JTG Daugherty Racing to scale back Nationwide teams for '09

By SceneDaily Staff

Wednesday, January 07, 2009

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JTG Daughterty Racing co-owner Tad Geschickter said Wednesday that the team’s No. 47 NASCAR Nationwide Series team for driver Kelly Bires will run at least 12 races in 2009 as sponsorship issues will likely force the team to cut back to part-time status.

Geschickter has run full-time teams in the series since the mid-1990s, running two cars since 2004. But JTG Daugherty likely will have two part-time teams in 2009.

“The nature of most of our sponsorship is a pay-as-you-go, business-to business relationship,” Geschickter said. “I can tell you we’re going to go to Daytona and Bristol. I can tell you that relationship’s going to continue to provide money to the operation. I would anticipate 12 [races] would be the least we would run, but you may see us run a lot more than that. We’re going to make the money from the sponsorship before we spend it rather than go ahead spend it and bet on how much it’s going to turn into.”

Geschickter said Frank Kerr, crew chief for the team’s Sprint Cup car driven by Marcos Ambrose, will likely call the shots for Bires on race days. Otherwise, a full-time replacement for the departed Scott Zipadelli will not be named.

The team’s No. 59 Nationwide entry, driven last year by Ambrose, will sit most of the year. Ambrose will run two Nationwide road-course races, and development driver Coleman Pressley could drive in some short-track events later in the year.

Geschickter is hardly discouraged by having to scale back his Nationwide team.

“With this economy, [Bires] understands and we understand we need to run as much as we can afford to run … and try to go out and win races next year,” Geschickter said. “Unfortunately after 14 years of running for points every week, the economy and the sponsor search and the size and scale of the sponsors won’t allow us to do that this year.

“But I’m a glass-is-half-full instead of a glass-is-half-empty guy, so for 14 years we’ve tried to run every week. It may be a blessing that we rub on these things a little harder and really go loaded for bear when we do that."

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Comments

10 responses to "JTG Daugherty Racing to scale back Nationwide teams for '09". Post a Comment.

1

ed gordon said:
Jan 7, 2009 at 8:12 PM
Here is a NNS team essentially contacting by 75%,one car instead of two racing half a year.Chip Ganassi's operation,once two competetive cars,gone!Rcr,used to be the 21 and 29,now 29 only,split between 3 drivers.Rensi,a two car operation as recently as 2007,they now have one car funded for half the season.I literally could go on and on....ok just one more,the #14 Gene Haas entry,raced once in 2007,Daytona,then gone,this series is in bad shape and it's sad to see.
2

terry ruth said:
Jan 8, 2009 at 10:57 AM
Eat then Bush Bean boy's....I hope your Toyota doesn't make it out of the pits...what an shame for a good race town like Knoxville Tn...who use to sponser FORDs on the circuit....to now have this ...blot..on their future...GO WOOD BROS.!!!!!
3

Keith Johnson said:
Jan 8, 2009 at 3:00 PM
I wonder if there will be enough teams to fill the field at Daytona. After that they will be lucky to have 30 car fields. Cup series drivers drove away the nationwide teams and now the cup teams are quiting. Were will the cars come from. NASCAR is in bad shape.
4

Mr Galvan said:
Jan 8, 2009 at 5:18 PM
The nationwide series is soon to be gone, like the truck series
5

Werner Boehmert said:
Jan 8, 2009 at 5:39 PM
if NASCAR goes down....we can always go back to our local short traks and support them...
6

Bernadette Motherway said:
Jan 8, 2009 at 8:33 PM
OMG! You people are such gloom and doom! Where is the optimism? #1 and #2 -what in the hell are you talking about?
7

ed gordon said:
Jan 8, 2009 at 9:03 PM
Here's a couple of more teams that have ceased operations in the series in the last couple of years: KHI #77,RYR #90,Brewco/Baker/Curb #37,Penske#39,DEI#11,McGill#36(Stanton Barretts old owner).I realize there have been a few additions to the series,cars racing partial schedules,but the majority of those are star and park operations.
Even Jr. struggled during the offseason to find sponsorship to run the#5 and the #88.
8

Andrew Briscoe said:
Jan 9, 2009 at 12:14 AM
Ed, you have the Penske car listed there like it was in the Nationwide series for years. It NEVER ran a full season. Hell, it didn't start in the Nationwide series until 2005: when it ran a whole 9 races. It's running now as the #12 car (and has since 2007) as a part time team. It's still around, it just isn't a full time team (and hasn't ever been). The Nationwide series hasn't had an easy time getting full fields for years: I remember back a few years ago (2005 or so, I believe) that they were only having 42 or 43 cars at a race, and definitely not all of them were sponsored. There have been field fillers in the Nationwide series for years, and that's likely to be the case for years to come. It shouldn't be a surprise to anyone that the Nationwide series might not have full fields in 2009 (even if no team cut back for the year).
9

terry ruth said:
Jan 9, 2009 at 1:08 PM
#6 you just made my point.....
10

Bernadette Motherway said:
Jan 9, 2009 at 1:59 PM
Which is that I don't what I'm talking about, right? I agree to a certain extent.