Comments on: The Truth about the Ganassi Shut Down

By: Michael

Michael — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 15:55:48 +0000

Thanks for the response Journo.

By: Journo

Journo — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 21:44:40 +0000

Woo – There is an old saying in the sport. “If you want to make a million dollars as an owner, start with two million dollars.” Not to say Chip Ganassi does not make money off the team, but I’m sure he makes plenty off the more successful IRL side to fund those cars. If that was the only reason he started in NASCAR, he is not such a great business man.

As far as Dario’s marketability, I would argue that he is as marketable as Juan Montoya or Jimmie Johnson. He is young, good looking, an Indy 500 winner and an IRL champion. His marriage to Ashley Judd has little to no bearing on his personal marketability. She is rarely at the race track and I doubt they come as a package deal.

By: Woo

Woo — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 16:03:55 +0000

I still can’t understand why Ganassi thought that Franchetti was marketable. Must have been the Ashley Judd connection.

But from what I understand, Ganassi’s Nascar operations is a shell to garner money for the IRL teams anyway. If he goes away it will be no big loss for NASCAR.

By: Journo

Journo — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 07:11:22 +0000

CVT – I’m sorry, I’m not familiar with the comments JD made. About attracting talent though, it is something every team struggles with. There are only so many Kyle Busch’s and Dale Jr.’s to go around. This is where a solid driver development program comes into play. As far as the shutdown goes, I would say most within the garage recognize that shutting down Dario’s team had a lot to do with performance and inability to get sponsorship, not so much Ganassi’s inability to field decent cars. As far as the lay-off of 71 people, that is a whole different story.

I have a hard time seeing Montoya leaving Ganassi at the end of the season. He has a contract that goes beyond this year, and I know Chip would not let him out of it without a fight.

By: cvt

cvt — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 11:59:46 +0000

Journo, I call your attention to the comments JD Gibbs made about the prospect of JPM joining JGR. The photo of JPM’s Wrigley’s sponsored car pushing Kyle Busch’s M&Ms car across the finish line at Talladega went down real well in the boardrooms at both companies days after the merger announcement.

JD and Joe Gibbs acknowledge JPMs driving skills, but really like his sponsor skills and foundation work.

More to the point of this thread, Chip Ganassi complains about his team’s inability to land first-tier driving talent (JPM excluded) when they become available, such as Kyle Busch. Does he think any driver of that caliber would ever consider his team after this Franchitti fiasco?

By: Journo

Journo — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 22:01:35 +0000

CVT, you bring up a great point. From what I have heard and read about the merger, Wrigley's will operate as a seperate subsidiary of Mars. Here is what William Wrigley Jr. said about the merger in a NY Times article "Under the terms of the deal, which is subject to shareholder and regulatory approval, Wrigley will remain a stand-alone company “with a high degree of autonomy” under the umbrella of Mars brands." Michael- There are performance clauses in all of these contracts. If the driver is not performing where they should be, they can be released from that contract. In the case of Dario, while the Cup ride is not a possibility at this point, Chip has made the #40 Nationwide car available as well as his very successful Indy Car and Grand Am teams. If Dario would like to be released from his contract I doubt Chip will make much of a fuss about it.

By: Michael

Michael — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 21:34:44 +0000

Just a question…

When a team shutters its doors after luring an open wheeler to drive for them such as the case with Dario Franchitti,are they obligated to that driver to find other opportunities?

By: cvt

cvt — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 17:13:03 +0000

Mars Inc (M&Ms) purchases Wrigley (Juicy Fruit/Big Red). Ganassi could lose his sponsor and driver.

By: admin

admin — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 13:52:13 +0000

Haha, thanks for the comment Ray… I’ve got to say, this one made me laugh out loud. If we did write for the Associated Press though, we wouldn’t know or be allowed to divulge half the stuff we do. The blog format allows for all the freedom we want.

And I also think its funny that you think so poorly of our writing, yet you took the time to not only read the post, but all the comments, and then add your own comment… That’s like 10 minutes of your life you’ll never get back! Thanks again for stopping by!

By: Ray

Ray — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 12:02:49 +0000

You’re right about one thing…..this is a blog, not the AP. We see why you right for blogs, and not the AP.