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The Hot Pass: Truex could be on the move

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Lee Spencer

Lee Spencer is the senior NASCAR writer for FOXSports.com. She has provided award-winning coverage of auto racing over the last 15 years. Spencer has lent her expertise to both television and radio and is a regular contributor to SiriusXM Radio and the Performance Racing Network.

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Updated Apr 4, 2009 3:09 PM ET
     
 

FORT WORTH, Texas

It's time to watch the dominos fall. We've all played the "what if" game or, as some say, NASCAR cause and effect. "If this driver goes here, who will fill his seat? If this driver leaves, will the sponsor follow?"
The buzz in the garage has Earnhardt Ganassi Racing shutting down the No. 8 Chevrolet and sidelining Aric Almirola after this weekend if a sponsor doesn't magically appear. If that happens, three contracts are affected: Martin Truex Jr., Bass Pro Shops Racing and Chevrolet. Truex's contract states that he must have two teammates or he can leave the team. Bass Pro Shops has a performance clause and with Truex 28th in owner points, the No. 1 team is in a precarious position. Finally, Chevrolet can alter its support to EGR if three teams are not under the roof. The hot rumor at Martinsville last week had Truex replacing Joey Logano in the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota. Joe Gibbs Racing president J.D. Gibbs insisted Sunday and again by phone on Wednesday that "Joey's our guy." "We haven't had any conversations with anyone," Gibbs said. "We'd like to have someone in line by summer time, but you have to sit down, look at what partner is available, what driver is available and who would be a good fit for the team. "We had Hall of Fame last year and we don't have it now. So we have room for a fourth team. We'd love to have it." Gibbs mentioned JGR's plans to run the No. 02 Farm Bureau Toyota to race later this season. An announcement was made in January that Farm Bureau Insurance was signed for six Cup races in 2009, including being the primary sponsor for two Cup races on Denny Hamlin's car at Darlington and Atlanta and on Logano's car at Martinsville. A fourth team will feature Farm Bureau as the title sponsor for the fall races at Lowe's Motor Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway along with the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Gibbs did not believe Farm Bureau was committed to a level where it could expand as a full-time sponsor in 2010. But as far as potential drivers are concerned, Gibbs ended the conversation with "Who is available?" Brad Coleman and Almirola are the likely candidates with availability — after talent — being one of the top prerequisites. If Truex's status suddenly changed, he would top many owners' wish lists. In three full years on the tour, the 28-year-old has not finished worse than 19th in owner points. His only Chase appearance came in 2007, but in his defense, there was quite a bit of turmoil surrounding Dale Earnhardt Inc. last year. It's understandable that he dropped to 15th in points in 2008. Truex said on Friday that he's committed to staying the course. "When I give someone my word by signing a contract, if they keep theirs and I keep my mind, there's no reason to ever think about doing anything else, obviously," Truex said. "Right now, my focus is on getting this car better and moving up in the points. We're back here where we shouldn't be. We've never been back this far before and we've had a tough start to the year. "Right now, we're just focusing on making things better and turning things around and heading in the right direction." But Truex reiterated that there is just one year left on his contract and the performance simply isn't there. As for Bass Pro Shops, if Truex does leave. don't be surprised if the sponsor fills out Ryan Newman's program on the No. 39 Chevrolet at Stewart-Haas Racing. That deal, which is valued between $8 million and $10 million, could go down before summer.

Front row Jeff

Jeff Gordon has been stellar for qualifying at Texas Motor Speedway since the track debuted in 1997 and he sat on the front row for the inaugural race. In 17 qualifying attempts, the four-time champion has two poles and an average starting position of 9.8 on the 1.5-miler. But when it comes to finishing the race at Texas he's been less than Gordon-like. In 16 starts, Gordon has three DNFs at TMS — including this race last spring when he wrecked in Turn 4 after 109 laps — and an average finish of 16th. After posting the second-best lap on Friday — 190.194-mph — the points leader says he isn't changing his approach for Sunday's Samsung 500. The team will strategize by studying data from the other teams and past races. "We were in qualifying trim all day," Gordon said. "And we were pretty good here the last time, obviously, sitting on the pole. We were similar to that today. I think what's going to be different is what we put in for the qualifying set-up tomorrow, which will be a lot more like what we've been running on the 1.5-miles." Gordon said that although Texas is "unique and challenging" he was encouraged by previous races at intermediate tracks this season. When the tour visited Las Vegas and Atlanta, Gordon finished sixth and second, respectively.

In the marbles

NASCAR is putting out feelers for a sponsor to replace Camping World for the Truck Series. Camping World entered the sport as the sponsor for Richard Childress Racing and Kevin Harvick Inc. on Ron Hornaday's truck in 2007. Later that season CW expanded to include what was formerly the NASCAR Busch East and North developmental series. Camping World was named title sponsor of the Truck Series last fall following an extensive search after Craftsman Tools bowed out. ... Matt Kenseth, who has six finishes of sixth or better, surprised himself by matching his career best qualifying effort (third) at Texas Motor Speedway on Friday. He originally started third in the 2005 fall race. "I think we were 34th in practice and really couldn't find any speed," Kenseth said his team made changes and cut his lap time by 0.542-seconds. ... AJ Allmendinger continues to outrun two of his Richard Petty Motorsports teammates that have contracts for the full season. While Kasey Kahne qualified sixth in the flagship No. 9 Dodge, Allmendinger's 25th-place lap in time trials topped teammates Reed Sorenson and Elliott Sadler. Allmendinger's No. 44 ride only has sponsorship through the Coca-Cola 600.
Tagged: Ryan Newman, Aric Almirola, Brad Coleman, Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr.

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