Moving on, moving up, moving about

Drew Blickensderfer will be Matt Kenseth’s crew chief in the Sprint Cup Series in 2009 as the No. 17 Ford team at Roush Fenway Racing basically returns to an old leadership structure.
Before becoming Kenseth’s crew chief last year, Chip Bolin served as the team’s engineer alongside crew chief Robbie Reiser. When Reiser moved into a management role with Roush Fenway, Boling took over as crew chief.
But Reiser said Wednesday on Sirius NASCAR Radio’s “The Morning Drive” that Bolin wanted to go back to working more directly on the team’s cars, so he is returning to his engineer’s post.
Blickensderfer worked with Kenseth in 2007 and part of 2008 in the Nationwide Series before moving over to be crew chief for Carl Edwards in that series. Edwards won seven of the season’s final 19 Nationwide races with Blickensderfer in charge.
No new crew chief for Edwards’ Nationwide team has been named.
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Not unexpectedly, rumors about the status of driver Bobby Labonte, now a free agent, and the teams most often connected to his situation are plentiful this week.
There were at least one report Wednesday that Labonte has a done deal to drive the No. 41 car for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing in 2009, and one rumor that some crew members had been told they will work with that team with an announcement coming as early as Thursday.
If that comes to pass, though, sources in Labonte’s camp said that it will come as a surprise to them.
It’s no secret that Labonte would be interested in the No. 41 ride and that the merged Earnhardt-Ganassi team would be interested in having the former champion.
But no one should assume that Earnhardt Ganassi Racing is a lock to have four teams in 2009. It currently has sponsorship from Bass Pro Shops for the No. 1 car and Martin Truex Jr., Target for the No. 41 and Wrigley for half the races for Juan Pablo Montoya in the No. 42. That’s funding for 2∏ full-time cars, not four. Given the way things have been going for the sport in recent weeks, finding funding for another 1∏ seasons worth of racing is going to be a tall order.
It’s the same mistake people have made in assuming that if a merger between Gillett Evernham Motorsports and the former Petty team is completed that team will wind up with four cars. GEM does not have backing, at least not announced, for the No. 10 car that Reed Sorenson is in line to drive. If the No. 43 Petty car comes over, sans sponsorship, why would the team try to run four cars with sponsorship for less that three full teams? Wouldn’t it make more sense to make what would have been the No. 10 into the No. 43 and just run three teams?
GEM has already curtailed its Nationwide Series operation and let people go from its engine shop since no matter what else happens its going to have fewer clients for Dodge engines next year with the demise of one Petty-owned car (at least) and Robby Gordon’s switch to Toyota.
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You can drive your own car around the track at Lowe’s Motor Speedway one more time this year on Saturday. Three laps around the 1.5-mile track in your street car will cost you $25.
The offer is good from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. Drivers should come to the track’s main entrance and register at the ticket office. They will be directed to the Gate 1 and the Turn 4 tunnel and will be assembled in groups for laps of the track behind one its pace cars.