Mayfield loses ride

Haas CNC Racing announced that Jeremy Mayfield is gone as driver of the team's No.  70 car. While a team release says the group is looking at "several scenarios regarding a replacement driver,'' Johnny Sauter is listed as the driver of the team's car for this weekend at Phoenix.

Sauter ran for Haas CNC last year, finishing 30th in the driver points with one top-five and two top-10 finishes. Mayfield is let go after his 38th-place finish Sunday at Texas dropped him outside the top 35 in car owner points, meaning the car is not guaranteed a starting spot at Phoenix this weekend. In seven races this season, Mayfield had not finished better than 16th in an event -- which was better than teammate Scott Riggs' best finish this year.

So, who's the next driver to lose his ride? Obviously, Chip Ganassi isn't happy with how his teams are performing. Will one of his drivers go or will he start by changing things up with his teams before focusing on his drivers? Certainly the heat will remain on Casey Mears (Hendrick Motorsports) and Jamie McMurray (Roush Fenway Racing) until they show further improvement. McMurray is 25th in points; Mears is 26th. With a number of free agents this season _ Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards, Ryan Newman, Martin Truex and Bobby Labonte, among others, teams could have several options to make changes.

But if a team makes a driver change now, who is out there to replace them? David Stremme. Jason Leffler. Mike Bliss. Kelly Bires. Mike Wallace. Most of them have not had much success in Cup. Are they worth a second chance (or third?)

# Looking for an interesting read on some of the technical issues of NASCAR? Check out this site on the science of racing. Some interesting things on Michael McDowell's crash at Texas and the sway bar controversy at Martinsville and the Edwards oil tank flap at Vegas.

# In case you missed it, Bill Davis Racing has gone through a reorganization. Marty Gaunt is now the team's VP. Truck series manager Mark Chambers becomes GM for the entire organization. Mike Brown, former GM, becomes the team's CFO. And they added a director of marketing.

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