Joe Nemechek and the Furniture Row Racing team were the latest NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team to see some significant cutbacks as the sport heads into what could be the most anxious and interesting off-season it has ever seen.
Nemecheck, driver of the No. 78 Chevrolet who won the April pole at Talladega Superspeedway, was notified that his team is looking at the high-probability chance of not competing in 2009 -- just days after the team owner indicated the team would compete but with a reduced schedule.
Aside from Nemechek and Furniture Row Racing's situation that very likely saw a number of the team's employees at the shop located in Colorado get laid off this week, NASCAR teams have been letting team members go left and right in the past week.
We saw last week that Dale Earnhardt Inc., and Chip Ganassi Racing merged to a four-car operation and eliminated 116 jobs from the new Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing operation and the news continued in full force after the season-finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway last Sunday.
Yes, race fans, love him, hate him, or feel nothing toward him -- NASCAR's winner of now three consecutive championships has officially joined the list of the most elite drivers to ever compete in the 60-year-old sport.
I know, I know, if you're not a Johnson fan you're more than tired of hearing about the exploits of the No. 48 team, and if your name is Carl Edwards (Johnson's nearest competitor in the point standings for the newbies joining us today), you're hoping you can stage the biggest upset in NASCAR history.
Will it happen? Can Edwards overcome Johnson? If I'm placing a bet, I'm not leaning that way, but hey, 400 miles is a long way and a lot can happen. Join us below in the final live blog event of the NASCAR season (sad face) here at FanHouse and tell us what you think. We'll kick it off right about 3:30 PM EST.
As a result, Bowyer, a native of Emporia, Kan., scored his first-career championship in NASCAR's second-tier series by a mere 21 points over the race-winning Edwards after beginning the Ford 300 with a 56-point advantage in the series standings.
Together with Johnny Benson's Craftsman Truck Series championship drive on Friday night, a grand total of 28 points have separated NASCAR's two champions in 2008 from their closest rivals in second place -- Edwards on Saturday night at Ron Hornaday Jr. on Friday night.
That small point difference trend isn't expected to continue with Sunday's Ford 400Sprint Cup season-finale race as Jimmie Johnson has a 141-point lead over Edwards in the top level series. Johnson, however, doesn't have the championship quite in the bag yet because he does have to finish 36th or higher to guarantee the title -- but certainly the drawstring is closing.
Back to Bowyer's title, however, and you're certainly looking at a driver who has had a stressful go of it as he attempted to finish out a virtually impeccable season of Nationwide competition.
Ironically the start of a Sprint Cup Series weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway that's supposed to be the coronation of one of NASCAR's greatest drivers started with a relative unknown taking the race's best starting spot.
Johnson carries a 141-point lead over Carl Edwards with only 400 miles left to go in the 36-race NASCAR season. Should Johnson manage a finish better than 36th Sunday, he'll be the first driver since Cale Yarborugh in 1978 to win three straight championships.
Edwards will start a much improved 4th.
On the outside of the front row and next to Reutimann, Red Bull Racing's Scott Speed will start the No. 83 Toyota after swapping rides this week with teammate Brian Vickers. Vickers, in Speed's normal No. 84, starts 20th.
Cancel any trips you've got scheduled to attend NASCAR's preseason testing at Daytona International Speedway in January 2009. (Yeah, all four of you.)
NASCAR announced Friday morning at Homestead-Miami Speedway -- site of the season-finale events for the Sprint Cup Series, Nationwide Series and the Craftsman (soon to be Camping World) Truck Series -- that all testing on NASCAR-sanctioned tracks will be banned in 2009. From the Charlotte Observer:
The suspension of testing, primarily a cost-cutting measure, includes preseason testing at Daytona International Speedway.
Teams still will be allowed to test at NASCAR weekly racing series tracks - such as Hickory Motor Speedway or Concord Motorsport Park in the Charlotte area where most operations are based - and at tracks not affiliated with NASCAR.
The decision, for example, could be a boost to Rockingham Speedway and its new owner, Andy Hillenburg. Hillenburg has built a short-track testing facility adjacent to the one-mile oval that used to host NASCAR events.
I've got to say that NASCAR is making an intelligent decision here to cut travel costs, but if you think for a minute that this move will save team's -- especially ones in the Sprint Cup Series -- extraordinary amounts of money, think again.
I can't remember the last year that I was so uninspired by NASCAR's finale race of the season at Homestead-Miami Speedway. I know I'm not alone ... so I thought we could chat about it while we sort of half watching the race today. We can discuss all the ways in which the 2007 NASCAR season and its media coverage sucked and yet ... we've already begun counting down the days 'til we can start it all over again in February.
Want to join us? Meet back here in about an hour for pre-race!
Heading to Homestead-Miami Speedway this weekend for the tenth and final race of the Chase for the Nextel Cup, things in the Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson Show changed dramatically since last week's edition. Gordon now trails Johnson by 86 points in the standings. Here's a breakdown of their stats at Homestead and the possibilities that loom within the last Chase race of the season.
Homestead Stats: Neither Gordon nor Johnson have a win at Homestead, a track that has seen a myriad of layout changes since it first came on the Nextel Cup tour. Johnson has the best career finish with a 2nd-place in 2004. Gordon's best finish also came in 2004 with a 3rd-place.
A year ago, Gordon finished 24th while Johnson finished ninth to wrap up his first title. A 40th-place finish in 2005 left Johnson with an average finish at HMS of 14.5 while Gordon has average 11.4.
Chase Stats: Phoenix stuck a fork in Jeff Gordon's title hopes after Johnson won his fourth-straight to Gordon's 10th-place finish. The 86-point deficit will be nearly impossible to overcome unless Johnson has serious trouble in the race. If Johnson finishes 18th or better, he automatically looks up the title, even if Gordon leads every lap and wins the race.
In doomsday scenarios for Johnson, if he finishes 40th or worse, Gordon could take the title with a 10th place finish or better. A 43rd-place finish for Johnson would mean Gordon would have to finish 14th or better.
I wouldn't put too much stock in those possibilities this year knowing that he has only failed to finish a race four times. Johnson should have his second NASCAR Nextel Cup title in hand come Sunday evening.
CONFIRMED: Roush-Fenway Racing officially announced Thursday morning that Robbie Reiser would assume role of General Manager at Roush-Fenway after the conclusion of Sunday's Ford 400.
ORIGINAL: Matt Kenseth might not be hearing Robbie Reiser's voice in his ear anymore after Sunday's Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, according to ESPN.com's David Newton:
Sources close to the situation told ESPN.com that Robbie Reiser, who has been Matt Kenseth's crew chief since they entered NASCAR's premier series in 2000 and long before that in the Busch Series, will become the general manager at Roush Fenway Racing.
He will replace Max Jones, who will move into the GM role at Robert Yates Racing. RYR and Roush recently formed an alliance that basically will allow them to work as a seven-car operation without violating NASCAR's four-car cap.
If indeed it happens, this will be the first time in Kenseth's NASCAR career that Reiser wasn't calling the shots for him. Together, Kenseth and Reiser have landed one Cup championship in 2003 and 15 race wins since Kenseth ran his first full season in 2000.
Joe Nemechek and the Furniture Row Racing team were the latest NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team to see some significant cutbacks as the sport heads into what could be the most anxious and interesting off-season it has ever seen.
One race to go, one champion to crown.
Carl Edwards
Ironically the start of a 
Cancel any trips you've got scheduled to attend NASCAR's preseason testing at 
Heading to Homestead-Miami Speedway this weekend for the tenth and final race of the Chase for the Nextel Cup, things in the Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson Show changed dramatically since 
