Notes: Ganassi rebounds after tough week

The week has improved considerably for Chip Ganassi Racing.

The team shut down one of its Sprint Cup teams Tuesday, knocking former open-wheel star Dario Franchitti, out of NASCAR's top series and leading to 71 layoffs, but found plenty to celebrate at Daytona International Speedway.

First, Scott Pruett came from behind to win the Grand-Am Series race Thursday night. Pruett, who teamed with Memo Rojas to give Ganassi his fifth series victory this season, edged Alex Gurney in the closest finish in Grand-Am history.

Then, rookie Bryan Clauson won the pole for the Nationwide Series race Friday night. It was the first pole of Clauson's career, and at 19 years, 19 days, made him the youngest series pole winner at Daytona.

"We had a tough week," Clauson said. "We went through the big deal on Tuesday with people losing their job, shut down the 40 car and had a lot of friends in the company that aren't there anymore. It's been a tough weekend all around for our whole organization.

"To come out here and stay on task like we have, I've been really proud of all my guys."

Ganassi shut down Franchitti's race team because of a lack of sponsorship, leaving the former IndyCar Series champion's future in doubt.

Franchitti, the 2007 Indianapolis 500 winner and series champion, has struggled in his first NASCAR season driving Ganassi's No. 40 Dodge. He ranks 41st in the driver standings, failed to qualify for races in Texas and Sonoma, Calif., and missed five with a broken ankle he suffered in a Nationwide crash at Talladega.

The poor performance came as Ganassi has searched all season for a sponsor for his third NASCAR team. Longtime sponsor Coors Light left at the end of last season, and Ganassi was unable to secure funding despite releasing David Stremme for the more marketable Franchitti.

"You get to a point where you have to say the bleeding has to stop here," Ganassi said. "You run the risk of it pulling down two well-funded other cars, and I don't want to do that. That's not fair to the sponsors that are on the other cars."

Franchitti still has to decide whether he wants to race for Ganassi in the Nationwide Series. If he decides to pursue other options, it likely would open up more seat time for Clauson.

"We haven't really got much into the future," Clauson said. "We're just focused on Daytona this week. We feel like this is one of our good shots at winning and we came in this weekend focused and that's kind of where our focus has stayed, not really letting our minds wander too much on the future."

Candidates visit?

Presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama could make campaign stops at NASCAR tracks in the next few months.

NASCAR chairman Brian France said Friday that he has extended invitations to both camps and expects the presumptive Republican and Democratic nominees to accept.

"We would welcome both of them at various times and places," France said. "And I anticipate seeing both of them. NASCAR has historically been a place that politicians have come to interact and get noticed by our fans and just be part of our sport. My anticipation is we'll see both of them. We'll see."

Modern-day deal

NASCAR's newest partnership got started in an unconventional, but very modern way.

Veteran driver Mark Martin and team owner Rick Hendrick said Friday that half of their negotiations were done via text messages.

"I think that's pretty cool because I just learned how to text myself," Martin said.

Martin signed a two-year contract to race for powerhouse Hendrick Motorsports, getting one final shot at winning the NASCAR championship that's eluded him his entire career. The 49-year-old Martin, who has run a partial schedule the past two years, will drive Hendrick's No. 5 Chevrolet full time next season and part time in 2010.

The deal will team Martin with two-time defending Cup champion Jimmie Johnson, four-time series champion Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. The young and popular drivers were one reason Hendrick started texting.

"Junior and Jimmie Johnson, they are the ones that taught me how to text," Hendrick said. "I had to learn how to do that, Mark, because they won't return your phone call."

Coke getaway

Thirteen drivers have a chance to get fans around the country a free drink.

If any of the 13 drivers sponsored by Coca-Cola win Saturday night's race at Daytona International Speedway, fans will be able to get a coupon for a free bottle of Coke Zero.

The 13 drivers are Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton, Denny Hamlin, Mark Martin, Greg Biffle, Elliott Sadler, Jamie McMurray, Bobby Labonte, Michael Waltrip, Clint Bowyer, David Ragan and Terry Labonte.

If any of those drivers wind up in Victory Lane, fans will be able to visit www.CokeZero.com before July 13 and get a coupon.

Negotiations can be a distraction

Although the silly season can be fun for fans, negotiating contract extensions or new deals during the racing season can be a major distraction for the drivers involved.

Two-time NASCAR champion Tony Stewart, who's trying to decide whether to stay with Joe Gibbs Racing or move on to a deal that includes team ownership, is fed up with the constant questions.

Greg Biffle knows how that feels.

Last week he announced he had signed a three-year extension with Roush-Fenway Racing and was relieved to put the project to rest.

"It will be nice not to have to answer those questions again for a few years," Biffle said.

For Petty Enterprises driver Bobby Labonte, signing a contract extension was a chance to focus fully on the future.

"I don't know that it's distracting," the 2000 Cup champion said of the in-season negotiations. "It's funny how you can read more about yourself than what you think about yourself sometimes. I'll read something and I'll think, 'You know, I wasn't even thinking that.'"

Unlucky streak

Heading into Saturday night's Sprint Cup race at Daytona, Stewart was in the midst of one of the worst streaks of bad luck in his racing career.

Last week at New Hampshire was just the latest example of dominating races only to find himself out of the spotlight at the end.

"It's the oddest year I think I've ever seen," Stewart said. "There's guys that have had a lot worse seasons than we've had, but this is a terrible year for us and our team. I think that is a compliment to how good of success this team and this organization has had, to say that we're ninth in points and we're having a terrible season and a bad luck season.

Stewart hopes to break his 31-race winless streak Saturday at Daytona.

"I don't know how long it's going to last," he added. "Hopefully, it's not much longer. I'm afraid I'm going to be bald by the time it's done."

Different road

Success comes in small steps these days for three-time IndyCar Series champion and former Indianapolis 500 winner Sam Hornish Jr.

For instance, Cup rookie Hornish is proud his No. 77 Penske Racing team is in the top 35 in points -- 33rd going into Daytona -- assuring him of being in every race.

"It took me a while before I felt like I could win races and championships over there, too," Hornish said. "And everything I did before I went to the IndyCar Series was in preparation to be an IndyCar driver. ... I had probably 15 races of preparation to come over here and be a stock car driver.

"I was real happy with what I was able to do, but, if I knew at some point in time I was going to be here (in NASCAR) I probably would have (gone) a different road, run late models and ASA, ARCA and Camping World and a couple of year of Nationwide in preparation to be here."

At least Hornish, who has yet to post a top-10 finish in Cup, still has a ride. Dario Franchitti, who won the IndyCar title and the Indy 500 a year ago, lost his this week when Chip Ganassi Racing shut down his team for lack of sponsorship.

"That's not a good situation for him," Hornish said. "I'm sure there's a lot more things that he'd like to do. I think it shows a sign of the times and how expensive things are to do here."

Stat of the week

Entering Saturday night's Coke Zero 400, Stewart has the best record of any current driver who has not won the Daytona 500, NASCAR's biggest event.

Stewart, who finished third in the 500 in February, has 12 wins at the Florida track, including two in the July Cup race, three in the Nationwide -- former Busch -- Series, three in the Budweiser Shootout and two each in the Gatorade Duel and the International Race of Champions.