Ganassi ‘Target’ed

One thing you learn early on in this business is that when people vehemently deny rumors, chances are they’re true. Such was the case earlier this week when it was reported on a Yahoo Sports blog that long time Ganassi sponsor Target would be leaving them at the end of the season (Interestingly enough that part of the post has now been deleted). As expected Target issued a statement saying there was ‘no merit’ to the rumors.

This is not the first time in recent history Ganassi has lost a long time sponsor. Remember Coors? They had been with Ganassi (or rather SABCO) for over 10 years. They decided to call it quits focusing on national sponsorship just last year. The #40 still doesn’t have full time sponsorship despite Dario Franchitti being in the car.

This troubling trend continues with their Nationwide Series teams. The #41 car is unsponsored; Ganassi has even used it as a rent-a-ride for 5 races with Kyle Krisiloff footing the bill.

Also troubling for Ganassi is the struggles Reed Sorenson has had over the last three seasons. He has only had 5 top 5’s and 12 top 10’s with a best of 3rd last year at Atlanta. His average career finish in NASCAR’s top series is 24.2. Reed has had some success but he doesn’t have the profile or popularity of Juan Montoya or Dario Franchitti.

From what I hear Ganassi has been courting sponsors. What this means for Target I can’t say; what I can say is that they currently have a Nationwide car unsponsored, a Cup car unsponsored and a team that probably isn’t meeting the expectations of a sponsor.

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