Action off the track can match the drama on track

As compelling as the Chase for the Sprint Cup is on the track, there's a whirlwind of activity off it these days.

There's a lot of attention being paid to teams and drivers who are not involved in chasing the series title -- mergers, closures, sales, driver swaps and financing, just to name a few.

As has been the case in the past couple of years, teams that did not qualify for the Chase are getting about the business of preparing for next season. That includes making driver changes, shoring up sponsorship, trying new things and overhauling strategies based on their position in the points.

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For a couple of teams, they're doing all the above and a little more.

Chip Ganassi Racing is one of them, and Red Bull is the other.

At Ganassi, Reed Sorenson has already announced he's leaving at the end of the season for Gillett Evernham, which opens that seat for another driver. The driver he'll replace at GEM is Patrick Carpentier, who has shown well in the team's third car.

Ganassi has Juan Montoya locked into the team's No. 42 Dodge for next season with half-year sponsorship from Wrigley, and according to team sources there's sponsorship available for the other half.

The No. 41 Dodge has Target on the hood and will again in 2009, and a fully funded ride is something that is becoming rarer than a qualifying day without rain. Bryan Clauson is a candidate, as are several others, including Jeremy Mayfield, who drove the car in testing at Lowe's Motor Speedway earlier this week.

At Red Bull, team officials have notified A.J. Allmendinger he won't be in the seat next season, electing to go with former Formula One driver Scott Speed as a partner to established team leader Brian Vickers.

Speed, who should add at least a different style in team merchandise, is a Red Bull Team driver whose stint in Formula One was with the Scuderia Torro Rosso (Italian for Team Red Bull) and is a favorite of team owner Dietrich Mateschitz, the billionaire owner of Red Bull.

Reports from the Allmendinger camp say that Red Bull was willing to commit to the 2009 season, but no longer. Allmendinger said he had at least one offer of a three-year contract.

At Haas CNC, sponsor State Water Heaters has announced it is seeking a team to sponsor for 2009. That's been more common in the past couple of seasons than in the past, where moves were made quietly and revealed at the time and place of the sponsor's choosing.

State currently backs the No. 66 Chevrolet driven by Scott Riggs, who is also on the move for 2009 after the formation of Stewart-Haas Racing in July. SHR has Old Spice and Office Depot already committed to Tony Stewart's No. 14, and sponsorship is currently being sought for the No. 39 for Ryan Newman.

Michael Waltrip Racing says it has sponsorship for two cars done for 2009 and three-quarters of the year for a third, and the team is entertaining the idea of a fourth car next season as well.

Several teams, including Bill Davis Racing and Petty Enterprises, are seeking primary sponsors for their cars. Davis, who has fielded offers for his Cup operation, lost Caterpillar to Richard Childress Racing, and the Pettys lost longtime backer General Mills to RCR as well, leaving the famed No. 43 without a primary for the first time since the Nixon administration.

The nomadic adventures of Robby Gordon continue apace. The owner-driver is seeking an alliance with an established team to bolster his single-car operation after his deal with GEM splintered last month.

Latest team rumored to be in the mix is Dale Earnhardt Inc., which apparently has no sponsorship for its No. 01 Chevrolet driven by Regan Smith beyond the end of the season. The addition of Gordon's mostly-funded team would keep the stable at four cars for 2009.

It was reported earlier this week, however, that Paul Menard, driver of the No. 15 Menards car for DEI, might be considering a move to Yates Racing, which has pieced sponsorship for two cars together all season long.

One interesting proposition has a two-car team being formed that would pair Menard with Gordon for next season. Menard's father John, the home-improvement billionaire, is a long-time backer of Gordon's and a long-time friend of the sport.

However the Chase winds up, we'll be seeing the effects of both the realities of competition in a sponsorship-driven sport and the long-term health of the economy long past the annual NASCAR awards banquet in December.