Stewart all the talk: Rumor mill, Chase debate, winless

1. Casey Mears to Childress? Mark Martin to Hendrick? Tony Stewart to Haas? Silly Season is in high gear, so do any of these potential moves make sense?

Raygan Swan: I would say Martin to Hendrick makes sense because Aric Amirola needs the seat time in that No. 8 car all to himself. But I'm not buying the rumor about Mears going to RCR's fourth car.

Josh Pate: Mark Martin to Hendrick makes sense due to his history of driving some Nationwide races for the team -- and with some pretty good success, mind you.

David Caraviello: I'm having difficulty wrapping my mind around the Martin thing. Doesn't he relish driving part-time? Isn't he having the time of his life? And now he's going back into the grinder, with the pressure of driving for Hendrick?

Raygan Swan: Remember, Martin has had some of his best experiences with that team, and always raves about driving for Hendrick Motorsports.

Josh Pate: I wonder what it is about "Mr. Hendrick" that makes all these old-school guys just go on and on about driving for him. Maybe he really is like a father figure, which one would think would be appealing to younger drivers.

David Caraviello: But Martin doesn't need a father figure. We thought he didn't want a full-time ride. And now we're plugging him into the No. 5 car? I'll believe that when I see it.

Raygan Swan: I was under the impression it was part-time again, and then perhaps Dale Jr.'s driver Brad Keselowski would come in and start his transition in the No. 5 car.

Josh Pate: Agreed on the part-time thing with Martin. But when you throw Keselowski in the mix, and Junior saying a "new car" in the Nationwide Series isn't appealing, it makes sense. But Mears to Childress? Look at Burton and Harvick -- both rugged racers. It's strange to see how Mears may fit in with that bunch.

Raygan Swan: Who is RCR looking at for its fourth car? Not Mears. Team owners aren't in the business of developing 31-year-old drivers these days, they want young guys.

David Caraviello: So Kellogg's is fine with the fact that its car has no chance of making the Chase? After a lean 2008? I'm not exactly buying that one, either.

Josh Pate: Who says Kellogg's will stay?

David Caraviello: Hendrick may lose drivers, but he doesn't lose sponsors. That contract is probably locked in for a while.

Josh Pate: I ask because the way the Navy folks frame it, they're investing a lot with Junior. And if Keselowski moves up to Cup, where does that leave the Navy -- which, by the way, has said it wants to remain in the Nationwide Series.

David Caraviello: The Navy, being a government-appropriated program, perhaps doesn't want to afford the Cup price tag. And if Casey is indeed on the outs at Hendrick, RCR would be a more than comfortable place to land. But regardless where he ends up, I feel sorry for the guy. He seems on the brink of his fifth program in as many years. That doesn't help a guy's career.

Josh Pate: Fifth program, fifth crew chief, fifth sponsor, fifth car number.

David Caraviello: Sixth crew chief. He had a switch right before Daytona last season.

Josh Pate: No wonder he struggles.

Fact and fiction

The rumor mill is churning at warp speed already, so Joe Menzer tries to break down what is fact vs. what is fiction.

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Raygan Swan: Yeah but they've all been strong teams. It's not like he's being switched to poor equipment every time, or has terrible crew chiefs.

David Caraviello: Well, that Ganassi stuff, in retrospect, was no great shakes. But not everyone is Kyle Busch. There are some drivers who just need a little time. Casey is one of them. But time is something car owners don't give anymore.

Raygan Swan: An entire season? That isn't enough? That's more than the average team owner is handing out these days. Hendrick gave Mears two seasons.

David Caraviello: For some guys, obviously one year is not enough. Look at Jamie McMurray and all the time Jack Roush has given him.

Josh Pate: The thing that gets me is that nobody has really tried to invest in him as a racecar driver with consistency. He just gets shuffled. Perhaps that's his own fault.

Raygan Swan: Yes he is a wonderful person and all but does not perform, and when he does it is sporadic.

David Caraviello: The Stewart to Haas thing is the big question. So much of this seems to hinge on whether he can get out of his contract early. And evidently, he's really confident that he could turn an operation like that around.

Josh Pate: That whole situation is so interesting because of the Haas team's past performance. Granted, with the Hendrick backing, the team has potential. But it's done very little with that in the past.

Raygan Swan: I'm not exactly happy to see Tony leave Joe Gibbs and go to a team where he could struggle for a while, but if anyone can make the quick transition, it's Stewart. And I get that he wants to take the next step in his career, ownership, but I'm not convinced it's really happening yet.

Josh Pate: I'm buying it. I'm sold that it will happen, and that it will happen before next season.

David Caraviello: You heard it from Josh Pate! (Continued)