Who will be in the No. 38 car next week? Credit: Autostock

Change would be good now for Sadler, Gilliland

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. -- If the announcements of Elliott Sadler as driver of the 19 car and David Gilliland as driver of the 38 car happen this week, the timing couldn't be better.

Sure it's probably a little earlier than either Ray Evernham or Robert Yates expected, but both teams need to move on with their future plans.

	Marty Snider
	SOUND OFF •   Give Marty your take

Opportunities to get a jump on the competition are rare in this business; if you find such an opportunity, nothing should hold you back. In these cases, both teams will have 14 races to learn their new drivers and develop those relationships.

Fast forward to early in the 2007 season, will they at any point say to each other, "Man, I sure wish we hadn't spent all that time working together at the end of last year. What a waste?" Of course not; they have nothing to gain by leaving the current drivers in their cars.

Now, about David Gilliland's rookie status: If he runs more than seven races this year, he will not be considered a rookie next season and therefore won't be eligible for rookie of the year status. My question is ... who cares?

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I know that M&M/Mars will have a heavy say in what happens on this front, but this is my plea to them: let the young man get all the experience he can. By far, that's what he needs most at this point.

A rookie of the year trophy that will just sit in a corner for the next half century is not worth the trade-off. Look what it did for Carl Edwards. Do you think he mopes around thinking about the rookie of the year trophy he missed out on? I think not.

Unhappily ever after

The Ray Evernham-Jeremy Mayfield separation took an ugly turn late last week. An injunction was filed in Charlotte by the Mayfield camp so he could keep his ride, despite being fired. They claimed that Evernham was in breach of contract for terminating Mayfield.

At his lawyer's request, Mayfield showed up in Watkins Glen so he could say that he held up his end of the contract, he was there Friday morning to go to work. The matter was settled out of court late Friday.

	Ray Evernham and Jeremy Mayfield Credit: Autostock
	THE SAGA •   Struggling Mayfield frustrated by Evernham's absence •   Evernham taken aback by distraction whispers •   Elliott to replace Mayfield in No. 19 at The Glen •   Mayfield released by Evernham Motorsports •   Legal dispute resolved, but Mayfield still fired from EMS

After pouring your heart and years of your time into making something successful, why would you want to end it on such a sour note? Is it simply every man for himself these days? And why is the media often used as the mediator?

This all started to go south in mid-July when Mayfield claimed Evernham was an absentee owner -- a statement he later retracted. I understand Mayfield's argument and even agree with some of his points, but the media is not the place to vent your frustrations.

Sure, Evernham has been spending more time with Erin Crocker and her team lately, but to call him an absentee owner is ludicrous, I don't care how infrequently you see him. You would be hard-pressed to find someone who works harder in this business than Ray Evernham.

In fact, his answer to on-track problems has always been to work harder. He told me that in 2006 he has missed just six days of work and skipped his usual July vacation.

But the fact that Evernham has to defend himself in the court of public opinion is completely unfair. It's his race team, not Mayfield's.

I don't hear Tony Stewart complaining that Joe Gibbs is no longer around or Kevin Harvick saying anything cross when Richard Childress goes hunting for a few weeks in Montana.

Mayfield is a terrific guy and a talented racecar driver, but on this occasion his desire to get out of his ride outweighed his common sense. There are much classier ways to leave a race team (see Elliott Sadler).

Show me the money

Let's get one thing straight, neither Mark Martin nor Bill Elliott want a full-time Cup schedule in 2007. Who can blame them?

	Mark Martin and Bill Elliott Credit: Autostock
	Inside the Numbers Mark Martin and Bill Elliott (Cup careers)   Martin Elliott Age 47 50 Years 24 31 Starts 660 751 Wins 35 44 Top-5s 231 175 Top-10s 369 320 Poles 41 55 Avg. Start 11.5 13.4 Avg. Finish 13.2 15.3 Titles 0 1 (1988) • Martin finished second in points in 1990, '94, '98 and 2002

Both Martin and Elliott have older children, whose childhood years they basically missed because they were racing. Now they're both blessed enough to once again have young children and don't want to miss the opportunity this time around to see their children grow up.

A slimmer work schedule with more family time gets both of them excited. That said, money may eventually get them back into the seat. Don't get me wrong, it's not all about the money, but some incredible dollar figures are being thrown at these guys.

In this "driver shortage" era, experience is a high-priced commodity.

Jack Roush is absolutely desperate for Martin to sign up for another year. Plain and simple, Todd Kluever is not ready for the Nextel Cup Series and it's starting to look like he might never be ready.

Roush needs time, and Martin buys him time ... one more year to find the next protégé. For weeks now, Roush has been waving big money at Martin, offering him not only guaranteed money as a driver, but ownership of the race team as well.

Martin doesn't seem to be taking the bait. After this year, his heart's just not into it. Instead, his heart is with his son Matt's race team and in the Craftsman Truck Series. Yet Roush keeps trying. Martin says that he will make a decision in October ... I would be surprised if he says, "Yes," to Roush.

Team Red Bull needs a veteran driver, and Bill Elliott fits its mold. He's consistent, won't tear up your equipment and will get you a guaranteed spot in the field -- the perfect recipe for a start-up team.

Three weeks ago Elliott told me he just couldn't see it happening, he's just having too much fun in semi-retirement. But then last week he told me, "You just never know." That's the money talking.

But both Elliott and Martin have to sincerely evaluate the trade-off: more money than they've ever made versus the time away from home. Take, for example, just this past week of "semi-retirement" for Elliott.

Ray Evernham called him on Tuesday asking him to race at Watkins Glen; he was on his plane just a few hours later flying from Colorado to North Carolina.

On Wednesday he was testing at a South Carolina road course with Boris Said. He spent Thursday in North Carolina studying recent road-course trends and reviewing the broadcasts of the last few Watkins Glen races, and on Friday the race weekend started.

Keep in mind, that's just an average race week without sponsor appearances or media commitments. How's that for semi-retirement?

Big dollars or not, my money says that both Martin and Elliott will tell their suitors, "Thanks, but no thanks."

I may be way off on this one, but both men know that racing in today's Nextel Cup Series takes more than a full-time commitment. They also know they have the greater commitment of family calling them on the other line.

Marty Snider is a pit reporter for NBC and TNT. The opinions expressed are solely of the writer.