Championship Ultra team shuts down
By Dave Rodman, NASCAR.COM
January 6, 2006
07:20 PM EST (00:20 GMT)
Less than one month after celebrating his first championship, charter Craftsman Truck Series owner Jim Smith on Friday closed the doors of Ultra Motorsports, citing a shortfall in expected manufacturer support.
Smith, who owns the Ultra Wheel Company in Fullerton, Calif., reportedly was out of the country Friday and unable to comment, but a company spokesperson issued a statement saying "Jim Smith and Ultra Motorsports have very reluctantly decided not to race this year due to insufficient sponsorship funds."
Ultra's general manager, Eddie Thrap, clarified the statement, though he stressed that he had never seen the team's Ford contract, but was relaying what Smith had told him.
"Ford came up with an offer, Jimmy made a counter-offer and they met somewhere in the middle," Thrap said. "When the contract came it was not what they had agreed upon, and it was locking us in for five years at a ridiculously low price that would have cost Jimmy millions of dollars out of his pocket over a five-year period.
"At this late date, he had no alternative and there was nowhere else to go in the timeframe that we had."
On Dec. 8, just prior to the series' year-end banquet, Ford made the announcement that Ultra would return to racing its F-150s.
Thrap said Ted Musgrave, who drove for Roush Racing in the Winston Cup Series before coming to work for Smith in 2001, was "searching desperately for a ride."
"I talked to him just before I came home and he's been out beating the bushes," Thrap said. "I think he'd love to stay in the Truck Series if he could, but I'm sure at this point if a quality ride came along he'd take it."
Gene Nead, the 2005 championship crew chief, has accepted a position leading rookie Busch Series driver Burney Lamar's team at Kevin Harvick Inc., Thrap said.
ALSO
It was announced Dec. 8 that Ultra Motorsports would make the switch from running Dodges to Fords in the 2006 season.
Friday morning Ultra had 19 employees, Thrap said, and a receptionist answered the phone late Friday at the team's shop in Mooresville, N.C. The Ultra spokesperson said at least two employees -- Thrap and office manager Vicki Bovaird -- would be maintained for the time being.
"I'd almost bet that 80 percent of the people that left our place after lunch already have jobs," Thrap said. "Because there were all kind of people calling [Friday afternoon] asking if we had a good tire changer or fab guy or a body man.
"Having to be part of the deal to tell them we were done was probably the hardest thing I've ever done in my life, because they were more than just the employees of Ultra Motorsports -- they were Ultra Motorsports.
"They all worked real hard and they were all real professional and as far as I was concerned they were the best in the truck garage."
Musgrave, whose career spans more than 30 years, also won the first championship of his career in 2005. He has raced with Ultra for the past five years, never finishing out of the top three in the standings.
His career money total reached $3,772,884 to rank the veteran competitor third in all-time Truck Series winnings.
Title timeTed Musgrave wins his first career championship
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Smith was one of a group of Truck owners that approached NASCAR in the mid-1990s about starting a racing series for pickup trucks. Since the series' inception in 1995, Ultra has fielded at least one and sometimes as many as four race trucks in each event.
In 2005, when Ultra was a Dodge factory team, Musgrave drove the No. 1 Mopar Dodge and teammate Jimmy Spencer drove the No. 2 Team ASE Dodge for the full schedule.
Dodge had realigned its factory support for 2006 and Smith announced prior to the banquet in December that he would return to Ford, for whom he raced the first six years of the series.
Musgrave was planning to drive the No. 1 Team ASE Ford, while Smith said in December he was continuing to seek sponsorship in hopes of running a second truck.
A spokesman for Ford's Truck Series program said the manufacturer found out about Smith's decision Friday, the same day the Ultra spokesperson said the decision was made and Ultra's employees notified.
Robert Brooks, the manager of Ford Motorsports' Truck Series program, was unavailable to comment on where Ford might reposition the support it had committed to Ultra.
At this point, Ford will support two Roush Racing trucks, two Wood Brothers/JTG Racing trucks and single vehicles from ppc Racing and Circle Bar Racing.
Representatives of ASE, which has sponsored Smith's trucks for the history of the series, were unavailable for comment, but Thrap said that part of the program was solid.
"Absolutely -- they were on board until the very end," Thrap said. "ASE was behind us 100 percent and ASE was working on some other deals for us.
"We could go back with them, like if Jimmy came up with something [Friday night] ASE is in. Ron Weiner, the head of ASE, even said to me 'I hope people don't start calling me because I would never go back to the Truck Series with anyone but Jim Smith.' "
Thrap said the team had two complete Ford trucks and three others that were partially finished.
"But there's no saving this thing unless a white knight rides in," Thrap said. "I don't think there is anything temporary about it unless one of those so-called miracles happens, and if the right deal come along, we can make it happen."
Thrap said it would be hard to overcome the bad taste the deal with Ford had left and continue to run that nameplate, but that the team had a brand new chassis waiting for a body to be put on that would accept support from either Toyota or Chevrolet.
"The chassis are all the same and you can put a body on in a week," Thrap said. "It's brand new and the suspension is all on it -- it's just waiting to go in and get a body hung on it -- so if a Toyota or a Chevrolet come in to the rescue, we could be ready for Daytona."
Truck Series teams are scheduled to test at Daytona International Speedway Jan. 13-15 and the series opener is scheduled for Feb. 17.
By Dave Rodman, NASCAR.COM
January 6, 2006
07:20 PM EST (00:20 GMT)
Less than one month after celebrating his first championship, charter Craftsman Truck Series owner Jim Smith on Friday closed the doors of Ultra Motorsports, citing a shortfall in expected manufacturer support.
Smith, who owns the Ultra Wheel Company in Fullerton, Calif., reportedly was out of the country Friday and unable to comment, but a company spokesperson issued a statement saying "Jim Smith and Ultra Motorsports have very reluctantly decided not to race this year due to insufficient sponsorship funds."
Ultra's general manager, Eddie Thrap, clarified the statement, though he stressed that he had never seen the team's Ford contract, but was relaying what Smith had told him.
"Ford came up with an offer, Jimmy made a counter-offer and they met somewhere in the middle," Thrap said. "When the contract came it was not what they had agreed upon, and it was locking us in for five years at a ridiculously low price that would have cost Jimmy millions of dollars out of his pocket over a five-year period.
"At this late date, he had no alternative and there was nowhere else to go in the timeframe that we had."
On Dec. 8, just prior to the series' year-end banquet, Ford made the announcement that Ultra would return to racing its F-150s.
Thrap said Ted Musgrave, who drove for Roush Racing in the Winston Cup Series before coming to work for Smith in 2001, was "searching desperately for a ride."
"I talked to him just before I came home and he's been out beating the bushes," Thrap said. "I think he'd love to stay in the Truck Series if he could, but I'm sure at this point if a quality ride came along he'd take it."
Gene Nead, the 2005 championship crew chief, has accepted a position leading rookie Busch Series driver Burney Lamar's team at Kevin Harvick Inc., Thrap said.
ALSO
It was announced Dec. 8 that Ultra Motorsports would make the switch from running Dodges to Fords in the 2006 season.
Friday morning Ultra had 19 employees, Thrap said, and a receptionist answered the phone late Friday at the team's shop in Mooresville, N.C. The Ultra spokesperson said at least two employees -- Thrap and office manager Vicki Bovaird -- would be maintained for the time being.
"I'd almost bet that 80 percent of the people that left our place after lunch already have jobs," Thrap said. "Because there were all kind of people calling [Friday afternoon] asking if we had a good tire changer or fab guy or a body man.
"Having to be part of the deal to tell them we were done was probably the hardest thing I've ever done in my life, because they were more than just the employees of Ultra Motorsports -- they were Ultra Motorsports.
"They all worked real hard and they were all real professional and as far as I was concerned they were the best in the truck garage."
Musgrave, whose career spans more than 30 years, also won the first championship of his career in 2005. He has raced with Ultra for the past five years, never finishing out of the top three in the standings.
His career money total reached $3,772,884 to rank the veteran competitor third in all-time Truck Series winnings.
Title timeTed Musgrave wins his first career championship
Sign up for TrackPass nowBUY YOUR NEXTEL DRIVER PHONE
Smith was one of a group of Truck owners that approached NASCAR in the mid-1990s about starting a racing series for pickup trucks. Since the series' inception in 1995, Ultra has fielded at least one and sometimes as many as four race trucks in each event.
In 2005, when Ultra was a Dodge factory team, Musgrave drove the No. 1 Mopar Dodge and teammate Jimmy Spencer drove the No. 2 Team ASE Dodge for the full schedule.
Dodge had realigned its factory support for 2006 and Smith announced prior to the banquet in December that he would return to Ford, for whom he raced the first six years of the series.
Musgrave was planning to drive the No. 1 Team ASE Ford, while Smith said in December he was continuing to seek sponsorship in hopes of running a second truck.
A spokesman for Ford's Truck Series program said the manufacturer found out about Smith's decision Friday, the same day the Ultra spokesperson said the decision was made and Ultra's employees notified.
Robert Brooks, the manager of Ford Motorsports' Truck Series program, was unavailable to comment on where Ford might reposition the support it had committed to Ultra.
At this point, Ford will support two Roush Racing trucks, two Wood Brothers/JTG Racing trucks and single vehicles from ppc Racing and Circle Bar Racing.
Representatives of ASE, which has sponsored Smith's trucks for the history of the series, were unavailable for comment, but Thrap said that part of the program was solid.
"Absolutely -- they were on board until the very end," Thrap said. "ASE was behind us 100 percent and ASE was working on some other deals for us.
"We could go back with them, like if Jimmy came up with something [Friday night] ASE is in. Ron Weiner, the head of ASE, even said to me 'I hope people don't start calling me because I would never go back to the Truck Series with anyone but Jim Smith.' "
Thrap said the team had two complete Ford trucks and three others that were partially finished.
"But there's no saving this thing unless a white knight rides in," Thrap said. "I don't think there is anything temporary about it unless one of those so-called miracles happens, and if the right deal come along, we can make it happen."
Thrap said it would be hard to overcome the bad taste the deal with Ford had left and continue to run that nameplate, but that the team had a brand new chassis waiting for a body to be put on that would accept support from either Toyota or Chevrolet.
"The chassis are all the same and you can put a body on in a week," Thrap said. "It's brand new and the suspension is all on it -- it's just waiting to go in and get a body hung on it -- so if a Toyota or a Chevrolet come in to the rescue, we could be ready for Daytona."
Truck Series teams are scheduled to test at Daytona International Speedway Jan. 13-15 and the series opener is scheduled for Feb. 17.
