Slumps. You don’t have to look any further than the struggling Evernham camp. Three drivers and not a one of them improving.

everything. Is it possible that Kasey himself may be part of the problem?

Kayne dogged the Silver Bullet car of David Stremme and because of it expect a Bud Light endorsement to follow

Perhaps it is his bad attitude. His inane, bordering on ridiculous comments about fellow Dodge driver David Stremme perhaps gave people a glimpse of the real Kasey Kahne. While I grudgingly admit that it seems like the first time KK has shown any real personality (let’s face it – doesn’t he look like a deer in the headlights each time he is interviewed?), blaming Sunday’s wreck on Stremme seems pretty boneheaded to me.

Additional comments made by Kahne labeled Stremme “fat and out of shape.” Kahne and Stremme had a sponsor photo shoot today for Wrigley Gum. Stremme wisely kept himself out of the sticky situation by refusing to comment on his competitor’s statements. Yes, Kasey Kahne earns the label of chump this week.

Switching to other slumps within the Evernham organization, Scott Riggs continues to hover outside the top 35 in points, currently sitting 36^th and on the bubble each week until he finds himself finishing well enough to move to 34^th. Riggs has been dogged this year. At least he made Daytona, but the spot in points that he currently holds makes it seem like the No. 10 group has lost the forward momentum they showed at the end of last season.

Which brings me to the only shining star (and even it isn’t as bright as it should be) in the EMS stable, Elliott Sadler. He began the year at a points deficit, like his teammates did. He was able to qualify well and at one time was inside the top ten. A string of disappointing finishes has had him slowly falling back week after week. He currently sits 16th. While it is true that he is running better than he was last year at this time, mid-pack performance is not what Ray Evernham had in mind.

In the interest of full disclosure, I’m a big Elliott Sadler fan, so I tend to pay close attention to news about him, etc. It is no secret that Mr. Sadler is known to be a little moody and very hard on himself when things don’t play out on the track as expected. I can buy that. I would surmise that most drivers are a little temperamental, but they aren’t as upfront about it as Elliott has been.

When the season started, Ray Evernham filled in for team director Josh Browne. Ray seemed very responsive to Elliott’s requests for changes to the car, and most importantly to me, acted as a little bit of a cheerleader to Sadler, even going so far as to playfully call Sadler “Ricky Bobby” in an attempt to keep Sadler focused driving well and reassure him that the car would be adjusted to his liking.

When Josh Browne came back on the scene, it was like someone sucked all the air out of the room. There is zero chemistry between Sadler and Browne, and I have heard several contentious, tension-filled arguments over the scanner. Not to say this isn’t experienced by everyone, but somehow, they aren’t connecting. Even if Sadler has qualified well, more often than not they adjust themselves out of a decent car into a poorly handling car with no chance of catching up and making the type of finishes needed to be in the Chase.

It was reported this week that Matt Borland, previous crew chief for Ryan Newman and most recently booted from Michael Waltrip Racing, was a highly sought after commodity in the garage. Speculation went right to Evernham, and even mentioned specifically the difficulties the No. 19 has been experiencing. Evernham said he didn’t want to get into a bidding war for Borland, who has a calming influence, previous experience as a successful crew chief, and oh yeah, he’s an engineer.

With this potential new deal with Gillett, maybe EMS should pony up the cash to hire Borland and add some new talent and perspective to, if not the 19 team, to the entire organization. Sometimes you have to spend money to make money, and you have to spend money to make progress.

Progress…that word reminds me of Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Is he making the jump to his own team, JR Motorsports? Is he taking his pal Martin Truex, Jr. with him? Fellow columnist Kerry Blankenship called me Wednesday night to ask if I had been following the news that Junior has a press conference scheduled for Thursday at 11:00 a.m. Eastern. SPEED will be covering it live.

I hadn’t, and was surprised to learn that talk was that Junior would drive for himself, with reports from Jerry Bonkowski of Yahoo! Sports that the team would be supplied with Hendrick chassis and engines.

While this column goes to bed before the conference takes place, I can only speculate and build information on what is available to me at press time. Personally, I feel that it is time for Junior to leave DEI and build his own legacy if he cannot come to terms with his stepmother. While I would like to see him drive for RCR and be competitive out of the box, I do respect his decision (if this is indeed what he is announcing) to strike out on his own and be a man about the situation. While I have the utmost faith in Hendrick equipment, I don’t think it is quite as easy as simply being a driver for a team and having someone else worry about supply specifics.

In the meantime Junior can continue to grow and build the JRM stable and make his own mark on NASCAR.

Hopefully the mystery will be solved. Like the rest of you, I am waiting eagerly for a positive announcement from the Junior camp.

Until next week, when you’ll have a far less opinionated piece, enjoy Darlington! The Lady in Black is ready for her close-up, Mr. Helton!

Have a question or comment for Samantha? Send it to samanthamaynard@sportsgrumblings.com.