2008 TNI Rumor Scorecard

Since we started this blog  in April, we’ve been able to break some news and share some rumors from time to time.  As we approach 2009, I thought it might be fun to look back and see what we got right and what we got wrong.  Lets take a look… 

Nationwide COT Pony Car:  In the Spring, we said at least one manufacturer was planning on using their pony car for the new Nationwide COT.  While the COT program has been postponed in the NNS, we were correct, as the Dodge teams have been testing a Challenger style body.  Plus one for the Insiders.

Elledge Out, Pattie in as Montoya’s Crew Chief:  We didn’t break the news about Elledge being out, but we were the first to report that Brian Pattie had replaced him.  This was later confirmed by Ganassi’s PR machine.  Pattie spent the rest of the season as Montoya’s crew chief and will return in ‘09.  Plus one for the Insiders.

MWR In Financial Trouble:  In June we reported that Waltrip’s team may be in trouble financially, as they had laid some employees off using their finances as the reason why.  While Waltrip certainly didn’t close up shop, they did lose several sponsors after the season, and they will only have two Cup teams next year.  One of which is not fully sponsored.  We will call this one a push.

Erik Darnell on the Hot Seat:  After a rough start to his season, we told you about Erik Darnell being on the hot seat at Roush-Fenway.  We were aware of a closed door meeting between Jack Roush and Erik Darnell, and apparently it worked.  Darnell was able to turn his season around and ended up fourth in the final CTS points standings.  Plus one for the Insiders.

Scott Lagasse & JTG part ways:  When the JTG Racing #20 truck withdrew from the Texas race, we told you the reason was because Scott Lagasse had decided to take his money and play elsewhere.  While the reasoning never officially came out, JTG did officially shut the team down a few days later.  Lagasse later surfaced driving CJM Racing’s Nationwide Series entry.   Plus one for the Insiders.

Ganassi Layoffs:  While we weren’t the first to report that CGR had shut down the #40 Cup team, we were the first to bring you some details about who was let go in the layoffs.  The layoffs affected the entire company and included Managing Director John Fernandez.  Plus one for the Insiders.

Austin Dillon to the Truck Series:  In July, we caught wind that Richard Childress’ grandson would soon be making his debut in the Truck Series.  Two weeks later, the SPEED network reported Dillon would race for Randy Moss in the CTS race at Nashville.  Unfortunately, this didn’t happen.  We did miss the call on this rumor, but it wasn’t entirely our fault.  Dillon was slated to make the start at Nashville, but did not gain NASCAR approval for the race.  He later made his big time NASCAR debut in the NNS race at Richmond.  Minus one for the Insiders.

Truck Series Dyno Results and TRG:  When NASCAR dynoed engines from eight CTS teams after Bristol, we reported that NASCAR discovered Toyota had a serious horsepower advantage.  Just one day later, CTS officials announced a rule change that affected the tapered spacer on the Toyota engines, and consequently cut their horsepower.  In the same post, we also told you that TRG Motorsports had possibly shut down the #71 team after the departure of Donny Lia.  The team did not shut down completely though, as they did race sporadically during the last part of the season.  So we will call that plus one and a push.

A Change on the #2 Truck:  During the Loudon race weekend, we found out that Jack Sprague was on his way out at Kevin Harvick Inc.  We were correct, and it happened sooner then we realized.  It was just a few short weeks later that Sprague was officially released from KHI.  The other half of the story involved Ricky Carmichael possibly taking over for Sprague in 2009.  Carmichael has since raced for KHI in the ARCA race at Talladega and participated in the ARCA test at Daytona.  According to Carmichael himself, if sponsorship can be obtained, he’ll run at least a partial schedule in the #2 truck next season.  We will call that plus two for the Insiders.

Fastenal to RCR: A few weeks ago when Ganassi announced they were shutting down their Nationwide Series team, we told you the leading candidate to land the Fastenal sponsorship was Richard Childress Racing’s NNS program.  We still haven’t heard an official answer on this one yet, so we will keep you posted.

Rule Changes Coming to the Truck Series:  Just recently we found out that rule changes were coming to the Truck Series involving pit crews and annual credentials.  While this also remains unofficial, we’ve heard teams have already begun preparations for these changes for next season.

BDR Employees Laid Off:  Our most recent inside info comes from the recently purchased Bill Davis Racing.  Apparently the new owners are cleaning house and have laid off all remaining employees.  Those who they want to keep will be re-hired after the New Year.  While I wouldn’t expect anything official to come from the team regarding these layoffs, we will keep you posted if we hear more.

So now that we’ve run through all of the news and rumors, lets look at our score.  We got eight correct, had two pushes, screwed one up, and currently have three rumors outstanding.  I’d say that’s a pretty good score.  What do you think?

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