December 19th, 2010 
T.C. There was a great piece done recently by Scene Daily’s Bob Pockrass about the Nationwide Series’ newest owner, Steve Turner. (We’ve also written previously about Turner.) Towards the end of 2010, Turner became the largest independent owner when he expanded his Truck Series operation to include four NNS teams that he acquired when he purchased Braun Racing. The SD piece and Turner’s recent dealings have me wondering if Turner Motorsports could be on track to being the next major NASCAR team.
Think about what Turner now has in place with his organization. He’s got several solid sponsorship deals (Great Clips, Dollar General, Monster Energy, ABF Freight, Brandt, and others), a stable of young and talented drivers (James Buescher, Brad Sweet, Justin Allgaier, Jason Leffler, Ricky Carmichael, Reed Sorenson), and plenty of good equipment. With the base Turner has built (and bought), it’s not hard to see the team possibly making the jump to Cup competition in the near future.
Of the drivers he has now, two already have Cup experience (Leffler and Sorenson), and if Allgaier continues to improve, there is no doubt that he could be a solid driver to build a Cup program with. Obviously funding would need to be secured, but remember that the new NNS COT isn’t much different then a Cup COT. And with their new relationships with equipment suppliers, a Cup team wouldn’t be a big leap.
I also want to point out the difference between Turner and some of the other new owners we’ve seen come into NASCAR recently. Remember that Turner has been doing this for a while. He didn’t come in with big pockets and immediately buy into a Cup operation. He started small and has owned teams in many lower racing series before moving into the NASCAR big leagues. He has a better idea than most what it takes to survive. And it appears he has the acumen and the resources to make it all work.
At this point, I’m sure Turner and his management team are focused on making the teams they have now successful. It will certainly be a challenge meshing his CWTS operation with what was Braun’s NNS operation and making it work. But if they are able, I don’t think it’s crazy to think that Turner could be on pace to be the next Joe Gibbs, Richard Childress, or Jack Roush.
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Another deft move by Steve Turner… rumors have been floating around that Turner Motorsports is courting Mark Martin to drive a partial Nationwide and Truck schedule with the team. If they could get Mark Martin in their camp on a long term basis, he would be an AWESOME mentor for Turner’s stable of young drivers. And Mark could also serve as a spring board to help Turner get a Cup program off the ground.
Nope. Not going to happen. There will not be any more Megateams in Nascar Sprint Cup. The top 35 rule has prevented any newcomer from competing on the level of the Hendricks, Childress, etc. As those teams are guarenteed to appear every weekm what substantial sponsor would want to involve themselves in what is in essence a lottery. The social media is a much more lucrative alternative. Add to that the need to for any newcomer to purchase equipment from those teams.
The best one could do is be the 36-39 team and sponsors wont stay around for that.
So, again — aint gonna happen in Sprint Cup.
gillete learned …you have to build a team, not buy it.
Russ … going to disagree with you !
There could be another megateam in Nascar.
Plenty of space in the top 35 rule for a newcomer. Please review my 35 teams – 2010 chart below …
MEGA TEAMS – Hendrick * Childress * Gibbs * Roush
15 cars – 26 wins
2ND TIER – Stewart * Penske * E/Ganassi * Waltrip
10 cars – 10 wins
3RD TIER – Red Bull * Petty * Furn Row
5 cars – 0 wins
ALSO RAN – Gordon * Front Row * TRG * Germain
5 cars – No chance of winning
EVERYBODY ELSE – Start & Park and part time
Tier Two has two teams that might become megateams – Stewart and E/Ganassi … and you are correct, they are connected to Hendrick and Childress.
Either Red Bull or Petty could become a Tier Two team simply by showing some consistancy.
There is plenty of room between 31-35 for a new team (2-3 cars) to jump in and make some noise.
TC … keep up the good work (on and off pit road)
Merry Christmas
Bob, pretty accurate, although I must point out that Furniture Row finished higher than one of the Penske teams (77), and not too far behind another Penske team (12). Also, Petty surged at the end of the season, and stands a good chance at breaking into that 2nd tier. Red Bull looked strong in 2009, but not this year.
I think Turner will probably be in Cup in 2012. They’ll probably run a few races in 2011. Braun had already raced a few.