Yes there are still several more shopping days left before the 2010 Daytona 500 gets underway, but it is never too early to start preparing for the new season at hand. The first team to blink was Richard Childress Racing. This organization started the season out with a bang, winning the Budweiser Shootout with Kevin Harvick's team, but they have since fallen on hard times. Only two of their cars (Jeff Burton and Clint Bowyer) cracked the top twelve this season, but they failed to make the Chase cut once Richmond rolled around. This, among other disappointments throughout the season, lead to several key personnel changes in the organization. The most publicized was the movement of Scott Miller from his current position as Jeff Burton's crew chief to director of competition. Many people wondered where Burton's new head wrench would come from, but since the future of Childress' #07 team is still up in the air, Todd Berrier was pulled from that team and he and Miller will take over their new assignments this weekend at Talladega.
Another change that will take place this weekend is a change in manufacturers for Elliott Sadler's Richard Petty Motorsports team. RPM announced a few weeks ago it's intent to merge with Yates Racing next season and become a Ford team, switching over from Dodge. Sadler will help get his team off on the right foot and trade in his #19 Dodge Charger for a Ford Fusion for a week. This will help the team figure out how a Ford drafts in comparison to a Dodge and help prepare them for the Daytona 500 that will kick off the 2010 season.
The last major change in personnel that will take effect after this weekend's AMP Energy 500 is Steve Addington's removal from the crew chief spot on Kyle Bush's #18 Camry. I don't really understand this move, since Bush and Addington won twelve races together (eight last season and four this year) and made the Chase last season as well. They did struggle mightily once the 2008 Chase started and they didn't even make it at all this season. That still is no reason to break up what looked to be a fairly successful relationship. And let me make this clear, I am not a fan of either of these men, but the chemistry was their, so it seems like a poor decision on the part of Coach Joe Gibbs' part. Dave Rogers will move from the #20 Nationwide Series car to Bush's #18 as of Texas next weekend.
What other changes are in store for next season? Drivers need rides, rides need to be filled and sponsors need to be found to keep some of those rides going. Round and round and round they go. Where they'll stop, nobody knows.
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