Busch, Edwards have too much to lose to lose it (cont'd)

3. Reed Sorenson is moving to Gillett Evernahm Motorsports next season, and Casey Mears is moving to RCR. Will those changes jump-start their careers?

David Caraviello: Sorenson has to feel like a beggar who just won a million dollars. To leap from Ganassi to GEM, an organization with a pretty good track record for winning races and putting people in the Chase -- wow.

Raygan Swan: I certainly hope so, for their sakes. As for Reed, I'm not sure. His performance is so spotty, he only has one pole in a three-year Cup career, no wins and only 13 total top-10s.

Career Stats

Cup Series

	C. Mears	R. Sorenson
Starts	204	97
Wins	1	0
Top-5s	12	5
Top-10s	40	13
Poles	3	1
DNFs	25	14
Laps Led	354	132
Lead Lap Fin.	92	46
Avg. Start	21.3	25.4
Avg. Finish	22.2	24.9

• Community: Casey | Reed

Dave Rodman: The potential is certainly there. What it depends on now is how the chemical balance is, coming out of the gate.

David Caraviello: Yeah, Reed doesn't have much to show for the last three years. But neither does Ganassi. We're about to find out if it was him or the team.

Raygan Swan: I agree Dave, chemistry, attitudes will be important. Reed has shown some glimmers of brilliance, like at the Brickyard in 2007, but he's going to have to work a lot harder at GEM then he did at Ganassi. It seems to me he was content on blaming Ganassi for his poor performance instead of finding and working toward solutions.

David Caraviello: No question Reed comes out of Ganassi with some baggage, some of it self-inflicted. I don't think anyone expects it to be as easy as him jumping in a GEM car and the light bulb going off. But no question there's more potential in his new home, judging by past performance.

Dave Rodman: GEM has definitely been better in the stat categories, though its Chase record potential appears to have taken a dive when they eradicated a Jeremy Mayfield team that went to the Chase in two consecutive years.

Raygan Swan: But GEM sees potential in the 22-year-old as if to say he was cutting his teeth on Ganassi's dime, and now he's ready to drive for an operation that can win races, I suppose.

Dave Rodman: Both groups can get it done. Reed's still young, so he can turn a corner with GEM. Casey's won so he can trade off that for a while yet, but I think RCR will be a good place for him to find consistency.

David Caraviello: I fear for Patrick Carpentier here, though. I'll be the first to admit, I expected nothing from the guy. Didn't think he would last. But he's hung in there, and I think done a good job. Yet barring some miracle sponsorship strike, he'll probably be the odd man out.

Dave Rodman: If Patrick does go missing, that would be one of the greater recent tragedies in the sport. Well, maybe not a tragedy, but a definite loss to the fans and we who have to write about this deal. Never a dull moment with that one.

David Caraviello: Yeah, Dave, I'd agree. But he didn't help himself by missing the show at Bristol last week -- first time he's missed a race that he's actually been able to turn a qualifying lap for.

Raygan Swan: So what about Casey Mears, the driver whose attitude and hard work outweighs his lack of performance? I have no idea what to think about Casey, he seems to make costly mistakes (like at Bristol), but has shown he can run up front and stay out of trouble.

David Caraviello: Casey is in a different situation. He's older, he's won, and he's expected to win again. Reed can be viewed as something of a project, like the high schooler drafted by an NBA team who'll sit the bench for a year. Not Casey. He needs to start showing results, which is why RCR hired him. I'm sure he knows that better than anyone.

Dave Rodman: Almost makes you wonder if something else was in play -- who knows what? Casey has actually been stepping his program up by chunks as the years go by. If he's really ready to blossom, RCR could be the real beneficiary.

Raygan Swan: Reed is going to have to have some kind of awakening. I personally would love to see both guys find success because both have great fan followings.

David Caraviello: Yeah, and a lot has been expected from both of them. A change of scenery does help sometime. I'd like to see what Casey can do in a more stable situation than he's had.

Dave Rodman: Speaking of stability, once Hendrick Motorsports gets Mark Martin into that seat, he may have to drive until he's 60. He will straighten 'em out, but it's a tough environment for an unproven person to be in. As for Casey and Reed, it's too bad there's only so much success to go around. But you can't be in the top 10 one week and off the edge of a cliff the next, either.

David Caraviello: Yeah Dave, and these are two guys who have spent more than their fair share of time on the precipice.

The opinions expressed are solely of the participants.

Also
• Mears to drive the 07 car next year for RCR
• Sorenson set to join Gillett Evernham in '09