A fan can’t listen to a broadcast or read an article without mention of how the current recession is affecting the sport. The chatter began last summer and has gotten louder ever since. There will be visible reminders on the race track but much more behind the scene that reveal how the sport is coping with the problem, but on the senior circuit, the Chase for the Sprint Cup, when it is all added up, it’s surprising on the top levels how little has changed.
NASCAR is affected in three ways. First, but probably the least significant economically for the teams, fewer fans will be attending races. This is more a blow to the race track owners which are pretty much just (Smith’s) and (France’s) groups both of whom have some events that will draw well regardless.
Second, corporate sponsorship is harder to find. Some companies, particularly in the financial sector are struggling and especially if they have received Federal “bail out” funds, large promotional expenditures such as sponsoring sporting events and race teams will be hard to justify.
Third, the auto industry itself is struggling. All four makes have seen a huge downturn in sales. Additionally, General Motors and Chrysler have received Federal loans to meet expenses. It would come as no big surprise if Chrysler Corporation does not survive. If so, what happens to Dodge in NASCAR competition. Would another company purchase the Dodge brand name, or would they go down the trail of tears that Hudson, Studebaker and other ghosts of the past have followed?
At first glance, the competition for the top of the Sprint Cup series looks pretty much the same. It’s a good bet that the championship will be a Roush, Gibbs, Hendricks, or possibly a Childress owned car. There are some interesting changes in their line-ups. First, though not in the chase in 2008, the #5 car is now in the picture as Mark Martin will be driving that car full time while Casey Mears goes to a “Chase” team from last year, the 07 Jack Daniels Chevrolet driven by Clint Bowyer. Bowyer will still drive for Childress, but behind the wheel of the new #33 General Mills (Cheerios) car. The Roush team remains the same with a few sponsorship changes including David Regan, just outside the chase gaining UPS sponsorship from Michael Waltrip Racing’s #44 ride. Meanwhile, Aflac will paste its duck feathers on the #99 Carl Edwards ride. The most eye opening change will be for the #20 car from the Joe Gibbs’ garage. Tony Stewart departed to start his own team buying a controlling interest to form Stewart-Haas racing which will also feature former chase contender, Ryan Newman. One of the youngest drivers ever to race in Cup racing, Joey Legano, will drive as a rookie for the #20 ride.
The big changes in the Cup series are found in teams outside the Chase. Most of these are more moves of desperation than attempts to consolidate through strength. First, Dale Earnhardt Incorporated merged with Chip Ganassi racing to form Earnhardt/Ganassi racing. The new lineup features Martin Truex remaining in the #1 Bass Pro Shops car. Juan Montoya remains in car #42, now a Chevy, with Target and Wrigley’s sponsorship. Aric Almirola pilots the #8 car full-time. Their fourth car is a mild surprise, John Andretti will drive a new number, #34, taking owner’s points from one of the no longer operational Ganassi or DEI rides.
Petty Enterprises merged with Gillett/Evernham racing. The #45 ride that started off as Kyle Petty’s to begin 2008 but became a tag-team operation once Kyle took his post in the booth for TNT’s part of the broadcast season, will at best be a part time ride this year.
Reed Sorenson will drive the famous #43 car with new sponsorship. Kasey Kahne remains the in the #9 Budweiser car. Elliot Sadler returns to car #19. A.J. Allmendinger joins the team in the #44 Dodge transferring points from the former #10 as Michael Waltrip’s team discontinued its #44 effort losing UPS sponsorship and establishing 00 as their second team. Reutimann and Michael Waltrip will continue as a two car operation.
Yates racing still faces sponsorship challenges with the #28 Ford with Travis Kvapil. Their new ride features Paul Menard, displaced from DEI in #98 with his family sponsorship. Though still technically a stand-alone team from an ownership perspective, All-Star Motorsports has broken its relationship with Joe Gibbs racing to become a partner with Yates racing with Ask.com as a sponsor and Bobby Labonte as their driver. This could be one of the most competitive teams of the lesser teams. They will assume the points earned by the defunct #38 ride and have Todd Parrott as their crew chief. Both Labonte and Parrott have championship experience. This could be a sleeper team ready to strike.
Surely much attention will go to Tony Stewart’s new team as co-owner of Stewart-Haas racing. Stewart will drive car #14 with Old Spice and Office Depot sponsorship. Ryan Newman will drive the second car, #39 with US Army sponsorship. From a technology standpoint, their cars will run Hendricks engines and chassis.
Meanwhile, Penske will see Kurt Busch drive the #2 Miller Lite beer can. David Stremme takes on Newman’s #12 ride with Verizon sponsorship, though Verizon will not be permitted to show their logos as a conflict with series sponsor, Sprint. The #77 car will see Sam Hornish in his sophomore year. Penske purchased Bill Davis’s assets and owner points from the #22 car showing Davis as a co-owner.
Red Bull racing was seen as an up and coming operation with the ascent of Brian Vickers in car #82. They discontinued car #84 switching to car #82 with Indy veteran, Scott Speed, running as a Sprint Cup rookie.
Robby Gordon remains in his #7 Jim Bean car but will run Toyotas after the Bud Shootout.
One longstanding team vanishes as the sport’s second most historic team slides into a part time role. Having lost sponsorship, most notably Caterpillar to Jeff Burton’s Childress team, Bill Davis racing has gone out of business. They’ve only been a marginal presence in Cup racing in recent years but were a major factor in the Truck series. The “legendary” Wood Brothers remain with Ford with Bill Elliot as their driver racing a limited schedule.
Tommy Baldwin attempts to establish a new team with Scott Riggs as his driver in car #36, a Toyota. Another startup venture includes Prism Motorsports with Phil Parsons as part of the ownership group. Racing the #66 Toyota will be former champ, Terry Labonte, and Dave Blaney. Others including Joe Nemechek, Todd Bodine, Jeremy Mayfield and others are attempting to assemble racing teams with varying degrees of commitment.
Add it all up, it’s hard not to think Jimmie Johnson is in strong position to capture his 4th championship in a row. Other teams are strong, but who’s better? Surely, Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, and Kevin Harvick will figure strongly in the competition. How can anyone ignore Jeff Gordon who had his first winless season since his rookie year. Could Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Tony Eury Jr. finally put it together and contend for top honors? How strong will Tony Stewart be in his new operation – good enough to make the Chase? Naturally, there other the rest of the Roush stable, Mark Martin who surely could be intense racing full-time for Hendricks, Denny Hamlin, and Jeff Burton.
We don’t see any Dodge teams making the Chase unless something magic happens with the new Richard Petty (Gillette/Evernham) operation. Casey Kahne would be the driver most likely to do the honors. Could Martin Truex or Juan Montoya break through for the Earnhardt/Ganassi operation?
In recent years, the Daytona 500 has lead to somewhat surprising finishes instead of the traditional restrictor plate wizards coming through. It’s hard to imagine that when decision day rolls around in Richmond, Sprint Cup fans won’t see mostly very familiar drivers from likewise familiar teams taking the top 12 spots and heading into The Chase.
Who can break the stranglehold Hendricks, Gibbs, and Roush has had on Cup champions since Dale Earnhardt’s last triumph allowing only Dale Jarrett for Yates Racing to claim a championship outside of the big three in the last fifteen years?
What looks good for the big three is the mergers that have taken place are ones mostly out of desperation to keep struggling operations going rather than ones of power. The only team established with positive expectations is the Stewart-Haas operation. Haas racing was a marginal operation with winless drivers. Stewart and Ryan Newman bring championship and Daytona 500 credibility with Hendricks horsepower.
Let the gentlemen start their engines, the green flag drop, and the competition begin!!! Much will happen between now and November. In our worst nightmare, it's not hard to imagine, Chysler Corporation could disappear and Dodge would be just a memory while Ford, GM, and Toyota will have more pressure to justify their involvement with the sport.
NASCAR is affected in three ways. First, but probably the least significant economically for the teams, fewer fans will be attending races. This is more a blow to the race track owners which are pretty much just (Smith’s) and (France’s) groups both of whom have some events that will draw well regardless.
Second, corporate sponsorship is harder to find. Some companies, particularly in the financial sector are struggling and especially if they have received Federal “bail out” funds, large promotional expenditures such as sponsoring sporting events and race teams will be hard to justify.
Third, the auto industry itself is struggling. All four makes have seen a huge downturn in sales. Additionally, General Motors and Chrysler have received Federal loans to meet expenses. It would come as no big surprise if Chrysler Corporation does not survive. If so, what happens to Dodge in NASCAR competition. Would another company purchase the Dodge brand name, or would they go down the trail of tears that Hudson, Studebaker and other ghosts of the past have followed?
At first glance, the competition for the top of the Sprint Cup series looks pretty much the same. It’s a good bet that the championship will be a Roush, Gibbs, Hendricks, or possibly a Childress owned car. There are some interesting changes in their line-ups. First, though not in the chase in 2008, the #5 car is now in the picture as Mark Martin will be driving that car full time while Casey Mears goes to a “Chase” team from last year, the 07 Jack Daniels Chevrolet driven by Clint Bowyer. Bowyer will still drive for Childress, but behind the wheel of the new #33 General Mills (Cheerios) car. The Roush team remains the same with a few sponsorship changes including David Regan, just outside the chase gaining UPS sponsorship from Michael Waltrip Racing’s #44 ride. Meanwhile, Aflac will paste its duck feathers on the #99 Carl Edwards ride. The most eye opening change will be for the #20 car from the Joe Gibbs’ garage. Tony Stewart departed to start his own team buying a controlling interest to form Stewart-Haas racing which will also feature former chase contender, Ryan Newman. One of the youngest drivers ever to race in Cup racing, Joey Legano, will drive as a rookie for the #20 ride.
The big changes in the Cup series are found in teams outside the Chase. Most of these are more moves of desperation than attempts to consolidate through strength. First, Dale Earnhardt Incorporated merged with Chip Ganassi racing to form Earnhardt/Ganassi racing. The new lineup features Martin Truex remaining in the #1 Bass Pro Shops car. Juan Montoya remains in car #42, now a Chevy, with Target and Wrigley’s sponsorship. Aric Almirola pilots the #8 car full-time. Their fourth car is a mild surprise, John Andretti will drive a new number, #34, taking owner’s points from one of the no longer operational Ganassi or DEI rides.
Petty Enterprises merged with Gillett/Evernham racing. The #45 ride that started off as Kyle Petty’s to begin 2008 but became a tag-team operation once Kyle took his post in the booth for TNT’s part of the broadcast season, will at best be a part time ride this year.
Reed Sorenson will drive the famous #43 car with new sponsorship. Kasey Kahne remains the in the #9 Budweiser car. Elliot Sadler returns to car #19. A.J. Allmendinger joins the team in the #44 Dodge transferring points from the former #10 as Michael Waltrip’s team discontinued its #44 effort losing UPS sponsorship and establishing 00 as their second team. Reutimann and Michael Waltrip will continue as a two car operation.
Yates racing still faces sponsorship challenges with the #28 Ford with Travis Kvapil. Their new ride features Paul Menard, displaced from DEI in #98 with his family sponsorship. Though still technically a stand-alone team from an ownership perspective, All-Star Motorsports has broken its relationship with Joe Gibbs racing to become a partner with Yates racing with Ask.com as a sponsor and Bobby Labonte as their driver. This could be one of the most competitive teams of the lesser teams. They will assume the points earned by the defunct #38 ride and have Todd Parrott as their crew chief. Both Labonte and Parrott have championship experience. This could be a sleeper team ready to strike.
Surely much attention will go to Tony Stewart’s new team as co-owner of Stewart-Haas racing. Stewart will drive car #14 with Old Spice and Office Depot sponsorship. Ryan Newman will drive the second car, #39 with US Army sponsorship. From a technology standpoint, their cars will run Hendricks engines and chassis.
Meanwhile, Penske will see Kurt Busch drive the #2 Miller Lite beer can. David Stremme takes on Newman’s #12 ride with Verizon sponsorship, though Verizon will not be permitted to show their logos as a conflict with series sponsor, Sprint. The #77 car will see Sam Hornish in his sophomore year. Penske purchased Bill Davis’s assets and owner points from the #22 car showing Davis as a co-owner.
Red Bull racing was seen as an up and coming operation with the ascent of Brian Vickers in car #82. They discontinued car #84 switching to car #82 with Indy veteran, Scott Speed, running as a Sprint Cup rookie.
Robby Gordon remains in his #7 Jim Bean car but will run Toyotas after the Bud Shootout.
One longstanding team vanishes as the sport’s second most historic team slides into a part time role. Having lost sponsorship, most notably Caterpillar to Jeff Burton’s Childress team, Bill Davis racing has gone out of business. They’ve only been a marginal presence in Cup racing in recent years but were a major factor in the Truck series. The “legendary” Wood Brothers remain with Ford with Bill Elliot as their driver racing a limited schedule.
Tommy Baldwin attempts to establish a new team with Scott Riggs as his driver in car #36, a Toyota. Another startup venture includes Prism Motorsports with Phil Parsons as part of the ownership group. Racing the #66 Toyota will be former champ, Terry Labonte, and Dave Blaney. Others including Joe Nemechek, Todd Bodine, Jeremy Mayfield and others are attempting to assemble racing teams with varying degrees of commitment.
Add it all up, it’s hard not to think Jimmie Johnson is in strong position to capture his 4th championship in a row. Other teams are strong, but who’s better? Surely, Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, and Kevin Harvick will figure strongly in the competition. How can anyone ignore Jeff Gordon who had his first winless season since his rookie year. Could Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Tony Eury Jr. finally put it together and contend for top honors? How strong will Tony Stewart be in his new operation – good enough to make the Chase? Naturally, there other the rest of the Roush stable, Mark Martin who surely could be intense racing full-time for Hendricks, Denny Hamlin, and Jeff Burton.
We don’t see any Dodge teams making the Chase unless something magic happens with the new Richard Petty (Gillette/Evernham) operation. Casey Kahne would be the driver most likely to do the honors. Could Martin Truex or Juan Montoya break through for the Earnhardt/Ganassi operation?
In recent years, the Daytona 500 has lead to somewhat surprising finishes instead of the traditional restrictor plate wizards coming through. It’s hard to imagine that when decision day rolls around in Richmond, Sprint Cup fans won’t see mostly very familiar drivers from likewise familiar teams taking the top 12 spots and heading into The Chase.
Who can break the stranglehold Hendricks, Gibbs, and Roush has had on Cup champions since Dale Earnhardt’s last triumph allowing only Dale Jarrett for Yates Racing to claim a championship outside of the big three in the last fifteen years?
What looks good for the big three is the mergers that have taken place are ones mostly out of desperation to keep struggling operations going rather than ones of power. The only team established with positive expectations is the Stewart-Haas operation. Haas racing was a marginal operation with winless drivers. Stewart and Ryan Newman bring championship and Daytona 500 credibility with Hendricks horsepower.
Let the gentlemen start their engines, the green flag drop, and the competition begin!!! Much will happen between now and November. In our worst nightmare, it's not hard to imagine, Chysler Corporation could disappear and Dodge would be just a memory while Ford, GM, and Toyota will have more pressure to justify their involvement with the sport.
No comments:
Post a Comment