When we look back at this off-season, what we will remember the most were all the teams we lost to closings and mergers, and all the employees who lost their jobs. It has certainly been one of the toughest periods in the history of our sport. But where holes have been left behind by teams like Petty, Bill Davis Racing, and Hall of Fame Racing, other teams are finding opportunities to jump in head first.
We heard this week that former crew chief Tommy Baldwin is working on putting together a deal to run the entire Sprint Cup season, possibly with Dave Blaney behind the wheel. While we don’t know about the team’s funding and sponsorship plans for 2009, we can be optimistic that some are trying.
Besides Baldwin’s team, the list of new blood includes JTG/Daugherty Racing and Germain Racing in the Cup Series; Cardinal Motorsports, RAB Racing, and Sheltra Motorsports in the Nationwide Series; and Stringer Motorsports and Red Horse Racing’s team expansion in the Truck Series. Derrike Cope has even announced plans for a Cup and Truck Series schedule.
The current situation in NASCAR parallels something we have seen in the past in the conventional business world. There, when the economy is down, some folks have found opportunity. Those who are smart, recognize an opening, and have the stomach for the risk, put themselves in a position to possibly carve out a spot when times are tough. Examples of such companies include Microsoft, Burger King, CNN, and FedEx. Racing isn’t too different.
These small teams coming in face very serious challenges trying to secure sponsors, drivers, and finding ways to be competitive. But even with those obstacles, they now have an edge over small teams who attempted to break in over the last several years. With the sport being as strong as it had been before this season, it had been a struggle for smaller teams to gain their footing in the sport because they have been up against the top 35 point rule and the mega teams. Now, with the possibility of less teams showing up to the track each weekend, they have a shot.
With just a little over a month now remaining before the season opens at Daytona, there is no telling how many of these teams will survive. Some will run partial schedules, some will make it the whole way, and others will struggle and die. But what all of this does show us is that even with times being tough, people still want to race. And really, that is all we can ask for.
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on Jan 8th, 2009 at 6:48 am
This is an ideal time for a start up team to enter cup as long as they can secure sponsorship. New teams like TBR don’t require the huge dollars from a sponsors as long as they keep their balance sheet in the black. These teams don’t require the 15-25 million dollar sponsors, They have a pool of awsome personal to pull from. They can pay a lower but decent wage, their drivers don’t require a huge salary. Lower salaries with preformance based bonuses could be an ideal way to make a start up team succeed the cup world. The pool of talent is there, sponsor money is out there, you just need to find it, As stated some will survive, some won’t, this will be an interesting year in NASCAR.
on Jan 8th, 2009 at 9:41 am
I wish Tommy Baldwin the best, but I have my reservations. How many times have you seen a team open their doors before the season, plan to run the whole season and then wind up closing their doors in June with a lot of debt?
I agree that he can run a leaner business. There are many factors now that can’t be controlled, such as travel, tires, good motors, etc. If he can’t obtain some limited sponsorship, he won’t be able to stay around for long, even if he qualifies for every race.
I hope Tommy isn’t going to do a start and park. I don’t think he could do that, knowing his competitiveness.
on Jan 8th, 2009 at 1:20 pm
I concur w/ Tommy above w/ regards to start-n-parks. I also hope we don’t witness a flurry of 2 car teams made up of a somewhat legitimate contender and a dedicated s-n-p only used as a donor to collect starting money transfusioned into undefunded car #1. It would be sad to see 1/2 the field at only 10 laps in. Is the glass half empty of half full?
Makes you wonder if a “top down commission only” team would be proof positive in Cup. Where only the strong and willing survive.
on Jan 8th, 2009 at 4:37 pm
I complely agree with Tommy and Neon. the only way I can see a start up teams surviving is to lock in sponsor money. There is no possible way for a team to do it without sponsor money. What I find interesting is that TBR is attempting to feild a car with a total of 11 employees. I do understand his thought process of hard work, but 11 employees can only handle so much work at a time. The other item that I am impressed with is the boldness of Tommy Baldwin stating publicly that he can do it for tha much less than the other teams. I agree that the smaller teams don’t require the 20 -25 million dollar sponsors, but I still think 7-12 million is required to operate and stay competive. A driver making 5 million a year plus is obscene, a crew cheif making 2-3 million is obscene. So the lower wages I agree with,,, but,,, its no different than any other business, if your good some head hunter is going to buy you with a huge increase in pay,benifits and other things. Boom the cost savings just went out the window with that employee. This low wage deal will only last a short time. TC what are your thoughts.
on Jan 9th, 2009 at 7:42 am
Steve: I think right now a lot of good people can be had for a very fair wage. With the recent growth and the spending, I believe some people in the sport have very inflated salaries, and this season and off-season may be the market correcting itself, so to speak. As the sport recovers down the road, some salaries may come back up a little, but it won’t be a big shift. The very best people in the sport will always get the best money, because people are everything. But that doesn’t mean Tommy Baldwin can’t continue operating a lean organization with good people. And you never know, if he has some success, he may be on track to be the next big team, and he will be able to afford those folks… Anything is possible.
on Jan 9th, 2009 at 9:50 am
Do owners ever write “do not compete” clauses into their crew contracts? (And do those even hold up in court?) Where I work, most of us can’t leave to go to a competitor for 6-9 months. That would certainly help lower paying teams keep their employees.
on Jan 9th, 2009 at 5:47 pm
TC, I agree complely and wish Tommy all the best in a tough day and time. I would really like to see some of the good ole days of small teams being successful. A my age I’m really starting to miss it. (LOL)