Sunday, January 04, 2015

COMMENTARY: Money Matters, But Talent Still Decides

It’s a top water-cooler topic across NASCAR Nation these days; the ongoing battle between money and talent in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Some observers – including many longtime fans of the sport – believe that the almighty dollar has supplanted driving talent in determining NASCAR’s Sunday afternoon starting grid. And while there is no denying the importance of financing, a look at last season’s Sprint Cup Series standings reveals far more wheelmen than sugar babies.

Newly crowned champion Kevin Harvick came to national prominence by winning the 1998 NASCAR Winston West (now K&N Pro Series West) title for Spears Motorsports, an operation owned by Wayne and Connie Spears and sponsored by Spears Manufacturing; the couple’s PVC pipe, valve and fitting business. Harvick was hired solely for his driving talent and brought no money to the dance. That talent eventually made him the heir-apparent at Richard Childress Racing when Dale Earnhardt lost his life on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500.

Newman climbed the USAC ladder
The rest, as they say, is history.

Last year’s runner-up, Ryan Newman, following a trail blazed years before by Jeff Gordon through the USAC Open Wheel ranks. Newman was USAC’s 1996 Rookie of the Year in both the Midget and Silver Crown Series, and in 1999, became the first driver to win races in all three divisions in the same season. All those checkered flags caught the attention of team owner Roger Penske, who brought the Purdue University engineering major to ARCA and the NASCAR Busch Series, where he won in just his ninth career start. Again, Newman made his mark with speed, not family money.

Denny Hamlin – third in last year’s Cup standings – began racing go-karts at age seven, eventually progressing to the Mini Stock ranks at Langley (VA) Speedway, where he won his first-ever stock car race from the pole. In Late Model Stock cars, Hamlin won 35 races in just two seasons, including 25 victories in 36 starts in 2003. That was more than enough to earn him a driver development deal with Joe Gibbs Racing, an opportunity on which Hamlin has clearly capitalized. 

Keselowski started with his family team
Last year’s Chase field included a number of drivers with similar stories. Like Harvick, Brad Keselowski, Matt Kenseth, Greg Biffle and Aric Almirola all fought their way through the asphalt short track Late Model or Modified ranks; all without the benefit of major family backing. Keselowski’s parents mortgaged their home a number of times to keep the family-owned K-Automotive Motorsports team afloat, before eventually closing the doors due to lack of sponsorship. Keselowski’s big break came when Germain Racing tabbed him to replace the suspended Ted Musgrave in a 2007 Truck Series race at Memphis Motorsports Park, where he won the pole, led 62 laps and contended for the win. That performance convinced Dale Earnhardt, Jr. to put Keselowski in his No. 88 Nationwide Series Chevrolet, where he won the 2010 championship.

Jimmie Johnson competed in off-road racing before transitioning to ASA Late Models (and eventually NASCAR) with Herzog Jackson Motorsports. Carl Edwards worked as a substitute school teacher before catching the eye of Jack Roush with a handful of overachieving runs for the underdog Mittler Brothers Truck Series team. The Busch Brothers wheeled Legends Cars and Late Models to dozens of wins in their native Las Vegas before also coming to Roush’s attention. Kasey Kahne climbed the USAC ladder, while AJ Allmendinger won championships in carts and Champ Cars.

Jimmie Johnson, pre-NASCAR
Of the 16 drivers who qualified for last year’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, only two – Joey Logano and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. – can be said to have benefitted significantly from any sort of family money. Logano’s parents bankrolled their son through karts, Legends and asphalt Late Models before Joe Gibbs (on a tip from veteran driver Mark Martin) signed him to a driver development deal.

You may also have heard of the Earnhardt family and its ties to NASCAR.

Based on last year’s numbers, however, it’s difficult to argue that talent has taken a backseat to cash on the list of most desirable driver qualities.

For every winless rich kid floundering around in the middle of the XFINITY or Camping World Truck Series pack, there are a dozen drivers like Clint Bowyer, who got their call to the big time while sanding Bondo in a two-bay auto body shop. For every hapless newcomer with a ton of cash and no clue what to do with it, there is a Chase Elliott, Regan Smith, Chris Buescher or Ryan Reed, who came to NASCAR with nothing but talent, then attracted top-dollar sponsorship by running at the front of the pack.

Money has always played an important role in determining who wins and loses on Sunday afternoon. Richard Petty and David Pearson possessed awesome driving talent, but also benefitted from substantial sponsorship, factory backing and technological support. G.C. Spencer, Elmo Langley and James Hilton could also twist a pretty wheel, but they never had the resources to compete with the big dogs.

At the end of the day, it’s the same now as it ever was.

24 comments:

  1. Anonymous2:50 PM

    Dave.....are you seriously saying Chase Elliott came to NASCAR with nothing but talent ...

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    1. That's precisely what I'm saying. NAPA came to the deal BECAUSE he was Chase Elliott; a young man with huge talent and name recognition in the sport. If he had run 23rd in the SLM ranks -- like may other sons of NASCAR racers have done -- he never would have received the opportunity.

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    2. Anonymous4:42 PM

      Chase is good, but he's had every possible advantage to get where he's at. Money, connections, test time, equipment, charm school etc. He was literally bred to be a racecar driver. That doesn't make it near as impressive to me.

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    3. Anonymous9:02 AM

      Really Dave? And if he'd been the son of the track champion at say South Boston he would have gotten the same opportunity? Interesting viewpoint.

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  2. Anonymous4:16 PM

    Cmon Dave. You left a lot of omissions in the names above. JJ had GM's blessing from the earliest days in off road trucks. BK literally had a team waiting on him. As a successful driver myself who tried to race for a living, I can assure you it's about money. ARCA owners would look at me, knowing I was better than their driver and say " show me the money".

    Chase Elliott? Yeah he made it in the hard way....the illusion we all want to believe is that we watch the 43 best every week because we want our heroes to be worthy. The machine is designed to justify their existence. It just isn't so.

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    1. If Jimmie Johnson "had GM's blessing from the earliest days in off road trucks," why in the world did he come to NASCAR with a poorly sponsored Herzog Jackson team? Doesn't make sense to me. And as far as BradK is concerned, you are clearly a "Johnny Come Lately" if you don't understand the MANY years of struggle he and his family team put in. Do some research and educate yourself a bit, then respond.

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    2. People ignore that GM racing boss Herb Fishel early on took Johnson under his wing and helped get him into stock cars in the latter 1990s.

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  3. Anonymous4:39 PM

    Just ask JJ. He's stated it many times. Educate yourself.

    BK's father had a team you know. All teams struggle. Didn't change the fact he had ready access to a seat.

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  4. When was the last time a driver made the big time who came from an average family that was not interested in racing? It's been a long time.

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  5. NASCARJeff10:31 AM

    I am sure Dave wont post this but... If money matters but talent still decides then explain Danica Patrick?

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    1. It's not necessary to dare me, Jeff. I'll happily post your comment. If Danica does not perform, GoDaddy and SHR will most certainly look elsewhere, in time.

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    2. She hasn't yet... Strange as her name would (should) be the first to be brought up for proof that money is more important than talent.. But then that would be "mean" as last weeks blog stated...We can't have that.... I'm sure this won't be posted either...

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    3. Anonymous6:08 PM

      I disagree Dave. As long as marketing objectives are being reached, the money will be there. I think that is a big reason the sport has seen a decline in popularity. It has become a marketing exercise rather than competition. That "losing of soul" if you will translates to the viewer at home. NASCAR became popular because it was earthy, edgy, interesting and at times chaotic. Its none of those things today. Corporate America won't have it.

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  6. Trevor Bayne has a full-time sponsor now. Last year was the first time, since before 2011 at least, he had full sponsorship. He wasn't a rich kid. Is that what "nothing but talent" means? He ran amongst the Cup drivers various times in his Nationwide/Xfinity career. I'm a fan of his. Or does the fact his grampa raced on dirt rule him out since he was from a racing family, in a way? Joey Logano wasn't from a racing family, so if they weren't rich, would he count?

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  7. Anonymous12:26 PM

    Dave, silly article, you make the point that some got in because of talent and others by money. Well in listing the "money factor" for say Logano, you made it look like his seat was waiting for him with no mention of his wins and talent coming up thru the ranks. He started at Gibbs at the age of 15, that was his job. He could not tell Coach Gibbs that he needed a ride to his other job at Pizza Hut for the dinner shift. Give me a break. Chase Elliot is where he is because of who his father is and it takes money, his dad has the connections and money. The majority of these drivers have talent and somebody believed in them, and somebody close to them made sacrifices. You are furthering the insane argument "spoiled rich kid". This is not a poor mans sport. Hmm, I didn't see in the Jeff Gordon/Chase Elliot bio that they delivered newspapers at the age tender age of 3 before dawn, on their tricycles as their parents were poor and on disability, to pay for their hobby..racing. These young men's jobs from a very early age is was and is racing.

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  8. I agree that talent outweighs money, in most situations, but there are still so many drivers who have talent without money backing them. For example, I think Jeb Burton is super talented, he lost his sponsor, and really had a lackluster 2014. On the other hand, Eric McClure brings the Reynolds sponsorship and has very little talent at all. He keeps getting ride after ride because he has a little sponsorship to keep a small team running. Guys like Jeb Burton, John Hunter Nemecheck, etc. are so talented but don't have the huge family name or sponsor to give them top quality equipment.

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  9. Anonymous3:53 PM

    "Money doesn't buy talent"

    And neither does lineage. Case in point Stephen Wallace.

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  10. Anonymous4:29 PM

    And until the so called Stars decide to park it others will not get a seat without MONEY. Keep drinking to soda.

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  11. Anonymous5:58 PM

    Also complicating matters is the fact that the Xfinity series is cannibalizing itself. It takes a lot of money, and Cup drivers bring it in, therefore they take up the seats. So, it creates a market pressure if you will, pushing out what few drivers might have been hired for talent alone. I miss the days when that series was exciting, vibrant and relevant.

    The whole landscape has shifted. I love Ernie Irvan's quote about getting hired by Morgan-McClure. " I wanted to negotiate for more money, but when you only have a few cans of beans in the refrigerator, its hard to risk losing the deal." (paraphrase). Now its big business finding corporate sponsorship for young "marketable" talent, as opposed to finding talent and making it marketable.

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  12. Anonymous6:29 PM

    I agree in some aspects, but there are still drivers with money who are getting rides over drivers who have talent and aren't getting rides. One driver just got another ride, his 3rd team, because he has a sponsor behind him. This same driver has hardly any talent and often produces no speed or results. Another driver, who was successful in trucks a couple years ago and lost his sponsor still is struggling to get ride, but has much more talent, speed, and results to show for. Unfortunately, drivers who have any sort of financial backing and aren't really that talented are still, in some cases, getting rides over drivers who have talent but no money to bring to the table.

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  13. Anonymous7:24 PM

    All of the drivers listed are "old timers" in Cup racing when talent did mean a lot more than it does now in my opinion. Now you have the Dillon's, Kwasneski (casino money), Brian Scott (casino money), Gaughn (more casino money), Gallagher (Allegiant), Custer (Haas), and Ben Rhodes, and of course Townley and the chicken car, just to name a few, that are in the lower ranks all with big family financial backing. Saying that "talen talks" now is irreverent when you are looking at drivers upbringings from 15 years ago when the racing scene was VERY different. I am not naive to think however that racing is open for anyone to do it; it takes pocket books to get started in any level of racing.

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  14. Anonymous12:00 AM

    money does not buy talent but talent often goes ignored if you do not have cash.To be fair this happens in F1.It means that NASCAR has caught up with F1...for good or ill...Dave is doing what he has to do...in his position we would all do the same thing

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    1. Anonymous11:37 AM

      NASCAR is following F1 in A LOT more ways than people realize. Its almost like no one is paying attention.

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  15. Anonymous1:31 AM

    Dave, if you're going to make an argument that talent still matters in NASCAR, next time, don't use dated examples to prove the majority of your point. You, of all people, should know the sport 10-15 years ago is NOT how the sport is now. Heck, Darrell Wallace Jr. and Jeb Burton have talent to burn, but have had great difficulty obtaining sponsorship. Ryan Reed is largely in the sport due to money from Lilly and the American Diabetes Association. Money and marketability are the biggest driving forces in the sport now. It's not really the same as it was, Dave. But I don't expect you to admit that.

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