Full Throttle

According to ESPN, and the ever unpopular un-named sources, the new sponsorship deal in the works for NASCAR’s second tier series will command twice the cost Anheuser-Busch shelled out for naming rights.

Anheuser-Busch, who will be leaving after the 2007 season, served as the Series’ primary sponsor for 26 years and paid an estimated $15 million per year.

“I can confirm that there has been great interest from a number of multinational companies that are interested in this sponsorship,” NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston said.

Previous speculation has centered on Wal-Mart, Samsung and Subway as in the running and Poston said nothing to dispel those rumors, in fact ESPN’s “sources” (As opposed to Poston who actually has a name) added to the list of possibilities.

You can add the names of Dunkin Donuts and Allstate Insurance that may be willing to cut a check for #30 million per year. Allstate being problematic because all the Speedway Motorsports tracks are sponsored by the insurance company Nationwide.

Poston also claims the deal provides “the eventual sponsor over $100 million annually in brand exposure.” I have no way of disputing that and in comparison to other sponsorship deals it’s not far out of line.

Examples: The Washington Nationals of MLB looks to sign a sponsor for their new stadium for between $16 million to $18 million in annual sponsorship fees.

Barclays PLC agreed to pay a reported $20 million per annum for a 20-year deal for the new basketball arena in Brooklyn.

According to trade publication Street & Smith’s Sports Business Journal, 2006 was the most active year since 1999 for new naming-rights deals.

Several of the most expensive deals ever were signed in 2006 as well - with the $400 million, 20-year deal by Citigroup to name the New York Mets’ new baseball stadium CitiField topping the list.

Given that as background you’d have to say NASCAR is in the drivers seat, no pun intended, when looking for an Anheuser-Busch replacement.

I’ve already gone on record and proclaimed Wal-Mart to be the eventual winner. However as a kick in the pants to the xenophobes having a Samsung Cup in 2008 wouldn’t be a bad thing.

I will also admit the 2008 Dunkin Donuts Cup has a certain appeal. The 2008 Cruller Cup would have a nice ring to it as well.

I mean, think of the trophy design possibilities! Anything would be better than the hideous NEXTEL Cup, that isn’t a cup.

NEXTEL Cup, Busch Series, Sports, Auto Racing, Motorsports, Full Throttle

A couple notes on blogs that have popped up in the last few days.

The first, VroomChatter, made it’s appearance in my WP dashboard (because he linked to FT’s humble abode) a few days ago. “VroomDude” has been around since… well since this month, but first my impression is he will be interesting to read during the 2007 NASCAR season.

The second blog is a part of the Hardcard Holdings website. Hard as it may be to believe the Half-Vast Staff

As anyone remotely familiar with NASCAR knows a team not only needs horsepower under the hood but horsepower on the hood as well (and the doors, quarter panels, bumpers, deck lid and that tiny spot in front of the roof camera) in the form company logos underwritten by sponsors flush will cash.

The sport has had more than a few, shall we say “odd” sponsor associations in the past. Boudreaux’s Butt Paste is one of my all time favorites (odd in name only not product line) and last year The Dianetics Racing Team, and NASCAR Driver Kenton Gray promised to “Ignite Your Potential” via its sponsorship by The Church of Scientology.

Enter NASCAR Busch Series driver Brian Conz. In addition to being a rookie driver in NASCAR second tier series he’s a Mason, not the bricklaying type, the Freemason type. The Scottish Right type.

Frank Cicci Racing’s #34 Chevy will be adorned not only with the Scottish Rite Double Eagle symbol, but also with the Shriners’ curved sword symbol and the well known Masonic Square and Compasses symbol during the 2007 season.

Why on earth are the Masons advertising on the hood of a stock car? According to Stan Dodd, who manages public relations for the Scottish Rite it all about membership:

“Like a lot of other civic groups,” he said, “we’ve seen our membership get a little older, and we’ve seen some retraction in our numbers.” Dodd says the Masons’ median age right now is in the 60s. “We need some younger members.” “The NASCAR demographics fit our demographics,” says Dodd.

When to be more specific, he just says, “Men.”

Unlike most sponsors the Freemasons have nothing to sell in the traditional sense, there will be no crockpots, T-shirts, or diecast race car replicas on display in their executive suites at the nations major speed plants.

So the question is why. Why are they spending the estimated $10 million per year for a full Busch Series sponsorship?

Joe Hill, head of public relations for Brian Conz’s racing team has the answer. The object is access, access to the movers and shakers of big business that are also Freemasons.

“We’re aligning ourselves with a dynamic, worldwide organization. We expect access and introduction to their members, who will assist us in meeting executive-level corporate leaders interested in getting involved with racing,” Hill said.

What’s that commercial say?

Tickets to The Drowsy Chaperone, $110. A night at the Ritz Hotel, $250 a night. Access to NASCAR’s cash cows… Priceless!…. $10 million large!

UPDATE: There seems to be some dispute over the amount spent by the Freemasons. Nearest I can tell they have only purchased the right to place their logo on the hood of the #34 Chevy. That would bring the cost down to “only” $2 million for the season.

UPDATE II: “Problem” solved. Based on the following quote this promotion won’t cost the Freemasons a single dime:

But don’t worry, pie-eyed conspiracy theorists. There’s fodder in this story for you, too. What’s the Scottish Rite paying for all this national television exposure

I hate to pile on, (not really) but here is an anecdote on the media feud between Dale Jr. and Ma Teresa I missed. According to Louis Brewster, Staff Writer for the San Bernardino Sun DEI hosted a dinner during last weeks media gaggle.

With all the media attention on Earnhardt family matters of late the question on many minds was whether she would make an appearance.

Those expecting Teresa to be a no show were disappointed, sort of.

She appeared apparition-like, for all of 49 seconds.

The remainder of her time was out of sight for the media, but within view of her three drivers and newly-appointed CEO, Max Spiegel.

While Martin Truex Jr. fielded questions about his recent run-in with the law and Junior the continuing barrage of querys about the “family feud” she made herself unavailable.

Both the DEI Jr’s are more than able to respond to any and everything some ink-stained scribe can throw at them, but it’s a pretty classless act by Ma Teresa hiding from the media. Again.

DEI, Dale Earnhardt Enterprises, NASCAR, NEXTEL Cup, Sports, Auto Racing, Motorsports, Full Throttle

You know it’s a slow news day when…

Your news reader’s first ten stories note Eddie Gossage has removed Dale’s Dip from between turns one and two of Texas Motor Speedway.

When NASCAR beat reporters are reduced to writing about Jimmie Johnson’s “joy” at driving in the Rolex 24 hours of Daytona.

Some sports pages still contain stories on Jack Roush “declaring war” on Toyota, days after the the media gaggle left the Roush Racing garages.

And finally, you know it’s a slow news day when I resort to publishing this sorry excuse for a post.

UPDATE: The days news isn’t all innocuous babble. Juan Montoya comes to NASCAR with an impressive resume that includes a CART championship, the 2000 Indianapolis 500 win and seven victories in Formula One.

Add the 2007 Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona to the list of accomplishments.

Montoya, with co-drivers Salvador Duran and Scott Pruett, handed Chip Ganassi Racing its second consecutive 24 hour win Sunday afternoon.

Jeff Gordon with co-drivers, two-time Daytona winner Wayne Taylor and Jan Magnussen, was in second going into the last hour but the team wound up third, two laps down, after brake problems forced a long pit stop during the final half hour.

Bobby Labonte was part of the team that finished 10^th. The Grand-Am teams with reigning Nextel Cup champion Jimmie Johnson and two-time champion Tony Stewart wound up 36th and 48th after numerous mechanical problems.

NASCAR, GrandAm, Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona, NEXTEL Cup, Juan Montoya, Sports, Auto Racing, Motorsports, Full Throttle

Switzerland is [in]famous for being one of the only, if not the only country that bans auto racing in any form on home turf.

The prohibition originated with the 1955 24 hours of LeMans event. The race was barely 2 hours old when a Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR being driven by Pierre Levegh hit the bank by the grandstand and immediately exploded. Parts of the wreckage were blown into the stands, killing 77 and injuring a like number.

The death of the spectators was blamed on inadequate safety standards for track design, leading for a ban on motorsports in France, Switzerland and Germany until the tracks could be brought to a higher safety standard. Switzerland’s ban on racing was never lifted and continues to this day.

In the present day, the newspaper Blick is reporting country’s federal parliament has decided to scrap the public broadcaster SRG’s coverage of the sport after the 2007 season.

Financial reasons are cited after a broadcast rights fee increase of 6.5 per cent for the live rights was announced. SRG boss Armin Walpen reportedly said that the broadcaster “cannot spend money it does not have”.

Formula One, F1, FIA, Sports, Switzerland, Le Mans, Auto Racing, Motorsports, Full Throttle

Paging Tony Stewart…, Tony Stewart.

Paging Tony Stewart…, Tony Stewart please come to the will call window your ride is here!

Police prisoner Christopher Gay escaped from a van during a bathroom break in South Carolina as he was being taken from Texas to face charges in Georgia.

Police believe he was trying to get to Tennessee to see his dying mother. They say he stole a tractor-trailer full of Wal-Mart merchandise and abandoned it near his mother’s house outside Nashville after a police chase.

Police think Gay is the man who showed up with Crystal Gayle’s tour bus at a racetrack in Lakeland, Florida, yesterday. He told the track manager he was there to pick up NASCAR driver Tony Stewart.

Do I really have to comment further?

Tony Stewart, NASCAR, Crystal Gayle, NEXTEL Cup, Sports, Auto Racing, Motorsports, Full Throttle

We’ve all had personnel experience the the law of unintended consequences. Who hasn’t sprayed green pea puree all over the wifes kitchen.

You never intended for it to happen, but it did. All ’cause you reached for another beer instead of the blender cover before hitting the on/off switch.

Stuff happens.

The arrival of NASCAR’s CoT has had stuff happen that was unexpected. As background here’s a quote from RCR’s Jeff Burton concerning why the team has not tested an approved CoT to this point:

The approval process is very difficult today. The reason we haven’t tested a car that’s an approved chassis is because we had a firewall that was off thirty thousandths of an inch. We had a roll bar that was off 100 thousandths of an inch. We had things like that. You don’t cut that bar out and put it back in, you have to take the car home and resubmit the car however many days later. So if you have something that doesn’t sell, it takes forever to get it checked. The cars that we are testing, if they aren’t legal, it’s by 100 thousandths on something that doesn’t make a difference on speed.

By way of comparison a sheet of computer paper is approximately .0034 of an inch.

NASCAR has evolved far from the days of the backyard mechanic, as if that needed to be said, but in some ways the CoT has taken that a step further. The likelihood of any of Jimmie Johnson’s Championship winning Chevy’s meeting that roll bar standard is slim to none.

Ray Evernham has started using a new construction method to cope with not only the close tolerences required during the built-up of the CoT chassis but also as a way to place more emphasis on research and development vice hands-on construction.

Evernham Motorsports is the first NASCAR and Dodge team to enter the robot age.