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Sponsor Switches in NASCAR Just Part of the Business

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by Chris Leone, Special To NASCAR commentary and pictures,2010 NASCAR schedule,NASCAR video, Bench Racing With Steve and Charlie

I do weekly Fantasy Pick'Em columns here at OPR, as well as the occasional opinion and analysis piece. I also provide the IZOD IndyCar Series coverage. For more on that, head to my site, OpenWheelAmerica.com. My Twitter handle is @christopherlion.

December 24, 2009 4:41 pm CST No Comments

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I saw the weirdest thing a few days ago.

I was in the middle of one of my thrice-daily Jayski.com runs, checking the paint scheme gallery for some of the cars that will run next year, when I saw a No. 99 Roush Fenway Racing Ford for Carl Edwards that had Kellogg’s and Cheez-It decals plastered all over it.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I had been aware of this sponsorship switch for at least a month. I knew it was coming. But something about seeing a tangible representation of the scheme just felt weird.

For one, it maintained the bright yellow that Kellogg’s had been using with Hendrick Motorsports since 2004, as well as the red and blue that had been accent colors. I knew they were Kellogg’s colors, but something about them felt more like Hendrick colors. Keep in mind that before Dale Earnhardt Jr. joined the team, all four cars ran that shade of yellow in their numbers. The blue also matched up best with CarQuest Auto Parts, a remaining Hendrick sponsor that had partnered with Kellogg’s on the No. 5 car for the past few years.

It felt kind of like a Hendrick Motorsports Ford, and kind of like somebody’s Photoshop project for a NASCAR computer gaming website. It felt like one of those ideas that sounded good at the time, but didn’t quite work out.

That’s when I remembered that it was a real car, due to hit the track in 2010, and that the 16-year relationship between Hendrick and Kellogg’s was no more.

It’s just part of the business - sponsors go wherever they feel they can get the most bang for their buck. Two races with the young and fit Carl Edwards made more sense to company execs than 18 races with the older (but similarly fit, and better performing on-track) Mark Martin.

Sponsor loyalty cannot be relied upon in the business anymore. How else can one explain Valvoline returning to Roush in a primary sponsorship role with Matt Kenseth next year, nine years after leaving Mark Martin for an ill-fated experiment in team ownership?

For what other reason would Subway shift its loyalty from Greg Biffle to Tony Stewart to Carl Edwards over the past three years?

It happens with every team, both big and small. Richard Childress Racing snagged two defectors; Caterpillar ended a 10-year relationship with Bill Davis Racing after the 2008 season to back Jeff Burton, while Cheerios ended an eight-year pact with Petty Enterprises to sponsor Clint Bowyer. Budweiser spent seven years with DEI from 2001 to 2007 before putting their money on Kasey Kahne when Earnhardt Jr. left. DeWalt had been with Kenseth since the late 1990s before leaving this year, although the company has chalked that up to not having the marketing dollars.

Regardless, it’s rare to see a driver, team, and sponsor stick with one another for any significant length of time anymore. We just don’t see as many Richard Petty-STP, Robert Yates-Texaco, or Morgan-McClure Motorsports-Kodak combinations anymore.

Sure, there will always be a DuPont car for Jeff Gordon, a Lowe’s car for Jimmie Johnson, and a Menards car for Paul Menard. Miller Lite will continue to adorn the hood of a Penske car, Interstate Batteries and the Home Depot will stay with Joe Gibbs Racing, and Michael Waltrip will always be able to bank on NAPA sponsorship dollars. Red Bull owns its own team. Aside from that, it’s a free-for-all.

NASCAR has gotten considerably more expensive as of late, with most team owners fielding at least two to three cars. Everybody wants to have four. This facilitates an environment in which sponsors are, as of late, less willing to be patient or stick with a good thing in place. Instead, they’re always trying to take the next step up, looking for a way to align themselves with a better driver for less money, even if it means sponsoring fewer races.

It’s unfortunate that it’s the way of the business, but it’s the nature of the beast these days. So when you see Jeff Gordon rejoin the Coca-Cola Racing Family, Tony Stewart appear on Cheerios and Wheaties boxes, or Joey Logano someday pitching Budweiser, don’t say I didn’t warn you.

I mean, Mark Martin’s a GoDaddy driver now, after all. It can’t make any less sense than that.

Filed under: Carl Edwards, Hendrick Motorsports, Mark Martin, Matt Kenseth, Roush Racing 

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An Open Letter To President Johnson

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by Chris Leone, Special To NASCAR commentary and pictures,2010 NASCAR schedule,NASCAR video, Bench Racing With Steve and Charlie

I do weekly Fantasy Pick'Em columns here at OPR, as well as the occasional opinion and analysis piece. I also provide the IZOD IndyCar Series coverage. For more on that, head to my site, OpenWheelAmerica.com. My Twitter handle is @christopherlion.

November 27, 2009 12:25 am CST No Comments

Dear “President” Jimmie Johnson,

First of all, is it all right to call you “Mr. President”? I mean, you have been the defending Sprint Cup champion of four years now - the length of one United States presidential term, something that nobody else has ever done, including your teammate Jeff Gordon, Richard Petty, and Dale Earnhardt.

You and your “cabinet” - Secretary of State Rick Hendrick, Secretary of Defense Earl Barban, and most importantly, your right-hand man, Vice President Chad Knaus - are one of the most successful administrations in NASCAR history. Over the past four years, you have won 29 races, almost a full season, and have not scored fewer than 22 top-10 finishes in any given year. That’s a remarkable performance.

But, Mr. President, the State of the Union is not as strong as it once was. Attendance at the events has gone down, as is to be expected in a recession, but television ratings have gone down too. That signifies a lack of interest. It’s not like people can’t watch - at least 99 percent of American homes have televisions, and 56-plus pay for cable TV. 24 of the 36 points-paying races are on broadcast - the first third of the season with FOX, and the final 11 with ABC.

And, Mr. President, one of the reasons why they’re not watching is you.

Now, don’t get me wrong, people love an administration that can turn down all challengers. Adversity sticks to you like teflon; challengers come and go, but when all is said and done, we all know that you’re going to come through and remain on top.

You got there by being just a little better than Matt Kenseth in 2006. In 2007, you took down Jeff Gordon, whose season was statistically better, by virtue of a couple more wins and a stronger performance at the end of the season. Last year, the Chase format gave you the win when Carl Edwards was marginally better. This year, you took advantage of the fact that Mark Martin flip-flopped too often between good and bad finishes, and even an incident at Texas couldn’t drag you down too far.

Under the Chase format, Mr. President, you can’t be beat. But take away this safety net, and you’re more vulnerable. History wouldn’t have been made this Sunday, because you wouldn’t have won in 2007, or 2008; even your 2006 championship would have been far less certain. I mean, come on, the margin of victory under the old format would have been four points.

Perhaps, Mr. President, you’re human after all.

Perhaps your administration is just the most adept at adapting to a new style of racing, under a format that, despite all of NASCAR’s claims, actually robs the fans of better (or at least fairer) championship battles. Look it up.

But there’s a way for you to prove your invincibility once and for all. Let me explain.

But first, I must say that I was slightly disappointed in hearing about your recent contract extension through 2015. Six more years is a long time. At this rate, you’ll be approaching Franklin Delano Roosevelt status before you even hit 40. I think it’s time for another challenge, don’t you? And I have perhaps the greatest conceivable challenge in all of motorsports for you.

Mr. President, Americans - or American-trained drivers - are suffering in international motorsport affairs. Our last Formula One driver, Scott Speed, was a failure. (Perhaps you recognize him; you lap him every week in the stock cars now.) Champ Car’s four-time champion, Sebastien Bourdais, made for a terrible F1 driver as well. Our best IndyCar driver, Danica Patrick, is by far the most overrated race car driver of this decade in any discipline, and the other American drivers in that series - Marco Andretti, Graham Rahal, et. al. - seem more concerned with the fanfare and their own stardom than actually winning races.

So, Mr. President, the only person I could think of to approach in hope of solving the problem is you.

Starting next year, there will be an Formula 1 team headquartered in Charlotte, run by former Speed Channel reporter Peter Windsor and backed by Youtube founder Chad Hurley. They already have one driver signed, a Spanish mid-pack GP2 racer who brings some sponsorship on board.

That’s not what you want the United States’ only F1 team to be, is it? A pay-driver team? They need a champion, a driver who can win races, has dominated those in his home country, a consummate professional such as yourself who isn’t going to alienate the media.

My point is, we need you in F1, Mr. President.

We need you to prove to the rest of the world that America is still a relevant motorsports country. We need you to prove that these drivers in NASCAR and IndyCar are just as talented as the F1 boys, that we, too, can turn right and left, that even though F1’s rejects have populated the open-wheel ranks for years and the bulky stock cars generally turn left, our drivers can hold their own in the pinnacle of motorsport.

Think of it. How many drivers can say that they’ve won races at Daytona, Indianapolis, and Monaco? Plenty of drivers can lay claim to two of the three; Mario Andretti, Juan Pablo Montoya, Michael Schumacher, and Graham Hill (who also won Le Mans) are among them. You could be the first to win all three. That’s a class all your own in the history of motorsport, Mr. President.

Sometimes, you need to know when to move on to the next challenge. I would say that “when” is now. There is very little left for you to accomplish in American stock car racing, except for maybe Nationwide and Camping World titles, and what fun is stepping backwards?

I hope you’ll consider what I’ve suggested to you, Mr. President. Take a long, hard look at F1. Then talk to Secretary of State Hendrick and Mr. Windsor, and let’s make it happen.

Some other drivers would like to win championships before they retire too, anyway.

Filed under: Formula One, Hendrick Motorsports, NASCAR, jimmie johnson 

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NASCAR Championship Fast Laps

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by Charlie Turner

Thanks for stopping by OnPitRow.com and the Bench Racing with Steve and Charlie blog. The best NASCAR and IndyCar news and opinion, exclusive pictures and video. I'm Charlie Turner. Follow me on Twitter @onpitrow

November 26, 2009 9:39 pm CST No Comments

NASCAR drivers don’t come much more dominant than Jimmie Johnson and Hendrick Motorsport’s no. 48 Lowes Chevrolet these last four years. Johnson’s NASCAR results may be drama killing, but they are still the topic of the week.

Check out the Fast Lap Show video this week. Then let us know what you think about these four, fast ones.

Get the Flash Player to see the wordTube Media Player.

Turn 1 - Now that Jimmie Johnson has his fourth consecutive championship will he be able to show more of his personality?

Turn 2 -Where does Hendrick Motorsports 1-2-3 points finish rank in importance in NASCAR history

Turn 3 - Which under-achieving organization has laid the best foundation for 2010?

Turn 4 - Where will the #48 team’s greatest competition come from in 2010?

The video tells you what we think. What do you think. And since this is supposed be fast, please limit your answers to Twitter length - 140 characters. We don’t have a way to count your input, so this is the honor system for now.

Filed under: Chase for the Cup, Fast Lap Posts, Fast Lap video, Hendrick Motorsports, Homestead-Miami Speedway, NASCAR, NASCAR video, Sprint Cup Series, jimmie johnson 

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Talk of Danica in NASCAR Won’t Go Away

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by Steve Wronkowicz

I am co-host of the syndicated radio show: ON PIT ROW. Charlie likes to call me an "idiot". I'm not an "idiot"; I just prefer not to let the facts get in the way of my opinions.

October 6, 2009 8:05 am CDT No Comments

Danica Patrick signed a three year contract with Andretti-Green Racing to continue running in the IRL and the talk of her moving to NASCAR stopped….for a few weeks.

Now new information is coming from Hendrick Motorsports and it’s Nationwide satellite team JR Motorsports that Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Danica Patrick may be working together in 2010.  Patrick and Earnhardt are looking at their connection with sponsor GoDaddy.com as a way to make the IRL darling a part of NASCAR.

Patrick could run Chevys out of the Hendrick/Earnhardt stable in selected events in 2010 when not running in the IRL.  Selected ARCA events could also be on the slate to move her along the fast track into stock cars full time when her IRL contract is concluded.

A lot has been written about Patrick’s purported move to NASCAR and each time the “leverage” angle pops up.  Many believe her talking with NASCAR owners is nothing more than a tactic to increase her paycheck from her IRL suitors.

Danica is a force to be reckoned with regardless of which series she runs.  Wins are not the total factor in determining her value to a series.  You only have to look at her perspective car owner to see that.  While Earnhardt has struggled at the track for two years, his fan base has never wavered.

Bring Danica into the fold and let her learn the right way.  Put her in good equipment in the Nationwide and ARCA series and let her fans swarm the race tracks.

This week’s BUZZ ON PIT ROW is:

Now that Danica has an IRL contract; can her entry into NASCAR be considered legitimate?

Let us know what you think and we could use your answer on this week’s ON PIT ROW radio show.  Listen live every Tuesday at 5pm ET.  Your call could win you a Kevin Harvick bobblehead if you are the Shell-Fuel my Passion call of the day.  Call the show live at 1-800-645-2946 or send a tweet to @onpitrow.

Filed under: ARCA Remax Series, Chevrolet, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Danica Patrick, Hendrick Motorsports, JR Motorsports, On Pit Row The Fastest Two Hours on Radio 

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Mark Martin Off to a Fast Start in Quest for the Cup

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by Steve Wronkowicz

I am co-host of the syndicated radio show: ON PIT ROW. Charlie likes to call me an "idiot". I'm not an "idiot"; I just prefer not to let the facts get in the way of my opinions.

September 21, 2009 8:56 am CDT No Comments

Mark Martin holds off Denny Hamlin and Juan Pablo Montoya to take the win at New Hampshire.

Martin led 66 of the last 96 laps to become the first five time winner on The Sprint Cup circuit in 2009 and increased his points lead in his quest for his first Cup championship.  Martin took the checkers as the spun and prone race car of AJ Almendinger sat on the front stretch at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

NASCAR had enacted their “no racing back to the caution” rule after a similar occurrence at the track left Dale Jarrett in harms way in a very similar situation.  But, in this instance NASCAR waited and waited and waited to throw the caution; instead hoping that Allmendinger could get his ride fired and out of the way.

NASCAR wanted to let the race reach a natural conclusion, but in doing so put Almendinger and the front of the field in harms way.  Once again the fans and competitors never know what direction NASCAR will follow when it comes time to end a race.  Cautions can be throw in a nano-second if debris is found on the trackand the field can be returned to a more entertaining formation.

NASCAR cannot be blamed for trying to let the drivers determine the outcome of the event.  They waited until the last possible second to throw the yellow in turn four but by that time it was too late to slow the oncoming cars significantly and the front pack had to perform evasive manuvers to avoud the #44.

This leads to this week’s BUZZ ON PIT ROW:

Should NASCAR have thrown the caution as soon as Allmendinger spun his car on the front straight?

While initially trying to let the race run its course, NASCAR made a ruling that Montoya, who raced past Hamlin for an apparent second place finish had to relinquish the spot to Hamlin because NASCAR’s loop data showed Hamlin ahead of Montoya when the late caution came out.

Once again it appears as if NASCAR wants to have it both ways.

Let us know what you think about this week’s BUZZ and we could use your comment on the radio show.  You could win a Kevin Harvick bobblehead if your comment is chosen as the Shell–Fuel My Passion–comment of the day. Listen live every Tuesday from 5-7pm ET and give the show a call–toll free– at 800-645-2946

photo credit: Icon Sports Media

Filed under: Denny Hamlin, Hendrick Motorsports, Mark Martin, NASCAR, NASCAR Conspiracies, New Hampshire International Speedway, On Pit Row The Fastest Two Hours on Radio, The Fast Lap 

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Earnhardt Jr Sighting at Michigan: Rick Hendrick Too

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by Charlie Turner

Thanks for stopping by OnPitRow.com and the Bench Racing with Steve and Charlie blog. The best NASCAR and IndyCar news and opinion, exclusive pictures and video. I'm Charlie Turner. Follow me on Twitter @onpitrow

August 18, 2009 12:49 pm CDT No Comments

It was good to see Dale Earnhardt Jr and the no. 88 Hendrick Motorsports team finish a strong third in the Carfax 400 at Michigan.

The way Junior was coming on, the last ten laps or so, had to have Junior Nation wishing for an extra lap or two. Either that car was real fast, or they just said to hell with gas mileage. Or maybe the big guy helped with the strategy stuff.

The “big guy” in this case was Mr Hendrick himself. Team owner Rick Hendrick spent the race on the pit box with Earnhardt’s team. Maybe the success wasn’t a coincidence.

Despite a disappointing 2009 so far, Junior hasn’t been quiet. Lately, he’s gotten vocal about the new car. Again.

I’ll ask you: Do you agree with Dale Earnhardt Jr when he says ” before the advent of double-file restarts, 95 percent of Sprint Cup races weren’t worth the price of a ticket.”

Read the whole article by Dustin Long. Junior has a lot more to say. But, do fans hate the racing as much as some of the drivers? I wonder.

Photo credit: BethAnne Heisler - OnPitRow.com

Filed under: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Hendrick Motorsports, Michigan International Speedway, NASCAR 

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