The Hunt For 43...

This will be one of the previously mentioned special series which will happen today along with four other Mondays: December 19th, January 9th, January 23rd, and and February 6th. What The Hunt For 43 is is an update on how NASCAR is doing trying to fill the 2012 Sprint Cup Series field based on Cup teams that have recently announced plans for next year. So without further ado, her is this week's The Hunt For 43!

Many teams will not be around next year, opening up opportunities for new teams to run full time. That doesn't mean they will though. Let's face it, team entries have been down. In 2007, 61 teams attempted the Daytona 500, another 11 ran at attempted at at least one race, or 72 overall, 45 of which attempted the full schedule. This year, those numbers were much less. Only 48 were at the track in February, and while another 17 showed up later in the year, that's still only 62, and only 41 of those teams went full-time. Now, with an economy failing even worse than before, a large shortage of team are expected. Currently, that is true.

As of most recently, it appears as only 28 teams will officially be full time. Hendrick Motorsports is the only four car team, with #5 Kasey Kahne, #24 Jeff Gordon, #48 Jimmie Johnson, and #88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Many teams will run three cars next year. Joe Gibbs Racing continues with #11 Denny Hamlin, #18 Kyle Busch, and #20 Joey Logano. Only one three car team is expanding, which is Michael Waltrip Racing. The team will keep Martin Truex Jr. in car #56, but have released David Reutimann and replaced him with a series of co-drivers. Mark Martin will run 25 races, Michael Waltrip will run five, and the remaining six run a driver or drivers to be determined at at later date. In addition, the team adds Clint Bowyer to their stable.

This season, two four car teams of 2011 will drop to three car teams. Roush Fenway Racing and Richard Childress Racing don't have sponsors to run, so they drop a team. With both teams' competitive drivers, Roush's #16 Greg Biffle, #17 Matt Kenseth, and #99 Carl Edwards, and Childress's #27 Paul Menard, #29 Kevin Harvick, and #31 Jeff Burton, both look to have more competitive equipment by raising the budget for each car.

Continuing on, many team will have two cars in their stable. Teams like Earnhardt Ganassi, Penske, Petty, and Stewart Haas all will have two full time cars. Add on Germain, JTG Daugherty, Furniture Row, and new full timers Inception Motorsports, plus part timers from Stewart Haas and Hamilton Means, adds up to 30 cars on track next year

TEAM CHART

FULL TIME CARS (28 Cars)

Hendrick Motorsports (4 Cars)
#5 Kasey Kahne
#24 Jeff Gordon
#48 Jimmie Johnson
#88 Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Kahne replaces Mark Martin, who goes to Michael Waltrip Racing. Farmers Indurance is the new #5 car sponsor. Dale Earnhardt Jr. has a new sponsor in Diet Mountain Dew.

Joe Gibbs Racing (3 Cars)
#11 Denny Hamlin
#18 Kyle Busch
#20 Joey Logano
Despite rumors, Busch keeps his ride at Gibbs. Only major change is addition of sponsor Dollar General.

Michael Waltrip Racing (3 Cars)
#15 Clint Bowyer
#55 Mark Martin (25 Races) Michael Waltrip (5 Races) TBA (6 Races)
#56 Martin Truex Jr.
Bowyer will run #15 with sponsor 5-Hour Energy. David Reutimann is released from driving car #00, and Martin, Waltrip, and another will replace him in the renumbered #55 car.

Roush Fenway Racing (3 Cars)
#16 Greg Biffle
#17 Matt Kenseth
#99 Carl Edwards
Roush drops David Ragan and car #6 due to lack of sponsorship. Many new sponsors at RFR, but none for Matt Kenseth, who needs a lot.

Richard Childress Racing (3 Cars)
#27 Paul Menard
#29 Kevin Harvick
#31 Jeff Burton
Clint Bowyer heads over to Michael Waltrip Racing, and the General Mills sponsors is given to Jeff Burton. Wheaties will be featured on Burton's car. The #33 car is shut down.

Earnhardt Ganassi Racing (2 Cars)
#1 Jamie McMurray
#42 Juan Pablo Montoya
After 21st and 27th place finishes in points for their drivers, these two teams have a long way to go. Montoya gets Chris Heroy as his crew chief for 2012.

Penske Racing (2 Cars)
#2 Brad Keselowski
#22 TBA
Best season in while for Penske. Both teams qualify for the Chase, and combine for five wins. However, due to a rampage with the media, Kurt Busch is released from car #22.

Richard Petty Motorsports (2 Cars)
#9 Marcos Ambrose
#43 AJ Allmendinger
After both drivers nearly made the Chase this year, it appears this team is headed in the right direction.

Stewart Haas Racing (2 Cars)
#14 Tony Stewart
#39 Ryan Newman
After Tony Stewart ends Jimmie Johnson's championship streak, and wins his third, this team looks great. A number of new sponsors have joined.

Germain Racing (1 Car)
#13 Casey Mears
Despite this team struggling in the Camping World Truck Series, they plan to run a full Cup schedule, and with a new manufacturer.

Inception Motorsports (1 Car)
#30 David Stremme
After a part time schedule for one of the most joked about teams, Inception Motorsports goes full time in 2012.

JTG Daugherty Racing (1 Car)
#47 Bobby Labonte
With a couple more sponsors, and a couple less, this team leaves the Michael Waltrip Racing shop and move into their own.

Furniture Row Racing (1 Car)
#78 Regan Smith
After a great year that saw Smith and the #78 team win a race and run in the All-Star Race, this team will be back in 2012.

PART TIME TEAMS (2 Cars)

Stewart Haas Racing
#10 Danica Patrick
Patrick finally fully leaves IndyCar and will run full time Nationwide and part time Cup in 2012, with full time Cup in 2013.

Hamilton Means Racing
#52 TBA
Former Cup Series Owner/Driver Jimmy Means returns to Cup Series competition as co-owner of the #52 car for 2012.

As it can be seen, we have a long way to go for a full field, but let's hope we get there!