SportsFullCircle

Well, its that time of year again! The time where presents and contracts lay under the tree. It is the motor-sports off-season, and its time to watch and learn how next year will shape up. Here’s my top ten things to watch:

10) The future of A1GP:  The A1GP has been up in the air now for the past several weeks, with the first three races in Australia, China, and Malaysia being canceled. The cars of the series are currently in impound in England as the series has outstanding debts to pay. The nineteen teams involved, including Team USA, will have to wait just like us to see what will happen.

9) Andretti vs. Green:  There have been many reports of a split between Andretti-Green owners Michael Andretti and Kim Green. This split became more evident with the renaming of the race team to Andretti Autosport. Now, it appears that Green will take over the promotion side of the team, while Andretti controls the race team. We will have to wait and see how it works out.

Sponsor Woes:  The racing of many series may continue, but sponsors are playing duck and run. In NASCAR, drivers and teams have seen sponsors like DeWalt, Jack Daniels, and Jim Beam go by the wayside, seeing drivers’ futures going with it. In Formula One, sponsors like RBS and Marlboro depart, while the new teams continue to look for sponsors in this struggling time. The overrunning question will be whether or not sponsors will flock to these opportunities.

7) The Big Three:  It is well documented that the big three automakers, GM, Ford, and Chrysler, have been struggling and have requested federal funds. How has this effected the racing? Cuts in sponsorship, delayed support to NASCAR teams, and even some teams in NASCAR changing teams. Only time will tell if these cuts will continue long term and possibly lead to NASCAR without the automakers.

6) The Milwaukee Mile Miscarriage:  One of the most historic racetracks in the world is on the brink of being shut down. The ownership of the track has bailed, and if they don’t find a new owner, the track will go by the wayside. Such a pity, since the track has been running continuously since the 1920s, and planned on hosting IndyCar, NASCAR Nationwide, and NASCAR Camping World Truck competition.

5) The Future of the Trucks:  The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series was able to survive last year without many major sponsors and often without enough trucks to fill the 36 truck field, the smallest field of all of the nationally-touring NASCAR series. And now, the sponsors and teams are beginning to worry. Teams are desperate for sponsors and without them, they may not run. The only positive so far for the series is, what is coming in number four.

4) Kyle Busch…The Owner?:  Kyle Busch Motorsports has come about from the remains of Xpress Motorsports, and will field two trucks next year. One will be for Tayler Malsam for the full season. The other will be split between Busch and Brian Ickler. And now, rumors have circulated that he may field a third truck for Johnny Benson. Now the only question is how Kyle Busch the owner will act for the media.

3) From Circuits to Streets:  The IndyCar Series has a new sponsor, and a new direction. This time, the IndyCar Series will go left and right for the majority of the year. The series will kick off the year in Sao Paolo in the AppexBrazil Grand Prix of Sao Paolo, and will continue on the road and street courses at Barber Motorsports Park, Infineon, Watkins Glen, Mid-Ohio, St. Petersburg, Toronto, Edmonton, and Long Beach. This will be the first time since the IRL split from CART in the late 1990s that the streets will outnumber the ovals. Now, the drivers of the IRL must adapt to this new formula, that may stay in place for a while.

2) Formula One Silly Season:  With the introduction of four new teams to the Formula One grid, drivers will continue to shuffle until the green flag flies in Bahrain. New drivers like Nico Hulkenberg, Lucas di Grassi, and Bruno Senna have joined F1, while drivers like world champion Jenson Button and Reubens Barrichello have found new homes. Now the new teams must play catch-up and find drivers that can help them compete.

1) Danica-mania!:  The one common theme of every off-season:  what will Danica Patrick do? Now, we know that she will be doing much more than racy GoDaddy commercials next year. Patrick has signed a new three-year contract with Andretti Autosport to drive the #7 GoDaddy Honda in the IZOD IndyCar Series. Meanhwile, GoDaddy follows her to race in the ARCA Daytona 200 in February as well as a limited NASCAR Nationwide Series season. Could this be a plan a future move to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series? Only time can tell, but for now, we can only watch the spectacle that is Danica-mania.