Race-Week.com

Amid ongoing speculation about his relationship with retail giant Target, Chip Ganassi has moved swiftly to make it clear that Dario Franchitti will not be participating in the Indy 500.

The way things are going this year, he might want to reconsider.

Earlier this week, “persistent rumors” (thanks, Jayski) indicated Target’s unhappiness with all things Ganassi, especially the struggling Target-sponsored #41 and driver Reed Sorenson.

Target VP Steve Eastman vehemently denied any acrimony between Target and Chip et al. But you’ve got to wonder.

After its season-opening 5th place at Daytona, the 41 team’s performance has headed straight south. Once considered a can’t-miss young gun, Sorenson is looking more and more shell shocked. And unless you’re counting wrecker time, Target cannot be happy with the frames of TV exposure the team is generating.

Like other big time sponsors weathering small time performance (see: Caterpillar), especially in this tough economic environment, Target has got to be dotting i’s and crossing t’s when it comes to recovering its investment in Ganassi.

What does this have to do with Dario? Just everything, potentially.

We all remember Dario. Struggling Sprint Cup wannabe. Charming Scottish accent. Insufferable wife. Oh, and defending Indy 500 champion.

Let’s see if we’ve got this straight: Chip Ganassi Racing, aka “the artist formerly known as Target Ganassi Racing,” has a bit of a track record in that Indianapolis 500 thing, yes? A couple of very visible drivers piloting a couple of very visual open wheel rockets, usually with great results. That’s the pattern, anyway.

You might even say Chip Ganassi has built some brand equity for Target over in Indy Car.

Can anybody else envision this: Defending champion Dario Franchitti slips into another Target Ganassi machine for the month of May? Huge headlines. Major buzz. With Target right in the middle of the story.

But Chip would rather have Dario spend Memorial Day weekend flogging around the back of the Coca-Cola 600? If he makes the race?

What’s up with that?

My guess (rampant speculation alert): A driver contract problem. I don’t know a thing, not a thing, about Dario’s separation from Andretti. But it wouldn’t surprise me at all to find out that there’s some kind of provision that precludes Dario making a return to Indy in a bright red Target firesuit. Just speculating. But that Mikey’s a pretty sharp guy.

When we’re right, we’re right. And when we’re wrong, we admit it.

If you look around here just a little bit, you’ll find somebody casting doubt on the wisdom and validity of Nationwide Insurance Company’s decision to become title sponsor of NASCAR’s second tier series.

Seems we might have underestimated the power of the NASCAR connection.

Might is still the operative word … but …

NASCAR.com’s Ron Lemasters has put together a nice if slightly speculative story about the company’s early indicators that the payoffs are in store.

Nationwide’s John Aman, honcho for the sports marketing properties, addressed the media this week with an early positive message:

“Something that hasn’t happened in the other sports properties we’ve done is that I’ve received three or four e-mails just this week from agents saying, ‘I just wrote two pieces of business today because we sponsor NASCAR,’” Aman said. “The story goes something like, “so-and-so just got their premium renewal notice from a competitor, there was an increase, they know that we are sponsoring NASCAR now, so they called, I quoted and I now write their car, their home and their ATV. Thanks a lot, and keep it up.’

Now, a few emails from happy agents does not a multimillion dollar annual investment justify. Over the term of their sponsorship, they’ve got to have some better, tighter and more quantitative metrics than a few good stories. If they get them, we won’t hear about it; we’ll just see Nationwide renew its sponsorship agreement. If not, then … well, not.

But Aman’s comments indicate that Nationwide is tapping in to the one key component it undoubtedly needs to make this deal work: NASCAR fan loyalty.

For years, we’ve heard that NASCAR fans notoriously prefer sponsor companies over their non-sponsor competitors. And, if you think about the insurance business, it makes sense that a company like Nationwide would jump at such a proposition.

Let’s face it, insurance companies are not exactly starting from a brand-positive position. Quick, name somebody who actually likes their insurance provider. They might like their local agent, but the actual provider? Not so much.

It’s a tough business environment. And when your customers are innately predisposed to dump you if they can, the natural question becomes, “Dump you for whom?” When the “for whom” is a company that supports something they like (fiercely), said “for whom” will probably generate a little contingent loyalty.

Good for Nationwide. Looks like they figured some of this out in advance.

We stand corrected.

For now.

After holding Robby Gordon over a barrel for a couple of weeks, the National Stock Car Racing Commission has taken the unusual step of reversing Gordon’s points penalty and crew chief suspension for the “Nose Gate” infraction.

The Commission, while asserting that the team is ultimately responsible for the car it presents at a NASCAR event, looked to the to “extraordinary and unusual” circumstances” surrounding Robby’s case. Looked with relief, we think.

Even as NASCAR seeks to win back its “traditional” fan base, this is not the time to cripple the operation of its most notable, if irascible, single car operation. The scrappy Gordon has emerged as a vaguely ironic icon, a throwback to the days of scrappy teams and he-man drivers.

Fans everywhere have been waiting this week to see if NASCAR…err, ,the “National Stock Car Racing Commission” … was going to do the right thing and reverse Gordon’s suspension. The reversal portends to be a popular choice among said “traditional fan base.”

Gordon made plenty of noise this week about the impact of the points penalty, going so far as to suggest that he might switch to open wheel cars, now that IndyCar and Champ Car have kissed and made up. He’s played the attention with savvy and fairly blunt rhetoric, exactly as the “traditional fan base” would hope.

It’s not hard to see this one as “David vs. Goliath,” and instinct suggests that a lot of that “traditional fan base” was watching to see if a genuine little guy actually has a chance against the machine in today’s corporate NASCAR community.

So why is this a “racing business” issue?

Gordon’s primary sponsor, Jim Beam, has got to be thrilled. They’ve gotten huge exposure, as Robby’s car and uniform have been all over the racing media. They’re also now seen backing the underdog, always a favored position in American society and sports.

The other big winner in this mess is NASCAR’s vaunted “campaign” to win back its traditional fans. It would have suffered a huge publicity setback if it was perceived as, essentially, ruining its last one car operation.

While we’ve got some major reservations about a “campaign” to win back its fan base (smacks of the very kind of hype that has pretty well fatigued the traditional fan base), we give credit where credit is due.

The Commissioners did the right reglas poquerjugadas texas holdemwww polli poquerpoker en internetdescarga pokerpoquer comjugar baccarat en lineajugar al instantejuegos gratis para bajargeant casinojuego ruleta de la fortunaruleta de casinojuegos azar portal webdescarga gratis de casinojuegos seguros pagina webjugar casino gratisapostar webjugadas ruletapremio dinero paginas internetdescargas juegos gratismetodos ganar ruletaonline gamingla ruleta casinoplay blackjackjuego casino internetcasinos espana paginas web,casinos espana,casinos espana pagina webjugar interactivo portal webcasino bonus no purchase requiredjuegue casinocodigo fuente ruletaapuestas onlineapuestas en linearuleta portal internetapuestas ruletabaccara gratisapuesta lineajuegos de ruleta gratisjuegos instantaneos portales internetjuegos de casino on line,los juegos de casino,juegos de casinoganar dinero webjugar gratis portales webjugar interactivo portales webjugar casinojuegos apuestas paginas webjuego seguro portales,juego seguro linea,juego seguroapuesta dinero webpromociones casino portales webcasinos descargas pagina webjuego gratis lineajuego seguro pagina internet thing, both practially and poetically. They’re all apparently racers with a genuine interest in the sport (see Jeff Hammond’s quick and useful explanation on FoxSports.com). This time, they showed they also understand the P.R. implications of undercutting one of its key tenants: On any given day, anybody can win.

Whether you’re a person of faith or not, this is reprehensible. These people are trying to help kids, and don’t deserve this.

To Our Friends And Partners;

Zoeller Ministries has suffered a great loss and covets your prays. We received a call yesterday that our
equipment had been broken into and vandalized. This is the equipment used for the “Kids Racing For Life®”
Events, “Teen Driving Experience®” and all other ministry events.

There is thousands of dollars of damage and we have no insurance on it because we believed it was in a
safe place but also because most of the equipment is locked in the trailer which had made her final voyage and
was going to live out what was left of her life as a small warehouse only. Since she wouldn’t be traveling we
cancelled the insurance on her.

We have been in serious prayer about acquiring two new trailers; one for the
general ministry and one for the “Teen Driving Experience®” because they are so desperately needed. This is
our 10th anniversary year of the “Kids Racing For Life®” program and the second year of the “TDE” program
and we are scheduled to do two of each this year. So all the damage the old trailer received is not as horrible as
all the stuff that was in the trailer and Stephen’s Faster Pastor Race Car, which was to be used for the next few
years in the “Teen Driving Experience®”. The loss of this equipment is devastating to the programs.

The (we believe young boys) kids broke into the trailer and smashed and broke as much as they could
get their hands on and spray painted everything. Stephen’s car is demolished, they took the poles from our tarps
and beat the car, breaking every window and mirror and lights etc. They gained access to the property through
a swamp on an ATV and Dirt Bike, so the equipment was as safe as a prudent person could expect.

What can you do, pray for the perpetrators’ to be caught so that they don’t think they got away with this
and it is a stepping stone to larger crimes? Pray that God forgive them for their destroying of HIS equipment.

Pray that God supply all of our needs according to HIS Riches and His Glory, so that we can be blessed to be a
blessing to others. Keep your eyes and ears open to help us find two 8 X 26± car carrier trailers. (The “TDE”
trailer needs to be loaded and stay loaded between events, it will save storage cost and labor loading and
unloading. The other trailer will be used for the “KRFL” events and general ministry.) If you feel so led a tax
deductable cash donation may be made to the address below or online through Pay Pal. God bless you and
thank you for your help and prayers.

Stephen Clarke Zoeller

RaceRev@RaceRev.com
www.RaceRev.com

With a few days to cool off after a smokin’ finish (or perhaps not-so-Smoke-in; sorry, Tony), let’s review Speedweeks from the sponsor lens.

Earnhardt Jr. Pays Immediate Dividends
An enduring theme from the weekend broadcast was “Wow, look at all that green! This place used to be red!” Seems that Team Earnhardt’s Big Bet has paid off in at least one way: Junior Nation apparently immediately traded in its Budweiser theme in exchange for the greens of AMP and National Guard.

Time after time, obviously carefully chosen Dale Jr. fans showed up on TV wearing their new t-shirts, caps, sweats and waving those new green banners.

Talk about making a good first “impression.”

Also on that note, NASCAR.com picked up the Sporting News Wire Service’s very interesting story about Pepsico’s pursuit and ultimate capture of the Earnhardt dream.

Can’t Dodge The Impact
Among the feel good stories to emerge in the 500’s last 30 seconds or so, the rare opportunity to feel good for a large corporation was quite a treat. It was hard not to be swept up in the delight at the underdog Dodge Boys pulling off a team victory over the highly touted (and perhaps performance enhanced?) Toyotas, along with the Chevies, and even those Roush Fords.

Chrysler CEO Bob Nardelli’s offer of a million dollar bonus to a winning Dodge team has gotten quite a bit of play this week, of course. How did we come to call it a “bounty”? Doesn’t a “bounty” involve a scalp or a fugitive, or at least a really tacky reality TV show? Careless use of language by our big-media friends, I say.

Anyway, Nardelli hasn’t exactly been a corporate hero recently. Having ascended from the magic world of GE to the CEO’s chair at Home Depot, he suffered a fairly public plunge along with the Big Orange (the company, not the 20). There was a certain amount of scoffing among us unwashed when Chrysler picked him up as CEO. But those “in the know” (and, apparently, the “know” who they are) pointed out that Nardelli’s real failure at Home Depot was in presuming that his manufacturing and process expertise would translate well to the rather squishier retail world. Apparently not, and Bob landed with a thud.

Now, as he works Chrysler through its unenviable challenges, some of those same “in the know” seem to think he’s got them on the right track. That’s what we like: a happy ending. And Nardelli certainly got a happy ending last Sunday evening.

That million bucks?

Boy, it’s nice when the stars align. Nardelli and Dodge have gotten millions and millions of dollars worth of media play out of that money. And, heck, if Bob had known he was going to get to beat the Home Depot car on the way to a Dodge victory, he might have offered big money!

Unsung Sponsor Of The Weekend
Our unheralded favorite sponsor for the Daytona 500 weekend, and all of speedweeks is a bit of a suprise: NOS Energy Drinks.

We like brave, scrappy sponsors just like we like brave, scrappy racers. The fabulously named NOS Energy Drink (if you know NOS, you’re a racer, yes?) played its sponsor dollars admirably: It put a little money on a small player in the big show; and a little money on a big player in the small show.

We do like strategic brilliance.

In Sprint Cup, NOS sponsored the very likeable Stanton Barrett, one of those rare tough guys who just scrapes it together every weekend that he can, and goes to the track to race. He’s a terrific if hard-luck story who always generates some media exposure because he’s the Hollywood stunt guy who also races in NASCAR. The media types love that stuff.

Unfortunately, Stanton was taken out of the Daytona qualifying race in a bonehead accident caused by one of the spoiled open wheelers trying to crash the NASCAR party. Crash all you want, Jacques, but when you take out good guys who work on their own deals, we are not amused.

A shame for Stanton and a shame for NOS.

However, NOS wisely also put a little bit of their sponsor loot on the back (well, the front, more accurately) of young Kyle Busch in Friday night’s Craftsman Truck Series race. Genius move. Young Busch has two things going for him: He’s quickly becoming the new master of Daytona International Speedway, that rare guy who can make a car (or truck) do anything he wants, anywhere on that very formidable track. It’s a fairly safe bet that the vehicle young Busch is piloting will spend signficant time on camera. Sponsors will undoubtedly take note, and NOS is wise to get there early. Second, young Busch has that brash, cocky persona that sells so well in the young energy drink market.

So, now instead of beer wars, we have energy drink wars. Instead of an aging Rusty Wallace matching sponsor wits with an up and coming Dale Jr., we have an …um… “maturing” Dale Jr. matched up against young Kyle Busch.

We do love a good sponsor battle.

AMP vs. NOS. The question is not who got the most exposure last weekend. The question is: Who got the most bang for the buck? We don’t have the numbers, but we’ll bet NOS didn’t do too bad.

Next: California. Let’s go racing!

Let’s be clear about this: The jury is still out.

We’re about to offer opinions on sponsors who were “winners” and “losers” from a very busy offseason 2007-2008. Realistically, nobody can really call a winner or a loser until we start running races and watching sponsorship programs unfold.

It’s easy to identify some high profile sponsors who generated tons of visibility this offseason. We’ll take that low-hanging fruit, thank you very much. But even they don’t really know the value of their considerable investment(s) until the cash register starts ringing.

With that in mind, here are some impressions of offseason winners and losers in the sponsor game:

Pepsico (AMP Energy Drink); National Guard - The obvious big sponsor play of late 2007, offseason and –given young Earnhardt’s performance during Speed Weeks– early 2008. So far, you’ve got to say that both companies have won. They’ve generated huge visibility and buzz (pun intended, AMP fans), and the early returns indicate they’ve backed a winner.

But we won’t actually know until we start seeing those AMP sales figures in the very crowded energy drink market and the National Guard’s recruiting and retention numbers. The first may be hard to come by; the second will be very public. In that sense, the pressure’s on.

Dale Jr. is generally considred a “sponsor’s dream.” But the real test of 2008 is to see whether his loyal nation of fans will follow him beyond the rough ‘n tumble, party boy image he crafted for Bud, Wrangler and Drakkar Noir.

Does all that loyalty translate to big sales for distinctly more refined brands like Adidas? Stay tuned.

By the way, anybody notice that in his NASCAR.com driver photo he looks more like John Force than Dale, Sr.? Might as well. Force won more championships.

Sprint - This might be better put in the category “NASCAR,” since the real issue with the NEXTEL to SPRINT title switch is going to be the dilution of the NASCAR “Cup” Series branding.

A few years back, when NASCAR rented its soul to NEXTEL for outrageous money, certain wags wondered whether the sanctioning body was making a good choice: Signing a long term agreement with a partner that plays in a distinctly short term game. Telcos have been notorious for merging and acquiring one another over the past decade or so.

Was it that hard to imagine that NEXTEL might get swallowed up by a bigger fish?

Now, NASCAR is staring at the prospect of its third major, premiere title sponsor in, what 5 years? Even worse, the chieftains are faced with the prospect of looking happy about saying “SPRINT Cup” for the next…well, for at least this season, anyway.

The Winston Cup brand had immense value; the NEXTEL Cup was in place long enough to just start building good equity; and now SPRINT gets its swing. How long before nobody takes the whole “Cup” title thing seriously any more?

Better yet, how long before we hear ourselves saying, along with the incomparable Mater: “He done what in his cup?” (Backstory: If you’re not a fan of the “Cars” movie, it might help to know that its mythical “cup” was called the “Piston Cup,” and Larry the Cable Guy, while stealing the show as Mater, knocked that little line out of the ball park.)

Budweiser - Has there ever been a better match for sponsor and driver than Dale, Jr. and Budweiser? Talk about the perfect storm of driver, fans and product. Right in the company of Petty and STP, Waltrip and Tide, and Dale, Sr. and Mr. Goodwrench, Dale Jr. rode an incredible updraft of support to amazing sponsor value for Bud.

Now, after the surprisingly amiable parting with Junior, Budweiser begins a new journey with Kasey Kahne. We don’t envy them. Kasey is a terrific driver and a soccer mom’s dream (apparently), but will he appeal to Bud drinkers, or bring new customers into the Bud fold?

That jury is definitely still out.

Anheuser-Busch, Busch brand - In a “normal” year, NASCAR’s separation from A-B and the Busch brand would have been huge news. As it happened, it was a pretty big story, not because Busch left, but because NASCAR had such a hard time replacing them (see below).

There are several ways to take this from a sponsor viewpoint: It might be that A-B is simply putting its Busch ad and sponsor budget elsewhere. In this day of “country” sports like bull riding as well as emerging extreme sports, there’s hardly a lack of opportunity.

But it’s hard to imagine a better audience for Busch than the NASCAR fan base. Busch inspires almost cult-like loyalty (much like NASCAR) and nearly oozes the salt-of-the-earthiness appeal that nails the traditional NASCAR fan head-on.

It seems likely that NASCAR simply wanted too much to continue the alliance. But it’s not only about money: It’s about value, which is payback for the money involved.

That might suggest that A-B, unparalleled in its marketing savvy, simply decided that the Busch series has drifted too far off the “front burner” for NASCAR. In a sense, the Busch series has become generic, nearly an after thought over the past decade or so. It’s certainly been off the radar screen for big deals, big names, and the sort of big hype the “Cup” series has seen.

Might be that A-B decided to quit subsidizing a second-rate product with its first-rate dollars. Which means that…

Nationwide - …has this year’s biggest challenge: Replacing an admired stalwart and establishing any kind of brand loyalty among the NASCAR fan base. The sponsor pitch for these properties seems to be: “Hey, NASCAR fans are notoriously brand loyal. Just put your logo on something –anything– NASCAR, and these rubes will snap it right up.”

That seems like a pretty big bet for a company like Nationwide in a semi-generic business space. Whether it pays off for them will probably depend on two things: How well they articulate and activate the sponsorship; and how long they’re willing to stay in the game.

There’s a vaguely surprising linguistic component to all this: “Nationwide Series” just doesn’t sound as distinctive as “Busch Series” and isn’t nearly as targeted. “Nationwide” what? Does that mean the series goes all over the nation?

This looks like an uphill battle for the venerable Nationwide.

Robert Yates - While not a specific brand or particular sponsor-related item, Yates was one of the offseason’s big sponsor cycle winners.

Let’s see if we’ve got this straight: Yates wouldn’t release car number 88 so Dale Jarrett could take it with him to Michael Waltrip’s stable. OK, that’s understandable, as DJ was leaving Yates to join a competitor, and taking a major big-bucks sponsor at that.

But the way Toyota was allegedly throwing money around in 2006, it’s hard to figure that somebody didn’t offer Robert a ton of money to let the number go.

Then, in 2007, a certain other Dale leaves his home base to seek greener pastures and, like Yates, his car owner chooses to keep the equity in his car number. And, yet again, apparently somebody makes a pass at Robert Yates. Only this time, the number floats out into the Hendrick-sphere.

And this year Robert gets to retire!?

Can we connect the dots on this deal?

No offense to Robert. In fact, we congratulate him and wish him a great retirement. It’s just business. But it’s pretty darned funny that he managed to hold on to the 88 when he maybe could have gotten some capital he obviously needed for the race team (see: 2007 performance), then released it and rode off into the sunset.

But, hey, that’s racin’.

Thanks for joining us. We’re looking forward to a season filled with comments, articles, interviews and conversation about sponsor-related topics.

Feel free to use the comments section to chime in. (And, no, this isn’t a comprehensive list, by far. We’ll be on top of lots of other sponsor stories — M&M’s and Kyle Busch, the whole Toyota pandemic, and the brand equity of the 8 car, to name just a few).

Have a GREAT Daytona Sunday!

Greetings, and let’s go racing!

Our new commitment for 2008, and hopefully beyond, is to explore the world of motorsports sponsorship. For the past 10 years or so, we’ve been providing a nearly continuous stream of news, information, links, and commentary both witty and wise.

This year, we’re going to be a little more focused, and probably a lot more interesting. We’re going to concentrate on sponsor related items and issues.

As race fans, we love great racing. Can’t get enough of it. We admire racers. Like you, we relish the competition, exult with the winners (usually) and agonize with the heartbreaks.

But none of it gets done without sponsor dollars. Just doesn’t happen. And yet, the actual world of sponsorship is a bit of a mystery, perhaps understood only by the CEO’s and marketing types who buy (or sell) the sponsorships that fuel our passions.

Our 2008 road map is pretty simple: We’re going to establish some parameters for evaluating races based on sponsor performance, something we call the “sponsor lens,” (as in, seeing the race as fans looking through the “sponsor lens”); we’re going to look into the dynamics of sponsorship; and we’re going to bring sponsor-related information (profiles, interviews).

Here’s to a great 2008.

Now let’s go racing!

Ya never mess with the flag man!

As any true racer could have told him, William Milhous Belichick (he of the Nixonian five-step drop and cover-up) should have thought twice before throwing the red challenge flag in last Sunday’s Superbowl.

In a move widely considered “genius,” the genius Belichick threw the challenge flag fairly early in the 3rd quarter, based on his knowledge (or assumption) that the a Giants’ player had failed to exit the field in time for a Patriots punt.

As it turns out, Belichick was right. But there’s such a thing as being, “dead right,” genius. And if you watched closely, the look on the chief referee’s face told the story: Belichick had messed with the wrong guys.

Here’s the deal: Belichick called the refs out. It’s one thing if the refs make a call, the coach disagrees and throws the flag, and then we all wait out a video decision. Everybody knows that the game moves fast enough that if the refs miss one, and the coach wins a challenge, no hard feelings.

But it’s a completely different deal if the refs don’t throw the flag –in effect, missing a call– and a smarty pants head coach throws the challenge flag. That puts the refs in a position of having to acknowledge that they completely missed one. In other words, they looked incompetent and it looked like Belichick showed them up on a national global stage.

I’m not privvy to any special information. And I’m certainly not insinuating that the refs cheated. But in any NFL game, there are always 3 teams on the field. And just as there are in racing, there must be unwritten rules –in addition to all the written ones– about the way the 2 opposing teams treat the third team (the refs). I don’t know, but I’ll bet it goes something like this:

“You do your jobs, and we’ll do ours.” And there’s probably a sub-clause of the rule that says “And, oh, don’t mess with us.”

Although Belichick won a short term victory –his team got 5 yards and got to keep the ball a little longer– he seems to have lost the big battle. It just looked like, from there on out, every time there was a “judgement call” about a penalty or a play or a spot, the call went the Giants’ way.

After all, on any given play in the NFL, how many penalties do you think are really committed? 10? 25? 50? It’s an incredibly violent game played at unthinkably fast speeds.

Much like Bristol.

Those charged with “refereeing” such a melee can only hope to keep a general order and get most of the calls right. Necessarily, that means there have to be “judgement calls” that could go either way.

Calls like, oh, was that a false start, or was the lineman induced by the defense? Twice after Belichicks “genius” challenge, Ningland’s line was called for uncharacteristic false start penalties.

Calls like, is that a first down or do we need (another!) measurement. Late in the game, Giants driving, and after a short gain, a couple of the refs looked like maybe it was time for a measurement. Nope. Into the breach steps the head ref (the one who was just embarassed on a global stage) and thrusts his hand forward in the decisive “don’t mess with me” gesture to inidicate a first down.

Calls like, when is the quarterback considered “in the grasp.” On Eli Manning’s now legendary 32 yard pass to David Tyree, could he have been considered “sacked” when 3 Ningland linemen had him by the jersey? It’s, um, up to the refs.

This is all just an amateur outsider’s view. There could have been dozens and dozens of other “judgement calls” that went for or against either team. I’m sure I could be wrong.

But it sure looked to me like the Genius outsmarted himself at the worst possible time. And although I wouldn’t in a hundred lifetimes insult a NFL ref’s professionalism, it sure looked like the refs were delivering a message to Genius Belichick. And it was…

…Ya never mess with the flagman!

In news from the world of racing, it appears that 2008 is the year Danica Patrick decides whether she’s going to be a racer or a spokes-bimbo. Even if you didn’t chase the obvious bait from GoDaddy, it’s pretty clear from their Super Bowl commercial which way she’s gone.

Post this under, “Most Interesting Thing We’ve Heard All Week.”

Jaski is reporting that Richard Childress is still actively seeking to field a fourth team next year. No surprise there. But the very interesting part comes at the end:

Childress still contemplating 4th team: Now that he’s lost out on the Kyle Busch sweepstakes, car owner Richard Childress is contemplating his next move. He’d like to add another quality Nextel Cup Series driver to his team so he can put a fourth full time car on the track next season. However, time is running out to get that done. “We’ll make a decision by September 15th if we’re going to do it or not”; said Childress. “That’s my deadline I’ve set. If we don’t do it by then we probably won’t do it.” If the pieces don’t fall into place, RC says “We’ll run four cars some races next year, but there’s a couple of opportunities out there that’s not even in NASCAR.” When asked if one possibility was Canadian Patrick Carpentier, Childress would only say; “He’s not on my list…but you are getting in a good area.”

Now that’s interesting. Childress is a quintessential southern boy made good in NASCAR. And thinking outside NASCAR?! Horrors! This is Dale Earnhardt’s car owner, for goodness sakes!

Let the speculating begin. What might Richard have in mind?

TODD: Let’s not forget, Richard is also a vintner and, if I understand correctly, no slouch in the area of philanthropy. So there’s more to the man’s story than stock cars and red necks.

Most of all, if you’ve watched his racing operation over the past decade or so, even preceding the loss of Earnhardt, you see that Richard is as flexible and determined as they come. Not too long before his demise, people were writing Dale off as a has-been. Childress, probably with Dale’s input, turned the ship around, such that Dale was talking about an eighth championship, and nobody was snickering.

Fast forward to 2001 and beyond, faced with an organization that got two steps behind, presumably recovering from the loss of its major star, Childress apparently hesitated not at all to make changes that have all three of his teams running in the top 12.

Point is, the guy’s a pretty strong player, and if he’s eyed an opportunity, it won’t surprise me if he latches on to something terrific. But what is it? Hard to say.

You can almost see the twinkle in his eye when he cryptically notes that, while Patrick Carpentier is not on his radar screen, exactly, something in the “area” of Patrick is.

What could that be? Many things. I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that Richard thinks there’s an opportunity in open wheel. The Indy Racing League is enjoying the glimmer of a renaissance, so Richard might figure this is the time to dip a toe into those waters. With his fantastic array of sponsors (Shell, AT&T, Jack Daniel’s) and, really, a bevy of available drivers with open wheel backgrounds, there might be both business and racing reasons to give it a shot.

Here’s a rumor for you to start: No lesser lights than Rick Hendrick and Childress himself have written Joe Gibbs Racing off as switching to Toyota for 2008. That means we could very easily see a third-time champion in Tony Stewart switching brands, from the well-established Chevy to new-comer Toyota, just as his career hits an apex.

Now I don’t care what Toyota brings to the table. If we’ve learned one thing this year, we’ve learned that this game is tough and takes time to play and win. No way Toyota brings it with enough heat next year to provide championship caliber iron. Probably not for two to five more years. (The other thing we’ve learned this year is to ignore prognostications about Toyota, so take this one with a whole spoonful of salt.)

So here’s your rumor du jour: I’ll bet Richard is planning to use the Gibbs Toyota switch to make a run at Tony with the promise of Chevy stability AND, you read it here first, another shot at open wheel glory, including of course that Indy 500.

That’s just a rumor, intended as no more than a think-piece for rabid fans. But do feel free to spread it. And don’t forget where you read it. The link is: http://www.race-week.com

LOL!

What else might Richard have in mind? Perhaps something a little more on the “sane” side? Well, Carpentier ran terrifically at Montreal. And apparently the Busch series race up there was a major hit with Canadian race fans. Maybe Richard’s looking north of the border at CASCAR (the Canadian stocker series) and figuring he can extend his empire due north.

Who knows? Maybe Richard’s just grinnin’ behind those mirrored shades because he knows he’s keeping it interesting!!

Most forms of entertainment court the media for coverage. And, according to the cliche, any publicity is good publicity. That being the case, the news that the struggling Champ Car series revoked the hardcard of renown racing journalist Robin Miller came as a surprise to some, an insult to SPEED, for whom Miller writes, a warning shot to other journalists and an upsetting loss to many fans.

Earlier this year Champ Car dismissed Miller, who also wrote for their web site. And more recently, Gordon Kirby, longtime race reporter and author, revealed that he, too, was more or less dismissed when he declined to write 100-word soundbites for next to no pay. Champ Car’s budget cuts and reliance on Internet fan forums at the expense of seasoned journalists demotes the series to amateur level, but its censorship of Miller smacks of damage control from a position of weakness.

LORI: Unsubstantiated rumors have been circulated that Robin Miller was set up on a story he wrote about Steve Johnson being fired in order to be let go himself. Internet whisperings hint that one fan known for cheerleading and vague promises of hope has been fed information to circulate on the fan forums, flown to board meetings and even contracted with to spin the recent Robin Miller situation: the pulling of his hard card.

What lows has Champ Car sunk to when it pulls the hardcard of Robin Miller, once its greatest media champion, for writing the truth about its current circumstances? There are few journalists who regularly follow the series through the entire season, and fewer still who have the contacts and understanding to write authoritatively about it.

Apparently, Champ Car is afraid for the public to know the truth about how poorly things are going, and prefers to rely on fans to whip up the crowd than to have seasoned, professional journalists with years of experience and contacts report the facts. Granted, Miller currently has the option of requesting media credentials for each individual race, but, as he told me, SPEED is so angry about Champ Car’s shabby treatment of him, they have decided not to cover Champ Car through the end of the year.

So just what has that accomplished for Champ Car? First, there is less TV and Internet coverage from one of the major racing publications. Second, this, more than the ridiculous gaps in the schedule, the revolving door of drivers, the lack of teams, the lack of diversity, the spec-ness of it all, the paucity of PR, the inconsistent officiating, the back-breaking new car that is nothing it was promised to be, has turned away fans. This is not the time to be chasing away legitimate journalists because they aren’t dripping with praise all the time. Stifling the messenger doesn’t change the fact that the emperor is still naked.

Some might recall that Tony George once pulled Miller’s credentials. They were quickly restored when he realized his gaff. Sadly, I don’t expect the same realization from the amigos; they’re too busy fighting amongst themselves for the scraps of CART — at least, the ones who still bother to show up and express any interest at all.

TODD: My friend and colleague has pretty well said it all, and well said at that. But of course I can’t resist adding two pennies’ worth.

Here’s the simple truth: If CART/Champ Car World Series/ChampCar were a crisp, well-run organization that put on terrific races, they could do whatever they want with media creds. See NASCAR.

To me, the essence of Lori’s critique –and gosh, I could pull about 10 quotes out of it right now– is that the rich fools who run ChampCar (there goes my hard card!) are busily deluding themselves into thinking that the series can be saved if they can just keep everybody from speaking the truth about it!

The Emperor’s New Clothes, indeed.

I don’t watch ChampCar. I didn’t say I don’t watch open wheel racing. I do. I watch and dig all forms of motor racing. But I don’t watch ChampCar. Of course, given its current TV situation, maybe nobody does.

But last Sunday, I was reminded again why I don’t watch ChampCar. Personal circumstances caused me to miss the NASCAR event (on ESPN), but I accidently flipped to my local ABC affiliate and, what to my wondering eyes should appear but the ChampCar race! That’s “race,” if by “race” you mean “watch Sebastien Bordais tromp all over a field of wannabes and back-markers.”

Ridiculous. Yes, Doornbus had some problems, but can ChampCar really watch its series “leader” destroy the field week-in and week-out and expect to be taken seriously as a racing series?

Shouldn’t there be racing? It’s the IRL circa 1996-97 all over again. But without all the promise.

Can Bourdais really be proud to have beaten this gaggle of Lilliputians four years running?

The poor guy must be bored out of his mind! No wonder he’s willing to take something, anything, in F1 just to get out of what must be his macabre surreality. He’s racing in a series that’s about everything but the racing!

I think Bourdais is going to end up as one of the great what-could-have-been motorsports stories of all time. But that’s a topic for another post.

Lori, my friend, you’re spot-on, as always. The geniuses at ChampCar seem determined to find ever-newer ways to step on their, uh, tails. And with all the alleged focus on the Internet, they’ve managed to miss the Most Important Point: The Internet is not a media tool, to be manipulated and massaged; it’s a media wilderness, where the truth will come out. Even if it’s on a tiny patch of cyberspace like ours.