Got to playing around with taking some (very) abstract photos of my Champagne glass last night...
"Our objective is to get in the car and race for them. We have a contract with them. We intend to enforce that contract."
I find it hard to believe that Sadler has any desire to or intention of racing for the organization that he found out on Christmas Eve planned on dumping him as their driver. This is nothing more than posturing and maneuvering to help Sadler get a generous settlement in the amount he wants from GEM. His lawyer says that Sadler isn't interested in having the last two years of his contract bought out but that's exactly what will end up happening. If the management at GEM is smart they would just throw a bunch of money at Sadler, be done with it and move on with A.J. Allmendinger, if only to save themselves additional negative publicity. That would also be good for Sadler since he's receiving his own share of criticism.
]]> What's really astonishing to me is that according to Sadler's lawyer, ads were completed with Sadler for 2009 with all his sponsors except one. I'm amazed that even after some of the sponsors moved forward with advertising and maybe other things that featured Sadler that GEM released him anyway. When the news first broke that Sadler had been released rumor had it that one or more of the sponsors of the #19 were so upset that they were considering leaving GEM with Sadler. If it's true that ads and maybe other things were done with Sadler I can understand why those sponsors were so angry. With budgets being so tight right now due to the economy no company wants to spend money away on ads, photo shoots or anything else that just have to be thrown away. No wonder Sadler was so surprised by the news that he was getting released - no driver would expect that to happen after shooting ads for the following season with their sponsors. ]]>"Being in the business as long as I have, I know how to cut costs but still remain as competitive as positive. We have a short list of three former Cup racers and hope to make an announcement soon."
While it's true that Baldwin is an experienced NASCAR veteran, I'd say the odds of this team being anywhere near competitive are somewhere between slim and none, particularly if they don't have much or any sponsorship. Single car teams struggle to race competitively to begin with but add into it that this is a new team that just formed a little over a month before the first race of the season only makes things more challenging.
]]> What's interesting is what former Cup drivers Baldwin is looking at for this ride? There are a lot of talented drivers who are out of rides right now but some of them likely won't even consider taking a ride with a team that's not in the top 35 and that they may struggle to race up front with. I would guess that Dave Blaney might be one driver on Baldwin's list and possibly Jeremy Mayfield as well. I've already seen some speculation that maybe Baldwin would team up with Ward Burton again but I'm not sure Burton would want to deal with the challenges that this team will face after going through quite a few struggles with Morgan-McClure Motorsports in 2007.On one fan forum I saw one fan speculate that this could only be a start and park effort as a way for Baldwin to make some money. I'd like to think that someone like Baldwin is going to make a legitimate effort to race but I wouldn't be surprised if this did turn into a start and park type of deal. If not Baldwin, then there will probably be a number of others who try to put a team together with the emphasis not on racing but on profit. All the money that MSRP Motorsports made by start and parking in 2008 probably got a lot of attention in the garage area just as it did with fans. With teams closing their doors on all levels meaning that there could be short fields and an easier time making races than we've seen in the recent past, I can see some taking advantage of an opportunity to make some money. I understand the reasons why some might choose to start and park but I still hope that Baldwin goes a different route and shows up to race.
]]>In addition, since the #22 Cup car has no sponsor and I don't think it's too likely that they'll find one by Daytona, I have to wonder how likely it is that Triad will field a full-time Cup car next season either. I can see them attempting the first five races to see what happens and to see if they can attract sponsorship based on good results but these days even a spot in the top 35 and racing competitively isn't enough to secure sponsorship. So it could end up that an organization that fielded three and sometimes four trucks and at times two Cup cars might not end up fielding any.
]]> That makes me wonder if Triad's purchase of BDR was more about the included purchase of Triad Racing Development, which provides engines, chassis and bodies for cars and trucks on all three of NASCAR's highest levels, than about purchasing race teams. It seems to me that Triad Racing Development is an opportunity to make a profit because no matter how bad the economy is there will always be teams that need to purchase engines, chassis and bodies to field their cars and trucks, whereas it seems to be increasingly hard to generate revenue, even enough to operate via a race team.There already seemed to be some question about what Mike Skinner's future was at Triad since he wasn't mentioned as one of the drivers of the two trucks that Triad said they were going to field next season. So Skinner may be joining a lot of other very talented drivers on the unemployment line who are fighting for a very small amount of open rides. Skinner is a former series champion who knows how to get a truck into Victory Lane but the other two Triad drivers who thought they had rides, Taylor Malsam and Brian Scott, may have an even harder time than Skinner finding something else unless they have sponsorship to bring with them. When Benson left BDR for Red Horse Racing some thought it was a curious decision since he had just won a Championship with the organization but now it's looking like it was a very wise move to leave when he did.
The Truck Series like every other series has problems related to the economy and otherwise. There are teams that are closing their doors and other teams that still need sponsorship. What didn't bode well was that Todd Bodine was on Sirius yesterday talking about how he needed a new primary sponsor to replace Lumber Liquidators and it didn't sound like there was too much serious interest from another company. It's really not a good sign if one of the best teams in the Truck Series garage that features a former series Champion who continues to race competitively and win races can't find sponsorship because it means it's not too likely that smaller and less successful teams will be able to find sponsors. With teams like Wyler Racing and HT Motorsports also in some danger of not fielding trucks next season, teams like Roush-Fenway Racing having cut back, and some like Bobby Hamilton Racing already having closed their doors, one has to wonder what the racing in the Truck Series is going to be like next season if many of the major teams may not be around or have less financial resources to work with in 2009.
Update: Jayski now has an item that comes from Triad which says that they re-hired 80 employees of those that were let go since the end of the last season and are in full operation. What's important there is what they aren't saying - they didn't deny that they won't be fielding any truck teams next season. Those 80 people could be involved in the effort to field a Cup team next season or to work for Triad Racing Development.
]]>Brendan's Sirius interview was unfortunate to me because I think he came off like a bit of a spoiled brat, but I think it was also unfortunate because of the negative connotation that many fans equate with ride buying. Some believe that drivers who bring sponsorship with them and buy their rides only do so because they don't have the ability to get a ride based on talent. In reality Brendan has a lot of talent behind the wheel. If he has a competitive car or truck he's very capable of racing up front and winning races. Although Brendan has only raced one Nationwide race and that was in 2001, I wouldn't at all be surprised if he won a race in 2009.
]]> I often wonder though what Brendan's career might have been like if he hadn't raced for his family's team and with the backing of his family's money for so long. The easy answer is that he might have had a much shorter career because his family's money opened a lot of doors for him and made it possible for him to race when there might otherwise not have been rides available to him. But I sometimes wonder if Brendan would have done even more if he had to rely only on himself, his ability behind the wheel and his other talents. I'm sure Brendan always gives 100% effort at all times but he would probably have had to work - and race - even harder to prove himself without his family's money to smooth the way.The question now becomes who is going to end up in the #10 truck? As far as I know the truck still has full sponsorship from Maxxforce so presumably CBR will continue to field two trucks. Although the #10 didn't end up in Victory Lane in 2008 it's still a pretty competitive ride that would likely interest quite a few of the many drivers who are looking for rides right now. That puts CBR in a pretty good position because they can choose from a driver pool that includes veteran Truck Series drivers who are former series champions, talented Cup drivers who might be interested in taking their career in a different direction by racing a truck, and some promising young drivers.
As for Brendan, given how fan-friendly he is and that he'll be a Nationwide-only driver, he's a good addition to the Nationwide Series and I think he'll do well for RWI.
]]>I say good for Elliott. It used to be frowned upon for a driver to sue when they were released by a team even if they thought they were owed money to the point where some said that teams wouldn't give a ride to a driver who threated to sue but those days are over. Now if a driver isn't happy with the way they're released or feel they're owed money they don't hesitate to sue and I can't blame them. More and more it seems that contracts don't mean much - there are so many "out" clauses in contracts that allow drivers, teams and sponsors to part ways with each other very easily. Those "out" clauses are in place to protect each party in case things don't work out and I think drivers, teams and sponsors are entitled to make use of the "out" clauses as they feel necessary. However, I also think that the drivers need to be able to stand up for themselves, particularly when they feel that they're owed money or otherwise been done wrong.
]]> There's been a lot of conflicting information circulating as to when Elliott found out that he was getting released. While Elliott was apparently aware that the team was considering making a change, he didn't find out there were actual negotiations underway between GEM and A.J. until he got phone calls from people last Tuesday, just before Christmas, asking about media reports to that effect. GEM has every right to make the decisions they feel are necessary to improve the performance of their teams however I also think they owe it to Elliott to have enough respect for him to inform him when the decision was made to replace him so that he found out from them and not from others. As I said in another entry, the timing is horrible as well - maybe they wanted to be sure that they could come to an agreement with A.J. or were hoping to break the news to Elliott after the holidays but knowing the way the rumor mill works in this sport and how hard it is to keep anything a secret, being up-front with Elliott about what was going on would have been a wise course of action.I would guess that Elliott and GEM will negotiate an agreement that will result in Elliott being paid a generous amount of money to buyout the last two years of his contract and Elliott won't end up suing. An ugly lawsuit will only result in more negative publicity for GEM and there's no telling what might be revealed in a lawsuit that neither GEM nor Elliott wants known publically.
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Got to playing around with taking some (very) abstract photos of my Champagne glass last night...
One of the few PE employees making the move to GEM is Robbie Loomis who will continue to have a managerial role with the newly merged organizations. What's interesting to me is that David Zucker, who became CEO of PE when Boston Ventures bought into it earlier this year is apparently going to become involved with the Petty Driving Experience. I wonder whether that means that the Petty Driving Experience wasn't included in the merger deal and whether Boston Ventures is going to retain control of it? Some had speculated that when Boston Ventures bought into PE they were more interested in the Driving Experience since they saw that as a greater potential source of revenue and they are likely correct.
]]> If a deal to merge has indeed been reached it's a pretty sad day for the sport. Sure, the Petty name may live on in the new name of the combined organizations and Richard Petty may continue to go to the track each week but he will likely only be a figurehead at the new organization and a way to attract sponsors and attention. It's never a good thing when a team closes it's door and even more so when that team has been as big of a part of the history of the sport as PE has been. Sixty years is a long time, and during that time the organization has won ten Championships and many races. Those days may be long over but hopefully even though the organization is no more, they won't be forgotten. ]]>Almost everyone who is part of a start and park operation including Jay Robinson, Derrike Cope and Morgan Shepherd were willing to speak openly and honestly about start and parking and their reasons for doing so. Not Phil Parsons. What's pretty amazing is that initially Parsons denied even having any involvement with MSRP even though the team's name reportedly comes from the initials of the first names of himself, his co-owner and their wives - Marcia, Stacy, Randy, Phil - and his wife is listed as the owner of one of the cars. Later when the writer encounters Parsons again, he refers to the team as "we" saying that there is no one to talk to about the team and that they're "trying to stay under the radar." Under the radar is an understatement.
]]> I've never understood Parson's unwillingness to acknowledge his involvement with the team. All the secrecy about it makes it seem as if he has something to hide, as if the team is doing something wrong. And to many fans they are doing something wrong but in reality they are operating within NASCAR's rules. Being so secretive actually seems to draw more attention to what this team is doing rather than less. MSRP is used as the poster children for everything that's wrong with start and parking and Parsons, who was previously an extremely well-thought and respected member of the garage area, has drawn a significant amount of ire from fans. Many fans will never accept the practice of start and parking, but I think Parsons could do himself and his team a favor by being more open about his stake in MSRP and explaining what the team is trying to achieve, even if it's just to make a profit.Sometimes in the garage area the way to handle problems, uncomfortable or negative situations is to try to ignore it, pretend it's not happening and hope that if it gets shoved under the rug no one will notice or that fans will forget about it. But that's not the way the real world works. To a lot of fans not addressing an issue or ignoring a problem is almost the same as lying about it and it sometimes creates more negativity and at times anger than if the issue had just been directly addressed. Fans might not like Parson's explanation for why he's involved with MSRP and why they're start and parking but at least he would be able to let his side be known and control the message to a degree rather than have others speculate and draw conclusions that may or may not be true.
I have mixed feelings about teams that start and park. On one hand, I don't really like it because the teams aren't making a legitimate effort to race. I think it kind of makes a mockery of things when a team shows up without a pit crew or tires because they know they won't be in the race long enough to need them. MSRP usually pulls their cars off the track within five laps and I don't think there's a single race all season in which either team has actually tried to race. It particularly bothers me when a start and park teams with no intention of racing an entire race takes a spot in a starting lineup and a team that would race a full race goes home, though of course if a team wants to race they need to be able to out-qualify the necessary amount of teams to make the field.
However, as much as I don't like start and parking, I also understand why teams do it. I don't blame the teams who are doing what they feel they need to so they can continue to show up at the track like Cope or Shepherd or those who start and park to fund their primary teams like Jay Robinson Racing. I would guess that for most of those who start and park to allow them to go to the track the next week or bring a second team, they would prefer to not have to resort to start and parking but feel they have no choice. I would much rather that Jay Robinson Racing start and parks a team to have the money for their primary team than have to close their doors because they don't have the financial resources to go to the track.
Unlike a lot of fans I'm also not bothered by the idea that MSRP may not have any intention of ever trying to race a full race with either team and are only in it to make a profit. Just exactly what's so wrong with trying to make some money? Sometimes it seems as if fans take issue with anyone in the sport who makes money whether it's the drivers or teams but it's totally unrealistic to think that everyone should be racing just for their love of the sport and receive little or no compensation for it. NASCAR is a business like any other and I don't fault anyone who makes money on their involvement in the sport.
n addition, as much as fans may hate start and parking, NASCAR's rules allow it. The governing body is fully aware of the practice, and according to the article even help the teams cover what they're doing by knowingly putting down false reasons for why the teams are heading to the garage so early such as "vibration" or "transmission" when the real reason might be no money to run a full race, no tires or even in a few cases, no engine. So as long as NASCAR allows it to happen, teams are going to start and park. Furthermore, NASCAR definitely isn't going to do anything about it now when the economy is hitting all the teams so hard since it helps some teams earn some extra money and it will help the field for races be larger than they might be if teams were required to attempt to race a full race.
It remains to be seen whether MSRP plans on continuing to start and park next season, but I suspect we'll see them continuing to do exactly what they did this season. Maybe at some point they'll even acknowledge openly and honestly exactly what they're doing and maybe that would led to fans being more understanding of what they're doing even if they still disagree with the practice.
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Ogunquit, Maine, 2004.
I don't even want to go down the road of discussing the ridiculous attitudes that some fans have towards the drivers significant others and their personal lives in general besides saying that I feel sorry for both the drivers and those who they choose to be with. Who a driver chooses to be with is their own business but unfortunately there's quite a few fans who think differently.
]]>But how it could possibly be a good business move if it's true that some of the sponsors of the #19 are so unhappy with the move that they might also leave GEM? At a time when it's very difficult to find and keep sponsorship it's mind-boggling why an organization would do something that might upset their sponsors to such a degree that they might lose them. I just don't understand why GEM would risk letting millions of dollars which may not be easy to replace walk away. Sponsors normally play a key role in determining who the driver of the car they sponsor is and rightly so considering how much money they have invested in their sponsorships.So why would GEM do something their sponsors don't want them to do? I would think that some of the sponsors might have already started putting together marketing, advertising and other promotions featuring Elliott - if so, if I were them I wouldn't be too happy about having to start over with a different driver.
]]> In addition, while A.J. is a talented driver who raced well at the end of the season, is he really going to get results that are that superior to Elliott? I'm not so sure. Elliott may have struggled the last few years but he has won three times in Cup and five times on the Nationwide level so he does know how to get a car to Victory Lane. A.J. on the other hand hasn't yet won on any level in Nascar, and while he's greatly improved since he first started racing in Cup, I think it's still somewhat unknown as to what he's truly capable of.So I can understand why some sponsors may be leery, particularly when one considers that Elliott is a much more popular driver with the fans than A.J., something that sometimes matters more to the sponsors than performance. That should also matter to GEM since presumably some of their revenue comes from merchandise sales. While Kasey Kahne probably makes up the bulk of GEM's merchandise sales, I would think that the revenue they made from Elliott wasn't so bad either - will A.J. really be able to generate the same level of revenue?
I do have to wonder how long this might have been in the works. A number of months ago Elliott was left out of a Dodge radio ad. At the time it was said that it was an accidental oversight but one has to wonder if wasn't so accidental after all. Though if they've really been thinking about doing this for months it would seem that would be enough time to get all the sponsors on-board with a driver change.
The whole thing is very puzzling to me. If what ESPN is reporting is true I have to think there's some major piece of information that hasn't come to light yet (and might never) that would explain why GEM is making what appears to be a very curious move on the surface. I don't understand why they would do something to upset their sponsors and at a time when it's essential that teams and the sport overall do whatever they can to engage fans, that GEM would do something that will result in them losing the support of some fans. In this economy it just doesn't seem wise to anger both sponsors and fans.
I feel bad for Elliott - it's never easy when a driver loses their ride but it's a particularly bad time right now since there are so few open rides on any level, plus it's the holidays and he's getting married soon. This will really suck some of the joy out of what should be a very happy time for Elliott. I hope everything works out for him either with GEM or another team and that we'll see him racing competitively next season in Cup.
All of that said, I have been hoping that A.J. would find a ride so part of me would be happy for him if this is all true. It's just too bad that him getting a ride may result in Elliott losing his.
]]>In addition, there's been some talk that HDNet is no longer interested in broadcasting East Series or any other NASCAR race. So if that's accurate - and I don't know if it is - unless SPEED opts to send a camera crew to every East Series race, something I think is somewhat unlikely given that most are trying to cut costs due to the economy, or another network is willing to carry the races, there may be very little or no TV coverage of East Series races in 2009. That would be bad for a series that is already struggling to get exposure and develop a following among fans.
]]> The president of Stafford Motor Speedway, Jack Arute, Jr., cited financial reasons for why his track won't be hosting an East Series race next season. Apparently in the past there were a lot of local Northeast drivers who had a big fan following but as the series has changed, there are less local drivers and more drivers who are unfamiliar to area fans, therefore less fans in the stands. He said,"A lot of what's going on there now, they don't have a big following for the drivers involved. They're more strangers. Who are your local drivers besides [2008 series champion Matt Kobyluck from Montville]? It's neat to have the [Jeffrey Earnhardt] and the [Ricky Carmichael] but I'm not sure if they're going to even be back or who the names will be. The writing on the wall is that we have to be careful with our pricing and what we offer and we want to keep to our basics and do what's best for us. I didn't see a huge influx of people that came to us with that division so right now we have to go with what we know works for us."
Odds are neither Jeffrey nor Ricky will be back in 2009, Jeffrey because DEI is merging with Ganassi Racing and may not field any East Series cars next season and Ricky because he's likely going to race a truck for Kevin Harvick, Inc. if sponsorship comes through. Steve Park is a "name" that draws some fans but there has yet to be an announcement about whether Steve will be racing in the East Series next season, though that he is racing for NDS Motorsports at the Toyota All-Star Showdown next month is a good indication that he will probably be back with the team. However, as many fans as Steve has, he can't carry the series on his back and there has to be multiple drivers with big fanbases and an overall interest in the series from fans to sell enough tickets to fill the stands.
What's troublesome is that it's likely that Stafford isn't the only track that isn't making a profit on the East Series so there may be other tracks re-thinking the wisdom of continuing to host East Series races. In fact, there is already talk that the future of Nashville Motorplex is in question. Some complain that there are too many races outside the Northeast (though there are just as many fans that complain there should be more races in the Southeast) but NASCAR has to schedule the races at tracks that are willing to host them which may be easier said than done.
In addition, it's been said that the cost to field a competitive car in the series is as much as $500,000 which is a fortune to some of these teams considering how small they are. The economy makes the sponsorship situation bad enough for these teams but if the races aren't broadcast on TV next season it might be deadly for the series - very few sponsors are going to be willing to spend half a million dollars and get zero exposure beyond what they get at the track. Which apparently isn't always that great since ticket sales for East Series races aren't very good at some tracks.
A lot of fans have complained that the Cup teams fielding cars for their development drivers in the East Series has ruined the series. Well, some of those organizations may reduce the amount of cars they field or not field any at all next year. I really doubt that's going to magically fix all the problems this series faces. In fact it may make things worse because that will likely mean that there will be less drivers that fans are familiar with. The teams, the tracks, NASCAR and the drivers themselves need to be sure that they are doing everything they can to promote themselves, their teams, their sponsors and their series to help increase fan interest in the series and its drivers.
What's really worrisome is that because they signed a multi-year deal to sponsor the Truck Series, Camping World may leave as title sponsor of both the East and West Series. What happens then? Not only is the East Series a good series for local drivers to showcase themselves but it's also a series where upper level teams can develop their young drivers. So I hope this series survives anything that the future holds, but it seems like there's a lot of uncertainty in the air when it comes to the East Series these days.
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A very Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and a Happy Kwanzaa to all!