pandr
06-26-2011, 04:52 PM
Racing feels impact of Red Bull's exit
Futures of Vickers, Kahne are up in the air in wake of sponsor's plan to leave NASCAR.
By Ron Green Jr.charlotteobserver
Saturday, Jun. 25, 2011
SONOMA, Calif. - Brian Vickers is an admitted thrill-seeker.
He recently parachuted into Daytona International Speedway. He's water-skied the Panama Canal. He did a trapeze act in New York City last Monday.
Now he's wondering what will happen with his Sprint Cup career following the announcement last week that Red Bull will withdraw from NASCAR racing at the end of the season. The news rumbled through the sport in advance of today's Toyota Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway.
It means the loss of a high-profile, high-dollar sponsorship and it leaves two race teams - Vickers' team and Kasey Kahne's - with an uncertain future.
"I'd be lying if I didn't think it was on my mind," Vickers said.
"This has kind of been on the table for a while now. It's something they've kicked around on an annual basis. Do they want to be an owner in the sport?"
Though the Red Bull model was different than others in Sprint Cup racing - the Austrian-based energy drink company owns the entire race team operation rather than being a primary sponsor for another car owner - it's a significant loss within the sport.
"I hate to hear that news. When I think about it from the sports vantage point and the big sponsor leaving, two seats going away - I really hate to hear that news," five-time Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson said.
"The more corporate or international involvement, the more Fortune 500 companies and the more Fortune 50 companies we have involved in our sport, the better our sport is going to be."
The Red Bull decision affects the sport on various levels.
It's viewed in some circles as evidence that Sprint Cup racing continues to struggle in attracting the 18-34 male fan. That's primarily Red Bull's target audience, but stock car racing has tended to be more popular with the 35-54 age group as it has wrestled with keeping and growing its television audience - as most sports have.
"It hurts the sport a little bit just because it keeps falling back into the demographic that we seem to not be able to hit - which is the 18-34. It's challenging for anybody out there," driver Kyle Busch said.
In a conference call last week, Red Bull Racing Team vice president and general manager Jay Frye said the decision reached beyond the race track.
"It really comes down to a business decision and how this all played out. It's a change in strategy, no specific reason or specific situation, so that's kind of where we're at with that," Frye said.
Red Bull has been successful in Formula One, where it has Sebastian Vettel, the sport's new superstar, under contract. The company has also been rumored to be making a run at adding Formula One great Lewis Hamilton to its collection of drivers.
In NASCAR, Red Bull operated differently than, for example, Hendrick Motorsports. Red Bull owned its entire operation, whereas Hendrick or Richard Childress Racing arranges sponsorship deals for the cars they own. It's an unconventional approach that hasn't produced dynamic results.
Vickers, the team's primary driver for five years, has just two victories. Kahne's deal will expire after this season before he joins Hendrick Motorsports in 2012.
"This is not a traditional sponsor who would just be possibly leaving the sport," Frye said.
For Toyota, it means the possible loss of two teams that helped the company establish itself as a formidable force in the sport.
Frye said Red Bull's decision won't necessarily mean the end of the race teams but will require quick action to keep them going. Red Bull, Frye said, could stay involved in the sport to some degree, a notion Vickers agreed with.
"They haven't decided yet if they're going to be in this sport (as a sponsor) next year," Vickers said. "Honestly, I think they will."
The immediate challenge is finding new investors to take what Red Bull started and keep it alive, though with a different business model.
"There's a lot of enthusiasm by Red Bull for us to continue," Frye said. "There's a lot of people looking, and there's a lot of interest in what we have and what we've done and where we're going. So, again, we're really encouraged about what could be next."
Frye said officials are currently in talks that could produce an announcement in 30 to 45 days, though he made no guarantees.
The decision could hasten Kahne's move to Hendrick Motorsports later this year. It leaves Vickers' future in limbo, along with nearly 200 other employees of the organization.
"I'm going to keep all my options open," Vickers said. "I'm really happy here...There's a huge part of me that wants to stay, but there's so many other dominoes that have to fall first."
And no guarantee about where those dominoes will land.
"A lot of the pit crew and guys working on the cars were like, 'Man, what am I going to do? I have family.' As soon as that gets started, it doesn't make the team any better," Kahne said.
"That's just the way it is. There's no way it can be good. You start thinking about your life and things, your family. That makes it difficult.
"If the people feel like they're in a stable place, they're going to do a better job and perform better. Hopefully, some of that stuff happens where the two teams can stay around and everybody will have a job and it will be all right."
C/P Thats Racin
Futures of Vickers, Kahne are up in the air in wake of sponsor's plan to leave NASCAR.
By Ron Green Jr.charlotteobserver
Saturday, Jun. 25, 2011
SONOMA, Calif. - Brian Vickers is an admitted thrill-seeker.
He recently parachuted into Daytona International Speedway. He's water-skied the Panama Canal. He did a trapeze act in New York City last Monday.
Now he's wondering what will happen with his Sprint Cup career following the announcement last week that Red Bull will withdraw from NASCAR racing at the end of the season. The news rumbled through the sport in advance of today's Toyota Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway.
It means the loss of a high-profile, high-dollar sponsorship and it leaves two race teams - Vickers' team and Kasey Kahne's - with an uncertain future.
"I'd be lying if I didn't think it was on my mind," Vickers said.
"This has kind of been on the table for a while now. It's something they've kicked around on an annual basis. Do they want to be an owner in the sport?"
Though the Red Bull model was different than others in Sprint Cup racing - the Austrian-based energy drink company owns the entire race team operation rather than being a primary sponsor for another car owner - it's a significant loss within the sport.
"I hate to hear that news. When I think about it from the sports vantage point and the big sponsor leaving, two seats going away - I really hate to hear that news," five-time Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson said.
"The more corporate or international involvement, the more Fortune 500 companies and the more Fortune 50 companies we have involved in our sport, the better our sport is going to be."
The Red Bull decision affects the sport on various levels.
It's viewed in some circles as evidence that Sprint Cup racing continues to struggle in attracting the 18-34 male fan. That's primarily Red Bull's target audience, but stock car racing has tended to be more popular with the 35-54 age group as it has wrestled with keeping and growing its television audience - as most sports have.
"It hurts the sport a little bit just because it keeps falling back into the demographic that we seem to not be able to hit - which is the 18-34. It's challenging for anybody out there," driver Kyle Busch said.
In a conference call last week, Red Bull Racing Team vice president and general manager Jay Frye said the decision reached beyond the race track.
"It really comes down to a business decision and how this all played out. It's a change in strategy, no specific reason or specific situation, so that's kind of where we're at with that," Frye said.
Red Bull has been successful in Formula One, where it has Sebastian Vettel, the sport's new superstar, under contract. The company has also been rumored to be making a run at adding Formula One great Lewis Hamilton to its collection of drivers.
In NASCAR, Red Bull operated differently than, for example, Hendrick Motorsports. Red Bull owned its entire operation, whereas Hendrick or Richard Childress Racing arranges sponsorship deals for the cars they own. It's an unconventional approach that hasn't produced dynamic results.
Vickers, the team's primary driver for five years, has just two victories. Kahne's deal will expire after this season before he joins Hendrick Motorsports in 2012.
"This is not a traditional sponsor who would just be possibly leaving the sport," Frye said.
For Toyota, it means the possible loss of two teams that helped the company establish itself as a formidable force in the sport.
Frye said Red Bull's decision won't necessarily mean the end of the race teams but will require quick action to keep them going. Red Bull, Frye said, could stay involved in the sport to some degree, a notion Vickers agreed with.
"They haven't decided yet if they're going to be in this sport (as a sponsor) next year," Vickers said. "Honestly, I think they will."
The immediate challenge is finding new investors to take what Red Bull started and keep it alive, though with a different business model.
"There's a lot of enthusiasm by Red Bull for us to continue," Frye said. "There's a lot of people looking, and there's a lot of interest in what we have and what we've done and where we're going. So, again, we're really encouraged about what could be next."
Frye said officials are currently in talks that could produce an announcement in 30 to 45 days, though he made no guarantees.
The decision could hasten Kahne's move to Hendrick Motorsports later this year. It leaves Vickers' future in limbo, along with nearly 200 other employees of the organization.
"I'm going to keep all my options open," Vickers said. "I'm really happy here...There's a huge part of me that wants to stay, but there's so many other dominoes that have to fall first."
And no guarantee about where those dominoes will land.
"A lot of the pit crew and guys working on the cars were like, 'Man, what am I going to do? I have family.' As soon as that gets started, it doesn't make the team any better," Kahne said.
"That's just the way it is. There's no way it can be good. You start thinking about your life and things, your family. That makes it difficult.
"If the people feel like they're in a stable place, they're going to do a better job and perform better. Hopefully, some of that stuff happens where the two teams can stay around and everybody will have a job and it will be all right."
C/P Thats Racin