From NASCAR.com
Roush wants to keep team intact, NASCAR says no
Team's argument is it could drive sponsor from the sport
By Joe Menzer, NASCAR.COM
January 22, 2009
07:30 PM EST
CONCORD, N.C. -- It was a full house in the E Ballroom at the Embassy Suites hotel Thursday morning, but then it usually is when Roush Fenway Racing is involved.
The largest team in Cup Series racing would like to keep it that way, and even had its top officials making overtures to that effect on one of the final stops of the annual Sprint media tour.
But there was still one stop left -- at NASCAR's Research and Development Center just down the road and around the corner. And it was there, shortly after Roush Fenway owner Jack Roush and Roush Fenway president Geoff Smith offered up wishes that they could remain five teams strong beyond this year, where top officials from the sport's governing body made it crystal clear that won't be permitted.
Roush has fielded five full-time Cup teams since 2003. He said his goal is to put all five of his current Ford teams -- the No. 99 of Carl Edwards, the No. 17 of Matt Kenseth, the No. 16 of Greg Biffle, the No. 6 of David Ragan and the No. 26 of Jamie McMurray -- in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship in 2009.
But even if he does, and even if the sagging U.S. economy takes a further toll on the rest of the Cup garage, Roush still will be required to slash one team from his roster by the beginning of the 2010 season. That rule was announced in 2005, when NASCAR gave Roush until 2010 to eliminate one team and thus adhere to the four-team limit to which the rest of the Cup organizations in the garage already are bound.
"We've been clear about that and these economic times don't change that," said NASCAR chairman and chief executive officer Brian France. "There will be a four-car limit, and there are clear lines as to how to be a supplier in this sport, to in theory help other teams get started and how to provide services or engineering or what have you. If there is any confusion with one group or another, we'll clear it up."
Mike Helton, president of NASCAR, was quick to add: "Brian is exactly right. We have not changed our mind on this. We believed it was the right thing to do when we announced it; we believe it's the right thing to do today."
Nonetheless, France and Helton might want to line up a conference call to reiterate their position with Roush and Smith.
About two hours before France made his comments and Helton forcefully seconded them, Smith was lobbying with reporters to keep all five Roush Fenway teams intact even beyond 2009. Smith wondered aloud if NASCAR really would enforce the rule if it could result in turning away a paying sponsor in these difficult economic times.
"I would say that if you are a clear-headed person taking a look at the sport and where the teams are and the difficulties that we're all going to have in 2009, going forward to 2010, that it's something that you'd think one would want to revisit," Smith said.
"I certainly would be hoping that people would be taking a look at what the impact of the economy is in the sport and how people survive in the sport. And frankly, the performance on the race track has so much to do with maintaining sponsorship. It always has been that way, but it's really very visible right now that the performers are the ones who are able to keep their money. And if you compared what we have now, where owners have multiple cars that know how to operate race teams, in general they perform better than other people. So there is a deeper, competitive field -- even though there are fewer owners. That gets jeopardized when you begin to shrink top owners."
Helton said he strongly disagrees. He said that despite the poor economic climate, 15 new Sprint Cup teams have applied for certification for the 2009 season. Series director John Darby admitted that NASCAR realizes many of the new teams are part-time operations that may run only a handful of races or so, but still he and Helton pointed to their emergence as a positive development.
"We've already had 15 new Sprint Cup owners come through to get chassis certified," Helton said. "That means there is hope out there. That means there is the belief that there might be opportunity to enter a car in the Sprint Cup division or a Sprint Cup event. And that's important.
"The policy that we created wasn't about limiting any individual from participating in the sport. It was a step to try and build a broader opportunity for owners to be able to participate in the sport. So we still very much believe in that."
Roush said he never really thought NASCAR planned to change its mind on the four-team limit. But a man can hope, can't he?
"I'd say that the jury is out on that," Roush said. "If they struggle this year to have full 43-car fields for the Sprint Cup Series and if it appears that by my going back to four teams rather than five a sponsor would leave the series, rather than accept an assignment to another team -- maybe the Wood Brothers [Racing] team or one of the Yates Racing teams or the Hall of Fame team [which are all Ford operations] -- then I think they would have something to think about.
"But I've gotten no encouragement at all that the issue is open. As far as I know, it's a closed issue and in 2010 I'll be back to four."
McMurray, likely the driver of the car on the cusp of getting cut based on recent performance, said he's not worried about it and insisted that the media is making more out of it than need be. He hinted that he expects one of the Roush Fenway teams simply will be shifted over to Yates Racing, which currently runs two teams and is aligned with Hall of Fame's single car team, with little fanfare.
If they must cut to four, Smith admitted shifting a team and sponsor to Yates is a strong possibility.
"That would be our preference," Smith said. "But just saying you're going to move something doesn't mean all the sponsors and everyone are going to go along with that scenario."
There also is the matter of owner points, as in whether or not that fifth team that will need to be moved will be permitted to take whatever it earns this season as a member of Roush Fenway's Big Five.
"The value of the team as it relates to the points relates to the fact that the crew is trained and the team has the right equipment and assets to be competitive," Smith said. "But it doesn't mean very much unless there is money around the team from sponsorships -- and a driver that's willing to work with everyone."
Roush added that he expects it all to work out.
"I would like to see all of our existing sponsors have a happy and solid relationship with Roush Fenway. If [that fifth car] stays in the Ford family, we'd be determined to build the cars for it and provide the engineering for it," Roush said. "The full faith and trust of Roush Fenway would follow one of our drivers and one of our sponsors if we could find a happy circumstance where the sponsor would be willing to go."
Meanwhile, NASCAR will be keeping a close eye on the situation as it develops. And they still insist they are doing the right thing by planning to enforce the four-team per organization limit.
"The path we were on, which was going to be [organizations forming] five, six, seven or even some who were on their way to eight teams, what that would have done would have made it virtually impossible for the news that we heard today -- where 15 new owners are trying to come in," France said. "If you're coming in with a one- or two-team approach and the super teams are the model of success, that would have been a huge deterrent for new owners."
Helton added: "If we had not done that, in today's environment with car owners moving around to try to survive and our interest in keeping the quality of racing at the race track to the fans' expectations, imagine what it would be like if an owner that had eight or 10 cars had financial problems and shut his garage down. Imagine how hard that would be to supplement the field of cars that come to the garage [if something like that happened]. Relate that to today's environment. That's not what we saw in the crystal ball four or five years ago, but that [concern] is part and parcel to the decision that we made."
Roush wants to keep team intact, NASCAR says no
Team's argument is it could drive sponsor from the sport
By Joe Menzer, NASCAR.COM
January 22, 2009
07:30 PM EST
CONCORD, N.C. -- It was a full house in the E Ballroom at the Embassy Suites hotel Thursday morning, but then it usually is when Roush Fenway Racing is involved.
The largest team in Cup Series racing would like to keep it that way, and even had its top officials making overtures to that effect on one of the final stops of the annual Sprint media tour.
But there was still one stop left -- at NASCAR's Research and Development Center just down the road and around the corner. And it was there, shortly after Roush Fenway owner Jack Roush and Roush Fenway president Geoff Smith offered up wishes that they could remain five teams strong beyond this year, where top officials from the sport's governing body made it crystal clear that won't be permitted.
Roush has fielded five full-time Cup teams since 2003. He said his goal is to put all five of his current Ford teams -- the No. 99 of Carl Edwards, the No. 17 of Matt Kenseth, the No. 16 of Greg Biffle, the No. 6 of David Ragan and the No. 26 of Jamie McMurray -- in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship in 2009.
But even if he does, and even if the sagging U.S. economy takes a further toll on the rest of the Cup garage, Roush still will be required to slash one team from his roster by the beginning of the 2010 season. That rule was announced in 2005, when NASCAR gave Roush until 2010 to eliminate one team and thus adhere to the four-team limit to which the rest of the Cup organizations in the garage already are bound.
"We've been clear about that and these economic times don't change that," said NASCAR chairman and chief executive officer Brian France. "There will be a four-car limit, and there are clear lines as to how to be a supplier in this sport, to in theory help other teams get started and how to provide services or engineering or what have you. If there is any confusion with one group or another, we'll clear it up."
Mike Helton, president of NASCAR, was quick to add: "Brian is exactly right. We have not changed our mind on this. We believed it was the right thing to do when we announced it; we believe it's the right thing to do today."
Nonetheless, France and Helton might want to line up a conference call to reiterate their position with Roush and Smith.
About two hours before France made his comments and Helton forcefully seconded them, Smith was lobbying with reporters to keep all five Roush Fenway teams intact even beyond 2009. Smith wondered aloud if NASCAR really would enforce the rule if it could result in turning away a paying sponsor in these difficult economic times.
"I would say that if you are a clear-headed person taking a look at the sport and where the teams are and the difficulties that we're all going to have in 2009, going forward to 2010, that it's something that you'd think one would want to revisit," Smith said.
"I certainly would be hoping that people would be taking a look at what the impact of the economy is in the sport and how people survive in the sport. And frankly, the performance on the race track has so much to do with maintaining sponsorship. It always has been that way, but it's really very visible right now that the performers are the ones who are able to keep their money. And if you compared what we have now, where owners have multiple cars that know how to operate race teams, in general they perform better than other people. So there is a deeper, competitive field -- even though there are fewer owners. That gets jeopardized when you begin to shrink top owners."
Helton said he strongly disagrees. He said that despite the poor economic climate, 15 new Sprint Cup teams have applied for certification for the 2009 season. Series director John Darby admitted that NASCAR realizes many of the new teams are part-time operations that may run only a handful of races or so, but still he and Helton pointed to their emergence as a positive development.
"We've already had 15 new Sprint Cup owners come through to get chassis certified," Helton said. "That means there is hope out there. That means there is the belief that there might be opportunity to enter a car in the Sprint Cup division or a Sprint Cup event. And that's important.
"The policy that we created wasn't about limiting any individual from participating in the sport. It was a step to try and build a broader opportunity for owners to be able to participate in the sport. So we still very much believe in that."
Roush said he never really thought NASCAR planned to change its mind on the four-team limit. But a man can hope, can't he?
"I'd say that the jury is out on that," Roush said. "If they struggle this year to have full 43-car fields for the Sprint Cup Series and if it appears that by my going back to four teams rather than five a sponsor would leave the series, rather than accept an assignment to another team -- maybe the Wood Brothers [Racing] team or one of the Yates Racing teams or the Hall of Fame team [which are all Ford operations] -- then I think they would have something to think about.
"But I've gotten no encouragement at all that the issue is open. As far as I know, it's a closed issue and in 2010 I'll be back to four."
McMurray, likely the driver of the car on the cusp of getting cut based on recent performance, said he's not worried about it and insisted that the media is making more out of it than need be. He hinted that he expects one of the Roush Fenway teams simply will be shifted over to Yates Racing, which currently runs two teams and is aligned with Hall of Fame's single car team, with little fanfare.
If they must cut to four, Smith admitted shifting a team and sponsor to Yates is a strong possibility.
"That would be our preference," Smith said. "But just saying you're going to move something doesn't mean all the sponsors and everyone are going to go along with that scenario."
There also is the matter of owner points, as in whether or not that fifth team that will need to be moved will be permitted to take whatever it earns this season as a member of Roush Fenway's Big Five.
"The value of the team as it relates to the points relates to the fact that the crew is trained and the team has the right equipment and assets to be competitive," Smith said. "But it doesn't mean very much unless there is money around the team from sponsorships -- and a driver that's willing to work with everyone."
Roush added that he expects it all to work out.
"I would like to see all of our existing sponsors have a happy and solid relationship with Roush Fenway. If [that fifth car] stays in the Ford family, we'd be determined to build the cars for it and provide the engineering for it," Roush said. "The full faith and trust of Roush Fenway would follow one of our drivers and one of our sponsors if we could find a happy circumstance where the sponsor would be willing to go."
Meanwhile, NASCAR will be keeping a close eye on the situation as it develops. And they still insist they are doing the right thing by planning to enforce the four-team per organization limit.
"The path we were on, which was going to be [organizations forming] five, six, seven or even some who were on their way to eight teams, what that would have done would have made it virtually impossible for the news that we heard today -- where 15 new owners are trying to come in," France said. "If you're coming in with a one- or two-team approach and the super teams are the model of success, that would have been a huge deterrent for new owners."
Helton added: "If we had not done that, in today's environment with car owners moving around to try to survive and our interest in keeping the quality of racing at the race track to the fans' expectations, imagine what it would be like if an owner that had eight or 10 cars had financial problems and shut his garage down. Imagine how hard that would be to supplement the field of cars that come to the garage [if something like that happened]. Relate that to today's environment. That's not what we saw in the crystal ball four or five years ago, but that [concern] is part and parcel to the decision that we made."
