Turbulent 2007 may have some drivers on move in '08

	Beset by disappointing results and a loss of a primary sponsor this year may have Greg Biffle racing elsewhere in 2008. Andy Lyons/Getty Images
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It's May 1, and NASCAR fans know exactly what that means -- Silly Season for the sport they love is about to take off at high speed. April showers don't just lead to May flowers -- they lead to drivers starting to make alternate plans for 2008 and beyond.

Why, it's this very week last year we learned of the first domino in what became a flurry of driver movement for '07; Dale Jarrett came out and announced a two-year deal reportedly worth $20 million to make the move from Robert Yates to Toyota and Michael Waltrip Racing.

A similar blockbuster is likely in the making this year over at Dale Earnhardt, Inc., with Junior's contract extension (or lack thereof) likely to dictate what the first move of this year's Silly Season will be.

Lost in the media frenzy of Junior's contract, however, have been several other drivers who are quietly positioning themselves as candidates to move elsewhere. Check out these five drivers whose chances of leaving their current teams grow larger with each disappointing performance this season:

Greg Biffle

Matt Kenseth once told me that if anyone was going to step up at Roush to fill the leadership void left by Mark Martin's departure, it'd be Biffle. Instead, the oldest driver left in the Roush stable is watching his leadership skills pay dividends for everyone else. Teaming with new crew chief Pat Tryson hasn't led to the early season success expected, with the Biff running a distant fourth among the five-man Roush contingent on the heels of just one top-five finish all year. Ranked 16th in the standings to match his car number, Biffle's effort to make the Chase is still not a lost cause at this point. But a primary sponsor has been lost, as Ameriquest's financial woes proved tough enough to prompt it to wiggle out of a multi-year deal.

The sponsorship issue has caused Roush to get busy finding a replacement, and there's a heavy rumor floating that NAPA is a frontrunner to get the nod. The problem is, no sponsor's willing to sign on the dotted line when the driver in question is entering the final year of his contract next season. A three-year deal may be the goal, but Biffle's been struggling to match the interest of potential sponsors with an extension of his own from a program that needs to cut from five teams to four by the end of '09.

Common sense would tell you that struggling rookie David Ragan, not Biffle, would be the driver on the chopping block in that scenario, with Biffle's close friendship with Kenseth keeping him solidly within the Roush camp. Still, Roush Racing president Geoff Smith has been sending mixed signals to the media, leaving the door open for Biffle to bolt to Chevy and Richard Childress Racing's rumored fourth team if DEI re-signs Junior.