Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Why Matt Kenseth Has Got To Go

Kenseth will leave Roush Fenway
Matt Kenseth will not race for Roush Fenway Racing next season, after an announcement today that the former Sprint Cup champion will be replaced by Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. in the team’s No. 17 Ford in 2013.

Why is RFR severing ties with the former champion and current Sprint Cup Series point leader? It’s a complicated explanation that reaches far beyond the walls at Roush Fenway Racing.

While Kenseth has provided RFR with a spectacular past and an exciting present, the future of the team clearly lies elsewhere. Simply put, Roush Fenway Racing’s driver development pipeline is clogged with talent that will not wait. Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. already has a NASCAR Nationwide Series championship on his resume, and is solidly in the running for a second. Trevor Bayne – who has a long-term contract with RFR but no full-time ride -- is a former Daytona 500 champion. Developmental driver Chris Buescher is winning ARCA races by the truckload. If RFR does not offer Stenhouse a top-notch Sprint Cup ride next season, someone else certainly will. Ford Motor Company officials still have nightmares about allowing Jeff Gordon and Kasey Kahne to slip through their fingers years ago, due to the lack of quality Sprint Cup opportunities. They will not make the same mistake with Stenhouse.
Stenhouse is 24 years old. Kenseth is 40. You do the math.
Stenhouse gets his chance
RFR also cannot afford Kenseth any longer. Jack Roush has funded much of Kenseth’s 2011 and 2012 schedules out of his own pocket, and released David Ragan during the offseason when major sponsorship could not be found to keep his team on track. There is no backing on the horizon for Kenseth, either, meaning that a change once again needs to be made.
Roush Fenway ponied up big money recently to re-sign Carl Edwards to a multi-year contract, and signed teammate Greg Biffle to a similarly lucrative contract extension last season. There is only so much money in the contractual coffers, and Stenhouse will drive cheaper than Kenseth.
Joe Gibbs Racing, meanwhile, is desperate to retain The Home Depot as sponsor of its No. 20 Toyota. The home improvement giant enjoyed tremendous success in its early years with JGR, winning races and championships with driver Tony Stewart. They also outran the competition – Lowe’s – on a regular basis.
Unfortunately, it’s been a long time since The Home Depot has had anything significant to celebrate. They have been to Victory Lane only twice since Stewart flew the coop at the end of the 2008 season, and have been forced to watch from outside the Chase while Jimmie Johnson won five consecutive championships for the competition.
Logano may still have a future at JGR
Make no mistake about it, major changes must be made in order for JGR to retain The Home Depot. Bringing in a charismatic, well-known former series champion like Kenseth to drive the No. 20 Toyota will go a long way toward retaining “Big Orange,” especially since Kenseth leads the 2012 Sprint Cup standings.
JGR can offer Kenseth a contract befitting a driver of his stature, and they will.
Kenseth’s hiring does not necessarily mean the end of Logano’s tenure with JGR, however. The Connecticut native is enjoying the best season of his Sprint Cup Series career, with a Sprint Cup win at Pocono Raceway and multiple Nationwide Series victories. That may not be enough to keep his seat in the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota, but sources say the team is working diligently to secure sponsorship for a long-discussed fourth Sprint Cup entry in 2013, driven by Logano.
Photo Credits: NASCAR.com. John Harrelson/Getty Images, si.com

32 comments:

  1. Anonymous1:39 PM

    You mentioned Kenseth's age and contract salary as reasons for his departure, and that Greg Biffle signed a lucrative extension last year. I guess I'm wondering why Roush decided to keep Biffle over Kenseth. Biffle is even older than Kenseth and has had less success over his career. Is Biffle significantly more of an attraction to sponsorship than Kenseth is and justifies letting a champion leave? Admittedly I don't know everything going on, but I personally wouldn't have extended Biffle over parting with Kenseth.

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    1. That's a great question, with a simple answer. Biffle has committed sponsorship for the full season. Kenseth does not. Under those circumstances, with a backlog of talented young drivers banging on the door, Matt is the obvious candidate to go elsewhere.

      Also, don't necessarily assume that this was RFR's decision. Matt may have decided to take a lucrative offer from Gibbs.

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    2. Anonymous3:03 PM

      Very well said Dave, I think Matt at 40 is in the prime of his life and I have always thought he was RFR best driver and if he goes to JGR he will give them stability and will prove to be the a great move.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous3:55 PM

      "Why is RFR severing ties with the former champion and current Sprint Cup Series point leader?" is why some people assume that this was rfr's decision....

      Delete
    4. Anonymous8:48 AM

      Keep up the great Blogs Dave!

      Delete
  2. Anonymous1:41 PM

    Home Depot needs a guy who looks like he enjoys home improvement projects......and can weild a hammer!


    Doug from NJ

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    1. Tony in OH2:51 PM

      Don't see what difference it makes. Lowes is doing just fine with Jimmie and no one thinks he wears a tool belt anymore than anyone that Matt was getting much use out of Dewalt products. I think image is given too much weight when fans consider driver and sponsor pairings. The only image that really matters is the image of the driver raising trophies while wearing the sponsor's hat and firesuit in victory lane.

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    2. Anonymous3:20 PM

      If Matt goes to JGR, I start going to Home Depot again. Right now, I go to my local hardware store since I am NOT a fan of JJ and stopped going to Home Depot when Smoke started his own team. I patronize office Depot now because Smoke is sponsored by them, and I stopped using Juniors oil and started using Mobil 1.

      Driver image matters A LOT.


      Doug from NJ


      Doug from NJ

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    3. Dwayne in Memphis10:13 AM

      Preach it, Brother Anonymous! They should swap sponsors! Matt can drive the Home Depot car since he looks old enough actually own a home to improve. Joey can drive a Geek Squad paint scheme Best Buy car.

      THAT'S the more natural fit.

      Delete
  3. Great job Dave ... as always ...

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  4. While it is a surprise, I'm not shocked by anything at RFR anymore. After Mark was let go with the career he had I guess anything is possible. And with that talent waiting....

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  5. Anonymous2:47 PM

    Dave please find a new line of work. If you think for ONE second that any driver in the entire Roush program can even hold a candle against the talent of Matt Kenseth you are so far off base its embarassing. You owe Matt and all of Roush fenway an apology.

    Thanks

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    1. "Anonymous," I never said anything about anyone's talent. Latt's talent is beyond reproach. Read the article again, S-L-O-W-L-Y, and see if you can figure it out.

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    2. Anonymous4:22 PM

      Dave is correct, he never said anything against Matt Kenseth's talent. Matt always had a low key personality and he said it at the beginning of the year, he wants to win races and not do any of the other "BS". Sponsers like drivers that really like to go out and do that sort of thing. Thats a reason matt has had trrouble finding sponsorship regardless of his superior talent.

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    3. Moe leadbeter4:57 PM

      Your right Dave that was a great article good job be.ry informative thanks again

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    4. Anonymous8:00 PM

      I agree bifle should been let go moving the sponsers to The 17 car matt has done much better than bifle

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    5. Matt made it pretty clear in his Tweet this afternoon that it was his decision to leave and drive for another team.

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    6. This would be great for home depot if Matt Kennseth took the championship to JGR That would be a great thank you from Matt to the sponcer.

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    7. Dwayne in Memphis10:21 PM

      Having worked for 15 years for a company that's been sold a couple of times to different parent companies - and all of the uncertainty that comes with new ownership - there's A LOT to be said for being tired of worrying about financial backing and uncertainty about your position. RFR is giving him quality equipment, and sitting first in points, he's obviously taking advantage of it, but at some point I can guarantee that he's gotten tired of the "what if they can't find a sponsor" question nagging in his mind. I believe the phrase is "Get out while you can" or you'll be like all too many drivers who have their seat pulled with nowhere to go.

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    8. Moody, Anonymous may have a point... Do you know anything about the sport of NASCAR???

      Seriously, "Anonymous" will remain so simply because he knows as he speaks, his cheeks are flapping. We all know which cheeks I'm speaking of.

      Delete
  6. I think a point can be made about Jack Roush's organization continuing to run major sponsors out of the sport. They offered an apparent poor value to General Mills, Exide, DeWalt, Ortho, Irwin, Rubbermaid/Sharpie, National Guard, Granger, John Deere, UPS, Crown Royal, and others. Most of these companies either left for other teams, left altogether, or significantly reduced their role with Roush. Compared to the sponsor relationships at JGR (FedEx, Home Depot, Interstate and M&M/Mars) and Hendrick (DuPont, Lowe's, PepsiCo, National Guard, Quaker State and GMAC), not-to-mention RCR and MWR, it seems Roush to be off-putting or inflexible in some way. They win and run well far to often to have the revolving door of sponsors and developmental drivers that is their reality.

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  7. Dave... Economics: NASCAR-Style... guess this is what it is all about.

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  8. any chances of Tony Stewart to try and get Matt signed on? Though I do see that JGR has a solid sponsor to back him up and Tony would have find one probably still. Gonna be interesting for sure, Matt is still very good.
    I enjoy your show!

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  9. Anonymous6:13 PM

    Dave...

    You are right on. Recall that when Biffle resigned... he resigned for what I believe was a 'smaller..' yet still lucerative contract because the economy was starting to tank. The inability to land a major, year-long sponsorship for the #17 has been an issue that actually began last year. This is strictly a business decision on both sides. Being a Kenseth fan back to the old Busch Series... I hate to see him leave Roush... but, that's the "way it is..."

    Terry, Lakewood, NY.

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  10. Anonymous6:52 PM

    Kenseth will drive a Home Depot sponsored car at JGR and Logano will drive a GameStop/Dollar General sponsored car, also at JGR.

    My only question is will JGR performance suffer by going to 4 cars next season. RCR always seems to have a hard time with it. HMS seems to be the only one that can do 4 teams that consistantly are competitive.

    Chris in Crestview

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  11. Anonymous7:05 PM

    Roush recognizes this little fact about NASCAR:

    SPRINT CUP RACING/SONOMA TNT 3:00 PM 5200 1.4


    The last number, that number is for the 18-49 age group. For a sport that is a TERRIBLE rating, and 5.2 million viewers overall, not a pretty picture. Numbers like that chase sponsors not draw them. I'm surprised we're not seeing commercials for Metamucil and Depends during the race.


    NASCAR has to fix it (as do the teams) or disappear from the TV screen.

    http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2012/06/26/sunday-cable-ratings-true-blood-wins-night-falling-skies-real-housewives-of-new-jersey-the-newsroom-army-wives-the-glades-more/139306/

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    1. Was it the race (road course)... or the network (TNT)... or the TV competition... or the time slotted (West Coast race-Late Afternoon East Coast start time)... or all combined?

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    2. Anonymous11:31 AM

      If you go here:
      http://www.jayski.com/pages/tvratings2012.htm

      you'll see it's been the same since 2009. TNT does NOT pull the viewership like Fox, about 3 million viewers less per race. SpongeBob gets 2,750,000 households at 11AM. NASCAR needs help.

      Doug from NJ

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  12. I think JGR is itching to get an experienced older driver in the fold. When Tony left they the Senior driver.. was Denny. and while he can drive.. he is not a team leader. Matt is older, had the wins and championship and has a very calm stable personality to balance the 'Young kids' at JGR. If he ends up there I think its a win win for all involved.

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  13. Dave, Great job delivering the information and big picture. Do the drivers typically come in with their own marketing people and sponsors? Or is it one or the other? I've herd Logano's dad has a few business connections and I can't imagine Stenhouse has gotten this far based solely on his talent.

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  14. Fenig / Calinoff? Any word...will they stay at RFR?

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  15. More ego's in one place that's all I see. JGR better get their motor problems fixed or get prepared to hear some blistering on the radios.

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