Gary Baker: Being a NASCAR team owner not as easy as it looks

By Lee Montgomery - Associate Editor

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Brewco Motorsports owner Gary Baker.

David Griffin
NASCAR Scene

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Gary Baker knew what he was getting into. He really did.

He knew owning his own team in what is now known as the NASCAR Nationwide Series would present challenges that would be difficult to overcome. He knew that moving a team from Central City, Ky., to Nashville, Tenn., would be a large hurdle.

He knew procuring sponsorship for such an endeavor would be hard. And he knew competing as an independent team would be tough.

But a little more than a year after buying Brewco Motorsports, the veteran NASCAR competitor never figured it would be this hard.

Was it more difficult than he imagined a year ago?

“The quick answer is yes,” said Baker, the co-owner of the Baker Curb Racing team. “Let me say that again: ‘Yes!’ Let me scream it.”

Brewco was one of the more successful independent teams, but owner Clarence Brewer wanted a way out of NASCAR. He sold part of the team to Baker, a former NASCAR track owner and operator, and then recording company executive Mike Curb bought the rest.

The first task was to move the team from Central City to a building Baker bought in Nashville. That, it turned out, was more difficult than expected, and a lot of the operating budget was spent trying to upgrade the building to a race shop.

The second task was getting sponsorship for a second team and perhaps a third. Backing for the No. 37 Ford never materialized, and the car was eventually sidelined. A third team? It existed only in Baker’s head.

The No. 27 was fully funded with sponsorship from Kimberly-Clark, and Baker signed up-and-coming Brad Coleman to drive the car. Paired with veteran crew chief Shawn Parker, the match seemed to be a good one.

Coleman scored a ninth-place finish in the season’s third Nationwide race of 2008, but he wouldn’t finish in the top 10 again until his last race with the team.

That race, at Watkins Glen, was also Parker’s final event with the team. Together with rumors of financial trouble, the departures of driver and crew chief seemed to signal down times for Baker Curb.

But Baker said that’s not the whole story. He knew Coleman would not be back for 2009, no matter what, and he supported his young driver’s move to an apparent Sprint Cup ride.

Parker’s move wasn’t exactly a surprise either, especially with the birth of a child, Baker said.

“I think it was a little bit of the ol’ candle on both ends, and he was just getting a little tired,” Baker said. “We sort of saw it coming, but we’re still the best of friends and we’re 100 percent supportive of both of those guys in anything they go to do.”

As for the alleged financial trouble, there wasn’t any. Parking the No. 37 car was out of necessity because of a lack of sponsorship.

“This year ended up almost being a throwaway because that sponsor we thought we had for the 37 sort of flaked out right at the last minute,” Baker said. “We were high and dry.”

Some in the Nationwide garage had doubts about the long-term stability of the team, with whispers that Baker had spent all the Kimberly-Clark money on getting the team’s shop ready.

There is some truth to that, Baker said, but he added that it is not at all uncommon for business to spend operating budget on other things and then shuffle money around to pay bills.

“We had about 30 to 45 days to get that building ready to go,” Baker said. “The situation was we took some of the operating budget money … to get this building ready fast because, ‘Hey, guys, the transporters are bringing cars in. We’re bringing equipment in. We’ve got to put this stuff down.’”

Baker wanted to refinance the building, but he and Curb disagreed on that plan.

“It’s not a big deal, but Mike and I had a difference of opinion on that,” Baker said. “Sometimes that kind of stuff happens between two business partners, and he didn’t want to refinance the building. We’re working our way out of that, and I’ve already put in enough money to cover what was taken out, believe me.”

The operating budget is back where it was, Baker said.

Still, he shakes his head with he thinks about 2008 and the number of challenges the team faced.

“Our best this year wasn’t good enough,” Baker said. “But you have so many strikes against you before you even step to the plate. It’s the strikes that are against you that are inherent in the system, the way it’s structured right now.”

The system is slanted against independent teams, he said, and in favor of the Sprint Cup teams that run in the Nationwide Series.

“It was like stepping to the plate with two-and-a-half strikes against you and both arms tied behind your back,” Baker said.

But he also said they will continue to swing. And recently, the outfit has been able to grind out some hits.

The team signed veteran Jason Keller to drive its No. 27 car, and last week, crew chief Todd Gordon joined Baker Curb to reunite with Keller (they were together at CJM Racing). Former crew chief Jeff White went back to his job as engineer, where Baker said he can best utilize his talents.

“As far as we’re concerned, the ‘09 season has started with Jason coming on board,” Baker said. “Everything right now is geared toward Daytona already.”

And Baker hopes to have a second driver to pair with Keller next year, depending on sponsorship.

“If you think today you can run competitively running one car, you’re definitely in the joy juice,” Baker said. “It just can’t happen. We’ve got to have two cars, and it’s all right with us if we end up with three cars on the track.”

Baker said he has a “handshake” agreement for sponsorship for half of next year’s races for the No. 37 team and is in talks with two or three other potential backers for the remaining races.

“Here’s where you’re going to wonder whether I’ve been in the joy juice, but … we’re thinking maybe there’s a possibility of even a third car,” Baker said. “If we get the other half [for the 37], and you have three [others] hot and lathered up, you say, ‘OK, guys, we’ll just start a third car, and we’ll still go.’”

Yes, even after the difficult ’08 season, Baker said he and Curb are committed to the Nationwide Series, despite its challenges. Completing the package of a second team with full sponsorship is very close.

“I see so many positives for next year, I get giddy,” Baker said. “It’s just right there. It’s just right there. We’ve got to step up to the next step on the stepladder, and then we can reach it. We can grab it.”

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Comments

1 response to "Gary Baker: Being a NASCAR team owner not as easy as it looks".

1

Keith Johnson said:
Oct 23, 2008 at 10:59 PM
NASCAR must limit 6 cup drivers per nationwide race so those teams can make enough money to stay healthy
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