I’ve got to say NASCAR fans, I’m a little disappointed. I was looking around at unnamed Web sites and I came across a story about George Gillett and his partnership with Prince Faisal bin Fahd bin Abdullah al-Saud of Saudi Arabia (if his last name didn’t tip you off). What I found was a very prominent site that didn’t moderate comments and as a result allowed a lot of hateful, racist stuff to be said. I won’t repeat any of it here.
Although I know none of our readers were saying any of that stuff (and those comments don’t reflect the views of most fans) it still really bothered me. NASCAR fans bemoan being tied to some really negative stereotypes and I don’t blame them. But then there is a segment of fans that goes on to write stuff like this. A few bad apples spoil the whole bunch.
Now I suspect Prince Faisal is far more interested in George Gillett’s stake in the Liverpool Football Club in England (which Gillett owns with Texas Rangers owner Tom Hicks), than he is in Gillett’s interest in Richard Petty Motorsports. For the sake of argument though, let’s say it is RPM that Faisal wants. Whats so bad about that?
The beauty of this sport is that literally anyone can enter it if they have the resources. This means the owners in the sport are financially a pretty eclectic bunch; from auto magnates to sports stars to working joes. Is Prince Faisal’s money not just as good?
In the NHRA, the money of a middle eastern royal was good enough for Alan Johnson, Larry Dixon and Del Worsham. HH Sheikh Khalid Bin Hamad Al Thani, a member of the ruling family of Qatar, partnered with Johnson this season to form Alan Johnson Al-Anabi Racing. According to the Wall Street Journal Sheikh Khalid is pouring $10 million into the team just this year. In this case the Sheikh is a man of wealth who loves drag racing and sees value in the NHRA. I say welcome.
In an era when money is increasingly tight and the future of a lot of organizations is in question why not look outside our own borders to attract investors?
All of what we’re seeing right now is very preliminary stuff, and from NASCAR’s and Richard Petty’s comments they haven’t even been consulted. That being said Prince Faisal and his sports investment firm F6 have a lot of resources. That shouldn’t be turned away or discouraged. Nor should we attach offensive stereotypes to someone just because of their national origin.
At the end of the day if Prince Faisal wants to buy a NASCAR team, or start one, or even wants to go NASCAR racing himself, I say go for it.
In the words of Rodney King, “Can’t we all just get along?”
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on Oct 2nd, 2009 at 7:58 am
A Saudi Prince? Why not?
Because he is a leader of a country with some of the worst human rights violations on earth. I could care less about someones religious views…but when people are imprisoned or executed because of them, I have a problem. Journo, do your homework on the treatment of women in this country. Why do we do business with them?
OIL!!!!!!!! I realize at present time we are not mass producing an alternative fuel, it’s a necessary evil…but let’s keep them out of NASCAR. Yes, I know…they bring HUGE dollars to the table. We need to draw the line. If our sport needs their money to stay alive, it’s done anyway.
on Oct 2nd, 2009 at 8:23 am
I have not read a ton on the RPM subject, but one thing that concerns me is The King’s not being “in the loop”, or at least apparent lack of knowledge of what the “deal” is all about.
Question for Insiders here: Is King Richard merely 100% (no pun intended) figurehead now days?
Judging from the Toyota (foreign influx) haters reactions, I can only imagine what the future holds when most NASCAR mega-teams are bought by Chinese conglomerates, or all COT cars are req’d to carry the “made in Bangledesh” plaque.
After all…..money = hp, but it doesn’t stipulate “where” the money comes from!
on Oct 2nd, 2009 at 9:00 am
Amen. Who cares where the money or the talent comes from? I love Toyota in the series too & drive one.
Remember the non-story NBC tried to create by sending a group of ethnic looking people walking around tracks on race day in traditional muslin garb? Nothing happened of course. I actually saw them at M-ville walking around & honestly the only thing that I thought was “I bet she’s got a Jr. shirt on under that burka.” They got some looks but so do a lot of people at the track.
on Oct 2nd, 2009 at 10:18 am
This is a nice article. Thank you for posting. However, Alan Johnson and Sheik Khalid bin Hamad Al-thani didn’t form Al-Anabi racing. Al-Anabi is a soley owned by the Sheik. There is also an Al-Anabi football team, etc. There is a misconception that Al-Anabi is (Alan +anabi = Al-Anabi). It just so happens Al-Anabi starts with A-L-A-N. I know….confusing.
on Oct 2nd, 2009 at 11:41 am
Journo,
I’ll bet that team will get a good deal on fuel!
West Coast Kenny
Alameda, California
on Oct 2nd, 2009 at 11:48 am
Rain- He’s not a leader of any country. He’s a member of the House of Saud which is the ruling family. There are hundreds of prominent members of this family, most of which have titles like Prince. Some estimates place the number of family members in the tens of thousands. I would encourage you to do your homework. Unless you have evidence that Prince Faisal was involved in any human rights violations it would be best for you not to go spouting off about it. It’s irresponsible to judge someone on their national origin, or frankly even their family, no matter how large, wealthy or powerful they are.
on Oct 2nd, 2009 at 11:53 am
Tami- From the Wall Street Journal:
Solely owned, partially owned, it appears to me whatever the case is, it’s a partnership.
on Oct 2nd, 2009 at 12:37 pm
Anything to finally get the “racist redneck” stereotypes behind us, I applaud. NASCAR has done a slow but good job of this in the past decade or so. Moving races all across the country was one big step.
Their support of minority drivers is lackluster, but I can see that being ramped up in coming years. Something I am a HUGE supporter of.
You have no idea how many times, after mentioning I am a NASCAR fan, I get the line: “wow? But you’re not a redneck! You’re a computer geek living in a major metro area!”
I like NASCAR being an American sport, and representing this great country. I don’t want it to be an “international sport” like F1. But there’s still a lot of work to do.
on Oct 2nd, 2009 at 1:26 pm
I think it is a very bad idea. I know I personally root against the Al-Anabi team. I think there are some pretty bad sterotypes linked to all middle eastern princes. I do not know any of these people and do not judge them. That is not my job, but I do not like them being involved in sports in this country. For all of you who want to bash me on this, think about one thing. Do you cheer for team U.S.A. in the Olympics? I do not hate anyone because of race or religion. I am all for african-american drivers and owners in Nascar and I would love to see a woman do well also. I have no problem if a Japanese driver wants to come over and drive in Nascar. I do not like Toyota in Nascar at all but I do not worry about them sending money to terrorists. I know they do not. I am not suggesting anyone in particualr is sending money to terrorists but in this environment we need to make DAMN SURE that anyone we do business with is NOT. I am not a racist at all but a realist in this sad world we live in.
on Oct 2nd, 2009 at 1:52 pm
TC & Journo- regardless of content of this article, I am glad to see Journo jumping into the post discussion w/ fire. Not since the Carl Long & Jeremy Mayfield topics back in May, after which ya’ll chose to mostly refrain from discussion, have we been treated to your Insiders comebacks as above.
IMHO your site is better off when you guys are involved well beyond writing the article.
Oops I assumed ya’ll are guys, but could be gals…hmmmm?
on Oct 2nd, 2009 at 1:57 pm
Journo: you’re right, he isn’t ‘the’ leader but a mere member of the family that rules Saudi Arabia. But as he lives off their money and hasn’t spoken out against their lousy human rights record nor (as far as I can tell) against the country’s support of terrorism, then according to my book, he supports the family and can justifiably be tagged with the same brush.
Windowlicker: I care where the money comes from, and I think I’m not alone. I root for people I can respect – both on and off the track – from drivers to crew chiefs to owners. I don’t want drug dealers as car owners, I don’t want to see ads for Roman Polanski’s next movie on the hood of a car at Daytona, and I would rather see 42 cars on the grid on Sunday than have 43 cars, one of which was owned by the good Prince.
on Oct 2nd, 2009 at 3:08 pm
Steve: A portion of the human rights complaints against Saudi Arabia are for the detention/torture/execution of terror suspects. Similar to the same complaints made by watchdogs groups about our government & Guantanamo.
Also, don’t be so sure that all the money funding cup teams today is squeaky clean. There’s a lot of hands in the pot nowadays & we have had some owners serve time in the past. Don’t forget some of the money that funded & developed this sport early on was made through illegal activity. Drug dealer/Moonshiner. What is the difference when the activity is illegal?
on Oct 2nd, 2009 at 3:17 pm
Parts and pieces of our nation are being sold off to various countries around the world. They are involved with our financial institutions, our manufacturing base (such as it is anymore), our sports, and every other business they can get a toe in the door. I assure you, they are not doing this for the benefit of our country, and their ownership will not strenghen us. When you lose your core, you lose the very thing that gives you a strong economy and power in the global market. I guess you can tell I’m not for inviting Saudi Arabia. Japan, China, etc into this sport.
on Oct 2nd, 2009 at 11:50 pm
As a whole I’m a little surprised by the response on this (I don’t know why). There is a lot of fear and hostility toward what’s different and new. It’s honestly that sentiment of a few that gives the majority of NASCAR fans a bad name. This sport is no more yours than it is mine (and vice versa). You’d think this guy were trying to buy the whole sport and move it overseas.
Steve- I’m not going to get in a foreign policy debate, but Saudi Arabia is not a state sponsor of terrorism. Quite the opposite in fact. Just because terrorists hail from Saudi Arabia does not mean the state itself supports it (there are terrorists that hail from the United States, that does not mean the government condones, or financially supports it). I would encourage you to research it.
Ginger- Who is ‘they’? Good or bad this is an increasingly interconnected, globalized world. If NASCAR can diversify itself and attract new fans, and expose itself to other parts of the world (thereby strengthening itself), what’s bad about that? The sport’s not going anywhere. By the way, foreign investment in American sports teams is not the norm. In fact the Nets have an agreement in place right now to sell the majority to a Russian billionaire. This deal is the talk of sports business because of who the owner is (namely not an American businessman).
on Oct 3rd, 2009 at 8:17 am
Jouno: ok, no foreign policy debate. but why assume we’re driven by ‘fear and hostility towards what’s new and different’ rather than hostility towards this particular person?
on Oct 3rd, 2009 at 9:27 am
Journo, What we have here is something to spout off about, without knowing much of the subject. Take most of these with a grain of salt, and keep up the good work.
on Oct 3rd, 2009 at 2:47 pm
Steve- Because I’m willing to bet you’d never heard of this guy before this hit the news.
Zieke- Thank you.
on Oct 3rd, 2009 at 7:00 pm
Journo I too applaud you for writing this.
I think that you hit the nail on the head. Some of the comments that I have read on different RPM fan sites and other places make me shudder at what people have said.
I am a longtime Petty fan and am thankful that you have said what I and many others are thinking.
Peace,
Janet
on Oct 3rd, 2009 at 7:21 pm
Steve- I’m shocked at how naive some people are.
Journo- You (and others) missed the point completely that Steve and I were trying to make. Let’s let it go…as you said, this isn’t the site for a foreign policy debate.
But you did sort of ask for it.. lol
on Oct 3rd, 2009 at 7:32 pm
Consider that change that’s occurring within NASCAR the last few years. Look at all the mergers, minority/majority interest owners, buyouts, consolidation, etc. Now compare it to this situation. Gillette “buys a stake” in Evernham. Okay, no problem…it’s the fad of the moment. With Evernham absorbed now it’s on to “buying a stake” in Petty. Now the Gillette conglomeration is absorbing Yates Racing. Now on top of absorbing 3 heritage teams (albeit failing to keep up with the Joneses type teams) Gillette is selling a portion to an interest on the other side of the world.
Some may see fresh money coming into the sport. I see NASCAR as a whole – sanctioning body, owners, teams and to an extent, drivers – prostituting themselves for *any* penny they can lay their hands on. Everyday something happens that takes away a little piece from the days when racing was racing and not this glossy primped up WWE/Disney-ified crap that’s showcased on Sunday afternoons or the occasional Saturday night.
Everyday, every little bit of what could be defined as “America” is sold off piecemeal. Jobs going to China (and to a lesser extent Mexico) and the Saudi’s buying up our remnants. Everyday, the average Joe Schmoe American has less and less to identify with and even NASCAR is selling their portion to the highest bidder. Real Americans don’t trust big corporations and big money – even now more than ever with the economic problems caused by corporate greed – and that is exactly what NASCAR has become.
Now read what I wrote, think about it, then get back to me about why NASCAR’s ratings are slipping and the empty seats at the track despite Brian France’s “What, me worry?” tense smile.
on Oct 3rd, 2009 at 8:46 pm
Janet- Thank you. I love this sport, and have nothing but respect for Richard Petty. I find this ignorant, hateful, misinformed ranting disheartening to say the least. I still have hope the sport can move beyond this sort of thing though. These moments are not NASCAR’s finest.
on Oct 5th, 2009 at 7:49 am
Journo: you’d have lost the bet (was it for lunch?), but notwithstanding that he wasn’t unknown to those who spend too much time on-line following sports news, I don’t think I should only have been able to object to his involvement in NASCAR if I had pre-existing knowledge of him and not on the basis of research done upon learning his name.
Janet: there are always going to be nuts on the fringe of any activity, please don’t tar us all because some resort to knee-jerk xenophobia.
on Oct 5th, 2009 at 10:34 am
Steve- I don’t believe Janet was tarring anyone. She was pointing out the very same thing I saw. A lot of very ignorant, misinformed, hateful comments from people who dislike this man simply because he’s not from this country. I’ve seen no legitimate reasons, on our comment section or any other comment section, why this guy shouldn’t be involved in this sport or any other. It’s xenophobia in all it’s shining glory. ‘We don’t want him in OUR sport because he’s not like us.’ That’s wrong.
on Oct 5th, 2009 at 11:48 am
Right or wrong I think NASCAR will lose fans over this. The concerning trend here is not that a member of the Saudi royal family owns a part of a once iconic team, but that a majority stake holder in that team with no historical ties to the sport essentially sold his interest to the highest bidder.
George Gillett is a businessman and he sees fit to do with his money as he pleases. His stake in Evernham was just an investment and it’s no surprise that he dumped his share when an interested party came knocking, it happens every day on Wall Street and Main Street.
That said the thing that won’t sit well with fans is realization that the days of familial ownership are over. Portions of a team can be bought and sold and the current owner may bear no ties which prevent him from selling his stake and he may do so with little care of the long term effect on the sport.
As a fan of many forms for motor racing I understand that while these cars run on gasoline the teams run on money, and lots of it. The dependence upon sponsorship and rich benefactors will always be a part of motorsports. Some folks believe that “any money is good money” and I don’t begrudge them for that belief, however I feel that they should carefully consider the source their funds.
When you enter into a business relationship you associate yourself with them. Be it a Saudi royal, Texas oil man, or good ole boy in Kannapolis, you and your reputation as a team will be judged by the company you keep. To see this look no further than GM and Chrysler who’ve experienced double digit declines in sales after bankruptcy and bail outs compared to Ford who thus far has avoided government aid.
At the end of the day fans will look at these teams with multiple stake holders and ask themselves if this is the NASCAR they know and love. Unfortunately some fans will not like what they see and will drift away from the sport. The question that this raises in my mind is whether this new era of ownership will attract new fans. In my opinion it will not, but it will sustain the sport through these dark times. If RPM is Richard Petty in name only then so be it, at least it will keep cars on the track. However don’t be surprised when fans turn elsewhere.
on Nov 17th, 2009 at 4:26 am
First of all, I want to thank you for this article. Second, I agree with you on everything. But I am disappointed from some of the comments that reflect that people just follow the media, which is most of the time is aggressive on middle eastern countries, without making sure from their resources. Also, I don’t know why people get politics involved in everything in their lives. Also, it does not mean that we do not vote, or women cannot drive, that we don’t have human rights. I hope some people could understand that our culture is different than western culture. And Saudi Arabia does not have to follow you in everything you do!!!