2019 Robby Gordon Headquarters
ESPN: Robby Gordon faces 8-race season
Uh-oh. From ESPN.com
AVONDALE, Ariz. -- Robby Gordon, who has run a full Sprint Cup schedule as a driver/owner since 2006, says he has enough sponsorship for only eight races in 2010.
"I'm looking at a lot of weekends off,'' a frustrated Gordon told ESPN.com on Friday at Phoenix International Raceway.
Gordon said he has two four-race commitments from sponsors for next season. One of his major sponsors, Jim Beam, announced earlier in the year that it would not return to the sport.
"Nobody is spending money,'' Gordon said. "Everybody is cutting the fat out of everything. To be in racing you have to be a pretty big company.''
Gordon said many of the larger teams are making deals for well less than the market value because they can afford to, but that runs teams like his out of business.
"It's sponsorship suicide,'' said Gordon, who is 34th in points.
Gordon said NASCAR needs to create a unified marketing plan so every team is on a level playing field. He said there are so many different plans now that sponsors are confused.
He expects to see more start-and-park teams next season than ever, adding he doesn't plan to be one.
"I don't know what we're going to do,'' Gordon said. "We're going to continue to work hard to sell races through March of next year. After that I'm looking at a lot of weekends off.''
David Newton covers NASCAR for ESPN.com. He can be reached at dnewtonespn@aol.com.
AVONDALE, Ariz. -- Robby Gordon, who has run a full Sprint Cup schedule as a driver/owner since 2006, says he has enough sponsorship for only eight races in 2010.
"I'm looking at a lot of weekends off,'' a frustrated Gordon told ESPN.com on Friday at Phoenix International Raceway.
Gordon said he has two four-race commitments from sponsors for next season. One of his major sponsors, Jim Beam, announced earlier in the year that it would not return to the sport.
"Nobody is spending money,'' Gordon said. "Everybody is cutting the fat out of everything. To be in racing you have to be a pretty big company.''
Gordon said many of the larger teams are making deals for well less than the market value because they can afford to, but that runs teams like his out of business.
"It's sponsorship suicide,'' said Gordon, who is 34th in points.
Gordon said NASCAR needs to create a unified marketing plan so every team is on a level playing field. He said there are so many different plans now that sponsors are confused.
He expects to see more start-and-park teams next season than ever, adding he doesn't plan to be one.
"I don't know what we're going to do,'' Gordon said. "We're going to continue to work hard to sell races through March of next year. After that I'm looking at a lot of weekends off.''
David Newton covers NASCAR for ESPN.com. He can be reached at dnewtonespn@aol.com.
Views: 157
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Bryan Zeigler on
-
My opinion, like it or not, is Robby kinda put himself in this boat to some extent. Now I have been a Robby fan for 20 plus years back from the old Hay Hauler days and the MTEG days. When Robby takes these weekends off to race desert in the Trophy Truck what does that say to his sponsor as far as his commitment? You put a David G in the car who has not done any of the PR for Jim Beam. Jim Beam sponsors Robby Gordon. Now I realize Jim Beam was leaving regardless but other potential sponsors can look down at that. Now you take the Dakar effort. Is spending millions of dollars worth it when you have a struggling Cup program? It aint over till the fat lady sings and Robby I am sure will pull something out in the end. IMO you cant put forth a half hearted effort at the Cup level because you will get your BUTT handed to you on a weekly basis.
-
-
My opinion, like it or not, is Robby kinda put himself in this boat to some extent. Now I have been a Robby fan for 20 plus years back from the old Hay Hauler days and the MTEG days. When Robby takes these weekends off to race desert in the Trophy Truck what does that say to his sponsor as far as his commitment? You put a David G in the car who has not done any of the PR for Jim Beam. Jim Beam sponsors Robby Gordon. Now I realize Jim Beam was leaving regardless but other potential sponsors can look down at that. Now you take the Dakar effort. Is spending millions of dollars worth it when you have a struggling Cup program? It aint over till the fat lady sings and Robby I am sure will pull something out in the end. IMO you cant put forth a half hearted effort at the Cup level because you will get your BUTT handed to you on a weekly basis.
-
Permalink Reply by R. ALDRIDGE on
-
We heard you the first time, Bryan (just kidding). You may be right that the other races reduce focus and may hurt performance in NASCAR but I think you are wrong about the sponsors. When you finish in the back you get no coverage or interviews... unless you can talk about Baja, Dakar, Indy, Danica, Crandon, Prelude, Black eyes, etc. All this helps the nascar sponsors.
-
Permalink Reply by Karen on
-
This all could turn out to be a good thing. Robby needs to decide what is best for him. Does he want to be competitive as a driver in NASCAR? As an owner? Just driving the races he does is more than most talented people could handle, but being an owning and working every spare minute to scrounge up a sponsor - that is too much. It is too expensive for most sponsors with very little benefit (unless you are LOWE's); the consumer market is volatile and the only security is having a sponsor that is a large corporation that doesn't need the advertising benefit of sponsoring a car. After all, how much more scotch tape has 3M sold to NASCAR fans for their investment in the 16 car? A manufacturing company (Dow), pharmaceutical (Libby), billionaire (Oprah ;-), city (Las Vegas tourism), secure financial entities (not many left here, but.. Wells-Fargo; NASDAQ), airlines (Delta -would look nice on the hood), federal government (IRS.gov; Dept of Energy --> the 'green' car), etc... Otherwise, it is bits and pieces and struggling through the season, which I cannot imagine how stressful that would be and distractive to keeping focused on racing.
If Robby wants to continue to race in NASCAR, plus all his offroad racing, plus manage his own team, I think that if he has the opportunity to have a full time sponsored ride in decent organization - I say go for it! It would be nice if it would be a Chevrolet like with Stewart-Haas , but... He could then focus on RGM by running the truck and/or Nationwide series much like Jr does with JR Motorsports and Harvick with KHI. He could work on bringing in and developing some new talent that would secure RGM for the future and he could also run the races too when he felt like it. (Of course, I still think he should bring in Danica -- both #7s -- and he'll make millions off of merchandising alone!).
Of course I know little about the financials involved. Given the meager attendance at most truck races ( a shame since they are very entertaining and competitive) - I don't know how an owner actually makes any money in that series.
I think that there is so much opportunity for the future and will keep my hopes high that we will still be cheering for Robby at all the races in 2010.
-
-
Danica isn't dumb. Any "millions off of merchandising" would mostly go to her, its her "brand"
-
-
Is this a possibility? Were the bridges burned at RCR? It seemed that they were mutually a little tired of each other. Or did Robby really want to start his own team? Or did Richard just think Burton was an upgrade but no hard feelings. What was the real story?
-
Permalink Reply by TOG on
-
Robby stated that he could have stayed at RCR , although to the new team at the time (#07)
-
Permalink Reply by Bigzoom on
-
Nascar Takes The Sponsor Dollars While Letting Teams Struggle!
Article http://bleacherreport.com/articles/291620-title-sponsorships-nascar...
With this week's news that Robby Gordon only has enough sponsorship in place to run approximately eight races in 2010, I thought I would take a peak as NASCAR's Official Sponsor Guide that lists all of the companies that pay the big bucks to be "The Official Artifical-Sweetened-Bread-And-Buttered-Toast of NASCAR." Let's take a look at a few of these and see if you can tell me what they all have in common:
Bank of America -- Official Bank of NASCAR
Canadian Tire -- Official Automotive Retailer of NASCAR in Canada
Canteen Vending Services
Cintas -- The Preferred Uniform Supplier of NASCAR
Coca-Cola -- Official Non-Alcoholic Beverage, Official Soft Drink, Official Sport Drink of NASCAR
Coors Light -- Official Beer
Craftsman Tools -- Official Tools Tools, Hand Power and Tool Storage
Daytona USA -- Official Attraction Motorsports-themed
Diageo -- Proud Sponsor of NASCAR
DIRECTV -- Official Partner of NASCAR
Duracell -- Official Alkaline Battery
Exide -- Official Battery
ExxonMobil Lubricants -- Official Lubricants/Motor Oil of NASCAR
Featherlite Coach -- Official Luxury Coach of NASCAR
Featherlite Trailers -- Official Trailer of NASCAR
Ford Trucks -- Official Truck of NASCAR
Freightliner Trucks -- Official Big Rig, Official Hauler
Gillette -- Official Shaving Product
MTD Products (Cub Cadet) -- Official Lawn & Garden Equipment of NASCAR
Nabisco (Kraft) -- Official Cookies and Crackers of NASCAR
NicoDerm -- Proud Sponsor of NASCAR
O'Reilly -- Official Auto Parts Store
Raybestos -- Official Brakes
Safety-Kleen -- Official Supplier of NASCAR
SIRIUS XM Radio -- Official Satellite Radio Partner of NASCAR
Sunoco -- Official Fuel and Official Convenience Store of NASCAR
Tissot -- Official Timekeeper and Official Watch of NASCAR
Tylenol -- Official Pain Reliever of NASCAR
Unilever -- Official Partner of NASCAR
Visa -- Official Card of NASCAR...and so on, and so on.
What do most of these have in common? They are the Official Cookies and Crackers of NASCAR but, for the most part, they do not sponsor cars in the Sprint Cup Series. Those that do, do so on a limited basis with one or two primary sponsorships a year or they are also the title sponsor of a race on the circuit the NASCAR Banking 500 Present by Bank of America (again with the long names).
That's one big list and it's only approximately halfway complete. What does it have to do with Robby Gordon? Well dollars, of course. See NASCAR just doesn't hand out the Official Pain Reliever of NASCAR title because Brian France has a headache. They do it because Tylenol pays for it.
In today's economy, sponsorship dollars are harder than ever to come by. Unless your name is Rick Hendrick or Dale, Jr. the money just doesn't add up. Robby Gordon, Jamie McMurray, and numerous other teams are looking for companies to fill their sponsorship gaps for the 2010 season and the fact is that each the companies above could benefit from having their own shining spokesman.
Instead of steering these companies toward underfunded teams, NASCAR takes their sponsorship dollars and stamps them as The Official Toilet Paper of NASCAR. NASCAR could help their sport by acting as a mediator between these companies and, for example, broker O'Reilly Auto Parts a package deal that includes limited sponsorship of Robby Gordon for a handful of races AND the title of "Official Auto Parts Store of NASCAR". Robby keeps racing, NASCAR gets a cut of the pie and O'Reilly gets some guarantee on the exposure they are going to receive each and every week. Plus, they get a face to put with their marketing campaign.
We know Bass Pro Shops doesn't want to sign with Jamie McMurray. I can almost guarantee you that McMurray shaves, watches television, uses batteries, and on a bad day he probably even eats a cookie or two. Four small sponsorship packages like these would go a long way towards covering the price of a sponsorship deal in NASCAR's lead series, but until NASCAR starts working with it's teams to help keep them in business and quits treating them like independent contractors, the rich will get richer and the Robby Gordon's of the world will be run out of the sport.
-
-
You're basically talking about the franchising model that Kyle Petty proposed 10 years ago to help the small and family (read Petty and Wood) teams. 11 teams, 4 cars each, everyone races. For example, how many NFL teams show up on Sunday and don't get to play(not counting Cleveland - I couldn't resist - did you guys see that crap tonite? wow)
Nascar said no and came up with the top 35 instead.
-
-
This all could turn out to be a good thing. Robby needs to decide what is best for him. Does he want to be competitive as a driver in NASCAR? As an owner? Just driving the races he does is more than most talented people could handle, but being an owning and working every spare minute to scrounge up a sponsor - that is too much. It is too expensive for most sponsors with very little benefit (unless you are LOWE's); the consumer market is volatile and the only security is having a sponsor that is a large corporation that doesn't need the advertising benefit of sponsoring a car. After all, how much more scotch tape has 3M sold to NASCAR fans for their investment in the 16 car? A manufacturing company (Dow), pharmaceutical (Libby), billionaire (Oprah ;-), city (Las Vegas tourism), secure financial entities (not many left here, but.. Wells-Fargo; NASDAQ), airlines (Delta -would look nice on the hood), federal government (IRS.gov; Dept of Energy --> the 'green' car), etc... Otherwise, it is bits and pieces and struggling through the season, which I cannot imagine how stressful that would be and distractive to keeping focused on racing.
If Robby wants to continue to race in NASCAR, plus all his offroad racing, plus manage his own team, I think that if he has the opportunity to have a full time sponsored ride in decent organization - I say go for it! It would be nice if it would be a Chevrolet like with Stewart-Haas , but... He could then focus on RGM by running the truck and/or Nationwide series much like Jr does with JR Motorsports and Harvick with KHI. He could work on bringing in and developing some new talent that would secure RGM for the future and he could also run the races too when he felt like it. (Of course, I still think he should bring in Danica -- both #7s -- and he'll make millions off of merchandising alone!).
Of course I know little about the financials involved. Given the meager attendance at most truck races ( a shame since they are very entertaining and competitive) - I don't know how an owner actually makes any money in that series.
I think that there is so much opportunity for the future and will keep my hopes high that we will still be cheering for Robby at all the races in 2010.
-
-
The airlines have flying billboards all across the country! Haven't you noticed? ;)
-
Permalink Reply by Ben Cartwright on
-
If Robby's Cup team crumbles next year I think he might go to IRL, remember last year he'd shown interest in going there during that whole 100 point penalty deal.
However IRL even after the unification is in such a poor state and will probably cease to exist within the next 5 years, might not be Robby's best option. Grand Am is the way to go if he wants good racing and competition.
Latest Activity
Save The Planet!
© 2024 Created by TOG.
Powered by
