Silly Season Deals, New Wheels

As it turns out, the offseason isn’t so slow after all! The offseason, known to NASCAR fans all over as “Silly Season”, always seems to come too quickly for the fans (even if the season runs for all but two months of the year). The roar of the engines, the crowd, and the RV motors all fade away during the cold winter season. Yet, during the seemingly “quiet” offseason, some of the biggest storylines of the NASCAR year are brought before us on a silver platter.

One of the biggest stories of the entire 2009 season was whether or not IndyCar star Danica Patrick would move from open wheel to stock cars. As the season progressed, and it became apparent that Patrick’s entrance to NASCAR was a matter of “when” not “if”, rumors swirled about which team she would be heading to. Teams mentioned as a possibility for Patrick to race at included Stewart Haas Racing, Richard Childress Racing, and Roush Fenway Racing after she was rumored to have toured all three shops. It was finally announced on Dec. 7th, 2009 that Patrick would race on a part-time basis for JR Motorsports in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Look for this to be a big story throughout the entire 2010 NASCAR season.

Another big announcement that came during the current offseason was Kyle Busch’s new NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team Kyle Busch Motorsports. Busch will field two full-time Trucks: The No. 18 Miccosukee Resort & Gaming Toyota Tundra and the No. 56 Toyota Tundra which will receive sponsorship from Talking Rain on a limited basis. Busch will run the NCWTS and NSCS companion events in the No. 18 Tundra and Brian Ickler will fill in for the remaining events. Taylor Malsam will drive the No. 56 Tundra. Johnny Benson will also field a third truck for KBM if sponsorship is found.

Finally, the fate of Steve Addington was finally determined. He will move from one Busch to another. It was announced just recently that Addington will be the crew chief for Kurt Busch and the No. 2 Dodge for Penske Racing in 2010. Both Kurt and Kyle are known for their team scanner meltdowns, so it’s likely that Addington shouldn’t have any problems adjusting to Kurt. However, it will be interesting to see how well Kurt adjusts to Addington. We’ll also need to keep an eye on how well Kyle does with his new crew chief Dave Rodman. The two have worked together in the Nationwide Series in the past, and even had some time to work together at the end of the 2009 in the Cup series. . However, whether or not they can get back to Chase contention remains to be seen.

Even though the racing fumes are no longer filling the air and the grandstands seats are empty (not that they were ever full in the first place!), there is still plenty of hullabaloo floating around the NASCAR community. Just keep an eye out and an ear open (or is it the other way around?), and the Budweiser Shootout will be here before you know it! Now … is it February yet?