Trouble in Turn2

Jeff Burton is getting a caterpillar for 2009. With AT&T’s sponsorship exemption expiring after 2008, Richard Childress Racing had to find a new sponsor for the #31 car. The answer came from the yellow and black colors of Caterpillar. Given Burton’s recent success and personality that must have been a tough sell. Interestingly it was his brother Ward that won the 2002 Daytona 500 with a CAT sponsored Bill Davis Car.

Of course what is good for RCR is bad news for another team, in this case Bill Davis. Caterpillar had been with the fledging BDR team since 1999. They stuck with the organization through some very lean years first when they lost manufacturer support in 2004 and then when the team completely stumbled out of the blocks with Toyota last year. Now Caterpillar is moving to a team that is more likely to get the brand back in the spotlight. It’s hard to fault CAT for making a wise business move, but it’s also easy to sympathize with BDR. It’s always tough to lose a seven or eight-digit sponsor, but it’s even tougher to absorb when the sponsor moves to a rival team. It’s just the latest example of the elite Cup teams getting richer. Whether it’s a sponsorship deal or a top driver switching teams, the sport is becoming increasingly top heavy.

In the past year, longstanding Cup sponsors have dumped smaller teams for larger, more successful teams. CAT joins Budweiser, M&M’s and General Mills as longtime Cup sponsors to switch teams within the last year. Sponsors moving from one team to another is not a new thing in NASCAR, but it hasn’t been seen as much in recent years that were filled with expansion and splendor. In the last five years many teams were able to attract new companies to NASCAR as the sport transitioned from tobacco, automotive and alcohol into technology, financial institutes and other new markets. Even when a company got out of the sport, others were willing to jump in as replacements. With an economic slowdown/recession, sponsorship dollars are not flowing as freely. That means increased competition for the sponsors that do stay in the sport.

While sponsors have changed teams before, the trend is apparently accelerating. It’s no longer good enough to simply have exposure in the sport. Companies now want to be on the hood of cars that are leading laps, challenging for wins and most of all securing spots in the Chase. The problem is that there are only 12 Chase spots and usually only 10-15 drivers win a race each year. For the teams like RCR, Joe Gibbs, Roush-Fenway and Hendrick, it’s pretty easy to list your credentials and justify a $10 million sponsorship, when compared with Petty Enterprises who hasn’t won a race in almost ten years. What sponsor wouldn’t choose one the top tier teams?

This is not to say there is an answer to this or it can be stopped. Every team in NASCAR is an independent contractor. It’s hard to see what NASCAR can or should do to help, but it’s clear that this is a problem that will only get worse. Even if the Car of Tomorrow could completely level the playing field, without funding for the teams it won’t matter. The same elite teams will continue to win the majority of the races and championships and control the largest pieces of the revenue pie.

What do you think? Can something be done to help the “havenots”? Should something be done or is it just a case of economics?