By Staff
Michael Jordan, Roger Clemens, and Mark Martin. You wouldn't necessarily group those guys together in just about any category that you can imagine.
They are from North Carolina, Texas, and Arkansas respectively. One played basketball, one played baseball, and the other drove racecars.
However, all three excelled in their particular sport over a long period of time and all three retired numerous times, but couldn't stay away.
Martin drove Fords for Jack Roush for 19 years. He announced his retirement and went on the farewell tour along with Rusty Wallace.
Yes, it has been that long ago. Roush got himself into a bad situation when Kurt Busch left/was fired from the old No. 97 team. Roush asked Martin to return for "one more year." Well, that was three years ago.
Since then, Martin moved to the 01 car of MB2 Motorsports and that team was sold to Bobby Ginn. The heat in the kitchen got too hot for Ginn and he sold the team to Dale Earnhardt, Inc.
All the while Martin is competing part-time, driving the car only on tracks he likes and letting a "developing driver" take over the car on tracks he didn't really like.
Now, word is circulating this week that Martin will be on the move again. It appears that Martin will leave DEI after the season to drive, in some form, the Hendrick Motorsports No. 5 Chevrolet.
Casey Mears currently occupies that seat, but looks to be on the way out. Depending on which report you read and believe, Martin will be in the car for the full season competing for the chase and championship "one last time."
Or Martin will share the ride with current JR Motorsports Nationwide Series driver Brad Keselowski.
On the surface, this looks like a surprising move, but who would pass up the opportunity to drive for Rick Hendrick? Martin has driven for Hendrick and JR Motorsports in the Nationwide Series several times over the last couple years. He even won at Las Vegas earlier this year in the No. 5.
Mears is, and has been, in a precarious position. He has changed teams, sponsors, and crew chiefs every year for the last five and always seems on the bottom of the food chain. He is a solid driver that just can't catch a break.
He will land on his feet and is rumored to be in the running for Richard Childress' new No. 33 team next season.
The Tony Stewart saga continues and seems to be headed toward an end. I think it is a foregone conclusion that Stewart will leave Joe Gibbs Racing after the season.
Now, the question is where does he go, what sponsors will go with him, and which driver will he snag along the way.
Some big names, both drivers and sponsors, are involved in this deal. Ryan Newman, Martin Truex, or Greg Biffle could all change rides once the other shoe drops.
UPS, Home Depot, Office Depot, Bass Pro Shops, and Old Spice are some of the names involved in the sponsorship portion of this ongoing situation. Gonna be fun to follow this one.
New Hampshire is next on the schedule. My pick to take the checkers this week is Matt Kenseth.