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:
“I want to get there because I deserve it and because of wins and because teams want me to be there, not because I’m going to bring a sponsor.”
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:
We’ve done this enough to know we’re never going to do a deal just to do a deal. We learned in the past the hard way. Unless you have a guy there that you think can win races, win championships and compete week in and week out, it’s not worth doing. So, our guys really kind of got together a while ago and figured, ‘Hey, Brian is one of those guys when you see what he’s done in just a really kind of a short career span,’ and I think that’s really going to bode well for us.
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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Justin Allgaier has had a solid season. In his second year in the Nationwide Series he has one win, two poles, 11 top-fives, 19 top-10s, 221 laps led (including 88 laps led this weekend) and a solid lock on fourth place in the points. He’s the leading Nationwide-only driver in the points and one of only four in the top-10. And yet he’s looking for a ride (I wrote about this a couple of weeks ago).
On the flip side is Brian Scott. He’s an OK driver and an affable guy. He lost his ride this season after the sale of Braun Racing to Steve Turner, owner of Turner Motorsports – it turns out Steve Turner only likes funded drivers when he’s doing the funding. Anyway, Scott, who has been driving for RAB Racing as of late, has had a mediocre season in which he’s posted one top-five and five top-10s. He sits 14th in the points.
Now both of these guys have talked to Joe Gibbs Racing about next year. One has money to fund a ride, the other doesn’t.
Last month JD Gibbs spoke glowingly about Scott and their potential relationship.
“I have a lot of respect for Brian…I met him several years ago and have followed him since he’s been in the sport. I think he’s gifted. We’re just going to go to work and see if something works out…We would love to have someone that could run for the full driver’s championship. Right now we can run (for) the owners championship but we can’t run the full drivers (title). I’d love to have someone that could run for the full driver’s championship and he’d be a good fit for that.”
On the other hand Allgaier spoke to ESPN’s David Newton a couple of weeks ago about where he stands.
Richard Petty Motorsports would be an ideal place for this budding star. Joe Gibbs Racing has been rumored to show interest. Allgaier admits he’s had casual talks with both of them, but not to the point he would say there is strong interest unless he has a sponsor promising to come with him.
Talking about how and why drivers have their rides these days has been a bit of a taboo subject. Consider this little back and forth between Kenny Wallace and Brian Scott on Twitter. Wallace, while talking about Trevor Bayne, said: “MY THOUGHTS..Trevor Bayne is a good driver, He will get a ride Imediately (sic) !..Brian Scotts dad is wealthy he will BUY a ride Imediately (sic)…”
Despite the bluntness of the statement, what Wallace said was true. Joe Scott’s the chairman of the JA & Kathryn Albertson Foundation, an Idaho real estate developer and the grandson of the founder of the grocery chain Albertson’s. The Scotts have money and are very able to help their son’s career.
Justin Allgaier too comes from a family who has been able financially to help his dream. Funding an ARCA team though is a little different than a Nationwide team. And the fact is, Allgaier got his job at Penske on his merits – not his family’s money.
Unfortunately, what we have today is a very expensive sport where winning and being competitive isn’t always the most important thing. There was a time not too long ago that rent-a-rides only existed at small organizations. Today, just about everybody has somebody paying for a ride.
I worry often that this practice is leaving us with a talent vacuum. The drivers are certainly out there, but if the only ones getting a chance are the ones with money, what does this mean for the future of competition?
It’s a tough situation we’re in, but one I hope doesn’t stand the test of time. It’s unfortunate a driver with all the talent in the world and strong record is no longer guaranteed a ride, but a driver with a thin record and all the money in the world is.
On Friday in Phoenix, the biggest buzz before the Nationwide Series race seemed to be about whether or not John Wes Townley had been fired from Richard Childress Racing. Following a practice crash that destroyed the team’s primary car, Townley was yanked from the seat and Clint Bowyer took over for the remainder of the day. Internet rumors swirled that Townley had gotten the boot, but Lee Spencer of FoxSports.com reported this afternoon that Townley is still at RCR, but his future will be decided on Tuesday. My only question about all of this, is what was RCR expecting?
Last season, Townley jumped from ARCA competition to the Nationwide Series with RAB Racing. Of the 32 races he attempted, he DNQ’d for six of them. In the 26 races he did run, Townley had 10 DNFs and only managed to complete 73% of the laps. He had an average start of 24.2 and an average finish of 27.6. Not exactly a stellar rookie campaign.
Entering the 2010 season, Townley and his family sponsor Zaxby’s decided to leave RAB and take their money to Richard Childress Racing. Through the first five races of this season, Townley has actually improved fairly markedly over his first year. He has an average start of 10.0, an average finish of 22.4, has completed 96% of the laps, and only has one DNF. While he is still tearing up equipment, progress has been made.
From the various reports online, it appears Townley will be out of the #21 through Texas, and may return at Talladega. But all of this still leaves me wondering what RCR thought they were getting in bringing Townley over.
The obvious answer in this situation is money. RCR’s Nationwide program lost sponsor Holiday Inn after the 2009 season, and Townley and the Zaxby’s money enabled RCR to keep the program going. The difficulty for RCR in this deal though, is the fact that Zaxby’s was partially founded by Townley’s family and his father still serves as the company’s CFO. Knowing this, there is no way that I see where the contract would allow John Wes to be replaced all together if the performance wasn’t there.
So now, apparently we’ve reached the point where RCR can’t stomach Townley destroying any more of their equipment (despite JWT’s improvement).
It will be interesting to watch this situation going forward, because I’m not sure the Townleys will continue footing the bill for a race team that John Wes isn’t apart of. Which really leaves RCR with only two options: let Zaxby’s and Townley walk; or continue dealing with a young driver who will probably never figure it out.
And therein lies the dilemma when a team makes the decision to bring in a funded driver. Is the money really worth it? The ball’s in your court RCR.
I heard a rumor this weekend about a “funded” driver with an opportunity at a large, well respected organization. I would name names, but I don’t know how much credit I give the rumor. That really isn’t the point of my post though.
This movement toward the funded driver has become the rule instead of the exception in recent years; while not so prevalent in the Cup Series, this is very visible in the Nationwide and Truck Series.
Now I write this not to bash those who are able to fund their own rides. Certainly some of these guys have talent and are more than deserving of their positions. That said, not all of them are.
Again I’ll refrain from naming names, but I think we all can think of a few guys who probably shouldn’t be driving a stock car in one of NASCAR’s national series. Now how would you feel if one of those drivers took their money to your favorite team (if your favorite team hasn’t already accepted money from a funded driver)?
Would that make you feel different about that team? Personally I feel like we hold larger, older, more established organizations to a different standard. I guess it wasn’t so bad when DEI took Paul Menard’s money, but, let’s face it, Paul Menard isn’t that bad.
But what if Childress, Hendrick, JGR or Roush were willing to take money from a not so great funded driver, just for the sake of the paycheck? Or even as has been rumored, Menard to RCR? This is something RCR has never done. Is it just a sign of the times?
Personally I’m conflicted about these situations. From a team standpoint I understand money is tight and these organizations can use these drivers for information and to have another butt in a seat. From the other side though these organizations are taking part in an activity that isn’t looked upon too favorably (especially by fans).
Just something to think about. These situations are likely to occur more often in the future, but I always kind of expected this phenomenon to remain with smaller organizations. Oh and if I hear more about the rumor I referenced at the beginning and can actually do a reasonable job verifying it I’ll spill the beans.
Update: So I guess Catchfence was more comfortable with the rumor than I was. Good timing on my part though, right?
Whatever your feelings are on JWT, you’ve got to wonder what this means for Stephen Leicht. This is a kid who does have talent, but does not have a big sponsor behind him. Let’s hope RCR finds an opportunity for him.
I’ll be honest with you, I have a lot of respect for Richard Childress and his organization, this is a storied organization, but this makes me think a little differently about them. Maybe I’m making too much of this, but it’s a sad day. As TC remarked to me, I hope they’re ready to hire a lot more body hangers.