After a challenging start to the Nationwide Series season and several key personnel changes including the release of both newly hired crew chiefs, Jon Wolfe and Newt Moore, #1 Phoenix Racing and Johnny Slauter have amicably parted ways. Slauter who just last year brought a brand new team into the top-35 in Sprint Cup points, is available to another organization effective immediately.(3-17-2008)

wow, I bet his phone is ringing off the hook.....  sadly enough, I'm one of Johnny's biggest fans, but I could see this coming....

Carlsbad:

wow, I bet his phone is ringing off the hook.....  sadly enough, I'm one of Johnny's biggest fans, but I could see this coming....

I'm a Sauter fan as well.

I didn't really like the move to Finch/Phoenix Racing in the off-season, thought the cars sucked. They have so far, it's just unfortunate for Johnny. The only place they were any good was at Daytona, where that team has always run pretty well, even in Cup, but beyond that, the cars are subpar. JJ Yeley didn't do much in them last year either.

Hopefully Sauter picks up a truck ride or someone else gives him a shot. Ideally I'd like to see him become a test driver and maybe get a shot full-time Nationwide with a good team, ala Scott Wimmer in the 29.

Too much talent to waste there...I'm still better about him being cut from the 70...Mayfield is really bringing that team along quite well <end sarcasm>.

Please, don't compare Johnny to JJ Yeley.... who just never got the hang of stock cars (well, not yet anyway, but they keep him in the cars because he's Tony's friend)! Anyway, the other thing is, I don't even think you can talk about Mayfield replacing Johnny, because it's Scott Riggs who is in Johnny's car (albeit, with Jeff's number, but that had something to do with sponsor wanting a certain number), with Bootie as his crew chief, and so far, Scott has been looking pretty good in that car, and Bootie, *** that he is, seems to love Scott.....   I don't even know anymore what I want for Johnny.... I am so disappointed with the way his career has gone, and I just really hope that this is not the end of it, because I'm not sure what he'd do if he can't drive....   trucks, I don't know.... remember, he's been in that Billy Balew truck that Kyle Busch always wins in, and Johnny didn't do very well in it.... the only truck Johnny did well in was his own, but I don't suspect Johnny is in any position financially to run his own team....

Carlsbad:

Please, don't compare Johnny to JJ Yeley.... who just never got the hang of stock cars (well, not yet anyway, but they keep him in the cars because he's Tony's friend)! Anyway, the other thing is, I don't even think you can talk about Mayfield replacing Johnny, because it's Scott Riggs who is in Johnny's car (albeit, with Jeff's number, but that had something to do with sponsor wanting a certain number), with Bootie as his crew chief, and so far, Scott has been looking pretty good in that car, and Bootie, *** that he is, seems to love Scott.....   I don't even know anymore what I want for Johnny.... I am so disappointed with the way his career has gone, and I just really hope that this is not the end of it, because I'm not sure what he'd do if he can't drive....   trucks, I don't know.... remember, he's been in that Billy Balew truck that Kyle Busch always wins in, and Johnny didn't do very well in it.... the only truck Johnny did well in was his own, but I don't suspect Johnny is in any position financially to run his own team....

The point was not to compare Johnny to Yeley. It was to show the point that Finch/Phoenix cars suck. We tried that experiment a few years back and they gave us crap cars almost everywhere. Milwaukee and Richmond were about the only places where Johnny could really showcase his talent.

And ok, technically they switched the 70 team to the 66, the point there was that I'm pissed we drove one of their cars into the top 35 and got replaced by a guy who hasn't been competitive in years. I could at least have lived with Riggs and Sauter, but Mayfield's washed up.

well, there are some Johnny fans who seem to think that Finch put Johnny back in his car this year just so that he could dump him like this to get even with Johnny for Johnny's taking that Yellow sponsorship with him to Haas... it's a possibility, because I've never liked James Finch and think he's an iffy owner to drive for at any time.  Sorry about my reaction to the JJ Yeley mention, but I really have problems with Yeley.... and now he's even taken Tony Raines 96 car... we'll see how well he does with that....    and I'd have liked Riggs and Sauter at Haas just fine.... don't see what it is about Mayfield that he keeps getting rides (but he does seem to have a lot of fairly vocal fans [evidenced by the signs waving behind the Trackside and other Speed tv shows])