Gillett family adds racing history to sports empire
By Bob Pockrass - Associate Editor
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Richard Petty Motorsports' Richard Petty (left) unveils the organization's new logo as Foster Gillett looks on during the Sprint Media Tour hosted by Lowe's Motor Speedway.
David Griffin
NASCAR Scene
Foster Gillett doesn’t have a title as part of Richard Petty Motorsports except for being the son of George Gillett. It’s the same title his brother, Alex, had when he oversaw the family’s motorsports business.
Forest and Alex swapped positions last summer, with Alex becoming more involved with the team’s Liverpool soccer organization and Foster becoming the Gillett point man for the motorsports side at Gillett Evernham Motorsports.
“The Gilletts don’t take an active role in running businesses that we own,” Foster Gillett said during the unveiling of the new team name of Richard Petty Motorsports. “We try to install the best people we can, learn from them, help them, if they ever need help.”
The new Richard Petty Motorsports team will be another twist in the Gillett sports franchise ownership story.
The Gillett family has only been a NASCAR team owner since July 2007, when it bought 80 percent of Evernham Motorsports and renamed the team. They have agreed to form a new organization with Petty Holdings and Richard Petty.
Foster Gillett wouldn’t comment on the percentage of the team his family owns, but all of the GEM leadership will continue their roles with the new team. Only two Petty executives – vice presidents Robbie Loomis (racing operations) and Brian Moffitt (marketing) – will be part of the leadership of the new team that includes GEM chief executive officer Tom Reddin and chief marketing officer De Cordell as the top two day-to-day executives.
GEM had attempted to buy into Petty Enterprises in 2007 but Richard Petty said last year that at that time, GEM wanted 80 percent ownership. Richard Petty said both sides relented on some issues this year.
“It worked this time because there was a tremendous want and effort to make it happen and these two organizations have fundamentally worked to get here,” Foster Gillett said.
It works even without the Gilletts having their name as part of the new team.
“It was logical,” Foster Gillett said. “It was the right decision. I don’t think anyone ever contemplated anything else. The name made a lot of sense and it was something that we were very proud to do. And we look forward to trying to live up to the great expectations.”
The Gillett sports empire includes the Montreal Canadiens and a co-ownership of the Liverpool team. The family also is involved in the ski-resort business and other ventures.
While successful on many fronts, the Gilletts are looking to improve the racing program after a season where none of the GEM cars made the Chase For The Sprint Cup.
“We’re trying anything we can to grow and get better,” Gillett said. “We do bring a macro view of sports. We own a sporting interest in French-speaking Canada, in England and this here in the states.
“We compete regularly in three different countries and two different continents. We bring a different perspective. It’s all about satisfying your sponsors, working for your fans and trying to win races. That’s why we’re all here. That’s why we’ve done what we’ve done [with the Pettys].”
When entering the sport, the Gilletts had hoped they could offer sponsors a variety of options across their sports platform. They also can offer other incentives, such as using Valvoline products in their auto dealerships as part of the NASCAR sponsorship.
“Any time you can call on somebody who you’ve already called on or who knows you and knows your history, I think it helps,” Gillett said. “They’re very unique sports in very different markets, [so] I think maybe not as much synergy [is there] as one might expect.
“We’re lucky to be involved in different sports in different countries. I think it brings a lot to the table. It helps us service our clients and our sponsors and our fans and they can come and touch us and be with us in all different environments.”
One of the tie-ins that didn’t work was with Canadian driver Patrick Carpentier, who was a Cup rookie last year. Carpentier had typical first-year driver struggles and the team couldn’t find full sponsorship for his team. By the end of the season, Carpentier had been replaced by AJ Allmendinger.
“Unfortunately in that circumstance, it had a lot to do with the falling economy at the time,” Gillett said. “With Patrick, we really felt like we have a footprint in Quebec and Canada and we’re really good at what we do and we thought we could bring down some Canadian and some Quebec sponsors and it didn’t work as well as we hoped and obviously it didn’t end as well as we wanted.”
Allmendinger drove the final five races for GEM last year and the team is negotiating with him on a multiyear contract to join a driving stable that includes Kasey Kahne, Elliott Sadler and Reed Sorenson. He is currently lined up for a part-time schedule this season.
“I look forward to the opportunity to help [Allmendinger],” Gillett said. “I think he’s a wonderful man. I think how he performed in our car last year was eye-opening. We created a friendship through that time.
“I look forward to seeing what he can do. We will hit the ground running and we will do everything we can to help him compete as regularly as possible. He’s a wonderful person and a heck of a driver with a wonderful future in this sport.”
The Gilletts also hope to have a wonderful future in the sport. And they enter the Petty addition with a keen sense of the history they have added to their team.
“In Montreal, this is our 100th anniversary and there were many owners before us and there will be owners after us,” Foster Gillett said. “In that situation, when you’re involved in something like that, I think you learn to respect those that came before you and those that will come after. It’s been a wonderful learning curve.
“The one thing in life that you can’t replace is your history. There’s a tremendous amount of history there and there’s a tremendous amount of history here and we look forward to adding new chapters to the history of Richard’s career.”
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7 responses to "Gillett family adds racing history to sports empire". Post a Comment.
Buddy Graham said:
Jan 25, 2009 at 9:25 AM*
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» Confirm Abuse ReportHoward Englishman said:
Jan 25, 2009 at 10:24 AMUntil they do something in Cup, they are just another team. They kept the Gillett name out because they couldnt get any sponsorship. Thats the only reason it is named after Richard. Its all about the money.
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» Confirm Abuse ReportBernadette Motherway said:
Jan 25, 2009 at 7:17 PMYou just contradicted yourself. Is it about the money or the name?
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» Confirm Abuse ReportGraceann Jackson said:
Jan 25, 2009 at 7:35 PMGillett did not add his name to the hockey or soccer teams he purchased so it must not matter that much to him. As far as the sponsors, Budweiser would not come on board until Gillett was a partner with Evernham. So your theory about him and sponsors is shot out of the water. He has also brought quite a few to this team since becoming part owner so you might want to retract that statement.
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» Confirm Abuse ReportBernadette Motherway said:
Jan 25, 2009 at 7:57 PMGraceann, who are you asking to retract; me or Howard? I can see that you know more about Gillett's business than I do:-)
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» Confirm Abuse ReportGraceann Jackson said:
Jan 25, 2009 at 10:19 PMNot you Bernadette. Howard is the one that stated Gillett's name was left out because he couldn't attract sponsors.
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» Confirm Abuse ReportMr Galvan said:
Feb 2, 2009 at 9:01 PMRPM WILL win races this year, w/ AJ and KASEY KAHNE
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