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Ask
Tony Stewart how a weak
economy is affecting
him. His answer will be
a simple one: not at
all. Stewart recently
secured solid
sponsorship and
manufacturer support at
his new team,
Stewart/Haas Racing, and
is finalizing plans for
a second team already.
Ask the same question
to Kevin Lepage, Morgan
Shepherd, and that long
list of names that
frequents the bottom of
the speed charts and you
might hear a different
answer.
In the days of fewer
dollars, companies are
not jumping at the
chance to sponsor a
stock car like they did
just three years ago, or
even this time last
year. Entry lists are
shrinking with budgets,
creating a ripple effect
of the economy to
NASCAR. But it doesn’t
affect everyone.
Following suit with
basic economics, the
rich are getting richer
and the poor are getting
poorer. Big names like
Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kyle
Busch and Carl Edwards
aren’t struggling to
find sponsorship.
Instead, it’s a fight to
keep two and sometimes
three different sponsors
happy by running a
different paint scheme
each week.
Sponsorship struggles
have proven to be linked
more with drivers than
owners. Joe Gibbs
Racing, winner of eight
Sprint Cup races so far
in 2008, could not find
enough sponsorship to
field a fourth team next
season. Richard
Childress has had
similar problems with a
fourth car. Both of
those teams have found
success, but without a
proven driver in the
seat nobody is willing
to lay the money down.
Multiple teams on
2006 and 2007 entry
lists have shut their
doors or moved down to a
more economically viable
series for their budget.
The new car, new
technologies and new
marketing methods have
run the good ole boys
out of racing. NASCAR
stock car racing is now
a business - not a
hobby. Sometimes
dedication and hard work
can’t turn water into
wine, or a 40th place
car into a contender
with a sponsor.
Remember Larry
McClure and Cal Wells?
Both were long time
owners and supporters of
NASCAR, but big business
shut them down. Glen
Wood and Felix Sabates
are headed down the same
path if the rumors are
true.
In the meantime, the
aforementioned Earnhardt
is going through his
busiest season since his
rookie year both on and
off the track. Filling
sponsorship promises is
a weekly task riddled
with commercials,
promotions and promises.
Adidas, Mountain Dew,
the Navy, the National
Guard and a slew of
other sponsors line up
for a shot to point a
camera at NASCAR’s most
popular driver. The guy
really knows how to sell
a pair of jeans and
cheap domain names.
Ray Evernham, Jack
Roush and the Petty's
have already found
business partners to
manage their finances
and take care of the
business side of racing.
Business, business,
business. Don’t they
know these guys just
like to put the gas down
and race for a few hours
every Sunday? It sounds
so simple, but nothing
is when money gets
involved.
Here’s to hoping the
little guys can hang in
there longer than a
Goodyear tire, and the
bigs don’t get too
greedy. It’s a long
shot, but we’re talking
about NASCAR for
goodness sake. Anything
can happen.
You can
contact Jonathan at
jlintner@gmail.com
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