Changes aplenty for new racing season

BY ROGER DIEZ

Nevada Appeal Motorsports Columnist

NASCAR's driver and team lineups for 2009 continue to gel as we move into the new year. The latest announcement has A.J. Allmendinger landing at Gillett Evernham Motorsports, replacing Elliott Sadler in the No. 19 Dodge. Sadler is the latest victim in the perpetual game of musical chairs that is NASCAR's Sprint Cup series. He joins former Cup champion Bobby Labonte as well as Front Row Joe Nemechek, Jeremy Mayfield, and Kyle Petty as drivers without rides.

However, there is still time for some of these drivers to find gainful employment. With NASCAR's test ban canceling Daytona's preseason testing, teams have the luxury of taking their time to select a driver before the Daytona 500 kicks off the season.

Allmendinger's replacement of Sadler points out the growing trend in NASCAR to become more national and international in its driver lineup. Once primarily a southeastern-based sport, NASCAR's top series boasts more and more drivers from other areas of the country, and indeed the world.

The addition of Juan Pablo Montoya and an influx of open-wheel drivers like Sam Hornish Jr. and Allmendinger reflect the wide appeal of NASCAR to both drivers and race fans. It's not a recent phenomenon " witness Pete Hamilton, who drove for the Petty team in the 1970s, and Ricky Craven, another driver from the northeast who had some success in the 80s and 90s. Stars like Greg Biffle (Washington), Clint Bowyer (Kansas), the Busch brothers (Nevada) have also replaced southern good ol' boys in recent years. And car owners like Roger Penske and Jack Roush long ago supplanted some of the Junior Johnson types who were mainstays of the sport for many years.

- There's an interesting sidelight to the ongoing merger talks between Petty Enterprises and Gillett Evernham Motorsports. GEM is negotiating to run the No. 43 Dodge for Petty, probably with Reed Sorensen as the driver. However, the Richard Petty Racing Experience will remain under the Petty banner.

This very successful operation may very well be a way for aspiring NASCAR drivers to get some track time despite NASCAR's testing ban. Stars like Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards in the past got experience on NASCAR tracks by giving rides in the Driving Experience operation, which operates at Las Vegas, Charlotte, Daytona, and a host of other current NASCAR tracks. Thus far, the economic slowdown seems to have affected Petty's fantasy racing franchise much less than the racing operation.

- When Formula 1 kicks off its season in Australia the last weekend in March, there will be a lot of changes in the technical regulations. The most obvious will be the use of slick racing tires, after 10 years of mandated grooved rubber. The anticipated 20 percent gain in mechanical grip generated by the slick rubber will be offset by reductions in aerodynamic downforce.

The barge boards, winglets, flaps, vanes, and other aero devices that have sprouted from F1 cars in recent years will be banned. Rear wings will be narrower and higher, front wings lower and wider, with driver-adjustable flaps, and the under-car diffusers will be moved rearward. All of this is designed to reduce the effect of turbulence behind the car and make passing easier.

Perhaps the most innovative change is the addition of the optional Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS). The system will capture kinetic energy generated during braking, and store the energy in a flywheel or battery. This energy will then be available to the driver, somewhat like the 'push to pass' button that the Champ Car series used in its final years. This gives a driver using the system 80 additional horsepower for around seven seconds per lap. All of these changes should increase the amount of driver input that first became evident with the banning of electronic driver aids last season.

- The sour economy has put a hole in the IndyCar Series schedule for 2009. The Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix has been canceled due to "difficult economic conditions," and the series is reviewing other possible venues to replace it. Personally, I'd love to see the series at Laguna Seca, but I'm pretty sure that Tony George doesn't much care what I think.