Owners Points still could be shook up

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Owners Points still could be shook up: Brad Keselowski, driving for Phoenix Racing [#09], is expected to be locked into the field for the Daytona 500, and there could be others also locked into the opening Sprint Cup races as various points transfers are being talked about as teams outside the top 35 in owners points try to secure those spots. 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 #44-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 #77-Sam Hornish Jr. and Richard Childress Racing’s #55-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 (#98) and Bobby Labonte (#96) are getting the two Yates Racing points from the #28 and #38 last year. There are three cars with top-35 owners whose assignments have not been announced.
One of those is the #22 from Bill Davis Racing and the other two are from Dale Earnhardt Inc. and Chip Ganassi Racing #01 and #41]. 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. (#1), Juan Pablo Montoya (#42), and Aric Almirola (#. That leaves the #15, #01 and the #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 #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 #22 Bill Davis Racing entry, a Penske Racing spokesman said that the team is “exploring all of our options.”
Bowyer needs points since the #07 points stayed with the car and new driver Casey Mears while Bowyer is moving to a fourth RCR car (#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 #47 car of Marcos Ambrose, which has an alliance with Michael Waltrip Racing. In 37th would be Richard Petty Motorsports’ #10, which is turning into the #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.(SceneDaily), see my 2009 Owners Points - 1st five races page for how it looks right now, before any of the possible changes mentioned above.(2-3-2009)

I can't keep up with this stuff anymore

Ambrose could end up outside top-35

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CORNELIUS, N.C. – Michael Waltrip Racing has two cars locked into the first five NASCAR Sprint Cup races this season. And it might have a third.

Team owner Michael Waltrip's own No. 55 Toyota and the No. 00 of David Reutimann finished in the top 35 in owners points last year, guaranteeing them starting spots in the first five races of 2009.

And MWR’s third team, the No. 47 entry of JTG Daugherty Racing’s Marcos Ambrose, could very well have a guaranteed starting spot. But with several teams in effect selling points positions, Ambrose could be locked out.

“Well, do you know?” Waltrip said. “I don’t know. He was 36th, and then he was 34, and then he was 35th. I heard he might be 36th again. But I don’t know.

“He may be, but then again, he may not be. I haven’t heard from Daytona what the official top 35 in points is today. I know that there’s a lot going on.”

Penske Racing entered into a deal with Bill Davis, locking Sam Hornish Jr. in for the first five races. Richard Childress Racing is said to be shopping for a deal to put Clint Bowyer’s new No. 33 team in the top 35, which might mean Ambrose will need to race his way into the Daytona 500 and the following four races.

The No. 47 team finished 36th in 2008 owners points but could have moved up to claim a guaranteed starting spot had teams that finished ahead of it not returned for 2009.

With the struggling economy, that seemed to be a sure bet as many predicted less than full 43-car fields this year. But Waltrip predicted there would not be a single short field this season.

“I’d guess three or four months ago, everybody and their brother said, ‘Short field – I’m going to start-and-park,’” Waltrip said. “There’s probably going to be a gazillion cars show up at Daytona and California. In the history of NASCAR, I guarantee that if I did a graph, there’d be a lot of cars for a while, not so many cars for a little while and then not so many at the end.

“The amount of cars will probably thin out a little bit quicker this year because a lot of people are planning on going to show up, make the race and get the starting money. There just aren’t going to be places for all those people to get that money.”

~Scene Daily~

I agree, gg. The points swapping garbage has to stop. I thought NASCAR was not going to allow teams to do this stuff anymore? Buying owner points is absolutely absurd.

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I thought NASCAR was not going to allow teams to do this stuff anymore? Buying owner points is absolutely absurd.

I agree

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Latest on the owners points craziness: JTG Daugherty Racing’s Marcos Ambrose will have a guaranteed spot in the Daytona 500 and the next four Sprint Cup race, but Phoenix Racing’s #09-Brad Kesolowski will have to race his way into the events, NASCAR sources said Thursday morning. Sanctioning body officials decided that allowing the transfer of a car number for a rookie to run a fifth car wasn’t the intent of the points-transfer rules and won’t allow a transfer of Chip Ganassi Racing points from last season to Phoenix Racing’s Keselowski. The move will lock Ambrose into the season’s opening five events. Ambrose was told of the situation Thursday morning, and NASCAR sources confirmed that Ambrose will be among the top 35 cars from owner points last year that get locked in the first five races this season. NASCAR doesn’t allow teams to sell points outright but generally approves transfers to other teams as long as the original owner has a minimal ownership stake.
Keselowski was expected to get the points from the #41 car (33rd last year) as part of a deal that would allow him to be a fifth Earnhardt Ganassi Racing car under the four-car cap provision that allows for an additional car for a driver preparing for a full-time ride in the future. But NASCAR officials indicated they have ruled that the points-transfer rules were not designed to give team a fifth car for a rookie. Ambrose was 36th in car owner points and thought he would be locked in over the winter until the last couple of weeks when three car owners who had top-35 points but no plans to run this year began making deals with other teams outside the top 35.
#34-John Andretti will get the #15 points from Dale Earnhardt Inc. as part of a deal with the new Earnhardt Ganassi Racing. Richard Childress Racing’s #33-Clint Bowyer appears set to get the #01 points that DEI had last year. But no one will end up with the #41 points, allowing Ambrose in the field.(SceneDaily)
AND NASCAR notified the team Wednesday that the #47 secured the final spot in the top 35 in owner points, guaranteeing Ambrose a starting position in the first five races for the season. A quick glance at last year's owner points expected to see the #15, #22, #01 and #41 parked for the season, which would automatically lock in the #47, 10 [now #44], #77 and #21. Inevitably, the #15 points aligned with the #34 and John Andretti at Front Row Motorsports (who will have a technical alliance with Earnhardt Ganassi Racing). The #22 points went to Penske Championship Racing and Bill Davis will be minority owner. And the #01 points partnered with Clint Bowyer in the #33 at Richard Childress Racing where Bobby Ginn will be the minority owner of that team.
At the end of last season, the #47 Toyota was listed 36th in the owner points standings and advanced to 35th. George Gillett's #10 Dodge, listed 37th at the end of last season, was not so lucky. AJ Allmendinger, who now occupies that car which has since been changed to the #44, remains hopeful and confident. "We're just going to have to race our way in, but you know what, that's the way it should be anyway," Allmendinger said. "I wish everyone had to race their way in. I have had to race my way in the last two years and have gained a lot of knowledge from both of those experiences. I know we are going to have a great car to get the job done and we as a team are just going to have to go out there and make it happen. I am confident we are still going to be in the field for the Daytona 500, we are just going to have to do it the hard way and fight our way into the race from the duels."(FoxSports), see my 2009 Owners Points - 1st five races page for the breakdown.(2-5-2009)

the most abusurd part of it is they let the 33 and 77 buy their points but not the 09 how beyond rediculous, absurd, and stupid is that?

not to mention that deal between Front Row and EGR.... i don't get really how thats going

this year nascar is WORSE than a soap opera

MUCH WORSE

Turning down the 09 deal was really stupid. They let everyone else trade, but not them? Oh well, at least Ambrose will still be locked in. If they had given points to the 09, Ambrose would have been out.

Ya I like Marcos more but that was definately a double standard no matter how they try to reason it away

No doubt about that. I think they should have just denied ALL of the requests.

ya me too... it woulda made the most sence

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this year nascar is WORSE than a soap opera

very true