Americans - Slaves of the Sponsors

[AU N EGL]

Originally Posted by Knowlesy

Yes, but there is the possibility that these teams "three seconds off the pace" could grow into something fairly decent.

You have to start somewhere.

Isn't there a distinction of starting somewhere and being just a slow hazard on the race track?

[Dutton]

Exactly.

It is quite workable and fair enough in mutli-class races, but in single-class ones it can just look a bit farcical when it is like 10-seconds a lap and such.

[mountainstar]

Originally Posted by kingfloopy

I think a lot of the smaller teams like BAM Racing, Morgan-McClure, Furniture Row, etc. will fold in the next year or so. Other teams out of the top-25 or so in points will find sponsorship more difficult to find.

You mentioned morgan mcclure. I remember when they were a top team.

[duke_toaster]

Originally Posted by Dutton

Customer chassis would have to be permitted before such expansions.

Of course. The general rules on customer chassis should be or would need to be

1. All factory teams must sell chassis to privateer outfits provided they make a qualifying offer (£1 million for 2 for the WCC winning car, 900K for 2nd and 800 for the others)
2. Similar deal for engines (not sure on the exact format, probably production based 2 litre turbos)
3. All engine mountings would be standardised
4. Customer teams would not compete for the WCC, however they would be able to win the new World Teams Championship
5. If you have a road manufacturer team's chassis you can't use an engine from another road manufacturer.

[Cynic]

Originally Posted by racing59

Have you seen Talladega Nights?

But, truth is, it makes the sponsors feel important. It's all about polishing ego's, and there's no better way than "The #59 Domino's Team Air Ambulance Pontiac Grand Prix ran pretty well out there today" (if you discount the misfire, and the fact that it pushes more than a supermarket trolley with a wobbly wheel).

Whilst I disagree with the Americans on a lot of things they do appear to understand marketing. As well as Nascar I always think that drag racing is another good example. There are Top Fuel tems running in Europe whose budgets wouldn't cover the payroll of some of the biggest American outfits.

To add to Rob's comments, the thing about this that annoys me most though is that it doesn't matter how bad a day a driver has, they will always
try and put a positive spin on it in order to fit the sponsors name in - "The Contractual Obligation Chevrolet team gave me a great car today, but..." etc etc. I'm longing for the day a driver says "The number X car ran like a sack of **** today, and as soon as I'm finished here I'm going to give my crewchief a good kicking." After all, Lewis Hamilton (allegedly) did something similar, and look at all the press exposure he got out of it.

[AU N EGL]

Right, you have a bad day racing, the sports comontators come over for an interview, You say the xyz car stink, the Super Dupper Product company wants too much of my time and does not pay us enough.

See how long you can drive for that team or if your a team owner, how long you will have sponsors??

Actully, I think some one is joulous of the of Sponsorship and race car promotion. We cant all be super wealthy and run a team on our own money.

Getting a sponsor is NOT easy. Keeping the sponsor is very hard to do as well.

Remember a few years ago with Spensers M&M Ford flipped over and over and over? The only thing the sponsor said was, Darn We should have had the M&M candie comic faces on the bottom of the car.

Not quite, but you get the idea.

[Jonerz]

Isn't franchising in Formula 1 designed to protect the sponsors... to guarantee them their cars in every race? Isn't that slaving for the sponsors? In racing you have to be a "slave". No sponsors, no top-class racing these days.

Chris

[Cynic]

Originally Posted by AU N EGL

Right, you have a bad day racing, the sports comontators come over for an interview, You say the xyz car stink, the Super Dupper Product company wants too much of my time and does not pay us enough.

See how long you can drive for that team or if your a team owner, how long you will have sponsors??

I think you've taken my comments a bit too literally. I understand that it's never going to happen for exactly the reason you mention, but I find it incredibly false when a driver who has very clearly been given a dog of a car still tries to make out that they were lining up for 'a great race'. If I was a sponsor I'd be hoping that wasn't what they were saying to the team off camera. Or is it a case of any coverage is better than no coverage?

[StuiE]

I read an article in a magazine the other day about Bill France Jr (back page of the latest Wheels mag in Aus for anyone playing at home) about the fact that he died of cancer, they say it's rumoured that it was lung cancer, and he was a heavy smoker up until about 1997 (I think that was the year), presumably the cause of the cancer. They say the reason they kept it quiet was to protect Winston who was sponsoring the whole show. Now if that isn't 'doing the right thing' by the sponsors, I don't know what is. If my sponsor was giving me a product (I'll assume Bill didn't actually have to pay for these ciggarettes) that was killing me, I wouldn't be bloody happy.

[AU N EGL]

Originally Posted by Cynic

but I find it incredibly false when a driver who has very clearly been given a dog of a car still tries to make out that they were lining up for 'a great race'. If I was a sponsor I'd be hoping that wasn't what they were saying to the team off camera. Or is it a case of any coverage is better than no coverage?

Teams talk with sponsors all the time. A team has a budget to win or attempt to win races. If a sponsor can only put in X amount of money but the budget is X plus million dollars, the team will find additional sponsors.

Good example, Tony Stewart WAS part of the Gillet Young Guns Promotion. Part of that promotor was the drivers had to be clean shaven before each race. Stewart dropped that promotion as he does not like to shave before races.

An other example are the Waltrips. If they did not do lots of advertsing for their sponsors and TV intervews, their sponsors would not get as much exposure. As these two and not up front in the field very much.

When a driver does not like a Sponsors promtiom he goes back to the team owner and tells the owner. Good team owners, or team business managers know that drivers can not fly all over the country to do promo work for sponsors. Drivers need to be in shape phyiscaly and mentally. Plus drivers are testing all the time, working with team engineers to make the cars better.

Top NACAR teams take $20 million USD to run and be competitive per car. The top teams have 3 to 5 cars. So yes it does take a lot of money and keeping sponsors happy with their promotional moneies.

So yes ANY coverage is better then No coverage.

[ThePenguin]

Originally Posted by AU N EGL

Top NACAR teams take $20 million USD to run and be competitive per car.

I think that now it is closer to $30 million for the top teams like Roush Fenway, Hendrick, RCR...

[AU N EGL]

Look at Toyota now ( other thread) they could not win with what they had, so they contracted with Joe Gibbs Racing and Tony Stewart.

BIG money, BIG BIG MONEY. You think Toyota just wants exposure? or do they want to WIN.

Toyota will use Joe Gibbs ( also fames Football coach) and Tony Stewart for promoting and advertising.

[FIRE]

Originally Posted by AU N EGL

Toyota will use Joe Gibbs ( also fames Football coach) and Tony Stewart for promoting and advertising.

I thought he was a retired football coach but recently I visited the NFL site and saw he's still head coach. Is he a regular visitor of NASCAR events?

[AU N EGL]

Originally Posted by FIRE

I thought he was a retired football coach but recently I visited the NFL site and saw he's still head coach. Is he a regular visitor of NASCAR events?

Joe Gibbs was the head Coach for the Washington Redskins from 1981 to 1992 ( retired) and 2004 to present. ( came out of retirement)

He obivsly owns Joe Gibbs racing. When he is not with the coaching the redskins he is at the NSCAR races, Feb though July.

[Jacko44]

Overall it still would have been Joe Gibbs' choice to move to toyota??? They would have enough money as it is now so you wouldn't think that would come into it... much.

[kingfloopy]

I don't think JGR would have made the switch to Toyota and risk the teams performance without some type of financial incentive. Toyota wants to promote themselves by running in NASCAR, but with their farcical performance and weak teams this year they aren't having much success. So they need a top tier team and they need to pay for that.

J.D.

[AU N EGL]

Originally Posted by kingfloopy

I don't think JGR would have made the switch to Toyota and risk the teams performance without some type of financial incentive. Toyota wants to promote themselves by running in NASCAR, but with their farcical performance and weak teams this year they aren't having much success. So they need a top tier team and they need to pay for that.

J.D.

Major financial incentive. Toyota has the money but not the equipment YET. Big teams never put in their own money, when OPM ( sponsors) is avalible.