Petty versus Pearson or Cale versus the Allisons. The sport needs real rivalries, not what you or your controlled media can contrive just to make headlines. The sport needs some hard driving. Not you telling drivers to pull over and get out of the way of your Chosen Ones, especially during the play-offs. If you actually knew how important they were, you and your henchmen would keep your yaps shut until things got a little to close to going over the edge. Beating and banging was a part of the sport which a lot of fans miss. Real rivalries are something fans miss. There isn’t a really true rivalry on the track today. Just what your controlled media says there is. So let Keselowski and Hamlin go out behind the garage and settle their differences. Let them beat and bang on each other on the track. You want headlines? That’ll give you headlines. As long as nobody gets hurt in the process.
The Pariah
France: In regards to any changes to the car: "We will look at some things in the off-season, going into Daytona to see if we can make a car and the racing better than it is now.''
Mad Mikie: Wow! Your sure changed your tune from some more recent interviews, like the one you gave at Phoenix and at the Charlotte Observer Your Majesty. Before you said you wouldn’t even consider changes to the “World’s Most Perfect Race Car”. Now you’re going to see if the car and the racing can be made better? I think people have suggested things since the first time the Abomination on Wheels was first rolled out. But you know what’s best for the sport. Let the crew chiefs do what they do best and get rid of all the mandated gears, springs, and shocks. Get rid of that one-size-fits-all body and let them run stock sheet metal on them. Give the manufacturers and fans something they can identify with. After what we’ve seen this season, improvements are definitely needed from the cars to the races to NA$CAR’s management. So you’ve got a short amount of time to improve things before you have to use the complete IRL package IBPN developed for not showing the empty grandstands.
Sponsorship
France: "We had these same conversations about this at the same time last year when the economy was worse, and there are always teams at this time of year that are under-funded, looking for sponsorship. That's not anything new," France said.
Mad Mikie: Teams wouldn’t be having such a tough time finding sponsorship if you didn’t steal it or use strong-armed tactics to force them into becoming “official products/services/partners of” NA$CAR. A lot of companies have left because of the strong-armed tactics. A lot of sponsors have left because the racing didn’t live up to the Imperial Hype of 75 million brand loyal fans, most watched sport, etc. And with the economy being what it is, it won’t be a surprise when you see some of the mega-teams having to downsize or merge even more.
France: "Clearly the sponsorship market is tougher than it's ever been in my memory. And I don't anticipate that getting remarkably better, although we are starting to feel the ice thawing and getting inquiries in our New York. And in the off-season I think you'll see some joining us at some level.
"The tracks are working hard to renew their sponsorships, and they're doing a pretty good job of that.
"It is going to be difficult, but it's going to be fine. We still have the best value proposition in sports. We are the only place where you can brand on the playing field, in the manner we do. And we are very proud of that and have always built around that."
Mad Mikie: Considering how short your memory is Your Highness, it’s no wonder you can’t remember a tougher sponsorship market. Things aren’t going to get any easier. Companies talk to each other. People talk to each other in Corporate America. When they see a company bleeding red ink by the gallon, they stay away from that company. And with the way I$C and NA$CAR are buying red ink by the tanker, I don’t see things getting any better unless something drastic happens. Like putting somebody in charge of NA$CAR that actually knows what they’re doing and knows something about racing.
France: "The sponsorship front is getting better; there are companies joining the sport. But it's not like we hope it will be in the future.
"When we talked in February (about the season ahead), there were a lot of questions. On balance we got through things fairly well…if not easily.
"And now we're poised to head into the off-season and give everyone a much-needed break."
Mad Mikie: Right now, you’re getting small companies buying one shot sponsorship deals. You’re not getting the Fortune 500 companies to buy into new sponsorships with either the teams or NA$CAR. And even when a decent size company does come along, you try to steal them from the teams, especially the single car teams. And with the bull manure both the Series sponsor and fuel supplier have pulled with Motorola, Shell, AT&T, and other companies, you’ve managed to alienate or cut off a source of sponsorship for both NA$CAR and the teams. Union-76 didn’t have a problem with Amoco. Winston didn’t have a problem with Skoal or Copenhagen. So you need to work something out to allow more communications, electronic product, and petroleum companies into the sport.
The teams won’t be getting much of a break during the off-season. They’ll be off for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years and that’s about it. They’ve got cars to repair, cars to build, personnel changes to make, sponsors to locate, and a lot of other work to get done. You’ll be busy trying to find a watering hole in Charlotte and a good location for palm trees or palmettos to hunt. You’ll probably be busy with some trial lawyers and judges too. So don’t have too many “sodas” during the off season. You’ll need your wits about you. All half of them.
Testing
France: "There is some balance between no-testing at all – which is the best savings for the teams – and the way testing was done in the past, which was a lot of testing," France said. "There is more publicity for the markets when teams are testing. And teams and rookies who are behind can make up some ground when there is testing.
"But we have chosen to take the route of the cost-savings, knowing it has some consequences.
"As we can dial it back, as the economy gets better, we will.
"But I don't think we'll dial it back to the level two or three years ago, when it was too much cost."
Mad Mikie: No testing at all hasn’t been no testing at all. Teams have still been testing. Just not on the tracks they race on during the season. So they haven’t been saving any money there. Teams are spending more money on wind tunnel and shaker post testing. That’s not saving them any money either. So no money is being saved. I seem to recall His Highness saying that the new car and all of the mandated parts would save the teams money but instead have been costing them more money, especially with the purchase and building of the new car.
If the rookies were given some time by
themselves on a race weekend to run some laps,
that might improve their performances. But the
route you have chosen isn’t saving the teams any
money Your Moronic Magnificence. It’s costing
them money. Either way, whether the teams are
testing or not testing, it’s still going to cost them
a lot of money. Either in the other testing they
are doing or the crashed cars on the track
because of lack of testing.
That's all for part 2, come back tomorrow for
part 3! For you folks who want to help make the
Christmas season a little bit brighter, you can
and find out where you can purchase a tree which
will be donated to military families around the USA. Also, Dollar Tree is partnering with Operation Homefront to launch their 2009 Holiday Toy Drive, running November 15th through December 15th. Simply purchase a toy or care item and drop it off in a “Toy Platoon” collection box located in any of the 3,700 Dollar Tree stores nationwide. Operation Homefront will collect and distribute these items to military families in your area.
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