Martin Truex Jr. is Staying With DEI.Is there something on the horizon Truex knows that I don't? Or does he truly not have better offers out there? Or did the offer that might have been floating out there that he was waiting on not materialize?
I don't believe this is the best decision Martin Truex Jr. could have made for himself, but he's staying with DEI through the 2009 season.
There has got to be a compelling reason for him to do so, but I'm in the dark.
Loose In Turn Three:
With that in mind, I asked my peers within our Loose In Turn Three quorum what they thought.
Do they have any other insight or fortune telling skills I don't have that can shed light on the issue?
Because I surely am baffled!
Tim Zaegel of Do You NASCAR?: I don't think it has anything to do with him not having viable offers from other organizations - particularly RCR and Penske - but, it probably has more to do with the fact that neither of those organizations is where he wants to wind up at in the long run. Signing an '09 extension didn't surprise me in the least, but I don't expect him to hang around in 2010. I think he's holding out for either Stewart-Haas to field a third Cup team down the road, or possibly even a run with JR Motorsports should they decide to field a Cup entry.
Charlie Turner of On Pit Row: When in doubt, look for the cash. I suspect that
- DEI threw more money at Martin than anyone else
- He will be the lead driver at DEI and that will look good on the resume if he decides to move on
- There were no openings at Gibbs, Hendrick or Stewart-Haas for 2009
- The #33 RCR ride is without owner's points. Business decision.
Image Source: Screen shot from MartinTruexJr.com
(With a little modification from me!)
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With that being said, Tim and Charlie fired off their own questions and I had to think... ug...
Tim asked:
Did Goodyear finally clear their name in NASCAR with the success of their rain tires in Montreal?
Charlie asked:
Who is the best crew chief in the Sprint Cup garage right now?
MeThinks I'll go with Charlie's #1.
ReplyDeleteMartin handed DEI a gift of 8 mil when he left.
That was turned into a gift to Truex Jr. For just O N E - Y E A R!
I'll hand it to the guy, he's playing both side against the middle. He signs for an additional year waiting for the ante to go up elsewhere.
Shrewd, very shrewd.
Well said Marc.
ReplyDeleteMartin made a brilliant biz decision.
ReplyDeleteMy prophecy?
2010 Martin goes to Stewart-Haas to the drive the third car which will be added then.An interim crew chief will fill in until Zippy is available for Tony Stewart and then Booty will go to Truex Jr.
Clance', I'm in agreement that Truex will look elsewhere in 2010, and that it could be Stewart-Haas with a third car, but let's not take JR Motorsports out of that equation just yet.
ReplyDelete