David Stremme & Patrick Carpentier
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Posted by Jeremy Dunn Oct 8, 2007 |
The top NASCAR Sprint Cup ride available is arguably the Valvoline Dodge owned by Gillette Evernham Motorsports. After it was made clear that Scott Riggs would not return and would move on to Haas CNC Racing, Patrick Carpentier's name materialized as a possible replacement. Recently, David Stremme seems to have an added bounce to his step as he mentioned over the weekend that he has something lined up for 2008. The only ride available that is at least equal to his ride at Chip Ganassi Racing is the 10 ride.
Stremme will be replaced by IRL Champion Dario Franchitti in 2008, and could land a ride with Gillette Evernham Motorsports. But the Gillettes may be partial to Carpentier.
Alex Gillette spoke regarding the possibility of hiring the fellow Canadian.
"He (Carpentier) is one guy we like, absolutely. He tested pretty well at Kentucky and drove the car pretty well on the track, so we'll see."
Clearly, Stremme is the logical choice considering he has been through the learning process, however, he never really showed much promise at Chip Ganassi Racing. Add to that, Stremme and Kasey Kahne have had their issues. At Richmond, Kahne called Stremme overweight and out of shape (ironic considering Stremme was the spokesman for TrimSpa a couple of years ago), and admitted that he never liked Stremme. Carpentier is another former open-wheel star looking to amass riches in the Sprint Cup Series.
Reed Sorenson and his Chip Ganassi Racing team could be facing penalties this week after it was reported that there may have been a problem with the front-end height of the Target Dodge. Sorenson finished 10th at Talladega.
