The great divide that separates businesses large and small in corporate America exists rather prominently within the world of motorsports. From differences in corporate governance to travel, working at either end of the size spectrum can be a very different experience.
Let us first look at the average large team. Usually there are several vice presidents in everything from finance to marketing to sponsor relations. They manage the day to day operations of the separate team departments and make sure the strategic goals are met. In addition most teams have presidents and general managers. Each of course serves as the leader of organization and often the spokesman for the goings on. For instance, Geoff Smith at Roush, Steve Lauletta at Ganassi and Tim Cindric at Penske.
Beyond the board room, the teams operate with a large amount of beauracracy. There are policies and paperwork that rival Fortune 500 companies. This includes sizable HR departments, and very strict policies to follow for most everything.
One of the most unfortunate things with teams like this is lack of a clear leader, and in turn failure and inability to act in the event of ineffective people. In other words there are too many chiefs. Not every organization is like this, but it certainly does happen.
That being said, these teams offer great growth opportunities and the money is almost always better. If you are at a Roush Fenway or Richard Childress, starting at the bottom, there are Cup teams to move into, and more senior positions to be in. In addition these teams usually offer great benefit programs and perks like mid-season and end of season bonuses. Cars are even available for senior management at some organizations.
As far as travel goes, money is rarely an issue and the corporate jet is a staple. As TC spoke about in an earlier post regarding flying and travel, most large organizations have one if not multiple private aircraft. In addition to this, many of these organizations utilize Racing Logistics, a company that uses older commercial aircraft to fly team personnel to and from the track, as well as fractional jet ownership companies like NetJet.
The glitz and glamour of working for a large team does not always translate across the sport. For the employees of the small team, the highs and lows of the job are pretty clear.
Working for a small team these days harkens back to the days of racing past. Team owners that are involved in every aspect of the operation, and crews that are small and loyal. There are hardly ever clearcut corporate structures and there certainly aren’t front office departments. Usually these teams have some kind of office manager, potentially a general manager and sometimes a person doing PR and working on sponsorship. These people must become jacks of all trades in order to benefit the team.
One of the best things about these organizations is the lack of beauracracy. Often crew members have personal relationships with team owners and anonymity is not an option. Your role is clear and expectations are always evident. This though makes it much easier to hire and fire people, but it keeps the organizations running smoother.
Unfortunately travel and benefits are not the highlight of working at a small team. Most organizations do not give bonuses and private jets are non-existent. Even use of Racing Logistics is rare. Commercial airline travel is the norm and if a destination is close enough, it is very likely the team will drive.
While working for a small team is not always the most glamourous thing in the world, there are benefits. Face time and relationships with management are actually a reality and while there may not be much for growth in the immediate, everybody has to start somewhere. Even Roush and Hendrick were once small teams.
Ultimately the best situation to be in comes down to personal style. Some people hate corporate structures and would much prefer to work at a smaller team. Likewise, others want to have growth potential in their job and the prospect of being at a truck or Nationwide team for the long term is not appealing. Whatever the case, both sides have their benefits and their draw backs. One thing is for sure, working in NASCAR’s trenches is always an adventure.
Subscribe to the Insiders
Related Posts:
Loading ...
on Sep 15th, 2008 at 8:48 am
Your yin and yang observations overlooks the reality:if you want to be on a winning car,you’ve only one choice. If you’re on a small team it’s because you’re learning the ropes and working toward a job on a big team, or you’ve been on big teams and are on the downslope of a career.
If you’re suggesting how nice it would be for a big team to act like a small one, well don’t hold your breath.
on Sep 15th, 2008 at 4:24 pm
CVT - while that is true in the Cup Series, that is not the case in the Nationwide and Truck series. Beyond maybe Furniture Row and BAM there really aren’t any small teams in the Cup Series. Truck and Nationwide though is dominated by small teams that have a chance to win and do win regularly.
As far as being on the downslope of your career or just gaining experience I know a lot of people who work for small teams in lower series by choice. These are people who have experience in the sport and are not interested in the BS that comes with working at a team like Roush Fenway.
In the end a large team can never operate like a small team. There are too many people and there is too much money for that to happen; this is not what I was suggesting. I think I painted a pretty fair picture of the pluses and minuses of working at both types of organizations. I promise there was no deeper meaning.