Did anyone really think Carl would leave Roush ? There was no way he was going to Gibbs, but it was funny to think of little Joey squirming at the thought that maybe he was going to be out of a ride.
I think that was the plan to try and draw attention away from what was actually going on. I believe Carl was using Gibbs just to see how Roush and Ford would react. It obviously worked , he's got his new contract , that you know will be huge. You know Jack and the people at Ford all heaved a great big sigh of relief when Carl decided to stay. Not to mention Joey who's probably giddy with relief. LOL
I absolutely believed that Carl would leave Ford just like any pro athlete that would go if the price was right. Home Depot and JGR were willing to shell out $18MM for Carl. He is that marketable. However, he is the face of Ford and they were not going to let him go like Kasey.
Most reports had Carl already verbally committed to leaving. One marketing company even had shirt & hat design templates ready (Marty Smith talked about on TV). It was pretty much agreed upon waiting on Carl's signature...Roush wanted him to saty, but it was Ford Motor Co that anted up to keep Carl. He was pretty much promised to be the new face of Ford Racing.
As for Bowyer:
#33-Clint Bowyer met with members of the media at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and discussed his contract status. The transcript in part:
Q) RICHARD SAYS HE HOPES TO HAVE YOUR DEAL DONE HERE IN A COUPLE OF WEEKS, ARE YOU COMMITTED TO HIM AND HE'S COMMITTED TO YOU?
Bowyer: "I hope we have it done in a couple of days. We're getting close." (He did not answer the question)
Q) THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE SAYING IF CARL EDWARDS LEAVES AND THAT WILL BE AN OPEN SEAT AND YOU ARE LOOKING THERE, ARE YOU LOOKING AROUND NOW?
Bowyer: "Yeah, that's the biggest thing. There are a lot of pieces of the puzzle that have to be put in place. Like Carl where he decides to go is a big part of that. Like you said the puzzle is not put together yet." (Puzzle piece started today)
Q) BUT FOR YOU, ARE YOU LOOKING ANYWHERE ELSE?
Bowyer: "No, we are getting close to having a deal put together."(Team Chevy) (What is he suppose to say? YEP! I'm outta here!.LOL!)
It will be up to Home Depot and JGR to decide if Clint or Newman is worth going after or waiting until 2012 to see if Joey gets better and then deciding on Truex or Keselowski. Most of the others just renewed or renewed last year for long term contracts. Newman & Bowyer are the only drivers in the Top 15 in a contract year. Doubt Newman leaves SHR,
Bowyer's not going anywhere. He's said over and over that his plan is to stay with RCR. Transcript aside... there are pieces of the puzzle that have to fall into place but they're on the sponsorship side and not owner. I'd take Bowyer out of any free agent talk. That doesn't mean he shouldn't shop around, it's the only way to get a true idea of your value. But he's got traditional values and fits the RCR stable perfectly. Not going anywhere.