2019 Silly Season

PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING



This is where Silly Season posts and updates regarding 2019 will be posted. This is way early considering we are only 2 months into the season and still have many months to go in 2018 to decide a champion and see who will win these races leading up to that point. With so much news coming out recently about the departure of Athenian Motorsports and Cyberton Motorsports after this year it's left a lot of Silly Season discussion being the main topic for the past couple of weeks along with rumors of driver's retiring and some drivers already resigning with race teams for the following season we figured it'd be worth going ahead and posting this thread early for everyone to post.



THE 2019 SEASON DOESN'T START UNTIL MARCH OF 2019 SO WE HAVE A LONG TIME TO MAKE DECISIONS ON WHO WILL DRIVE FOR WHICH TEAM! I ENCOURAGE EVERY TEAM TO REALLY EVALUATE THEIR CHOICES AND DON'T GO SIGNING DRIVERS TOO EARLY!



------- RULES!!!!! ---------


- YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO CLAIM DIFFERENT NUMBERS OR SPONSORS UNTIL AUGUST!! WE ARE KEEPING THIS RULE THAT EVERY TEAM IS REQUIRED TO WAIT UNTIL AUGUST TO CLAIM DIFFERENT SPONSORS TO ALLOW EVERY TEAM TO HAVE THEIR CHANCE TO TRY AND BID ON CERTAIN CAR NUMBERS AND SPONSORS!!!

- You can post anything regarding your team that considers what your team may be considering doing or is doing. Manufacturer changes, signing on different drivers, resigning drivers, resigning sponsors, resigning car numbers, etc... The only thing you can NOT post at this time until August is the signing of new sponsors or claiming a number that is currently open in the series.

- YOU HAVE TO GO THROUGH ME TO GET PERMISSION TO OWN YOUR OWN RACE TEAM.

- This is a Silly Season thread for all drivers in the Sony Cup Series Universe or just anyone wanting to get involved!! Sign up by posting your drivers name and make your case to team owners who will be viewing this thread that you are a driver capable of great things in the Cup Series. This is a Sign Up Page as well as a news thread for what's going to happen for next year!

- Drivers, once you sign a contract with a team you will NOT be able to bail out of the contract. So make sure you weigh your options carefully before you make a big decision like signing on a team for a year long series.

- Team Owners, it is your responsibility to watch over this Silly Season thread and make the necessary requirements for your race team. Everyone will have until December 31st, 2018 to make the necessary requirements to their roster for the following year. Team Owners are NOT able to cancel a contract with a driver once a contract is signed. The only way to cancel a contract is if both parties want mutually agree on the cancellation.







Mace Enterprises: Chevy
#5 Cody Llamas: 7-Eleven
#24 Charles Sandfer: GameStop
#25 Sean Harple: Mountain Dew
#48 Nick Mace: Lowe's




Martin Motorsports: Toyota
#6 Dom Caps: Hisense (Primary), Rheem, Sport Clips, Coca-Cola
#19 DJ Kurtis: Stihl (Primary), Wilson Security, Powerade 
#49 John Arndt: Zaxby's (Primary), Royal Purple, Sprite 
#99 Matthew Rodriguez: Napa (Primary), DeWalt, Cherry Coke




Turner Performance Racing: Ford
#12 TJ Martin (R): JBL, New Era, Hoonigan
#17 Jesse Turner: Aflac, Valvoline
#94 Caleb Hoffman: Fitzgerald Glider Kits, Exide Batteries
#97 Jake Baskinger: Kellogg's/Cheez-It, Red Bull




YAMP Motorsports: Ford
#?? Jordan Davis: Best Buy
#?? Dajon Weeks: M&Ms
#?? Dillon Young: O'Reilly's
#?? Jeffrey White (R): TBA????




Allen Family Racing Team: Dodge
#43 Ryan Griffin: DOW, Dodge SRT, Little Caesars, Briggs and Stratton, STP
#44 Chris Dodd: Mopar, Hot Wheels, Tropicana
#45 Ryan Acosta: Auto Zone, National Guard, Texaco/Havoline




HorizonGroup: Dodge
#76 Will Lewis: Amazon
#86 Kyle Collins: Spotify, Razer Gaming




Blue Flare Motorsports: Toyota
#41 Chris Louivere: Starbucks, RedEye Worldwide
#81 Nick Pericles: Liftmaster




Hero Motorsports: Ford
#13 Zaedin Davidson: Fedex, Motorcraft
#27 Luke Martin (PT): Viagra
#98 Bobby Jones: GoPro, Logitech, Red Bull




Red Stallion Racing: Toyota
#32 Jonny Gardner: Miller Lite, Tide, Dollar General




United Emirates Racing: Ford
#34 James Richardson (R): Fly Emerates/Petronas/Ethiad Airways/Lucas Oil




Kurtis Racing: Chevy
#4 Luis Hernandez: Bass Pro Shops, Boost Mobile, Mobil 1, and Office Depot
#8 Dylan Schwallenberg: Bandit Chippers, DC Solar, Arctic Cat and SP Tools





Fisher Motorsports: Toyota
#2 Jordan Fisher: Procore, Xfinity
#22 Zachary Fitzwater: Monster Energy, Fosters




CM Racing: Chevy
#0 PJ Williams: Oreo, Ikea
#3 Jake West (R): Nationwide, AC Delco




Young Wicked Racing: Ford?
#9 Hayden Kline: TBA




FUEL Brothers Racing: Toyota
#18 Noah Hart (PT): Dairy Queen
#47 Charlie Smith: Cherrios/Betty Crocker, Chex, Old El Paso, Bugles, Totinos and Dairy Queen
#83 Matt Daleo: Dairy Queen, Wheaties, Sunoco




Hood Hudelson Racing: Chevy
#53 Jon Bunnell: TBA




Fitzwater Australia Racing: Toyota
#26 Josh Crash: Home Depot, Culvers
#59 Garrett Sydnor: Pirtek, SuperCheap Auto




Rodriguez Racing: Toyota
#60 Eric Demax (R): Arris, Mello Yello, Toyota Care, Go Bowling




Roush Family Racing: Ford?
#90 Andreas Allen/Jack Hallec: Cheerwine/Roush Performance




Cloud9 Racing: Ford
#61 Jose Millz: TBA





Owner Points on Sale for 2019 (Updated as of Round 28)

#19 Cyberton Motorsports - 5th in Owner Points (Bought by YAMP Motorsports > being sold to team TBA)
#92 Finguy-Psytomi Motorsports - 11th in Owner Points (Bought by Allen Family Racing Team > will be used for the #43 Dodge in 2019)
#10 Cyberton Motorsports - 15th in Owner Points (Bought by YAMP Motorsports > being sold to team TBA)
#31 Athenian Motorsports - 16th in Owner Points
#3 Athenian Motorsports - 17th in Owner Points
#55 Athenian Motorsports - 22nd in Owner Points
#76 HorizonGroup - 28th in Owner Points
#95 Athenian Motorsports - 29th in Owner Points
#43 Allen Family Racing Team - 33rd in Owner Points
#26 Finguy-Psytomi Motorsports - 36th in Owner Points
#81 Blue Flare Motorsports - 39th in Owner Points
#21 Maverick Motorsports - 42nd in Owner Points

Athenian Motorsports and Cyberton Motorsports will not return in 2019. Leaving D.J. Kurtis, Cody Llamas, Levi Pascoe, Sean Harple and PJ Williams on the free agent market for good and will be forced to find a different ride heading into the new year.

Rumor has it that a big team on the market might be in the works of a manufacturer swap. Some more rumors going around that we haven't seen the last of team's folding up after 2018...

HHR (Chevy)
53- ???
Note: This ride will be a part time ride likely with a rotating cast of development drivers. The team has switched it's focus from John and Moss and is now is focused on developing future stars in the Cup Series as well as HNS.
Note that this does leave John free for other offers but he is rumored to stay with the team as part of their armada.

There is also a rumor going around that Ryan Griffin is unhappy with his current situation at Martin Motorsports with only scoring 2 Top 10's in the first 9 races and was overheard telling a crew member that "if continues" he'll look for opportunities elsewhere.

Mace Enterprises has renewed it's contract through 2019 with the numbers, 5, 24, 25 and 48 being the numbers for it's race team.

Llamas open to good competitive rides if the #10 Ford doesn't return to any of the new teams.

"Hopefully we'll be able to continue in our competitive #10 Ford with a new team but I would be also open to a fast Chevy team in the end. Mace Enterprises would be a interesting option maybe for sure if possible"

Kurtis Racing+CM Racing to Bring Alliance to the Sony Cup Series in 2019!

Starting back in the 2017 Hardee's National Series season, CM Racing and Kurtis Racing started building a bond between the 2 teams. In 2018, that bond turned into an official alliance in the HNS, which up to this point in the season has paid major dividends for both teams.

Both teams had already been in serious discussions about their 2019 plans, and when it was announced that Kurtis Racing had bought out Athenian Motorsports earlier this week, the door opened for both CM Racing, who was already planning on bringing back their SCS program in 2019, and Kurtis Racing, to bring their Alliance to the big stage. Both teams are currently planning on running 2 cars each for 2019, with Kurtis Racing expected to have a say in driver personnel decisions for the CM Racing team.
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Joseph Kurtis(Owner of Kurtis Racing): "With our team buying out Athenian, we expect to be decently faster then we are this year, and with CM Racing wanting to move on up to Cup, we were willing to help. Our partnership has been strong in the HNS so far and with success, so we are hoping we can find some of that success for 2019 and beyond. Our teams are linked together and everybody there seems to get along, and that's what will help us in gathering info in the Chevy camp especially as we transition to a completely new racecar."  

Tommy Turbo(President/CEO of CM Racing): "Ever since we agreed to make the decision to (in essence trade) sell our SCS team last year to Athenian, and in turn buyout their HNS team, we have been looking for an opportunity to come back to Full-time SCS competition as soon as possible. While we have enjoyed great success in the HNS this year so far, there is nothing like owning and growing an SCS team, which CM Racing had done over the last few seasons prior, which is why we continued to run CM Racing Part-Time this year(2018).

We have been in consistent communication with Kurtis Racing particularly over this past year, as both teams share a great deal of information and ideals between each other, and when it was announced that Kurtis Racing was buying out Athenian, both teams felt that it was a great opportunity to grow and move our alliance up into the Sony Cup Series for 2019. We are committed to working closely with one another in both SCS and HNS competition, to help each other grow in this series, and we are excited to see what the future will hold."
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Rumors are speculating around Blue Flare Motorsports possibly going back to a 2 car operation for 2019.

Kurtis Racing and CM Racing have announced their technically alliance going into 2019. Kurtis Racing will buy out Athenian Motorsports and will down size the assets to its usual 2 car team and helping support CM Racing with its other 2 teams Athenian Motorsports is fielding this year.

Hero Motorsports will be back with at least 1 car on the team while the manufacturer is still unconfirmed.

The rumor that Ryan Griffin is unhappy with his performance at Martin Motorsports seems to be even more true now after another rumor has speculated that he reportedly said that "TJ Martin will have a better turn around in this car next year."

Whether or not Griffin is looking into other options or is just unhappy with the effort by his team is unknown or if these rumors are even true.

Lowe's has extended it's sponsorship on the #48 car for Mace Enterprises for another season for 2019.

Rumors are speculating even more than Blue Flare Motorsports is at a high possibility of not returning in 2019 with reports of sponsorships already confirming that they will not return for the following year.

REPORT: Griffin to leave Martin Motorsports at the end of 2018 season.

A formal announcement is expected at a later date.

day500champ1 wrote:REPORT: Griffin to leave Martin Motorsports at the end of 2018 season.

A formal announcement is expected at a later date.

GRIFFIN TO LEAVE MARTIN MOTORSPORTS FOLLOWING 2018 SEASON; 2019 PLANS TBD

The mood inside the Martin Motorsports race shop was light hearted and happy this morning, but the news that came out of the MM shop this morning at a short press conference was bittersweet.  

"Well this is probably the toughest thing I've ever had to do in my career.  As of this morning, I will not be returning to the #11 MM Ford following this season.  I want to express my graditude to Luke [Martin] and I can not begin to express how grateful I am to him for giving me the opportunity to entered the Sony Cup Series and compete on what I consider to be the best race team in SCS at the moment.  I was fortunate enough to win last season in my rookie season against one of the best in the series in Nick Mace and it was a special moment for me and I have Luke to thank for that as well.   I wish the best to me teammates Dom [Capps], Matt [Rodriguez], and Chris [Dodd].  As for the #11 guys who work their rear ends off each and every week, these deserve to go out on top and I will try my damnest to make sure we can get at least a couple of W's before this year is up."

After speaking, Griffin stood up and embraced Luke Martin in a quick hug.  When asked about his plan regarding the SCS and the 2019 season, Griffin said that nothing is for certain at this point and that he has the whole rest of this season and the 2018/2019 offseason to figure that out. It is also unknown what Martin Motorsports will do with the #11 in the future as well.

Eric Demax will not return to SCS next season.

As the result of rocky and downhill finishes in the Hardee's National Series, the Mace Enterprises Development driver will not return to the Sony Cup Series until further notice. Therefore, Eric will not battle for ROTY in 2019.
Combining both SCS and HNS stats from this season, Eric Demax only has one top 10 finish in 16 starts of what has been described as a miserable 2018 so far.

We spoke to Eric about him staying put in the Hardee's National Series and here's what he had to say.

"To be honest, after what has happened so far, I'm just still not ready to be in Cup yet. In fact, this season has made me realize that I've made myself look like a laughingstock than being an actual driver. Some people may think that I would have enough talent to be in Cup next season. Look I respect their opinion but if you ask me, even after this season is over, I would still be WAY off to even be considered what you would call someone to be 'Cup material.' If you want an example, TJ and I have started around the same time but he's already surpassed me in both talent and skill. TJ is basically three times better than I am right now. Even I think my teammate McDaniels have even surpassed me. If I want to even be around the same skillset as Martin and McDaniels, I need more track time and I need to think about how I can improve as a driver both mentally and physically. I know I can get back up on my feet but this decision is for the best, even if the road back takes way, way longer than usual..."

Rumour Mill: Fitzwater Australia Racing might head up to the SCS in 2019. Updates to come in a few days

Reports: Fitzwater Australia Racing will go up to CUP in 2019 bringing the 59 number with it. Sponsors and driver TBA later

Nick Mace will return as the driver for the #48 Chevy in 2019.

Dom Caps will return to Martin Motorsports in 2019.

Blue Flare Motorsports and Toyota will once again be partnered for the 2019 Sony Cup Series season. The #41 and the #81 will both return, the #96 is not out of the picture but is in question.

Rumor: Rodriguez Racing is looking to move up in cup for the 2019 season.

Matthew Rodriguez and Martin Motorsports sign a deal through the 2019 Season.

Martin Motorsports is expanding it's partnership with Ford. NAPA also will return for another full time season.