 09, he's lots better than Stremme, Sorensen, Speed and Logano. In fact since he's been driving the GEM 10 car he's been the best running GEM car for most those races

I Think That Evernham will have a 4th team next season (most likely the 91) That would probably be Allmendingers car. BUt Yea he is alot better than most guys gthat have the rides (like Gilliland). Stremme should never have had to lose his ride since he finished 13th in points last season and now look at what happened to that team. Logano . . . I dont like him one bit. Speed has done alot better than him with none of the hype that Logano has. All that hype and nothing to show for it so far. I like Sorenson alittle not that much but yea he should have a ride but Logano is not the best thing since sliced bread. And now that the Bud Shootout has a different Format That Puts Logano in that race and Stremme. Personally I hope he cause the wreck in that race. Just to prove how stupid a movie JGR is making.