Amid all of the speed and excitement of racing, it is easy to forget that NASCAR is a business. It takes money to go fast, and the best way to attract and keep a big-name sponsor is simple ? make the Chase for the Cup. If the first two races of the season are any indication, business is good at Richard Childress Racing.
RCR returned to the ranks of NASCAR?s elite last season, and have carried that momentum into 2007. Kevin Harvick started the year with a Daytona 500 win, and after Sunday?s race in California, all three RCR drivers ? Harvick, Jeff Burton and Clint Bowyer ? are in the top-six in the Nextel Cup standings.
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But as the organization looks forward to another run at the Chase for the Cup, their greatest competition may not come from other teams on the track, but instead from two of NASCAR?s biggest sponsors.
RCR?s No. 31 car, piloted by Jeff Burton, is sponsored by Cingular Wireless, a competitor to series sponsor Nextel. Being a pre-existing sponsor when Nextel put their name on NASCAR?s premier series, they were allowed to stay on the hood of Burton?s ride. Now that Cingular has been purchased by AT&T, however, a quiet battle has begun between Childress and NASCAR.
Nextel has the right to refuse competing companies as car sponsors. They want to block AT&T from taking over on the No.31, putting a multi-million dollar sponsorship, and possibly the future of Burton?s team, in jeopardy.
Things got even more bizarre in the wake of Harvick?s Daytona 500 win. Sunoco, the “official fuel supplier” for NASCAR, suddenly took exception to the fact that Harvick was proudly displaying his sponsor ? corporate competitor Shell Oil ? in victory lane. They complained to NASCAR, and in turn Harvick was asked to reducethe size of his sponsor?s logo on his uniform.
The question that is begging to be asked here ? just how much influence should a sponsor be able to have with NASCAR? A company like Nextel or Sunoco may pay for the rights to put their name on the series trophy or a can of fuel, but does that mean they can decide who participates in the sport?
Because NASCAR is running a business, they have a responsibility to keep their corporate partners happy, but they need to protect their integrity, as well. If sponsorship money gives Nextel or Sunoco the right to determine who can and cannot put their name on the hood of a car today, then who is to say they will not try to influence decisions on rules or personnel tomorrow?
NASCAR needs take charge of their sport and give car owners the freedom to make deals that will keep their teams competitive.
Besides, Harvick and Shell still need Sunoco fuel to get to victory lane, and if the Cingular car wins the championship, the team will hoist a trophy with the name “Nextel” on it over their heads. How can that be bad for business?
Get up to speed on the latest in NASCAR by listening to Wilson?s Race Report every Monday and Friday at 5:39 p.m. on 93.1 WPOC. You can e-mail Steve at [email protected].