iNSIDE SCOOP: May Is Rumor Time

Fresh off the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race last week, we're getting into the heart of the schedule now...and the heart of the rumor season as well.

Where to start?

How about Roush Fenway Racing? If you beleive the talk about drivers Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle, the team might be filling its two flagship cars with other drivers in 2015. The departure of top engineer Chip Bolin, which was 18 months in the making, according to sources, is the first domino, and Biffle's contract status is the other. Edwards, in my opinion, is as good as gone, and he might be taking Fastenal, Subway and a couple other sponsors with him.

Where to, though? How about Joe Gibbs Racing? They've been reluctant to expand from three teams, but the addition of a driver like Edwards and the sponsors he's likely to bring may make Coach Gibbs call an audible.

There is something going on at RFR, and if you believe, again, the talk going around, Biffle is not a sure bet to return, nor is sponsor 3M. That's shocking, at least to me.I don't know where Biffle could wind up, but I would think RCR might be a destination, should he take 3M with him. That could be interesting, with Dow on the No. 3 as of right now, though.

One of the more interesting rumors which is about to become gold-plated and copper-bottomed is, Richard Petty Motorsports might be bolting the Ford camp pretty soon.

Toyota was in to talk to The King recently, and Petty told a newspaper in Tennessee that he's definitely looking around.

"We talk to everybody all the time; I've been talking to Volkswagen," Petty told The Tennessean. "We've got to look at our team and look at our circumstances," Petty said. "We've got to look and say, 'OK, what's going to be the best for us right now, what's going to the best for us two years down the road, what's going to be the best for us five years down the road?' 

"We're out looking and seeing what all the factories have got laid out for their future to see if we can fit into any of that," Petty said.

This is tied into the Roush deal in a way, because RPM is a customer there, receiving cars and engines. Penske has made a major move toward becoming Ford's top team, and they don't share. Chevrolet is chock full of teams these days, so that's probably not likely, so that leaves Toyota. Dodge isn't coming back any time soon.