Bill Davis Racing for sale?
Longtime owner willing to 'listen to offers' for team
By Joe Menzer, NASCAR.COM
October 20, 2007
03:35 PM EDT
MARTINSVILLE, Va. -- Bill Davis sees all that is going on around him in Nextel Cup racing and is not ashamed to say that his operation needs help.
So he has hung out the "For Sale" shingle at Bill Davis Racing.
Part of it? All of it? Even Davis doesn't seem to be sure yet. But he's willing to listen to all offers, and indeed is in the process of doing precisely that.
"Like any team our size, we have to be realistic and look at all of our options with what's going on in the sport right now," Davis said Saturday at Martinsville Speedway.
He said he also wanted to dispute an Internet report that already had him selling part or all of his operation to Jacques Villeneuve, the former Formula 1 champion whom Davis hired as a driver recently. Villeneuve, in turn, indicated that he is not interested in owning BDR -- but didn't rule out the fact that his business manager, Craig Pollock, might have some interest.
Pollock previously has owned race teams in both the F1 and CART open-wheel series.
Davis said only that he is listening to all offers, and added that he has fielded many. As of now, he said flatly, "Bill Davis Racing is still 100 percent owned by Bill and Gail Davis."
Davis has a long history in NASCAR. He began as an owner in the Busch Series in 1988, when he fielded a part-time entry for Mark Martin before hiring a highly-regarded prodigy named Jeff Gordon to run a full-time schedule in 1991. Davis added a Cup Series team in 1993 with Bobby Labonte driving.
Davis currently fields two Toyota Cup teams -- the No. 22 driven by Dave Blaney and the current No. 36 that will be driven by Villeneuve after a probable number change next season. General manager Mike Brown said that next season BDR also will field three Craftsman Truck Series teams as well as continue to be involved in developmental programs in the Nationwide Series and ARCA.
Davis said he would like to retain at least part-ownership in the team that bears his name.
"That's what I would be the most interested in," Davis said. "We've had a lot of interest. We've had a lot of people come to us. If we do something like this, it will have to be something that adds value and strength to our organization."
He said the current state of the sport demands it, noting that many other teams already have taken on partners to try to continue competing with the heavyweights such as Hendrick Motorsports, Roush Fenway Racing, Richard Childress Racing and Dale Earnhardt Inc.
"The handwriting is on the wall," Davis said. "We're going to super teams, big teams, whatever the word is. I don't know that the little guys are going to be able to survive."
Asked if he believed that was good for the sport, Davis added: "I don't know that it is. But it's reality. It's happening. That's the wave. That's where the sport is headed right now. I don't think a team owner needs to be hard-headed. He needs to look at it and make the best decision for his employees and his sponsors."
He said that he couldn't put a timetable on potential completion of any deal, but left no doubt that a deal of some sort will eventually be made.
"We've had a lot of interest, a lot of very interested people, and a lot of things that are for real," Davis said. "We just have to do our due diligence and make a smart, logical choice.
"It has to be something that makes sense, that adds strength to our team, that makes us better. Not just go out and raise some money. Gail and I can raise some money. That's not an issue. It's what adds strength, what makes us better as a race team."
Longtime owner willing to 'listen to offers' for team
By Joe Menzer, NASCAR.COM
October 20, 2007
03:35 PM EDT
MARTINSVILLE, Va. -- Bill Davis sees all that is going on around him in Nextel Cup racing and is not ashamed to say that his operation needs help.
So he has hung out the "For Sale" shingle at Bill Davis Racing.
Part of it? All of it? Even Davis doesn't seem to be sure yet. But he's willing to listen to all offers, and indeed is in the process of doing precisely that.
"Like any team our size, we have to be realistic and look at all of our options with what's going on in the sport right now," Davis said Saturday at Martinsville Speedway.
He said he also wanted to dispute an Internet report that already had him selling part or all of his operation to Jacques Villeneuve, the former Formula 1 champion whom Davis hired as a driver recently. Villeneuve, in turn, indicated that he is not interested in owning BDR -- but didn't rule out the fact that his business manager, Craig Pollock, might have some interest.
Pollock previously has owned race teams in both the F1 and CART open-wheel series.
Davis said only that he is listening to all offers, and added that he has fielded many. As of now, he said flatly, "Bill Davis Racing is still 100 percent owned by Bill and Gail Davis."
Davis has a long history in NASCAR. He began as an owner in the Busch Series in 1988, when he fielded a part-time entry for Mark Martin before hiring a highly-regarded prodigy named Jeff Gordon to run a full-time schedule in 1991. Davis added a Cup Series team in 1993 with Bobby Labonte driving.
Davis currently fields two Toyota Cup teams -- the No. 22 driven by Dave Blaney and the current No. 36 that will be driven by Villeneuve after a probable number change next season. General manager Mike Brown said that next season BDR also will field three Craftsman Truck Series teams as well as continue to be involved in developmental programs in the Nationwide Series and ARCA.
Davis said he would like to retain at least part-ownership in the team that bears his name.
"That's what I would be the most interested in," Davis said. "We've had a lot of interest. We've had a lot of people come to us. If we do something like this, it will have to be something that adds value and strength to our organization."
He said the current state of the sport demands it, noting that many other teams already have taken on partners to try to continue competing with the heavyweights such as Hendrick Motorsports, Roush Fenway Racing, Richard Childress Racing and Dale Earnhardt Inc.
"The handwriting is on the wall," Davis said. "We're going to super teams, big teams, whatever the word is. I don't know that the little guys are going to be able to survive."
Asked if he believed that was good for the sport, Davis added: "I don't know that it is. But it's reality. It's happening. That's the wave. That's where the sport is headed right now. I don't think a team owner needs to be hard-headed. He needs to look at it and make the best decision for his employees and his sponsors."
He said that he couldn't put a timetable on potential completion of any deal, but left no doubt that a deal of some sort will eventually be made.
"We've had a lot of interest, a lot of very interested people, and a lot of things that are for real," Davis said. "We just have to do our due diligence and make a smart, logical choice.
"It has to be something that makes sense, that adds strength to our team, that makes us better. Not just go out and raise some money. Gail and I can raise some money. That's not an issue. It's what adds strength, what makes us better as a race team."
