Category: NASCAR Cup Series

During the gap between the conclusion of the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup season and the beginning of champion’s week in Las Vegas we thought there might be a shortage of interesting story lines. Surely time off for Thanksgiving dinner with families would have curtailed any and all NASCAR activity. That didn’t turn out to be the case.

[media-credit name=”FMCM” align=”alignleft” width=”300″][/media-credit]Over the past several days we watched a king reclaim his kingdom. We welcomed a new member to the NASCAR nation from a racing team that seemed to have a lot of babies this year and we even got to see Danica Patrick fuel the fantasy of Homer Simpson. With those thoughts in mind let’s begin with:

HOORAH to King Richard Petty for pulling off a major coup that many of us thought was not possible. Petty, along with new partners Medallion Financial Corporation and DGB Investments put up the funding to completely purchase the assets of Richard Petty Motorsports from former majority owner George Gillett. Under the troubled Gillett regime, Richard Petty Motorsports, (RPM), was named after the king of stock car racing primarily for marketing purposes. Petty was, in fact, a minority owner reported to have only four percent of the team. Under the new program he is now the Chairman of RPM and will oversee day to day operations.

Since Monday’s announcement we are starting to learn more details. It seems that the new partnership has relieved RPM of an estimated $100 million in troublesome debt which completely clears the slate for the team to focus on the 2011 season. Considering the state of the overall national economy, it’s also quite remarkable how fast Petty was able to put this investment team together.

*************

A HOORAH and GOD BLESS goes to Christy and Jamie McMurray who welcomed the arrival of their first child on Thanksgiving day. Carter Scott McMurray became the newest member of the NASCAR nation weighing in at seven pounds, 12 ounces and measuring a full 20 inches. Mom and son are reported to be doing terrific.

As we all know McMurray is the driver of the #1 Chevrolet for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing. The arrival of young Carter McMurray marks the eighth child that has blessed a member of this racing team in 2010. It suggests that it may be time for team owners Teresa Earnhardt and Chip Ganassi to check the water that’s being distributed to their buildings.

Another HOORAH and GOD BLESS goes to Regan Smith, the driver of the #78 Chevrolet fielded by Furniture Row Racing. Smith and his long time girl friend, Megan, officially announced their engagement last weekend and we wish them the very best.

*************

HOORAH for a very animated Danica Patrick who made a guest appearance on the Fox Network’s popular program “The Simpsons” last Sunday night. During the episode Homer Simpson wandered off to one of his frequent fantasies. That’s when Danica Patrick appeared saying “I have a sponsor obligation to appear in men’s fantasies whenever they tell me to.” It was a very cute and funny moment.

However, WAZZUP with Homer’s wife, Marge Simpson, appearing in the middle of the scene and calling Danica Patrick “a garage bimbo?”

************

From our 2011 forecast department, WAZZUP with all of the speculation we’ve been seeing and hearing regarding Hendrick Motorsports’ #48 team winning a sixth, consecutive, Sprint Cup championship in 2011? It’s even been designated as “Jimmie Johnson’s six pack.”

It’s way too early for that speculation. We should wait until he’s officially presented with the fifth championship this Friday night before we starting engraving his name on next year’s trophy. The only “six pack” we should be discussing at this point in time should be about beer.

As many fans are aware, NASCAR officials are considering making some adjustments to their Sprint Cup Chase For The Championship format. One of those changes could involve elevating the Chase line up from the top 12 drivers in the points standings to the top 15.

That leads to a WAZZUP for some of the names the NASCAR bloggers have devised for this possible change. They seem to be calling it “the Dale Earnhardt Jr. rule” and, in some cases “the Dale Earnhardt Jr. pension plan.” I must admit that second one is pretty funny.

HOORAH for some pre 2011 season bravado, along with the power of positive thinking, displayed by driver Carl Edwards. When recently asked if he felt that Jimmie Johnson was en route to becoming the greatest driver in NASCAR, Edwards, without so much as a blink of the eye, quickly responded “no, I feel like I’m better than him.”

************

HOORAH to Tony Stewart for spending a portion of the Thanksgiving holiday weekend winning the first round of the Las Vegas Sprint Car Nationals. Already scheduled to be in town for the upcoming NASCAR champion’s week, Stewart arrived early and climbed into one of his self owned sprint cars to sling some mud at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway’s dirt track. The result was his first ever win in the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series.

It also confirms something that I’ve said for many years now. “Smoke” can drive, and win, in literally any form of racing he chooses to participate in.

*************

The final HOORAHS of the week goes to some humorous NASCAR notable quotables observed on “Twitter”. 

The first HOORAH goes to Darrell Waltrip and his “Twitter” report on Thanksgiving dinner where he wrote “we’ve done it again, this time (it was) honey baked ham, carrot cake and more pumpkin pie. My stretch pants won’t stretch anymore. I need a restrictor plate.”

When it comes to creative “Twitter” messages, NASCAR wife and team owner Delana Harvick is really good at it. On Thanksgiving day she wrote “dog decided to eat every piece of s**t out of the litter box. Cat litter everywhere. My fun meter is pegged.”

Monday morning’s announcement that said “King” Richard Petty has successfully put together an investment team to take control of the NASCAR Sprint Cup team that bears his name left us all stunned. It was only this time last week that we were wondering if Richard Petty Motorsports, (RPM), was going to make it to the race track when the green flag fell on the start of the 2011 season next February.

[media-credit id=26 align=”alignleft” width=”300″][/media-credit]On Monday RPM officially signed paperwork to close the sale on the racing assets to an investment group led by Richard Petty himself along with the Medallion Financial Corporation and DGB Investments. Richard Petty will become the Chairman of the new ownership group and will oversee RPM’s day to day operations.

The team will field two Fords next year. The #43 driven by A J Allmendinger and the #9 driven by Marcos Ambrose. Best Buy Stores, and their Insignia electronics brand, was Allmendinger’s primary sponsor this year. Their current agreement was up for renewal and, as of last week, they have not signed the new contract. The speculation here says they may have been waiting to see where the future of RPM was heading. Monday’s announcement of new team ownership and apparent financial solvency will likely be a great help to that cause. Meanwhile, the Ambrose Ford is set for 2011 with primary sponsorship from Stanley Tools.

From a prepared statement, issued by RPM on Monday, Richard Petty said “today is a great day for me, my family, our fans and our wonderful sponsors. Ford, Stanley, Best Buy, Valvoline, Reynolds, the U.S. Air Force, Super 8, the Paralyzed Victims of America, Wix Filters and Menards have supported me through thick and thin and I thank them from the bottom of my heart.”

Petty was also gracious to the Gillett family, who are now the former majority owners of the team. “George and Foster Gillett deserve a great deal of credit for running a successful race team. They made a significant investment into the business and helped get (the team) back to victory lane. Going forward, we have put together an all star ownership team consisting of myself, Medallion and (DGB) VeriFone, Our partnership with Andy Murstein, (Medallion Corp.), and Doug Bergeron, (DGB Investments), will help take us to a whole new level and I could not be more excited about our future.” Petty said.

As far as the new RPM corporate line up is concerned, Petty will be keeping some very impressive company. Andrew Murstein is the President of the Medallion Financial Corporation. At twenty percent ownership, his family is the company’s largest shareholder. Medallion Financial, a publicly traded investment company, has successfully invested over $3 billion in a variety of companies since 1996.

Equally impressive are some of the names who comprise Medallion’s Board of Directors. It now seems that Richard Petty will be doing business with another hall of famer from the world of sports. Major League Baseball icon “Hammerin’” Hank Aaron is a member of the Medallion Board of Directors. Other Board notables include former New York Governor Mario Cuomo and former Connecticut Governor and Senator Lowell Weicker.

From Monday’s RPM official statement, Murstein said “we could not be happier to be able to acquire these assets together. Richard is one of the greatest names, not only in NASCAR, but in all sports. His name and image are a world recognized brand with unlimited potential to grow and expand in racing. Ample working capital has been invested in the company to insure this great team and legend will not only continue to perform, but will thrive and be back in the winner’s circle.”

DGB Investments is owned by Canadian born business investor Douglas G. Bergeron who is also the CEO of the San Jose-California based VeriFone Systems Inc. In 2001, Bergeron and DGB made financial headlines with the participation in acquiring the assets of VeriFone Systems from Hewlett-Packard for a reported $50 million.

Commenting on his latest investment, in the world of NASCAR racing, Bergeron said “with Richard Petty’s unmatched name and reputation in the motorsports industry, I know this investment is well timed to succeed. We are going to help put RPM back in victory lane.”

As early as November 21st Richard Petty was optimistic that his mission to assume control of RPM’s assets from majority owner George Gillett was on track and his team would be active during the 2011 season. “We’re going to make it,” an enthusiastic Petty said at the time. However there were observers who were highly skeptical about RPM’s future. Many of those critics felt that it simply wasn’t possible for Petty to save his team in time for the start of the new racing season. It’s now obvious that Petty knew something last week that the rest of us didn’t.

For over five decades I have been adamantly telling anyone who will listen that I am Richard Petty’s greatest fan. That driver-fan relationship began back in 1958 when a six year old bashful boy from South Carolina obtained the autograph of a future king for the very first time.

It’s sad to have to admit that I was one of those skeptics who openly wondered if RPM’s days were numbered. I also wondered if Petty, at age 73, really needed the stress of trying to put together an investment team to assume control of this racing operation. The stress from trying to keep RPM’s doors open, due to the growing financial collapse of George Gillett, over the past three months alone was enough to bring a much younger man to his knees.

I am thrilled to tell you that I was wrong. Job well done King Richard.

After a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend and more food that I should have even attempted to consume, it was finally time to reflect on the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. Although the result at the end was the same as it has been for the last five years, I keep hearing the new rallying cry for those who tend to cheerlead for the sanctioning body. That statement is that the 2010 season was the most competitive in the history of NASCAR. Please. It’s not even close and for a number of reasons.

[media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignleft” width=”300″][/media-credit]The 2010 championship race was close, but just like a closer 2004 championship in which Kurt Busch beat out Jimmie Johnson by eight points, it was artificially contrived. Listening to those cheerleaders, you’d think that racing in the past were always runaways with the winner being ahead by a lap and the rest of the field just driving around. Today we have the “Lucky Dog” which allows a driver to make up a lap without racing for it. Done in the name of safety, it allows the more affluent teams to make up laps when they make an unfortunate mistake. I can remember the race at Richmond International Raceway in 1970 when Richard Petty made up multiple laps by racing for them. James Hylton won the race, but Petty wasn’t given any consideration, like today.

Then there’s the wave around. Fans love this system whereby if the cars are on the end of the lead lap they are waved around to the end of the lead lap and don’t have to race to keep their position on the lead lap. The double-file restart artificially makes racing closer allowing a car in the tenth position to only be only four cars from the lead. There are advantages today.

In 1970, when you really had to earn your position on the track by racing, there were 10 winners, among three manufacturers. In 47 races, 21 Plymouths, 14 Dodges, and 12 Fords won that year. In 1980, Dale Earnhardt won the championship by 18 points. In 2010, Jimmie Johnson won the championship by 39 points. During the season, 12 drivers won, but most were in Chevrolets (18). Toyota won 12 races, Ford won four races, and Dodge won two. The four dominant teams of Hendrick Motorsports, Richard Childress Racing, Joe Gibbs Racing, and Roush-Fenway Racing won 28 of the 36 races (and I’m counting the Stewart-Haas wins in this total). And they won those with a contrived system.

So I contend that 2010 wasn’t the most competitive season in NASCAR history. Far from it. NASCAR, in their quest to make folks more interested, have created the Chase, the Lucky Dog, the wave around, and the double file restart and then have proclaimed how much better they are. Sorry, but it just doesn’t play well with those of us who have lived long enough to remember the past.

It’s a good marketing slogan, and lord knows the series needs it, but it’s nowhere accurate. The year 2010 was good, but claiming it the best in history is a little much. Any sport that claims the most competitive season must explain why the same guy wins every year. Of course, that the fallacy of placing so much emphasis on the championship, but as we have seen, it has a lot more to do with competition in the races than the championship anyway. Let’s hope 2011 sees the parity among teams that we should see and have seen in the distant past.

Seven-time NASCAR champion, Richard Petty, has regained control of day to day operations and will serve as Chairman at the new Richard Petty Motorsports.

The racing organization that found itself in financial distress has signed and closed a sale of it’s racing assets.  Richard Petty Motorsports will now be owned by an investment group comprised of Richard Petty, Medallion Financial Corp. and DGB Investments.

The team will continue to operate out of the Concord shop with the famous No. 43 being driven by AJ Allmendinger and the No. 9 car being driven by Marcos Ambrose.

[media-credit id=26 align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]Petty said, “Today is a great day for me, my family, our fans, and our wonderful sponsors, Ford, Stanley Tools, Best Buy, Valvoline, Reynolds, Air Force, Super 8, PVA, Wix Filters and Menards have supported me through thick and thin and I thank them from the bottom of my heart.”

Petty gave credit to George Gillett and his son, Foster Gillett, for running a successful team and their significant investment that helped get them to Victory Lane.

Andrew Murstein, President of Medallion Financial, stated, “We could not be happier to be able to acquire these assets together.  Richard Petty is one of the greatest names, not only in NASCAR, but in all sports.  His name and image are a world recognized brand with unlimited potential to grow and expand in racing.  Ample working capital has been invested in the company to insure this great team and legend will not only continue to perform, but will thrive and be back in the winner’s circle.”

Douglas Bergeron of DGB Investments commented, “With Richard Petty’s unmatched name and reputation in the motorsports industry, I know this investment is well-timed to succeed.  We are going to help put Richard Petty Motorsports back in Victory Lane.”

Petty concluded, “Our partnership with Andy Murstein and Doug Bergeron will help take us to a whole new level and I could not be more excited about our future.”