Comments on: Don’t Blame Max Siegel

By: albert

albert — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 19:07:44 +0000

You can blame max for a problem that could not be fix and it was like saying max can you stop up that whole in the titantic. I sure if max could have don’t want he wanted he probably could have save the company but when you have to approval before you do something then why try.

JUst think having dale junior,bud,army,navy and sony,add,wrangler and so other company just think what make could have done and then also have mark martin and marnard there it would have been great but the “stuckup snob” wanted to run the company in the ground

By: cvt

cvt — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 16:29:21 +0000

TC, Journo
DEI’s demise started the moment Dale Sr died. He was the “key man” whose absence caused the slide. I have the greatest sympathy for Teresa Earnhardt and couldn’t imagine how hard it was for her to continue. But hiring Siegel was not the greatest idea.

If things had been different, the corporate partners with DEI would have survived Dale Jr’s departure. Max Siegel, if he had been the right man for the job, would have institutionalized the sponsorships like Childress has, like HMS has, like Gibbs has.
DEI expanded for the sake of expansion. Compare this to JGR, where, I believe, they’ve chosen not to add a 4th team until one of their very short list of drivers becomes available.

You guys infer from my comments that I somehow think Burton,Harvick,Bowers, and Martin are second-class drivers. This is far from the truth. But if you don’t believe they could have been replaced by Kenseth,Biffle Kurt Busch etc and we’d have seen similar results, well we just have to disagree.

As far as why Martin was hired at HMS, you have a unique set of circumstances where the owner is in a prospective win-win situation. He has a goal of winning a Championship with Dale Jr, and brings in a great guy/great driver who should have already won one for his last,best chance, knowing his great work ethic and mentoring skills are going to pay dividends.

By: anna

anna — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 06:49:09 +0000

Max Siegel sucked

By: T.C.

T.C. — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 03:46:58 +0000

CVT: I’m not really sure where you were going with all of this, but I think the point of the post was that DEI’s demise started taking place a long time before Max Siegel appeared. And much of DEI’s problems attracting new sponsors revolved around the fact that they didn’t have those “big name” or “star” drivers (to use your words). RCR is a well run organization, but they do have good drivers. You can’t say that Almirola, Regan Smith, and Paul Menard are even in the same category as Harvick, Burton, and Bowyer. Childress can get the sponsors because he can deliver the performance. Almirola, Smith, and Menard couldn’t get it done in the #24, #48, or #99.

I do think you are wrong about Mark Martin. If Mr. Hendrick thinks enough of him to put him in a car, why wouldn’t Joe Gibbs, Richard Childress, or Jack Roush (again)? The guy can still drive, has the performances to back it up, and a very strong fan base. I don’t believe Hendrick gives Cup rides away for charity.

And I’m curious to know who those other “half-dozen” drivers are that could be put into RC’s cars and get the performances? And don’t give me the obvious ones. Journo didn’t misrepresent what you wrote, he was just giving you examples of other drivers who have had chances at RCR and couldn’t get it done. The difficult thing about picking drivers is it isn’t a plug-and-play game. Look at Kurt Busch.

By: Neon

Neon — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 03:29:12 +0000

Kudos to both you Journo, and likewise CVT for your passion for opinion. That’s why I love this site!
I am of the opinion that the demise of DEI started way back, even before Dale’s death in 2001. Michael Waltrip? Please! A couple of restrictor plate 500’s, w/ the 2nd being rain shortened. Sheesh. But the NAPA was good for DEI.
No…..the real problem was the result of people having this impression that Teresa was somehow predominately responsible for Dale Sr.’s grand business success. Now I do not know her personally and speak only as a outsider, but the time for Teresa to move out of the team owner position was the day after Sr’s tragedy. Sure, retain the #3 rights for her family, but not the team. When dealing with employees and their families, DEI “the team” is a business and not a shrine.
But then again, that’s Monday (although seven years removed) morning quarterbacking….I guess!!!

By: cvt

cvt — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 03:08:30 +0000

Journo,it’s hard to have a discussion when you misrepresent what I write.

I never said any driver, I said a half-dozen.
Green,Skinner, R Gordon, Sauter aren’t among the half-dozen.

After Dale Sr’s death, RC went into an understandable tailspin. The team suffered. Hiring Jeff Burton helped turn him and the RCR team around. It’s to his credit

HMS is another story. Mears was there for reasons unrelated to his performance, but his lack of performance got him fired.

My feeling about Martin have nothing to do with the fact that he wouldn’t have a Tier 1 ride if he wasn’t with HMS.

By: Journo

Journo — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 02:09:54 +0000

CVT- Your assertion that any drivers could have the same success is very wrong. Jeff Green didn’t have much success in Childress’s cars, neither did Mike Skinner, Robby Gordon or Johnny Sauter. You can’t have success on track without talent behind the wheel and Jeff Burton, Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer all have talent. That is why they have had 12 wins in the last three years and all three were in the Chase in the last two seasons. Check Hendrick if you want an organization where talent matters just as much as equipment. When Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson were winning races and championships Casey Mears had an average finish near 20th.

If you think the talent behind the wheel doesn’t matter you’re crazy.

Mark Martin and Bobby Labonte are two very different cases. Mark Martin was running very well with Ginn in 2007 when DEI came in. But like this season he was only running a partial schedule. Anyone who knows anything about racing will tell you that you can’t have success running part time. Bobby Labonte hasn’t been competitive in a long while. Not true for Mark Martin.

Despite your feelings toward Mark Martin he is a very marketable person and personality. I guarantee you Kelloggs doesn’t have buyers remorse.

By: cvt

cvt — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 01:49:06 +0000

“RCR is successful because they have big name drivers who have a lot of on track success. ”

Wrong. They could insert half-dozen other competent drivers and get the same results.

“It is a well run, well supported organization. ”

Correct. see my earlier post. They are growing while others disappear. Hands-on, knowledgeable ownership…unlike Teresa Earnhardt.

“The loss of Mark Martin and Dale Jr., who both have large fan bases and are very marketable was a big loss for DEI.”

If Mark Martin hadn’t joined HMS, he would have been spending alot more time at home in Florida.Sponsors weren’t going to climb over themselves to underwrite his ride.(unlike Edwards) Ask Bobby Labonte.

By: Journo

Journo — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 01:17:25 +0000

CVT- RCR is successful because they have big name drivers who have a lot of on track success. They have had all of their drivers in the Chase for the last couple of seasons and they have consistently had wins each season. It is a well run, well supported organization.

Regan Smith and Aric Almirola are not big names or stars. The loss of Mark Martin and Dale Jr., who both have large fan bases and are very marketable was a big loss for DEI. It makes it much harder to sell sponsorships when you have unfamiliar or untested names.

You don’t necessarily need to have ’stars’ to be successful. I would argue though if you are counting Kyle Busch than you should count Kevin Harvick and Jeff Burton at least. They are both very popular and quite successful.

By: cvt

cvt — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 00:40:57 +0000

Journo
You asked about “big name drivers”, I wrote about “stars”. Two very different things.

You can count “star” drivers on one hand. Jeff Gordon,Tony Stewart, JJ, Carl Edwards…Kahne and Kyle Busch could be.

Dale Jr is in a separate category.