When it comes to who'll be in what Haas CNC Racing cars in 2008, nobody seems to know much of anything.

Joe Custer, the team's general manager, plays his cards close to the vest. Very, very close. Johnny Sauter, driver of the organization's No. 70 entry, says that he doesn't have a clue what he'll be doing next year, but adds that he's been given permission to look elsewhere. Jeff Green, who steers its No. 66 Chevrolet, refuses altogether to comment on the situation.

With Scott Riggs already signed for next year and two Haas cars available, there's considerable speculation as to which one he'll drive and whether it'll be Green or Sauter who's left out of the mix. Then again, names other than Riggs' have been mentioned as joining the operation (read more).

If that happens, Green and Sauter would most likely both be gone. Custer isn't much help straightening out what might or might not happen next season. Custer, who is also listed as the owner of Sauter's car, answers every single question that's asked of him.

In a manner of speaking.

Have there been any decisions made concerning who'll drive what car? No. OK. Try again. What kind of time frame do you have for getting everything settled?

"The sooner the better," Custer said. "But since we don't have any answers, we haven't made a decision."

When it was announced that Riggs had been signed and that it had not been determined which car he would drive, it was also said that Green and Sauter would undergo an evaluation over the course of the rest of the season. It was ominous sounding, the notion that both drivers would be driving for their jobs.

"We have two cars to drive and we have one seat left, so by definition we're trying to sort out what we're gonna do next year," Custer said.

After saying that he doesn't think the evaluation process will place any undue pressure on his current drivers, Custer adds that any number of things could have an impact on deciding the fate of Green and Sauter.

"It's a combination of things," Custer continued. "Sponsorship has input, performance, chemistry -- all the things a race team looks at."

According to Custer, neither driver has a decided advantage at this stage of the game, and from the outside looking in, it appears that's exactly the case. Going into the Bank of America 500 at Lowe's Motor Speedway on Saturday night, Green was 28th in points and Sauter 31st. Green had three top-10 finishes -- all sixth-place efforts -- while Sauter had two. His best finish of the season was a fifth at Richmond in September.

Sauter is nearly 16 years younger than Green, but Green and his crew chief Harold Holly have a strong working relationship that dates back to their years in the Busch Series together. So, yes, it really and truly does seem like a toss-up between the two at this point.

"It's pretty much up to the powers that be," Sauter said in the LMS garage Friday afternoon. "I have been told that I can look around and see what's out there, for whatever that's worth. Who the hell knows?

"I'm in the mode where I just do what I do. I feel like I give 100 percent every lap of practice, every race, every lap. It's not any extra pressure on me. I can assure you of that. I do the best I can, and whatever happens, happens. That's all you can worry about -- control the things you can control."

Asked what he thinks he has to do in order to keep his ride, Sauter replied, "You know, that's a good question." He said he doesn't really know and then added, "You can't really say what you want to say. That's a good question. That's a really good question. I really don't have an answer."

The thing about Sauter, and it shows a level of maturity that he might not once have displayed, is that he insisted that he doesn't see Green as the "enemy." He and Green, Sauter said, are too close as friends to let something like this come between them.

"At the end of the day, if it came down to ruining me and Jeff's friendship [over] trying to pit us against each other, Jeff can have the ride as far as I'm concerned," Sauter concluded. "I think Jeff's a great guy. It's not like I sit out there and say, 'Yeah, I've got to beat this guy to keep my job.' That's ridiculous."