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We don’t normally read, let alone act on any PR emails we receive, but when I got a message about Forbes upcoming feature on NASCAR’s wealth, I got excited.  Every year, Forbes magazine does a ranking of the most valuable teams in NASCAR, along with a list of the highest paid drivers.  The leaders on both lists were Hendrick Motorsports and Dale Earnhardt Jr. respectively (no surprise there).  But what really caught my eye was a piece they did on Richard Petty’s re-emergence as the head of Richard Petty Motorsports.  In the story, some new information about the deal made with Andrew Murstein and Douglas Bergeron emerges, and the numbers and details are staggering.

Just as a quick refresher, remember that the Gilletts bought Richard Petty Motorsports before the 2009 season for $110 million.  They would later default on a $90 million loan that was part of the financing for the Petty deal.  Wachovia/Wells Fargo made attempts to restructure the debt with the Gilletts, at one time even offering to cut it down to $30 million.  Toward the end of the 2010 season, RPM began to struggle financially, and just barely finished the season with all four teams.  Following Homestead, Petty worked out a deal with investors Andrew Murstein and Douglas Bergeron to save RPM.

Now, here is where things get crazy.  According to Forbes, Murstein and Bergeron were able to buy the Gilletts’ outstanding $90 million note from Wells Fargo for a scant $11 million.  Then, Petty made a “several million dollar” investment of his own, and his stake was upped to something more substantial than his previous 4% share.  Petty topped off the deal by selling the rights to his name for “perpetuity.”  Wow.

So not only did RPM’s new owners buy the team for literally pennies on the dollar, but they also can make money off licensing out the Petty name for, well, forever.  Can we say steal of the century?

The Forbes piece goes on to say that of the $50 million RPM is expected to bring in via sponsorship deals this season, the company is expected to net between $5 and $6 million.  That means, depending on Petty’s stake, that Murstein and Bergeron could pay off their initial investment in as little as 2-3 years.  Not bad.

While it appears as though Petty basically sold his soul to save RPM, you almost have to gain a ton of respect for him.  We were on the verge of a NASCAR where the Petty name would cease to be apart of team ownership, and Richard did what was necessary to make sure that didn’t happen.  I don’t know how many people would have advised him to give up the rights to his name, and in essence the Petty brand, however (it certainly is a little crazy).  Even without this part, the new ownership group was getting a whole lot for very little. 

So, did Murstein and Bergeron get one hell of a deal?  Yep.  They didn’t get to where they are by seeking out bad deals after all.  And did Petty give up a lot to make this thing happen?  He sure did.  But at the end of the day, Petty is back at the helm of a NASCAR team, and the sport is a better place because of it.  Don’t be surprised if someday really soon, Richard Petty Motorsports sneaks it’s way into that top five of the Forbes most valuable NASCAR teams.

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Filed under: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Petty Enterprises, Daytona Int'l Speedway

Why is Richard Petty the King? Let us count the ways.

He won 200 races. He's signed at least a million autographs. He's 73 years old.

As impressive as those feats are, what makes Petty the greatest driver in NASCAR history isn't numbers. The King was good enough to win, but wise enough to know you don't win at all costs.

That's the big difference between Petty and Dale Earnhardt Sr. Sure, we could point to about total victories, win percentage and other arithmetic. But statistics can make any point you want.

Petty and Earnhardt each won seven NASCAR championships, but Petty won 137 more races. He did it pre-NASCAR boom, so Earnhardt fans will argue that it was easier to rack up checkered flags.

There's some truth to that, but it's also like saying Babe Ruth wouldn't have been Babe Ruth if baseball had been integrated and he'd had to play night games.

Petty won 27 of 48 races he entered in 1967, including 10 in a row. I don't care if he was racing against Danica Patrick's grandmother, that's astounding.

The King's critics will even say that 200th win wasn't legit. It was a premiere event, the Firecracker 400. Ronald Reagan was in the press box, making him the first sitting president to attend a NASCAR race.

 

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Filed under: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Kasey Kahne, Petty Enterprises, Sprint Cup, FanHouse Exclusive, NASCAR

EDITORS NOTE: When you start talking about Richard Petty's rightful place in NASCAR history vs. Dale Earnhardt vs. Jeff Gordon, you're going to get in an argument.

In his first book, Trading Paint: 101 Great NASCAR Debates, recently published by John Wiley & Sons Inc., motorsports writer Jerry Bonkowski tackles these questions and provides his unique viewpoint. Prior to joining FanHouse over a year ago as an editor, Jerry Bonkowski was National NASCAR Columnist for Yahoo! Sports and ESPN.com and wrote for USA Today.

Here are several excerpts from Bonkowski's book, which is available at Barnes & Noble, Borders and other book stores, as well as online at Amazon.com.

WHO'S THE GREATEST NASCAR DRIVER EVER?

This debate always gets passionate fans going, with typically mild-mannered individuals turning into raving, obsessed fanatics if someone dares to challenge the superiority of the guy they so proudly call "their" driver. Think of a 140-pound, Woody Allen-looking dweeb who lives and breathes Kasey Kahne suddenly getting a surge of testosterone, puffing out his chest while forgetting common sense, and stupidly trying to take on a hulking, 300-pound redneck who takes great offense if you say anything bad about Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Then watch the punched-out Woody Allen-esque fan suddenly wind up doing a frightening, almost cartoonlike barrel roll through the air like the great Rusty Wallace did more than a few times during his career at places like Talladega Superspeedway.

 

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Filed under: Carl Edwards, Dale Jarrett, Talladega Superspeedway, IRL, NASCAR

No way. Won't happen. No need.

That's the prevailing consensus on whether NASCAR drivers will ever create the type of drivers organization formalized in the IZOD IndyCar Series a couple weeks ago and that has long existed in Formula One and even the National Hot Rod Association.

There have been concerted efforts over the years by some of NASCAR's biggest names, like Richard Petty, and even a rarely-talked-about effort in 1997 by the late seven-time champ Dale Earnhardt, but nothing sustainable. More often, it was a hush-hush, backroom suggestion that a committee or association was even necessary. The idea of anything resembling a union, pure blasphemy.

And that's from current and former drivers, not just the sanctioning body.

"It's pretty simple, NASCAR is the destination of choice for almost every driver in the world so if you don't like it, there's someone that will be right there on your heels ready to take your place,'' driver Carl Edwards said this week. "Maybe that's why they (NASCAR) have been able to do their own thing for so long.''

Or as 1989 champion Rusty Wallace puts it, "Having some sort of committee like that would just screw everything up.''

 

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After six weeks, TNT’s turn at the helm of the Cup Series broadcasts is over. And if you ask me, it couldn’t have come any sooner.

From missed stories, to commercial overkill, TNT’s races were lackluster at best.

Thanks to the wonders of technology (the DVR) and Speed’s Wednesday re-broadcast, TC and I usually catch every race broadcast. Though it’s not something we often write about here (if you’re looking to talk NASCAR TV check out The Daly Planet) I felt the need to express my disappointment with what I saw of TNT’s coverage.

After dumping Bill Weber in the middle of last season, TNT had a hole to fill at play-by-play. While Ralph Sheheen was given an audition at the end of last season, the network settled on MRN and Speed Channel vet Adam Alexander.

Now I think Adam is a great guy. He’s good on pit road, and really a genuinely nice person. Play-by-play however is not his forte. As ESPN learned with Jerry Punch, adeptness on pit road does not necessarily translate to skills at play-by-play.

Not helping Adam’s transition was the lack of communication between the booth and the control room (or trailer). How many times during their stretch did we hear the guys in the booth talking about a driver, wreck, or on-track action only to continue seeing something completely unrelated? This sort of thing is incredibly frustrating to watch (I found myself yelling at the TV) – yet it happened over and over and over.

Let’s not even get started on the commercial breaks either. SB Nation’s Jeff Gluck fully went through those in a post earlier this week.

So to recap, what TNT gave the fans was basically this: Commercials, commercials, commercials, a few laps of racing, commercials, commercials, commercials. Then the broadcast would come back on, play-by-play man Adam Alexander would say, “While we were away…” and TNT would show us the important moment we missed.

The man knows what he’s talking about – as does anyone who has watched these races.

Add all this on top of the missed stories (this shouldn’t surprise me though, TNT has a history of missed moments) – AJ Allmendinger v. Richard Petty comes to mind – and what we have are broadcasts that were nothing short of a disappointment.

Now I’m not saying the FOX and ESPN broadcasts are flawless. They most certainly are not (no live sports broadcast is). They are however better than TNT. If you can get past the cartoon characters, and the occasional over-the-top personalities Fox technically has a wonderful broadcast. This is thanks in large part to their Emmy award winning director Artie Kempner, and the best play-by-play guy in the business, Mike Joy. And if there is one thing the folks at ESPN know how to do, it’s how to broadcast a sporting event (though I’m not crazy about their golf coverage). I’d prefer Allen Bestwick at play-by-play too.

Is TNT unwatchable? I think that’s probably a little harsh, but they definitely have work to do to make their broadcasts better. As Jeff Gluck and John Daly have pointed out, hopefully NASCAR and their television partners begin to realize maybe it’s not the product, but the dissemination of the product that’s driving people away.

What do you think about the broadcasts? What are your likes and dislikes? Which section of the season is your favorite?

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Last weekend at the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona, Richard Petty and RPM driver AJ Allmendinger had a short confrontation in the garage area after the race.  During the race, Allmendinger was involved in a wreck with Kyle Busch that sent him spinning off the track and into the inside wall.  AJ went on to finish the race, but 36th position, 30 laps down wasn’t the result he and his team were looking for.  Once in the garage, Petty had words with Allmendinger as he climbed from his race car.

I apologize for not having the video of the incident, but for whatever reason, I couldn’t seem to find it anywhere online.  In case you didn’t see it, Petty says something to Allmendinger as he climbs from the car that AJ doesn’t want to hear.  ’Dinger attempts to walk away, and Petty grabs his arm.  The two talk for a bit longer, with AJ attempting to escape again.

What exactly was said between the two I don’ t know.  It does appear to me however, that Petty was attempting to teach or point something out to Allmendinger about the day, and AJ didn’t want to hear it.  Either way, I don’t think anyone is to blame for the spat, and I don’t think it will have any lasting effect on their relationship.

Robbie Loomis, RPM’s VP of Competition, came out after the incident and tried to downplay the confrontation.

“I always say the car owner shouldn’t talk to the driver anytime after the race, especially after an accident,” Petty VP Robbie Loomis said. “I think Richard’s been here so many times, he’s been through this stuff and he was just trying to get him to loosen up and let the boys do their stuff on fixing the car and getting back out there. Anytime you talk to somebody at the wrong time, it always causes discussion that needs to be worked out. That’s all that happened.”

Richard Allen from RacingwithRich.com thinks that the confrontation may affect AJ’s future with RPM, but I disagree.  Allmendinger was clearly upset about how the race played out, and you can’t blame the guy for being angry.  And if anyone knows what it’s like to be disappointed by a race, it should be Richard Petty.  Both are very passionate about racing, and that passion is going to boil over at certain times.  In this case, Allmendinger let his temper get the better of him, and Petty just chose the wrong time to try and make his point to his young driver. 

With it being Friday already, I’m sure Petty and Allmendinger have already sat down and worked out any issues they may have had.  Both are passionate competitors, and I’m sure once calm, AJ will listen to anything Richard has to say.  In the future, hopefully Petty will wait until their weekly meeting to offer any advice or thoughts to his drivers.

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You guys and gals know I love bringing you contest where you can win something. Here is a cool contest that should be a lot of fun.

BC and Goody’s Online “Pick A Powder” Contest Kicks Off Starring Trace Adkins and Richard Petty
Humorous Collection Of Short Videos Showing Them In Each Other’s World Is At The Heart Of The Campaign Along With A Charity Tie

Parsippany, NJ (June 30, 2010) – Known just as much for their talents as they are for wearing their signature cowboy hats, country music superstar Trace Adkins, and racing legend and NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty, have begun a humorous “rivalry” of one-upsmanship about who experiences the toughest pain.

BC Powder and Goody’s Headache Powders, the brands Adkins and Petty represent, are going head-to-head in an online contest with their respective spokespeople leading the charge. The BC and Goody’s “Pick A Powder” campaign plays off the fierce and generational loyalty users have to either Goody’s or BC. Both Adkins and Petty will try to get their fans around the country to pick their team to support: Team Richard for Goody’s and Team Trace for BC on www.pickapowder.com. The man who gets the most fans to join his team will get to see the other “perform” LIVE at the Goody’s 500 in Martinsville, Va. next spring. The campaign also features a charity component with a donation being made to the Wounded Warrior Project on behalf of Adkins and BC, and Victory Junction Camp for seriously ill children on behalf of Petty and Goody’s.

Through the series of spoofs, jabs, challenges and contests, Adkins and Petty boldly take on new experiences in each other’s profession that sometimes work and sometimes don’t. The funny moments have been captured on film and will be posted to www.pickapowder.com. For example, you’ll be able to watch 6-foot-6 Trace get in and try to get out of Richard’s Petty’s car, and you’ll be able to hear Richard sing Karaoke. Fans of either or both men will be brought into the fold to help decide which brand is the favorite among powders users and which one of the two men truly suffers from the toughest pain.

Starting June 30, fans will be able to go to www.pickapowder.com and choose Team Richard or Team Trace. After fans register with a team they can vote daily. Fans and supporters will be able to participate in various contests and win prizes, including an all expense paid VIP trip for four to The Goody’s 500 at Martinsville Speedway (race tickets, air and hotel) for the Team Richard winner, and an all-expense paid VIP trip for four to a Trace Adkins concert stop (concert tickets, air and hotel) in early 2011 (location TBD) for the Team Trace winner. Winners will be announced in early October.

Richard Petty Trace Adkins Contest is a post from: Awesome Race Fans

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Filed under: Dale Earnhardt Jr., NASCAR Awards, Sprint Cup, NASCAR Hall of Fame

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Nearly two weeks after first opening its doors, the NASCAR Hall of Fame in downtown Charlotte hosted more than 2,300 people - from overall-clad moonshiners to champion drivers to fans dressed in souvenir t-shirts and flip-flops - who came together Sunday afternoon to induct the Hall's first five members.

A Who's Who list of the sport's royalty gathered to celebrate Richard Petty's legend, Junior Johnson's iconic status and to honor the legacies of the late seven-time champion Dale Earnhardt and NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. and his son Bill France Jr., who guided NASCAR into its "modern era."

The accolades and primary focus were clearly on the five first-time inductees. It was, however, very clear this day was a celebration of the sport in general and the crucial role this inaugural class played in launching it beyond a regional pastime and into the American mainstream.

"Today, everybody was on the same team,'' said champion team owner Rick Hendrick, who delivered the induction speech for Bill France Jr.

"Today everybody is celebrating our sport. We all won today.''

 

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The Duke Blue Devils -- nowhere more loved or reviled than here in their home state -- gained a big new fan this year in North Carolina's own Richard Petty, but not for any athletic accomplishments.

Since early February, Petty and his wife, Lynda, have been traveling back and forth from their home in Level Cross to the Duke University Medical Center in Durham, where Lynda has been receiving chemotherapy treatments for a brain tumor at the Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center.

"If I was never a Duke fan before, I'm a Duke fan now," Petty said at the NASCAR Hall of Fame Tuesday when asked about how his wife was doing. "Not that I wasn't, but it's brought me that much closer to Duke, that's for sure."

Meanwhile, Lynda Petty spoke out for the first time, telling WGHP Fox 8 News in an interview aired Thursday night, "I thought, 'Lord, give me the strength to get through this,' because I knew it was going to be the battle of my life."

Lynda told reporter Bob Buckley of the High Point, N.C., station that she first began having problems while the family was on vacation at their Wyoming ranch home.

 

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Filed under: Petty Enterprises

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- The rumble from a pair of motors interrupted the opening ceremony at the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Nobody seemed to mind, though, when Richard Petty pulled his 1974 Dodge Charger onto the ceremonial plaza, with Junior Johnson trailing in a 1940 Ford. The two members of NASCAR's inaugural Hall of Fame class climbed from the cars they are most associated with to a rousing ovation.

"This is the greatest thing that's ever happened to me," Johnson said of being part of the first induction class.

Started in 1948, the National Association of Stock Car Racing finally opened its Hall of Fame on Tuesday with a star-studded ceremony.

North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue joined Charlotte area dignitaries and representatives of NASCAR's past and present on a stage outside the Hall for the hour-long opening ceremony. After Johnson and Petty's arrival -- Petty in a replica of his No. 43 STP Dodge, and Johnson in a No. 3 Ford that read "Carolina Moonshine" -- several past champions scanned their entrance cards to officially open the doors.

 

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