Lets say you own a race team. It’s a pretty good team that has a solid and stable outlook for the future. You’ve got all the pieces in place for next year: a good crew chief, the right mechanics, fast pit crew, etc. Only, there is one problem. You don’t have a driver. Crap.
As you are sitting in your big plush owner’s office trying to figure out who your next steering wheel holder is going to be, you realize the phone is ringing. And as you listen to it ring, you suddenly realize it hasn’t stopped ringing since word got out that you might have an open seat. Everybody who considers themself a free agent driver has been calling you non-stop trying to throw their name in the mix. I sure hope you’ve got that unlimited calling plan.
There was a snippet today on Jayski’s Truck Series page about Johnny Sauter visiting ThorSport’s shop in Ohio. ThorSport runs two trucks in the series, the #88 with Matt Crafton and the #13 which was driven by Shelby Howard in 2008. Duke Thorson’s #13 truck has been a rent-a-ride in the series for a few years now, and it appears as though Howard’s deal might be up. And because of this, Mr. Sauter might be trying to put something together to run for ThorSport in 2009. But don’t believe for a second that he is the only one sniffing around up there. And don’t think that ThorSport is the only team Sauter is talking to. Every team with an open seat is in the same boat.
You may look at this as just another symptom of the bad economy, but this is actually a common occurrence every season. There is always a list of experienced drivers who are looking for their next opportunity, and an entire nation of young drivers looking for their first. Check out Jayski’s team chart pages for any of the three series, and you can find a list of the better known drivers who are available. As soon as a ride opens up, they will make a phone call or a shop visit to make sure the owners and managers know they are out there.
It’s important to understand though, these shop tours, meetings, and at track conversations don’t mean anything. Most often they don’t go anywhere, and become just a lot of useless hot air. If I had a nickel for every time I saw a driver tour a race shop with an owner or manager I’d be rich. The stars have to align perfectly for one of these deals to come together, and I don’t hold my breath until the team shows up at Daytona with a decaled race car and a check in the bank.
An unfortunate development over the last few seasons has made some of these meetings and phone calls even more worthless. In many cases, especially in lower series, if you are a driver inquiring about a ride, you’d better have a check in hand. Many owners now won’t even talk to drivers unless they are bringing some cash to the table. It doesn’t matter how talented a driver is, or how impressive their resume might be. As they say, “money talks, bull [insert synonym for dung here] walks.”
So do I know anything specific about Sauter and ThorSport? Nope. Could there be something in the works? Of course, there is always “something in the works.” Am I going to bet Sauter is in the #13 next year? Uh… no. Like I said before, I’ll believe it when I see it.
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on Dec 2nd, 2008 at 8:53 am
Or you could get a ride like Timothy Peters is doing it in the truck series. After getting the boot at RCR he couldn’t buy a ride (probably didn’t have enough $$’s) so he sold his deceased dad’s prized corvette & bought a truck from Morgan Dollar & towed it to Martinsville. He attracted some attention got some financial backers & bought another truck. He & his CC, Chad worked on the trucks in a garage. Not a garage in a race shop, someone’s two car garage attached to a house. Had to park their cars in the driveway.
He ran a a few races this year in the hope of attracting a sponsor for next year in order to run a full schedule. The team is now building a race shop outside Danville, VA & hopefully will be able to run every race next year. Talk about doing it the hard way. That’s what racers do though if they want it bad enough.
on Dec 2nd, 2008 at 10:28 pm
Picking the right driver would be the biggest headache of all I would think as an owner.
The rest would be painful but nothing compared to “gambling” on the right driver.
@windowlicker……stories like that are the best