If you have ever read anything I have written elsewhere, you know that I love to speculate. It gets my blood going.
Yesterday, after the announcement that DeWalt Tools was leaving Matt Kenseth's team and stepping back from sponsorship, I had all kinds of "conspiracy theories" about whether Matt would be the "odd man out" at Roush Fenway and looking for a job elsewhere - hard to imagine for someone who won the first two races of the season, however, it was possible in my mind, and I had him going to Stewart-Haas, Jr Motorsports, even Hendrick. Yeah, the Ford man signing on with a Chevy team.
It seems all my speculation was for naught anyway. Crown Royal has announced they will sponsor Matt Kenseth's number 17 for 18 races in 2010, moving from the number 26 of Jamie McMurray. Matt has a past history with the parent group of Crown Royal, Diageo, having had Smirnoff Ice on the car in 2003 (a drink I can personally relate to).
Hmmmmm where does that leave Jamie? Yep, out of a ride at Roush. Geoff Smith, Roush Fenway President has said,
"With the conculsion of the contract arrangement with Crown Royal, Roush Fenway's Cup driver lineup will see Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards and David Ragan joining Kenseth to round out our four approved entries. We are still hoping to be able to transfer the No. 26 team, intact, to Yates Racing in order to keep everyone employed and racing within the Ford Community"
While this is bad news for McMurray, it really isn't expected. It's not as if he has been a top tier performer for some years, with only two wins. While David Ragan is behind Jamie currently in the Cup standings, his standings seem to be more on a "bad luck" situation than a not talented situation. Now, I'm not saying Jamie isn't talented, just that he doesn't seem to be racing to his potential. We all know that's a must if you want to race in the Cup series.
For now, Matt has a sponsor - good thing, as he has another mouth to feed at home with the birth of his an Katie's new daughter, Kaylin. Now, if only he could regroup and win a few more races, he could be contending for his second championship.
