Martin to race full-time for Hendrick in 2009?

[VilleneuveTracy]

Interesting...

Casey Mears contends that he is not on the hot seat at Hendrick Motorsports. Vice President of Development Doug Duchardt pointed to the "Hendrick" Motorsports on his shirt and quickly reminded it wasn't his name on the company's door — nor was it his place to answer questions regarding the status of HMS' drivers. Owner Rick Hendrick wasn't expected at Infineon Raceway until later this weekend, but others familiar with the situation say a combination of Mark Martin and Brad Keselowski will be partnering on a mentor/rookie program or Martin will run the full 2009 season on his own in the No. 5 Chevrolet.

Martin has excelled in both proposed roles before, and if he runs 29 races, Keselowski can run the balance and not lose his rookie eligibility for 2010.

So where might Mears be headed if he loses his ride at Hendrick? Try the fourth car at Richard Childress Racing or perhaps back to a Dodge in the Gillett Evernham camp as a replacement in the No. 10.

How much does Martin have left in the tank? If he ran all the races he would be in the Chase at 11th in points and within 100 points of 7th place Cane. In 2007 if he ran the entire season and there was no Chase he would have finished 10th in points. It is clear that Martin, while no longer the championship contender that he once was, is still a force behind the wheel and having a Gordon-Junior-Johnson-Martin lineup would be a "dream team" that could take domination to another level.

http://msn.foxsports.com/other/story...y-season-moves

[Knowlesy]

That would be fantastic to see Mark in that seat full time.

Also note that Ganassi have offered the much criticised Sorenson another contract.

[VilleneuveTracy]

Yes it is interesting that Target wants Sorenson back. Sorenson is a decent driver and there isn't anyone available to a team like Ganassi who would be much better. He was 24th in points his rookie year and 22nd last year (contrast that to Stremme being 33rd). The fact that he has slipped back this year says more about how much the Ganassi organization has regressed than about Reed...The best free agents are Newman and Truex, and even they are not top-tier drivers imo, and Ganassi has no shot at getting either one. At best they could gamble on Clauson but right now I think the wise thing would be to keep Sorenson. The writing seems to be on the wall for Franchitti, unless he can pull an Allmendinger. Either he will get the ax or will return to IndyCar instead of tooling around in NASCAR. The fact that he failed to qualify on a road course says a lot about how much he is struggling on stock cars. Clauson could then be elevated to the #40. To have two open seats would be problematic.

[Knowlesy]

Yes, I personally would keep Reed in the team. He is a promising driver, he has shown that already. This year is very tough for Chip Ganassi Racing.

A lot of people seem to question the sacking of Stremme instead of Sorenson though, which is baffling. However, replacing Stremme with Franchitti....well, I can't see Dario in Cup much longer beyond this year.

[J-C]

Chip's definitely better off re-signing Reed than hiring another open-wheeler. It's clear that the team has regressed massively since 2007 and needs stability on the driver front above all else rather than spending time bringing another rookie up to speed. In JPM Chip has a driver who has the talent to win races and Cups for him, he therefore needs to focus on getting the equipment up to scratch, as 2008 has been a criminal waste of JPM's (and to a lesser extent Reed's) talent.

As for the Martin to Hendrick rumour...its interesting - I personally would like to have seen him in the #40 maybe split with Clauson. But Mears really has been exceptionally poor considering his equipment so it's hardly surprising these rumours are going round.

[VilleneuveTracy]

If Ganassi could somehow get Mears back that would be a great replacement for Franchitti. Mears is not a top driver as his mediocrity in Hendrick equipment has shown but he is a solid top 20, at best, a top 15 driver. He did finish 14th in points in 2006 with Ganassi. Mears, though, for some reason is rated higher than his results warrant and with their being talk of him having a shot at the fourth RCR car or the #10 it is unlikely he would go back to Ganassi.

Martin is an experienced driver who has driven for top teams and could help Ganassi progress greatly but it would take a miracle for Ganassi to acquire a driver of his caliber right now. Martin would be better off remaining at DEI than going to Ganassi. The HMS angle works because he drives for a Hendrick, via "JR Motorsports", in the Busch Series.

[VilleneuveTracy]

"Sources" tell ESPN this is the case. Talk about a dream team! Junior-Gordon-Johnson-Martin.

Mears' future with Hendrick Motorsports appears in jeopardy, ESPN.com has learned. Although Mears has one year left on his contract, team owner Rick Hendrick would not commit to the driver of the No. 5 car beyond this season.

"I'm committed to him right now," Hendrick said on Sunday at Infineon Raceway. "I'm committed to him making that car run better right now."

Earlier on Sunday, sources told ESPN.com that Martin would leave Dale Earnhardt Inc. Later, ESPN.com learned that he would replace Mears, making one last full-time run at a championship.

http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/nascar...=ESPNHeadlines

[Jacko44]

Stats since both changed teams in 07:

Martin: 36 starts, 7 top fives, 16 top tens
Mears: 52 starts, 6 top fives, 13 top tens (with much better equipment)

Sounds like an easy choice really...