December 17th, 2010 
Journo I fully understand the idea behind putting the best face on something. It’s in the best interest of companies, and in our case race teams, to make sure they’re portrayed in the best light possible. With the uptick of “funded drivers” in recent years though this desire to put the best light on things has taken a turn toward the laughable.
Consider the announcement this week that Nelson Piquet Jr. is joining Kevin Harvick Inc. to run the full truck schedule in 2011. In this case it wasn’t the team – their release was actually pretty moderated – but the driver himself that left me shaking my head.
Piquet said, talking about where he was at and where he wanted to be in the future:
Now don’t get me wrong, it’s great he wants to move through the ranks of NASCAR based on merit, not on money. That said, I have a hard time believing his hire at KHI is a purely charitable move on the team’s part.
Coincidentally, Piquet settled a libel suit with Renault just last week regarding comments they made about Piquet following his involvement in the now infamous “Crashgate”. No figure was announced, but it was said to be “substantial damages.” I honestly don’t think the two are directly connected – you don’t generally get a contract worked out in seven days. I digress.
This rosy picture people like to paint though gets to be a little much. Remember last season when Richard Childress said at a press conference John Wes Townley had a lot of “talent”? He then cut Townley after five races – like he didn’t know what he was getting into. Apparently by talent, he meant money.
Or how about Brian Scott? After signing the young driver to run for his family owned team in 2011, J.D. Gibbs said:
Overly optimistic and rosy? Perhaps. I think the truth is, he’s a pretty competent driver and he brings with him a lot of money. Did they sign him because he was the best candidate to bring Gibbs another Nationwide Series championship? I doubt it.
I write this not to bring any of these guys down. I really do hope for their sake, and the sake of the sport they’re successful in their endeavors. I just wish we could come to a point when we can call an orange an orange, and not try to make it the apple that it will never be.
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Great call on this subject. With NASCAR being what it is in the sports world, these teams realize they have to go where the money is, screw the talent. Of course some of these drivers could turn out pretty good, but it’s not their raw talent that gets them there. If sponsor money was more plentiful, the problem would diminish.
Personally, I don’t think I would touch Pique with a long pole. too much history already.
Journo-Interesting article and I am in agreement on all but one tidbit. I also read Gluck’s article on Piquet that you refer to. And please correct me if I am actually the one taking your comment out of context. Remember, I’m always one to consider talent paramount over ones ability to drive a traveling billboard. But here it goes…
You mention “…but the driver (Piquet) himself left me shaking my head”, referring to Piquet’s comments (to paraphrase) on being deserving and teams wanting him to be there not just to bring a sponsor (money/$/income).
The way I read it was not that he feels he is deserving yet and teams want him now, but moving forward he wants to earn his accolades and prove his worth based on merit before moving to Cup. And for that I have no problem what so ever.
I have to agree w/ Gluck in that w/ (3) top 10’s in only (5) truck starts and a maiden NW 7th place is pretty impressive stuff compared to starts by the likes of Danica, Scott, Townley, etc, etc.
Can’t wait for 2011 Speedweeks!
Normally I agree with what you guys say, but I’m not sure about this Piquet post. With the background Piquet has, isn’t it more likely that KHI hired him because he could be the next big thing? I don’t know how many races Piquet ran in the truck series last season, but he certainly didn’t have an F1 paycheck anymore. I would think the settlement would be more a financial security deal to him than buying his own ride. I don’t know – you guys are the experts. Just my thoughts.
Good call on Townley, though! Made me laugh.
what about waltrip. the pastrami kid is same deal. i guess if we want to find out who tc and journo are, we can start at the waltrip nwide shop.
I’m with Neon on this one. Piquet wants to be accepted as a driver. Unspoken is that if it takes his own money/sponsorship to get there, well, that’s OK too. The guy made it to F1, so he has credentials. Harvick has good equipment. Give Piquet a year or two in trucks and Busch and let’s talk then about his future.
I don’t think it’s too crazy. Piquet had 5 truck starts last year and produced 3 top tens. He doesn’t want to take short cuts. He Will run a full Truck season then see where he is.
A Spaniard, Fernando Alonso in F1, is a pay to drive driver for Ferrari. He brings Santander, bank of Spain, money.
Kevin Conway!! Nuff said!
The more I read your post, the more I wonder. Are you against driver’s that bring sponsorship money? or family money?
Mentioning Piquet Jr’s libel settlement & “crash gate” was inappropriate. He has money to go racing and Harvick needs a good driver with money, they don’t grow on trees. Nelson’s not asking to jump to the front of the line. He wants to pay his dues & move forward based on his performance at the track.
John Wes Townley has a lot of talent, but the money wasn’t there. You know better than anyone, money is in short supply. Without it (and us) no one gets paid.
Journo-Interesting article and I am in agreement on all but one tidbit. I also read Gluck’s article on Piquet that you refer to. And please correct me if I am actually the one taking your comment out of context. Remember, I’m always one to consider talent paramount over ones ability to drive a traveling billboard. But here it goes… You mention “…but the driver (Piquet) himself left me shaking my head”, referring to Piquet’s comments (to paraphrase) on being deserving and teams wanting him to be there not just to bring a sponsor (money/$/income). The way I read it was not that he feels he is deserving yet and teams want him now, but moving forward he wants to earn his accolades and prove his worth based on merit before moving to Cup. And for that I have no problem what so ever. I have to agree w/ Gluck in that w/ (3) top 10’s in only (5) truck starts and a maiden NW 7th place is pretty impressive stuff compared to starts by the likes of Danica, Scott, Townley, etc, etc. Can’t wait for 2011 Speedweeks!
Great call on this subject. With NASCAR being what it is in the sports world, these teams realize they have to go where the money is, screw the talent. Of course some of these drivers could turn out pretty good, but it’s not their raw talent that gets them there. If sponsor money was more plentiful, the problem would diminish. Personally, I don’t think I would touch Pique with a long pole. too much history already.