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| Just two of Ryan Newman's paint schemes this year... |
It’s not even that Miller, which had been one of the few full-season sponsors remaining in NASCAR, will be cutting back to only 24 races next year.
No, the real surprise is that the cutback was apparently Roger Penske’s idea.
"We looked at going into markets twice, in fact, it was my idea,” Penske
bragged. “Let us have those markets we
go into a second time and give us a chance to bring in another world-class
company. We have a number of people very interested in getting on with
Brad."Miller insists it will spend the same amount of money next year in NASCAR by increasing its at-track activation – things like the fan midway. Maybe run a few more commercials. Great.
Penske is banking on (and he must already have it in the bank) being able to replace Miller with a sponsor (or several sponsors) willing to spend even more money for those 12 races than he would get from the beer company.
Everybody wins, right?
Wrong. The fans lose.
Sponsor continuity has all but disappeared in NASCAR and that’s shame. It used to be that you couldn’t tell the players without a scorecard. Now you can’t even tell the players with last week’s scorecard.
Is the Blue Duce your car? Well forgetaboutit. If they’re very lucky, maybe fans of the No. 2 car will also be able to cheer for the Grey Goose next year.
I understand that teams and sponsors have had to adjust to the realities of today’s economy and that multiple primary sponsors has become the reality for most teams. Nobody had more paint schemes this year than Ryan Newman, with eight different primary sponsors. And even those sponsors changed their graphics from week-to-week.
But I don’t understand why
Penske, one of the richest men in America, would want to do it on purpose for a
little more money.
Humpy Wheeler, long considered
one of the best promoters in NASCAR, told me a while ago that multiple primary sponsors
was one of the big disconnects between the series and its fans.
“You need a GPS to find Dale
Earnhardt (Jr.),” Wheeler said. “One week
he’s in the National Guard car. Last
week he was in the AMP car and next week he’s in the Mountain Dew car. There’s no continuity. The NFL doesn’t let you change uniforms. Even if it’s a nostalgia type thing, the
Chicago Bears are the same color, week in and week out.”
He’s got a point.
I wonder if dumping a sponsor can
be considered conduct detrimental to the sport?
What? He didn't "dump" the sponsor. Penske has several times acknowledged that he doesn't like how sponsors do not regularly appear on race cars. He has said the 28 car used to be Havoline; the 2 is supposed to be Miller; 3 is Goodwrench, etc. I think Roger was trying to put a positive spin on Miller not sponsoring all year. I didn't read those comments that it was Penske's idea to dump Miller. What was "his idea" was taking advantage of going into the same market twice; sounds to me like he was acknowledging reality of Miller not coming back full-time and trying to make the most of it. Or Do you really think Roger Penske, a racing guru and genius of motorsports for decades, doesn't know what he is doing? And acting in a way detrimental to the sport? Are you kidding? He hired Brad Keselowski precisely because of his marketability to the fans. My goodness.
ReplyDeleteyou better read it again
ReplyDeleteFound it frustrating these past several years not being able to tell at a glance, who is racing whom. It definitely makes the races less interesting.
ReplyDeleteI feel it's a dis-service what he is doing. He reduces this sponsorship to look for another and just lets Sam walk with no ride. He's a billionaire! A 25 million dollar operation for a team seems like a lot, but with sponsorship and a third team it will only be like 10-15 million. The guy has money out the wa-zoo. This new company for brad will probably also sponsor montoya in indycar, just have a hunch.
ReplyDeleteRoger Penske is one of the most forgiving and accepting car owners of all time so to say he just "let Sam walk with no ride" is just wrong. He could have easily dumped AJ Allmendinger altogether but has chosen to keep him. He gave Kurt Busch a second chance (before it was fashionable to give him a 3rd, 4th and now 5th chance). Now he has Joey Logano. And "only 10-15 million." Glad you think it's miniscule, I look forward to seeing your newly-assembled raceteam next year on that apparently cheap budget. Roger Penske did absolutely nothing wrong and he knows exactly what he's doing. I hope he keeps up the good work!
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