Wells announces Switch(finally)

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PettyBenson

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Wells to Pontiac, Ford not Happy: When Cal Wells III announces Saturday morning that he’ll trade in his Ford hardware for Pontiac hardware for his 2003 program it will come as no surprise that Ford Motor Company is displeased with Wells’ decision, but not for the reason that might come readily to mind. It’s not that Ford is upset Wells is making a move that he believes will help his team, which has not finished in the Top-10 since the June 2 race at Dover, become stronger. No, far from it, because Ford understands that everyone needs to keep their best interests in mind when planning their future. Rather the displeasure comes from the way Wells went about his separation from the company that helped him break into NASCAR racing. Until Thursday, Wells had a handshake deal with Ford Racing Technology’s North American Racing Operations Manager, Greg Specht to continue using Ford hardware for the 2003 season. Specht, who has repeatedly said that he’ll take a man at his word — and handshake — had no doubt of Wells’ intentions to honor his word. Specht’s better nature was truly tested, however, when Wells made the call on Thursday telling Specht that Wells was making the switch. “I was very disappointed when I got a phone call from Cal [Thursday] morning to inform me that while he had not signed a deal with Pontiac, he intended to sign a deal with Pontiac,” Specht said in a visible departure from his normally mild-mannered disposition. “Just back at Sears Point [Calif.] we shook hands on an agreement that I had presented to him and that I had followed up with in writing; and they had told us that they hadn’t signed that agreement because they were working on some language with their sponsor that didn’t have any impact on our deal. They just wanted to make sure there weren’t any legal terms that conflicted with our deal. I was very disappointed and now know what a handshake means to Mr. Wells and I will act appropriately in the future.” But Specht doesn’t live in a void. How could it be that he didn’t hear the rumors that Wells was making a run for Pontiac? Well, to be honest, Specht did hear the rumors, but he just didn’t believe that Wells had anything but honorable intentions and that the commitment made at Sears Point would be honored. “I heard the rumors and a couple of times I was about to get on my phone and call Cal and say, ‘I’m hearing these rumors that you’re talking to Pontiac,’ said Specht. But assurances were offered by Wells’ organization. “One of his people, his lawyer in fact, called my guy who handles my contracts and said, ‘Don’t pay attention to those rumors. We don’t have a problem with you guys. We’re just waiting to get this legal language cleared up.’” Another burr under Specht’s saddle is that when Wells began looking at Winston Cup Racing, Ford worked with him and tailored a program to help the newcomer avoid the pit falls that can consume a new car owner in this sport.(more at Ford Racing) AND PPI Motorsports will use the 2003 Pontiac Grand Prix for its NASCAR Winston Cup program for driver Ricky Craven next season, team owner Cal Wells III announced Saturday morning at Michigan International Speedway.(NASCAR.com)(8-17-2002)


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Hey, the headlight decals sure are neat:D

So the Ford guy is tweaked because somebody didn't live up to a handshake? Wonder how many fingers HE stepped on on his way up the corporate ladder?

And yup, lost another team to the competition. Who's fault is that? Maybe this dude isn't the wonderkid he makes himself out to be and he just needs a way to shift the blame for his own mistakes.

There are ALWAYS two or more sides to a story.
 
Gotta agree with 71fan again here. Those were the same thoughts I was thinking. Now I wonder what Wells will say.
 
Wells made the right move. He couldnt keep up with all of the money and technology of Fords top teams. Now being a PONT. he will not only get support from them but also may be a competitive team.
 
If Pontiac wants to stay in WC they will need to send more money to the teams. With JGR going to the bowties that be more for Cal's big pockets. The other Pontiac teams are no where close to being contenders, as with Cal his team does have some poles and wins.
 
A handshake is nice and many deals were sealed and honored by them but when you are in as competitive a sport as auto racing that handshake needs to be backed up with support.....support from both sides. From what I've observed Cal Wells held up his side with Ford. Ford hasn't been quite as supportive in return so Wells has to do what is best for him......he think Pontiac is what he needs to do so I'm all for him. If Ford (or for that matter Chevrolet) had been as involved with the teams as Dodge and Pontiac then Mr Specht wouldn't be whining about the lose of a team to it's competitor. Ford pays lip service to the teams and wraps commercials around that........Chevy does pretty much the same thing. If manufacturers would get behind their teams like Dodge does then they wouldn't see such a turn over.
 
I'm still not so sure about those new Pontiac lights. Though the wierd thing is if you take of the lights and the front grill there, it looks exactly like a Ford...
 
Specht has stepped on very few fingers and to my knowledge has always lived up to his word. He has been known as a the type to whom a handshake means something! I don't know what history ya'll are basing these comments off, but doubt it has any basis in fact.

Chevy and Ford do support their teams as much as the Dodge boys do, it just not as publicized. Without the heavy financial support from Mopar it is doubtful you would see a significant contingent of Dodges represented in the field.
 
Originally posted by HardScrabble
Specht has stepped on very few fingers...snip....
Click to expand...

Well, my part was/is questions. The only thing I'm sure of in the deal is that the dude is tweaked. Still wondering what the other sides of the story are.

It seems at least likely that Cal was offered a better deal at Pontiac. Does this mean Cal wasn't treated well by Ford, or does it just mean there was a better deal somewhere else?

Not many sponsors seem willing to stick with anything less than top 20 team. If ya want to keep the doors open ya best be getting close to top 10. I certainly can't blame Cal for doing what he thinks is best for his team.
 
Cal had a pretty good deal with Ford. If ya notice Ricky has one of the best performing cars from a single car team most weekends. Didn't ya ever wonder why?

However in the bigger picture, Cal is pretty low in the pecking order of Ford teams. And Cal wants to run a two car team, which Ford is not likely to help support at this point.

Cal's leaving was sort of expected by Ford earlier this season. It seemed a logical move and Ford was not in a postion to greatly improve their offer. If you notice Sprecht is not upset that Cal is leaving, just that Cal and his people has assured him just this week that they were returning to Ford when that was not the case.

While the deal appeals to Cal and that's fine. I wish him all the luck in the world. But, he loses Yates HP and I'm not sure how much corporate help on the performance side Poncho can share with him. Wanna bet that the teams performance under the Poncho banner will be worse than under the blue oval??
 
Nope.

It does seem rather odd that ANYBODY would go with Pontiac at this time. If not for the street performance of the old GTO of the 60's that got snuck past the GM brass as optional equipment, Ponitac probably wouldn't even be in racing. But with Gibbs leaving perhaps Cal sees this as a chance of a lifetime.

And yer right, there ain't nothin out there like Yates' motors.
 
I don't blame Cal for making the switch. It's not as if the 2003 Pontiac is a piece of crap - it's fairly close to the Dodges. As for the motors, I've heard that Pontiac is supposedly going to help Cal start an in-house engine program.
 
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