Missing: Race Teams And Sponsors!
|
10/02/2015 |
|
I
bid you welcome gentle readers, and of course, that always includes a cordial
greeting to our NASCAR-assigned reader on this cloudy, soggy autumn day. I’d
wish you better weather, but I just spoke with a friend in Charlotte that
assures me it’s soggy over there as well.
So
then… it’s two races down and thousands upon thousands not caring, when it
comes to Brian France’s contrived version of what was known at one time as
stock car racing. The NFL season is in full swing, and to be Champion there, a
team has to earn it… by playing all 16 weeks of the regular season, and then
giving lessons to several other teams on the exact definition of the word
“Elimination!”
Please
accept my apology, but your scribe has grown weary of defining words such as
“Champion” or “Elimination.” Someone did spark my interest in the past week though,
when mentioning the sponsors and race teams that have gone away in recent
years, and upon further investigation, I found it has indeed been several years
since we’ve updated ourselves on those subjects.
The
first thing I must warn you is that these are merely random lists, compiled
from random years and using each year’s Daytona 500 as the example, as that is
the race that historically gets the most entries.. No claim is made as to
correctness, let alone perfection. Some of these sponsors may have backed down
to a much less-involved status, and some might have been lured away by NASCAR, a
practice which I have always referred to by the simple phrase, “Some species
eat their young.” In what other pseudo-sport does one find the sanctioning body
competing openly with its own teams for sponsorship? The whole point is, these
names used to decorate the hoods of race cars. They were all “Primary”
sponsors, not Associates, and each appeared as sponsor of a viable and
competitive car. I didn’t even bother with the weekly pittances from the Start
‘n Park class. These were found between 2000 and 2014. Does anyone miss any of
them? I know many teams do!
Rubbermaid
– Sharpie – Pfizer – Cingular - Dodge Power Days - Miccosukee Resort &
Casino – UPS – Citgo – DuPont - Georgia Pacific - Net Zero – Motorcraft - Stacker 2- Grainger – Tide - UAW-Delphi - Jasper
Engines & Transmissions - U.S. Army
- Monaco Coaches – Kodak - America Online – AT&T –
Maxwell
House - Sirius Satellite Radio - Alltel - Whelen
Engineering - Georgia Pacific/Brawny – GMAC - Schwan's Home Service - Irwin
Industrial Tools - Office Depot - Jack Daniels - Best Buy - Net Zero - Lucas
Oil - Little Debbie – AAA - Jim Beam - Crown Royal - Wells Fargo Financial – CarQuest – Ameriquest - Snickers
-Domino's – Citgo –Kmart - RealTree Camouflage - Square-D
– Kodiak - Oakwood Homes - Hills Brothers Coffee - Quality Care/Ford Credit - Exide
Batteries – Conseco – Sonic - Cummins - Bell South - John Deere - Hot Wheels – Amoco
Philips/Klaussner - Cartoon Network - Primestar/TV
Guide - Remington Arms Camouflage - Jimmy Dean Sausage – Aflac - Red Bull - Old
Spice - Kingsford Charcoal
And
some departures at the end of this year…
Aarons
Announced they won't be returning in 2016. I believe them.
Go-Daddy
- Are they totally gone? I’ve heard nothing as to whether they will maintain a
token presence or just leave. Either way, it won’t matter much. Tokens are only
good on buses and amusement rides.
5-Hour
Energy - Will they stay with Bowyer? Apparently one rumor will be put to rest
before this sees print. It is Tuesday morning as I type, and tomorrow the
“secret” will be told at Stewart-Haas Racing that Tony will retire after 2016,
and Clint Bowyer will occupy his seat in the #14 come 2017. Meanwhile, next
year Clint Bowyer will cool his heels driving for H. Scott Motorsports. Will
5-Hour Energy be on that hood? Will it be on the #14 in 2017? Right now, I have
no clue, but I’m sure the rumor mill is chock-full of answers…
As
long as I was taking a leisurely stroll through my files looking for sponsors
we don’t see around anymore, I also took a look at race teams we don’t see
around either. It’s no secret that most of the competitive cars on the track
today belong to those big boys that were first to be asked to join the RTA.
Remember that… “Race Team Alliance?” Don’t forget it, and don’t assume that
because you haven’t heard it mentioned in a while that it has quietly gone
away.
The
previous paragraph was written on Monday afternoon, and lo and behold, NASCAR
is scheduled to meet with the boys from the RTA this very afternoon. (Lord, I
sound like Jeannie C. Riley, but I think we’ll skip the mini-skirt. – Harper
Valley PTA -) I don’t guess they’ll be talking about the weather, and
scuttlebutt has it that the main topic will be some sort of franchising or
revenue sharing, which is said to favor team owners in that almost anything
would be a better investment than what they have now.
When
a team… even one of great longevity and good reputation… leaves the NASCAR
fold, for whatever reason, that team has nothing to claim but auction value of
inventory, which generally amounts to about 10¢ on the dollar. Most thinking
folks can see the fallacy of that arrangement, yet NASCAR has managed to get by
with it for well over 60 years and holding. Well, they were holding, until Rob Kauffman became a “team owner.” Granted, he
now owns a part of an entirely different team than when he started, but he’s
still in the game, and as what might be called a professional investor, he
wants his bets hedged and his returns given some sort of guarantee.
Yes
Mr. France… that is the way it works in the real world. Remember who it was
that warned you about consolidating the race teams into a small handful of very
powerful, and need I say “Rich” owners? It was some little old lady in Georgia.
Maybe… just maybe… you should have listened then.
Alright,
we’re back on track and about to look at a list of teams and car #s that have
gone away since the first year of the “Chase” thingy. If you see some
repetitive cars on the list, that occurred over the time of the “mergers” as
everyone scrambled to be one of those already seated when the music stopped.
2004
- 2015
Dale
Earnhardt Inc. #8 #1 #15 Chevrolets
Bill
Davis Racing #22 #23 Dodge
Nelson
Bowers Racing #01 #14 Chevrolet
Yates
Racing #28 #38 #88 Fords
Gene
Haas Racing #0 #70 Chevrolet
Doug
Bawel #77 Dodge
Petty
Enterprises #45 #43 Dodge
Cal
Wells Racing #32 Chevrolet
Jim
Smith Racing #7 Dodge
Ray
Evernham Dodge #9 #19
Phoenix
Racing (James Finch) #09 #51 Dodge
A.J.
Foyt Racing #14 Dodge
Morgan-McClure
Racing #4 Chevrolet
Beth
Ann Morgenthau (BAM) Racing #49 Dodge
Robby
Gordon Racing #7 Chevrolet
Bobby
Ginn Racing #01 #13 #14 Chevrolet
Gillette-Evernham
Motorsports #9 #19 Dodge
Red
Bull Racing #4 #82 #83 Toyota
Michael
Waltrip Racing #55 #15 Toyota
Along
with merely saying that a team is gone, we also need to consider how many teams
and drivers were covered within one name. The largest single loss that I can
put my finger on was the merger of DEI with Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix
Sabates. At one time, that entailed at least 3 drivers from DEI and 3 more from
Ganassi. Somehow that never worked out to anyone’s satisfaction; Earnhardt-Ganassi
Racing (EGR) went back to being just Ganassi Racing, and through magic or
sleight of hand, instead of 6 drivers, there were only 2. A couple of good
young drivers found themselves on the outside looking in after the smoke
cleared. Their names were Regan Smith and Reed Sorensen. They are but two I
recall, but there were several others that suffered a like fate when “Merger”
became the new buzz word in NASCAR.
One
driver that was displaced not once but twice was Martin Truex Jr. He drove the
#1 for DEI until the merger came. He wound up at Michael Waltrip Racing,
driving the #56 NAPA sponsored Toyota. We all know without rehashing Richmond
in 2013 what the outcome of that has been, and a million thanks to Bill Elliott
for saving the NAPA sponsorship, which was decidedly ready to join our list
above. Martin now drives the #78 Chevy soon to become Toyota for Furniture Row
racing. Depending on who is counting, Martin now sits 9th in the
Chase points or 7th in real points earned so far in 2015. Either
way, that’s not too shabby!
Furniture
Row announced only this week a new alliance for 2016 with manufacturer Toyota
and Joe Gibbs Racing. Ah, but then, there’s always that other shoe, and in this
case, it’s already dropped. Furniture Row has signed a 1-year contract with
Truex Jr., but can’t go beyond that at present due to lack of sponsorship.
Gentle readers, there is something inherently wrong with a system that would
allow that to happen. Martin Truex Jr. is, by anyone’s definition, a good
racer, but my guess would be, because Barney Visser (Owner
of Furniture Row Racing) isn’t a household name in many households other than
his own, sponsors are loathe to invest, even with the alliance with JGR in
place.
Your
scribe has never been, nor will she ever be one of those heard to say such
things as “He deserves a sponsor, and it’s not ‘fair’ that so-and-so has one
and he doesn’t.” That one always puts fur on my teeth. No one ever said that
life is fair, and most certainly no one ever said that NASCAR is fair. Ask Brad
Keselowski. Still, one has to wonder why an obvious Championship contender
cannot ink more than a one year contract because there is not sufficient
sponsorship to carry him further. I do hope that is at least a small part of
what Mr. Kauffman has in mind for today’s discussion. By the time you read
this, I guess we’ll know what was discussed at the meeting… at least we’ll know
as much as they want us to know.
Statement from
Brett Jewkes, NASCAR Senior Vice President &
Chief Communications Officer: "Earlier today NASCAR met with all Sprint
Cup Series owners and presented framework concepts for future qualification to compete
in NASCAR's top national series with an eye toward implementing a new model for
the 2016 season.
Anyone
with the ability to define what that statement might mean has my immediate and
total admiration. One other thing came out on Tuesday, which I have no problem
translating. The overnight ratings for New Hampshire joined the rest of the
season in the toilet, bringing home a 1.7, which is 23% lower than the 2.2 in the
preceding 2 years, shown on ESPN. It is tied with Richmond for second lowest,
with the rain-destroyed Kansas race holding the winner at 1.5 on FS1.
Alright
gentle readers; that should be enough to give you at least something to think
about as the Chase chases on. It’s more than obvious that there have been
changes in the sport of stock car racing since the onset of the new “regime.”
No one needs my opinions here. Read the lists, and you can see who’s gone. I do
however, have one more list, which I’ve let racing-reference.info prepare for
me. This is the standings (Chase version) of the 2015 season as of today.
http://racing-reference.info/yeardet/2015/W
Just
scroll through the lower end of those standings and compare what we have lost
with what we have today as replacements. Did we win or lose? You be the judge.
Time
now for our Classic Country Closeout, and today we’ll be sharing a few numbers
done by the late, great Hank Williams in his alter ego, Luke the Drifter.
Though most are sad, all bring a message, and Hank was probably at his best
when delivering messages. First up is one called, “Be Careful of Stones that
You Throw.” Please enjoy.
The
next one is “Help Me Understand”, and I found an almost impossible treasure… a
demo of this song cut by Hank with no accompaniment but his own guitar. The
message is clear, and one a whole lot more folks should pay attention to these
days. Here then, is Hank as you will seldom if ever hear him again. (Precious)
This
song is truly a tale of heartbreak, done Hank Williams style. It’s not one
story, but a small collection of vignettes, which Hank called “A Picture from
Life’s Other Side.”
Finally
today, here’s Hank doing a song from Luke the Drifter that isn’t sad at all, but
rather, just a picture of life as it drones on. It’s one I’ve loved since
childhood, and I do hope you enjoy it as well. Here then is, “Just Waitin’.”
~
PattyKay