When disaster strikes, it's usually not a result of just one bad decision or singular event. It's often a confluence of things coming together at the same time.
And that's what happened late in Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Martinsville. Of course, everybody wants to blame everybody here. So, today, let's eliminate at least of couple of people from the blame game for what caused a green-white-checkered finish that sabotaged what could have been another classic Martinsville finish between Hendrick Racing teammates Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson.
So let's aquit the following:
David Reutimann: It seems many were wanting to throw him under the NASCAR hauler, so to speak, after Sunday's race. Reutimann was driving the No. 10 car for Tommy Baldwin Racing, which is affiliated with Stewart-Haas Racing, which is affiliated with Hendrick Racing. The key here is that the top 35 in the Sprint Cup owners points standings are guaranteed starting spots in the next race, which is April 14 at Texas. And the other key here is the the No. 10 car has been riding that fence early in the season. And a third key here is that Danica Patrick is slated to drive that car in nine more races this season. That's a lot of keys to fit into one door. So, in a car, that a had a broken suspension piece, and an engine that was about ready to quit, Reutimann was trying to limp the car home well under race pace speed in the final 15 laps and keep that car in the top 35 in points. He actually did a good job of avoiding traffic when he was out there. It was clear he didn't want to cause an issue in the race. It was also clear he was under trickle-down economic pressure to stay on the track, from sponsors, team owners, etc. He seemed to have accomplished his feat until the engine finally shut down. None of this is directly Reutimann's fault. He's driving part-time for the team, trying to make a good impression for an owner, just trying to do the right thing to survive in the sport. A big chunk of drivers, like Johnson, Gordon or Dale Earnhardt Jr. have either forgotten or don't know what that's like. So, no, not blaming Reutimann here.
Danica Patrick: Yes, it's true, NASCAR had been trying to lure her into the series for probably the last couple of years. She would have loved to have won the Indy 500, which kept her in the open-wheel circuit probably a little longer than NASACAR wanted. Patrick though, finally couldn't resist the guaranteed money, attention and let's face it, the safer cars to drive in. Though she hasn't said this, probably out of respect for her former fellow Indy Car drivers, the fact that she came to NASCAR after the horrible crash that claimed the life of Indy Car star Dan Wheldon at Las Vegas last fall is probably not a coincidence. When it comes down to it Patrick is enough of a sponsor attraction that she's got more money now than she will ever spend. But really, what's the point of having it if there's a real fear you're not going to be around to spend it and enjoy it? Yes, Patrick will be driving the No. 10 for Stewart-Haas Racing at times this season, with her next schedule date May 12 at Darlington. But remember, she's just a driver, not an owner or sponsor telling Reutimann what do. It's not her fault that she is one of the few who can attract sponsors these days. It's part of her job and what happened at Martinsville Sunday was not her fault.
So, really, just who is to blame?
You can look at the top 35 rule. It's a way to guarantee fans they will most likely see their favorite driver when they pay more than a pretty penny for a ticket, merchandise, etc., when they go to a race. Certainly, it played a role in this situation.
You can look at Tommy Baldwin a little here. He's under pressure too to keep that car in the top 35 in points after making an affiliation deal with Stewart-Haas Racing before the season began.
What about Tony Stewart? Well, maybe. He knows Patrick will bring money and sponsors into the team. He's also a driver and the defending champ though, so I can't imagine he was thrilled at seeing the No. 10 limp around trying to stay out of Harm's Way in those final laps.
That brings us to Rick Hendrick. Well, it's always easy to point the finger at Hendrick, one of the most influential figures in the history of the sport. He's an easy target that sometimes gets more blame than he deserves. He's also a sharp businessman who completely understands what having Patrick in the Sprint Cup field does for the sport financially in all types of sales. Kyle Busch once called Hendrick Racing a six-car team (only four cars are allowed by NASCAR rules), saying he included the Stewart-Haas cars of Stewart and Newman. Maybe Patrick belongs in that group, too, now.
And maybe that whole Martinsville mess is symbolic of how NASCAR has compromised itself in the name of safety and quality racing in order to make a dollar.
Showing posts with label David Reutimann. Show all posts
Showing posts with label David Reutimann. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
NASCAR sponsorships drying up
Here's a good story about NASCAR's sponsorship issues for next year by Pete Pistone from CBSsports.com
By Pete Pistone
The calendar has turned to November and there are still three races left in the 2011 Sprint Cup Series season.
But the NASCAR world never slows down and while we still await the outcome of this year’s championship, plans for next year are finally coming into focus.
Unfortunately it’s not a very pretty picture.
Economic woes and the lack of sponsorship dollars are shrinking the Sprint Cup Series garage area at an alarming rate. The financial crunch is so strong it’s not just impacting mid-level and small teams but the superpowers of the sport as well.
Roush Fenway Racing, Richard Childress Racing and Michael Waltrip Racing will see their stables contract while an entire organization like Team Red Bull’s very existence remains in doubt.
“We’ve gone through a transition with our sponsors, going from a time when they wanted to compete for the top car to now where the sponsors want just enough of a car to be able to do their promotions," said Jack Roush, who faces shutting down his No. 6 Cup team unless last minute sponsorship for 2012 is found to replace UPS.
"It’s a really strange time. I’ve never seen anything like this. I’m not sure what we’ll have coming out of it. It will be different than it’s been in the past."
Seeking one sponsor to foot the estimated $20 million bill to keep a top flight Cup team on track is virtually impossible in today’s climate. But even splitting that cost over the course of 36 races between multiple corporate backers is also a tough task.
The merry-go-round of sponsors that now adorn Sprint Cup cars throughout the season makes for a variety of different color schemes and logos to associate with drivers and some argue that has taken away a great deal of NASCAR’s identity.
In the not too distant past colors and logos were indelibly attached to drivers who were immediately recognized on track by fans who made the instant connection between man and machine.
Jeff Gordon’s colorful DuPont paint scheme. Rusty Wallace and the iconic Miller Lite “Blue Deuce.” Mark Martin and the Valvoline logo. And the most famous of all Dale Earnhardt in the silver and black Goodwrench Chevrolet.
Today you can’t tell the drivers or their cars and colors without a scorecard on a weekly basis.
Current Chase point leader Carl Edwards rarely carries the same look two weeks in a row rotating the No. 99 through a maze of sponsors including Aflac, Scott’s, Subway and Kellogg’s.
Next year he’ll see Fastenal and UPS join the line-up all of which is just a necessary element of today’s NASCAR sponsorship game.
"You have to put the pieces together," RCR’s David Hart told PennLive.com. "It’s 20 races here, 10 races there and then getting someone for the last six races. You have to combo sponsorships together to run your race team.
"This wasn’t all of a sudden and the hammer came down. You started to see it in the mid-2000s and, when the economy went down in 2008, it continued on that path. You have to look at the possibilities if you don’t have your number. You have to cobble sponsors as you can. You are looking to get as few as possible, but you want to get that number by bringing people to the table."
Some teams like the Childress organization approach the sponsorship quest by bundling all its resources together and selling partners on a total experience rather than individual race cars.
“We at RCR do it a little different,” Childress said. “We try to sell our whole company and corporation. The driver is a huge part of it because he plays a large role in the marketing of the product but we also try to sell RCR and make sure that we get the return on the investment for all the companies that we’re associated with.
“At the end of the day I work for every one of these companies and I want to make sure I do a good job to get the return on their investment.”
The money squeeze is having a significant effect on next year’s landscape and forcing several well known names to the unemployment line.
Among those Sprint Cup drivers who appear to be on the outside looking in include David Ragan, Brian Vickers and the most recent addition David Reutimann, who won’t return to Michael Waltrip Racing next year in favor of the team running a limited schedule in the No. 00 car with veteran Mark Martin.
The story gets worse over at NASCAR’s number two and three divisions in the Nationwide Series and Camping World Truck Series. Several teams in both circuits are struggling to find the necessary funding to compete in 2012, meaning sleepless nights for the likes of Reed Sorenson, Jason Leffler, Todd Bodine and even four time truck series champion Ron Hornaday.
With current team owner Kevin Harvick deciding to sell his equipment to RCR, Hornaday has two races left with KHI before he finds himself out of work.
The news came as a bit of a shock to the veteran who says the environment in today’s NASCAR world makes it extremely difficult for even a driver of his talents to find a competitive ride.
“You sit there and you talk to people and they all want you to bring money,” Hornaday said of many team owners. “I’ve never done that. I got a phone call from Dale (Earnhardt, Sr.) in ’94 and I started driving for him. I got the same phone call from the Dr. Pepper team with Dave Carroll, and I got the same phone call from Richard Childress then Kevin Harvick called me.
“They know I don’t have three million bucks or two-and-a-half million dollars so I don’t hear my phone ringing but I keep winning races. There are some kids out there that are bringing some money and coming in here. I hate to say it, but that’s where this sport is going. You see Cup cars out there with no name on them and everything else.”
There could be more of that on display next season with some of the sport’s biggest names piloting cars carrying only numbers.
Because right now for many NASCAR organizations at all levels of the sport the most important numbers aren't adding up.
By Pete Pistone
The calendar has turned to November and there are still three races left in the 2011 Sprint Cup Series season.
But the NASCAR world never slows down and while we still await the outcome of this year’s championship, plans for next year are finally coming into focus.
Unfortunately it’s not a very pretty picture.
Economic woes and the lack of sponsorship dollars are shrinking the Sprint Cup Series garage area at an alarming rate. The financial crunch is so strong it’s not just impacting mid-level and small teams but the superpowers of the sport as well.
Roush Fenway Racing, Richard Childress Racing and Michael Waltrip Racing will see their stables contract while an entire organization like Team Red Bull’s very existence remains in doubt.
“We’ve gone through a transition with our sponsors, going from a time when they wanted to compete for the top car to now where the sponsors want just enough of a car to be able to do their promotions," said Jack Roush, who faces shutting down his No. 6 Cup team unless last minute sponsorship for 2012 is found to replace UPS.
"It’s a really strange time. I’ve never seen anything like this. I’m not sure what we’ll have coming out of it. It will be different than it’s been in the past."
Seeking one sponsor to foot the estimated $20 million bill to keep a top flight Cup team on track is virtually impossible in today’s climate. But even splitting that cost over the course of 36 races between multiple corporate backers is also a tough task.
The merry-go-round of sponsors that now adorn Sprint Cup cars throughout the season makes for a variety of different color schemes and logos to associate with drivers and some argue that has taken away a great deal of NASCAR’s identity.
In the not too distant past colors and logos were indelibly attached to drivers who were immediately recognized on track by fans who made the instant connection between man and machine.
Jeff Gordon’s colorful DuPont paint scheme. Rusty Wallace and the iconic Miller Lite “Blue Deuce.” Mark Martin and the Valvoline logo. And the most famous of all Dale Earnhardt in the silver and black Goodwrench Chevrolet.
Today you can’t tell the drivers or their cars and colors without a scorecard on a weekly basis.
Current Chase point leader Carl Edwards rarely carries the same look two weeks in a row rotating the No. 99 through a maze of sponsors including Aflac, Scott’s, Subway and Kellogg’s.
Next year he’ll see Fastenal and UPS join the line-up all of which is just a necessary element of today’s NASCAR sponsorship game.
"You have to put the pieces together," RCR’s David Hart told PennLive.com. "It’s 20 races here, 10 races there and then getting someone for the last six races. You have to combo sponsorships together to run your race team.
"This wasn’t all of a sudden and the hammer came down. You started to see it in the mid-2000s and, when the economy went down in 2008, it continued on that path. You have to look at the possibilities if you don’t have your number. You have to cobble sponsors as you can. You are looking to get as few as possible, but you want to get that number by bringing people to the table."
Some teams like the Childress organization approach the sponsorship quest by bundling all its resources together and selling partners on a total experience rather than individual race cars.
“We at RCR do it a little different,” Childress said. “We try to sell our whole company and corporation. The driver is a huge part of it because he plays a large role in the marketing of the product but we also try to sell RCR and make sure that we get the return on the investment for all the companies that we’re associated with.
“At the end of the day I work for every one of these companies and I want to make sure I do a good job to get the return on their investment.”
The money squeeze is having a significant effect on next year’s landscape and forcing several well known names to the unemployment line.
Among those Sprint Cup drivers who appear to be on the outside looking in include David Ragan, Brian Vickers and the most recent addition David Reutimann, who won’t return to Michael Waltrip Racing next year in favor of the team running a limited schedule in the No. 00 car with veteran Mark Martin.
The story gets worse over at NASCAR’s number two and three divisions in the Nationwide Series and Camping World Truck Series. Several teams in both circuits are struggling to find the necessary funding to compete in 2012, meaning sleepless nights for the likes of Reed Sorenson, Jason Leffler, Todd Bodine and even four time truck series champion Ron Hornaday.
With current team owner Kevin Harvick deciding to sell his equipment to RCR, Hornaday has two races left with KHI before he finds himself out of work.
The news came as a bit of a shock to the veteran who says the environment in today’s NASCAR world makes it extremely difficult for even a driver of his talents to find a competitive ride.
“You sit there and you talk to people and they all want you to bring money,” Hornaday said of many team owners. “I’ve never done that. I got a phone call from Dale (Earnhardt, Sr.) in ’94 and I started driving for him. I got the same phone call from the Dr. Pepper team with Dave Carroll, and I got the same phone call from Richard Childress then Kevin Harvick called me.
“They know I don’t have three million bucks or two-and-a-half million dollars so I don’t hear my phone ringing but I keep winning races. There are some kids out there that are bringing some money and coming in here. I hate to say it, but that’s where this sport is going. You see Cup cars out there with no name on them and everything else.”
There could be more of that on display next season with some of the sport’s biggest names piloting cars carrying only numbers.
Because right now for many NASCAR organizations at all levels of the sport the most important numbers aren't adding up.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
No more right hand turns
There will be no more right hand turns (at least not intentional ones) for the NASCAR Sprint Cuppers this season after Monday's rain-delayed Watkins Glen race was completed.
What turned out to be the final lap Monday was about as crazy as one can get this side of Daytona or Talladega. And just as is often the case at those places, there was a big last lap crash. Check out this video taken by a fan who happened to be sitting in the turn where the crash took place.
So, who were the biggest losers and winners Monday.
The biggest winner may have been the second-place finisher Brad Keselowski. He's got two wins and sits 14th in points, so he's in good shape to make the Chase for the Championship with four races remaining in NASCAR's regular season.
Another big winner was of course Marcos Ambrose, who gave NASCAR its fifth first-time winner this season and the 15th different winner this season. It was Ambrose's first win in 105 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series attempts.
The biggest loser was Denny Hamlin who crashed out to finish 36th. He's still in the Chase, sitting 12th in points with a win. But he's only 27 points ahead of the next highest driver with a win, Paul Menard.
The other big loser on the final lap was Tony Stewart. He was looking at a top 10 finish, but crashed and finished 27th. He's still 10th in points and in the Chase at the moment, 25 points ahead of Clint Bowyer in 11th. Stewart nor Bowyer have a win to fall back on to be eligible for one of the final two wild-card spots, so being in the top in points is crucial to each of them.
And of course, like often happens in NASCAR, there's two guys who really don't like each other in Boris Said and Greg Biffle. Here's the video to that, too.
Until next time
What turned out to be the final lap Monday was about as crazy as one can get this side of Daytona or Talladega. And just as is often the case at those places, there was a big last lap crash. Check out this video taken by a fan who happened to be sitting in the turn where the crash took place.
So, who were the biggest losers and winners Monday.
The biggest winner may have been the second-place finisher Brad Keselowski. He's got two wins and sits 14th in points, so he's in good shape to make the Chase for the Championship with four races remaining in NASCAR's regular season.
Another big winner was of course Marcos Ambrose, who gave NASCAR its fifth first-time winner this season and the 15th different winner this season. It was Ambrose's first win in 105 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series attempts.
The biggest loser was Denny Hamlin who crashed out to finish 36th. He's still in the Chase, sitting 12th in points with a win. But he's only 27 points ahead of the next highest driver with a win, Paul Menard.
The other big loser on the final lap was Tony Stewart. He was looking at a top 10 finish, but crashed and finished 27th. He's still 10th in points and in the Chase at the moment, 25 points ahead of Clint Bowyer in 11th. Stewart nor Bowyer have a win to fall back on to be eligible for one of the final two wild-card spots, so being in the top in points is crucial to each of them.
And of course, like often happens in NASCAR, there's two guys who really don't like each other in Boris Said and Greg Biffle. Here's the video to that, too.
Until next time
Friday, July 16, 2010
Unscheduled pit stops and change
Sorry, it's been a bit since I've been on here, just a lot of unscheduled pit stops this past week.
It was good to see David Reutimann find victory lane last week in Chicagoland. Reutimann and Michael Waltrip have been together since Waltrip started his team the first year Toyota competed in the Sprint Cup series. They each had no record of any great accomplishments, and in an era where patience is not a common theme among sports, it was good to see that team reach victory lane. They had won one other time, but it was a rain-shortened race. This one was completely legit, so good for them.
No Sprint Cup race this weekend, they go to Indy next week.
It was impressive to see so many fans in St. Louis stay to try and watch the truck race Friday night, but it was eventually postponed due to a power outage. They'll run Saturday at 1:30.
It was good to see David Reutimann find victory lane last week in Chicagoland. Reutimann and Michael Waltrip have been together since Waltrip started his team the first year Toyota competed in the Sprint Cup series. They each had no record of any great accomplishments, and in an era where patience is not a common theme among sports, it was good to see that team reach victory lane. They had won one other time, but it was a rain-shortened race. This one was completely legit, so good for them.
No Sprint Cup race this weekend, they go to Indy next week.
It was impressive to see so many fans in St. Louis stay to try and watch the truck race Friday night, but it was eventually postponed due to a power outage. They'll run Saturday at 1:30.
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