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So what do you do after you and your buddies go cruising in the Man Van, kidnap a guy named Chad, and threaten to beat him with a sock filled with woodscrews, yet he still doesn’t add you to his Circle? Simple, you make him an offer he can’t refuse. Or offer a buyout, such as what Verizon Wireless is attempting with Alltel Wireless.

This week our panel sounds off on the anticipated Verizon buyout of Alltel and what it could mean for Ryan Newman and Penske Racing during Silly Season.

Mike: I’m no lawyer, but wouldn’t Alltel’s “grandfather” status be the same as Cingular’s? If that’s true then AT&T has done the heavy lifting on behalf of Alltel. I also like the Verizon “Can You Hear Me Now?” guy better than that weird Alltel Wizard and that smug guy named Chad.

James: Hmmm, a smug Chad versus the annoyingly repetitive “Can you hear me now?” guy.

Mike: I don’t think it will hurt Penske too much because they have several associate sponsors like Kodak that might be willing to increase their spend. Unless there is a surprise at Hendrick or Gibbs, Newman won’t find a lot of top vacancies. It’s a strange Silly Season this year. A month ago it seemed like there could be a lot of activity, but everyone is resigning with their same teams, leaving few good rides.

Darren: Did the AT&T thing really settle? Or, is it still in litigation? I agree that Penske should be able to pull out another sponsorship deal with someone. Hell, Yates finally did with Kvapil…but then that team deserves to have some backing…they’ve been putting up the results lately.

James: I agree. If Alltel is out, Roger Penske should be able to fill the void rather easily. It could be done with either current partial sponsors, or Penske can always slap the Penske Trucking decals on the #12 car when there is a vacancy. For what it’s worth, Jayski has Penske quoted as saying, “We’re a team that can operate with or without a sponsor. We have done it in the past.”

Darren: I’m not sure when the contracts are up, but it seems like there should realistically be a vacancy at Hendrick (Mears), a vacancy at Roush (McMurray) and a vacancy at Gibbs (Stewart). But I got to say, if Stewart goes to Hendrick then I just may pack up my OneBadWheel database and go home. Hendrick = Walmart in that case. I think I’d have enough of NA$CAR if that happened.

James: From what I’ve read, Newman’s contract is up at the end of 2008 and the buyout (if it goes through will likely not be done until the end of the year. The timing is not great for neither a driver, nor a sponsor looking for a deal in 2009. I think Mears is good through 2009, so that eliminates Hendrick Motorsports. McMurray and Roush are sure selling it to the fans and media that McMurray has a ride for next year, so that seemingly eliminates Roush Fenway Racing. There’s a potential spot at Gibbs regardless if Tony stays or goes. Seems the only other two places Newman could consider (if he wants to go) would be Richard Childress Racing or Dale Earnhardt Inc.. I’d consider DEI a lateral move at best, and a move to RCR a good step up.

Darren: DEI is done. I think Truex Jr will bolt and they will fall not quite as low as Yates, but struggle with almost no success.

James: Wow Darren. You’ve got a harsh forecast for DEI. The question is, where would Truex go that is better than what he has? And whichever team that is, will he be the star driver of the team?

Mike: I agree with Darren. The gap between the Haves and Havenots is widening in Cup and DEI is on the wrong side. James makes a good point about Truex because there aren’t many rides that would be an upgrade. The only two I see are the 4th RCR car (new teams can be dicey) and the #12 at Penske if Newman leaves (again, where’s he going to go that’s better?).

James: If this all wasn’t enough to consider, what about Hélio Castroneves? He has expressed an interest in coming to NASCAR, he already drives for Penske in IndyCar, and he’s well recognized both in and out of the motorsports world after his stint on Dancing with the Stars. He would be a great draw for a sponsor! I guess this is why they call it Silly Season.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 11th, 2008 at 2:14 am and is filed under Sound Off: One Bad Topic. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.