General Discussion » Toyota recall includes 3.8 million cars sold in the USA
November 2, 2009 General Motors is recalling all models because of a problem with plastic supply and return ports on the modular reservoir assembly. The ...
Roush Fenway looking for additional money to aid current Cup sponsors
By Bob Pockrass - Associate Editor
Sunday, March 08, 2009
Roush Fenway Racing President Geoff Smith is currently looking for additional sponsors to partner with the organization's existing sponsors.
Todd Warshaw
Getty Images for NASCAR
Roush Fenway Racing President Geoff Smith should only be negotiating to renew the one NASCAR Sprint Cup sponsorship he has open – the No. 17 car and DeWalt – for 2010. But Smith’s organization is working on helping nearly all of its Cup sponsors (Crown Royal, 3M and Aflac) find other companies willing to pony up the money to buy some races for 2010 and beyond even though they have contracts obligating them for the entire season.
Smith said the companies have requested help, and it’s imperative in these economic times that the organization find more sponsors willing to share some of the costs.
DeWalt, whose contract is up after the 2009 season, has also indicated it wants a partner. The only sponsor that has not requested a partner is UPS.
“The exodus of the sport by sponsors is negligible,” Smith said last week at Las Vegas. “Very few have left. When we go talk to our sponsors, every one of our sponsors wants to be here, wants to stay.
“But every one of them has economic challenges that they need to meet. Those challenges translate to us to be searching for additional sponsors to partner up with our team sponsors in four of our programs.”
A new sponsor could be on one of those cars by the end of 2009 if there is a commitment for future years, Smith said.
“It’s one thing to force somebody to honor their contract, which we need to do because we’ve committed the money to go operate, but it ultimately leads to dissatisfaction in the relationship and the renewal prospects and new sponsor prospects in 2011 and 2012 and beyond become less,” Smith said. “We have every incentive to recognize the issues that our sponsors are facing and to help in any way that we can.”
Of course, Smith is trying to get Kenseth’s sponsorship for 2010 done while the driver is particularly hot. Kenseth, who went winless in 2008, won the first two races of the season.
“Matt couldn’t have picked a better time to start out [strong],” Smith said. “When they didn’t when a race last year and when you have three-quarters of the garage trying to sell against us, they’d be saying, ‘Well, Matt is done, he’s all washed up, don’t put your money there, put it with me.’
“That [winning] just dispels that. Matt has without question the most premier program that is up for renewal.”
Even though Roush Fenway can have only four Cup teams next year, it also is responsible for sponsorship for Yates Racing, so it is continuing to court companies to sponsor Cup teams. On an initial call, Smith said the organization will offer anything open in its portfolio. The one thing his company won’t do is to stagger sponsorships on a car because the organization has to commit to a salary for the driver and needs the sponsorship to back it up.
“It’s a financial disaster to make some of the commitments we’ve made to drivers that are unconditional and then to find yourself signing up with a sponsor for half the races but having to commit to run all 38,” Smith said. “We really need to find the additional partners that are going to make these programs whole.”
Smith said that car owners must realize that they need to spend money on sales. He said he has “a whole team” making cold calls about sponsorship.
“Our sponsors are relaying to us an opinion that things will be very tough through 2010,” Smith said. “And we need to use all our energy. The issue in the garage is so few owners, in my opinion, have made the investment in sales and marketing personnel. … There’s a bit of a tendency in the garage, which is to act like the relationship is between the cheetah and the hyena.
“The cheetah goes for the kill, and the hyena is waiting to take the kill from the cheetah. We need more cheetahs than hyenas to make this sport work.”
The end result needs to be more companies sponsoring cars because fewer and fewer businesses can afford to sponsor the teams at the going rates, Smith said.
“Not everybody is going to be able to cannibalize sponsors from other teams to keep the sport working properly,” Smith said. “There are going to have to be new sponsors brought in.
“It’s a really good time for new sponsors to come in because so frequently the bigger brands that are in the sport want to keep so much control over their programs that there have been fewer opportunities for new sponsors to join those premier teams.”
Mentioned Drivers: Carl Edwards
2009 Sprint Cup Race for the Chase Standings
Driver Standings after the Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500
| 1 | Jimmie Johnson | 6492 |
| 2 | Mark Martin | -108 |
| 3 | Jeff Gordon | -169 |
| 4 | Kurt Busch | -211 |
| 5 | Tony Stewart | -285 |
| 6 | Juan Pablo Montoya | -289 |
| 7 | Greg Biffle | -321 |
| 8 | Denny Hamlin | -352 |
| 9 | Ryan Newman | -411 |
| 10 | Kasey Kahne | -476 |
| 11 | Carl Edwards | -520 |
| 12 | Brian Vickers | -666 |
Popular News
-
Championship battle may not be tight, but Chase still has some intrigue
Comments (79) -
Kyle Busch would consider Nationwide title his biggest achievement in NASCAR
Comments (70) -
Denny Hamlin vows to retaliate against Brad Keselowski
Comments (70) -
Jeff Gluck: Brad Keselowski's aggressive style should be embraced, not criticized
Comments (53) -
Jimmie Johnson's Texas trouble reignites NASCAR Sprint Cup championship battle
Comments (48)
Recent Headlines
-
Dale Earnhardt Jr.: 'Hopefully next year will be better'
Post Comment -
Denny Hamlin says score with Brad Keselowski must be evened
Comments (2) -
RCR's Jeff Burton leads opening Nationwide practice at Homestead
Post Comment -
Transcript from NASCAR Chairman Brian France press conference
Post Comment -
Jamie McMurray looking forward to next season at Earnhardt Ganassi Racing
Post Comment
Poll PositionView All
Which has been most detrimental to NASCAR television ratings and attendance this season?
Promotions
-
Play "WIX Filters' Pick 3" stock car fantasy and win prizes. Season 2 is now in session!
-
Tweet your thoughts about each race and join the conversation with other fans.
-
Drive an authentic NASCAR Sprint Cup car at the NASCAR Racing Experience.
-
Make weekly pics for the Chase and be entered to win weekly SPEED Merchandise.
Comments
7 responses to "Roush Fenway looking for additional money to aid current Cup sponsors". Post a Comment.
Jim Bayliss said:
Mar 8, 2009 at 1:48 PMExcellent article. As fans we tend to not even think of the sponsors when we are rooting for our favorite drivers. But without them we wouldn't have any drivers to root for. - - - 40 Laps into the race right now, and Cousin Carl is MOVIN'. He is up to 4th, from starting 29th. Making it "look" easy. - - - GO CARL!
Report as AbuseReport Abuse
This feature is intended to allow you to report comments that are abusive in terms of foul/vulgar language, harassment, racial/religious prejudice and any words/phrases of a related nature. This feature should not be used to report users who simply make a comment about your favorite driver, with which you do not agree. Commenting is a forum in which we can all express our opinions. Reporting abuse of others should be done with this in mind.
» Confirm Abuse ReportJim Bayliss said:
Mar 8, 2009 at 1:48 PMAnd GO AFLAC!!!
Report as AbuseReport Abuse
This feature is intended to allow you to report comments that are abusive in terms of foul/vulgar language, harassment, racial/religious prejudice and any words/phrases of a related nature. This feature should not be used to report users who simply make a comment about your favorite driver, with which you do not agree. Commenting is a forum in which we can all express our opinions. Reporting abuse of others should be done with this in mind.
» Confirm Abuse Reportjohn eck said:
Mar 8, 2009 at 6:48 PMI love the way Carl drives. Just didnt have enough for Busch or Gordon today. Go #99 and everyone support the sponsors of ALL THE DRIVERS!!!!!!!!
Report as AbuseReport Abuse
This feature is intended to allow you to report comments that are abusive in terms of foul/vulgar language, harassment, racial/religious prejudice and any words/phrases of a related nature. This feature should not be used to report users who simply make a comment about your favorite driver, with which you do not agree. Commenting is a forum in which we can all express our opinions. Reporting abuse of others should be done with this in mind.
» Confirm Abuse ReportSheila Hawley said:
Mar 8, 2009 at 7:09 PMCarl ended up third after winner Kurt and Gordon.
Report as AbuseReport Abuse
This feature is intended to allow you to report comments that are abusive in terms of foul/vulgar language, harassment, racial/religious prejudice and any words/phrases of a related nature. This feature should not be used to report users who simply make a comment about your favorite driver, with which you do not agree. Commenting is a forum in which we can all express our opinions. Reporting abuse of others should be done with this in mind.
» Confirm Abuse ReportBernadette Motherway said:
Mar 8, 2009 at 9:44 PMGood heavens! R/F already has 35 total sponsors. Talk about greedy and tapping the market!!
Report as AbuseReport Abuse
This feature is intended to allow you to report comments that are abusive in terms of foul/vulgar language, harassment, racial/religious prejudice and any words/phrases of a related nature. This feature should not be used to report users who simply make a comment about your favorite driver, with which you do not agree. Commenting is a forum in which we can all express our opinions. Reporting abuse of others should be done with this in mind.
» Confirm Abuse ReportJim Bayliss said:
Mar 8, 2009 at 11:44 PMHey, the more the merrier. Without it, they won't have enough to battle the sheer numbers of all the chevies. Go Jack/Geoff.
Report as AbuseReport Abuse
This feature is intended to allow you to report comments that are abusive in terms of foul/vulgar language, harassment, racial/religious prejudice and any words/phrases of a related nature. This feature should not be used to report users who simply make a comment about your favorite driver, with which you do not agree. Commenting is a forum in which we can all express our opinions. Reporting abuse of others should be done with this in mind.
» Confirm Abuse ReportOLD_GUY said:
Mar 9, 2009 at 2:34 AMI suspect Jack recognized that it makes sense to split up the sponsorship on his teams making it easier to attract sponsors that couldn't handle a full 36 race deal. :...there have been fewer opportunities for new sponsors to join those premier teams.” He has an very attractive product, by cutting it up into smaller bites, he's going to get more takers. Because Ford was smart/lucky concerning obtaining a line of credit before the stuff hit the fan, they will have a better chance of continuing support for NASCAR than the other domestic manufacturers. That too, becomes an attractant for sponsorship. "What's good for General Motors is good for America." may no longer be true.
Report as AbuseReport Abuse
This feature is intended to allow you to report comments that are abusive in terms of foul/vulgar language, harassment, racial/religious prejudice and any words/phrases of a related nature. This feature should not be used to report users who simply make a comment about your favorite driver, with which you do not agree. Commenting is a forum in which we can all express our opinions. Reporting abuse of others should be done with this in mind.
» Confirm Abuse Report