Examining candidates to become RCR's fourth driver

Bobby Labonte's champions provisional might seem enticing to Childress Racing on the surface but remains a short-term fix in the Chase era. Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images

Bobby Labonte certainly seems like a serious prospect to follow Cheerios and those other General Mills brands to Richard Childress Racing next season.

From a marketing standpoint, it would make for a seamless transition. Everything but that famous No. 43 at Petty Enterprises would remain intact, with a popular and former Sprint Cup champion driver taking the wheel.

Labonte would bring that valued champion's provisional to the table, removing the sponsor's anxiety of possibly missing the Daytona 500 because the RCR entry is a new full-time team and won't have those precious top 35 points.

It stands to reason that Labonte would be interested in going to Childress, moving to a team that put three cars in the Chase last season from a team that never has. The bigger question is this: Are Childress and General Mills interested in Labonte?

RCR's deal, likely worth the industry standard of $20 million, is a multi-year pact. Labonte will turn 44 in May and hasn't won a race since 2003, when he drove for Joe Gibbs Racing. Labonte's final year at Gibbs in 2005 is telling: He was 24th in the points with four top fives. With Petty, he's finished 21st and 18th in the points and last year didn't have a top five. In seven races this year, Labonte doesn't have a top 10. This is the trend General Mills has been tracking and it isn't pretty.

Labonte still has several years of respectable racing in him and, in the old sponsor model in Cup, coupled with the Petty name, that might have been enough for the sponsor to stay right where they are.

But the Chase has changed the landscape. It's 10 races during the stretch run -- 27.7 percent of the season -- where the drivers outside the 12 in the points receive virtually no attention from broadcast or print media. Run fourth at Kansas but aren't in the Chase? Who cares? It doesn't matter in the big picture.

The new mandate for teams with the most-invested sponsors is that a team make the Chase or the sponsors will move on to greener pastures.

Labonte's champions provisional is, in reality, a short-term fix that recent history says will not pay off in the long run. A top-tier driver with a top-tier team should be able to qualify on speed at Daytona and the succeeding four races before the points are reset. Kurt Busch proved that this year.

Does Labonte remain in the picture to move to RCR in 2009? Perhaps, but it's doubtful he's the top choice.

Here's my list of the leading candidates to become the fourth driver at RCR.

1. Tony Stewart

I know what you're thinking: Tony Stewart is going to leave Gibbs? Leave Home Depot? You must be crazy. But moving to RCR would reunite him with Chevrolet. Stewart's contract runs through 2009. Last summer, he was negotiating an extension that would have kept him at Gibbs for the rest of his career. Then Gibbs announced it was switching from Chevrolet to Toyota and the talks stopped.

Stewart will make an evaluation this summer about his future. He's still aligned with Chevrolet, which is a major sponsor of his race track, Ohio's Eldora Speedway, along with his USAC and World of Outlaws teams. They are passionate supporters of Stewart and his long-term future in the sport. Have you seen the commercials for Armor All, Stewart's sponsor as a team owner? He's driving a Corvette, not a Camry. Neither manufacturer nor Stewart are comfortable with him in both camps.

How could this happen? Stewart could negotiate a buy-out with Gibbs. It's even possible crew chief Greg Zipadelli would go with him in a package deal and -- presto! -- the fourth car at RCR is an immediate Chase contender. What do you think that would be worth to General Mills?

2. Ryan Newman

He's in his eighth full season in Cup at age 30, has 13 wins and is in the final year of his contract with Penske Racing. Yes, he won the Daytona 500 in February and the Penske team is stronger than it's been, but Newman also was winless and didn't make the Chase the past two years. RCR and Chevrolet has to be an inviting proposition for Newman, whose clean-cut image should appeal to a company that sells cereal to kids.

3. Martin Truex Jr.

His 2007 run into the Chase and first victory transformed Truex, 27, from prospect to pure gold on the free-agent market. DEI will make signing Truex a priority, but rumblings of the departure of Dale Earnhardt Jr. to Hendrick has already negatively impacted the team's financial resources. RCR is in position to win a bidding war for Truex, offering more compensation and a stronger team with three front-line drivers.

4. Reed Sorenson

He's the long shot in the group: a 22-year-old in his third full season in Cup with Chip Ganassi Racing. Sorenson has talent, but is he ready for prime time? He's a more risky proposition in the short term, but has a very long and bright future. Obviously, RCR wouldn't take him over Stewart, Newman or Truex. But if they're not available, Sorenson could be the best choice on the board.

5. Greg Biffle

He's probably staying at Roush Fenway Racing, but he's unsigned and that means anything could happen. Biffle is having a strong season -- ranking ninth in points through seven races -- and has wins in the past five seasons with a grand total of 12. At 38, he has productive years left and is said to be looking for a lucrative contract. RCR could offer him one.

Labonte is next in line, the fallback position for RCR. Petty vice president of operations, Robbie Loomis, says he's confident of re-signing Labonte and he probably will.

Tim Tuttle can be reached at siwriters@simail.com