Do you think Shell regrets signing long term deal with Penske?

Spike

Spike

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When Shell signed on to sponsor a 2nd Penske car, they did it when it was piloted by Kurt Busch. Granted, Busch is an a-hole and a lightning rod for controversy, but he is one of the most talented drivers in NASCAR.

He burnt his bridge with Penske, which was bound to happen sooner or later, and the #22 was fielded by AJ Allmendinger. That didnt work out, as he burnt his bridge with the entire NASCAR organization, and now its looking more and more likely that Sam Hornish, Jr. will be in the #22 next year.

I have a hard time believing that Royal Dutch Shell is happy about these turn of events and wouldnt be shocked to see them try to find a way out of the deal to move to another team.
 
According to Jayski.com it's rumored that they may go with Carl Edwards in 2013. Who can blame them for not being happy though? Look at their time in the sport. They win a Daytona 500 with Kevin Harvick and then a long dry spell. (I think 3 years, a bit more or less) They leave RCR to sponsor Penske and Kurt, that backfires. They get A.J. Allmendinger and that backfires and there was a lot of guys that could've filled that seat and they chose A.J. which makes it that much more worse what happened. I don't see them being happy with Sam. Mobil1 sure wasn't and they got a chamionship to show for it already with Tony Stewart. These sponsors want wins and championships and they want to beat their compititions cars to. I don't see them being able to do with Sam. I have serious questions with what Penske is doing as a whole though also.

Heres what Jayski has-
Edwards and Shell? a bit of speculation that bears watching in the next few weeks concerns Carl Edwards. There is one unconfirmed report that Ford executives -- who remember played a key financial role in keeping Edwards from jumping to Toyota last summer -- may want to put Edwards in a Shell-Pennzoil sponsored car in 2013. How that might play out is unclear, since Shell-Pennzoil is a Roger Penske sponsor. However Penske has been dragging his feet on picking a new driver for that team for next season, letting veteran Sam Hornish fill out the time for departed AJ Allmendinger. And Penske says the ultimate call on that driver would be Shell-Pennzoil officials. Penske would like to bring Hornish back to the Cup tour next season, as part of a three-car operation, if he can resolve the Shell-Pennzoil situation. Joey Logano is figured to be angling for the Penske ride. (Head-to-head the past five weeks, Hornish has averaged a 14.8 finish, Logano 24.6.)(mikemulhern.net)(8-24-2012)
 
When they signed the deal, Shell said it wasn't so much about who drives the car, because it was a business to business deal worth 100's of millions. I'm sure Kurt and AJ made it a bit more about who drives the car, which should give Sam and Joey a leg up for the ride. But after AJ was released, Shell said they would still follow Penskes lead on selecting a new driver.
 
I wish the announcements on all of this would hurry up and come out so my head will stop hurting. :confused:
 
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