Future appears bright for newly-sponsored CJM Racing
By Lee Montgomery - Associate Editor
Saturday, April 19, 2008
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Jeff Gross / Getty Images
Jason Keller (11) leads Max Papis into a turn during practice for the NASCAR Nationwide Series Corona Mexico 200 at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
What began as a way to help Morgan Shepherd and his Christian ministry’s efforts has turned into a full-time Nationwide Series team – and a good one at that.
And now, CJM Racing has a six-year sponsorship deal that should keep the team strong for years to come.
Two years ago, brothers Tony and Bryan Mullet noticed Shepherd and the “Racing for Jesus” logos on his Cup series car and wanted to get involved.
“We said, ‘Hey, we really like what he stands for,’” Tony Mullet said. “‘Is there something we can do to help out?’ We dug into that a little deeper and said, ‘Why don’t we partner up and see if we can strengthen the ministry and his racing efforts?’”
Ministry is a big part of what the Mullets are trying to accomplish, and even the team’s mission statement reflects their Christian beliefs: “We are dedicated to positively representing God, our team members, sponsors and NASCAR on and off the track."
But ministry is only part of what CJM and the Mullets are trying to do. After racing with Shepherd, the brothers wanted to get more involved in NASCAR, fielding their own Cup car in 2006.
But then the car of tomorrow showed up for 2007, and things changed.
“That’s really when in my mind, the competition level stepped up another notch,” Mullet said.
So instead of pouring more money into a fledgling Cup effort, CJM switched to NASCAR’s No. 2 series. But there was a catch – a good catch, in fact.
Greg Pollex was looking to get out of NASCAR after years of running ppc Racing, so the veteran owner started talking to CJM. Pollex eventually joined CJM as a consultant, bringing driver Jason Keller, crew chief Todd Gordon and several employees with him.
Rather than having a pure start-up team, CJM was in essence an established team as soon as it started racing. Team chemistry was already established, as Mullet said the team was “very fortunate” to land Pollex, Keller and Gordon.
“That’s why we feel, from a success standpoint, we’ve been able to do what we’ve been able to do in the short time,” Mullet said. “That chemistry comes from years in the past, and not just three months, six months trying to pull all this together. That was amazing how all that came together.”
In CJM’s first race in the Busch Series, Keller started 35th and finished 14th. He was 13th in the team’s next race at Dover, and then finished sixth at Nashville.
And, remember, this is a standalone team, one unaffiliated with a Cup organization. Against the powerhouse Cup teams, an independent team isn’t supposed to do so well.
But don’t call CJM Racing an underdog team.
“We’re not discouraged when looking at the Cup program vs. the Nationwide program and resources,” Mullet said. “I believe you do your best to put yourself in a position to succeed. … I don’t look at it as an uphill battle that can’t be overcome.”
And now, CJM has a bigger cache of weapons at its disposal. In a unique sponsorship deal, the Incredible Pizza Company will back CJM’s efforts for the next six years.
Tony and Bryan Mullet are businessmen, owning an investment company called Tellum Holding Company. They invested in Incredible Pizza and will eventually open a series of franchises of the pizza restaurant/family entertainment center.
Part of the sponsorship deal includes the Mullets’ profit from their investment, but it’s more than that. It’s a solid deal that could allow CJM to expand to two Nationwide cars, or even to move back to the Sprint Cup Series in the future.
For now, though, not much changes for the team, both Mullet and Keller said. Originally committed to only the first 10 races of the season, CJM suddenly becomes a full-time team.
But the Mullets wanted the team to act full time while the sponsor search was on. That way, the team’s performance could do a lot of selling on its own.
“They did their job, and by sticking with the program and staring the 10 races in the face and saying, ‘We’re going to give it our all,’ [that] is really what allowed this to come together,” Mullet said. “Had we been running mediocre I don’t think this would’ve come together.”
And the goals don’t change, either.
“I know we only talked about a 10-race schedule to start with, but our goals were the same there: To get this program more and more competitive on the larger race tracks and really continue to build on what we started last April,” Keller said.
So don’t expect a lot of changes to CJM Racing in the near future. Sure, the team will add equipment and people as the need arises, but the Mullets will be smart with their money.
“From the performance side, it allows us to continue to build around the core that we have, to be able to continue to add people as we need, to attract good people,” Mullet said. “ ... But as far as going out and now being able to do a ton of things that we hadn’t done – we really were investing on the competition side because we felt like we just weren’t going to be able to attract a sponsor if we don’t get the job done on that end.”
Ultimately, that’s where the team wants to get it done: On the track.
With the solid foundation of Keller and Gordon, the backing of Incredible Pizza, CJM Racing could be in for even better things in the future.
- Mentioned Drivers:
- Jason Keller
Comments
1 response to "Future appears bright for newly-sponsored CJM Racing"
Frank Alford said:
Apr 19, 2008 at 8:19 PMI love seeing the Morgan Shepard car with "Racing for Jesus" on it. It is awesome that CJM Racing is finding away to continue that Ministry.
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