Like many, I have my morning routine pretty down pat. I check my email, then start making my rounds of bookmarked sites. Chief among my NASCAR stops are several journalists’ blogs, as well as key online periodicals – and I’ve recently added a new one near the top of the list:
The Wall Street Journal.
It’s fairly obvious that I’m an Elliott Sadler fan, and therefore I’m among the multitudes who are trying to understand why our driver isn’t being sprinkled with confetti and doused with soda at the end of the race. It’s been a pretty dismal season, and the knee-jerk reactions have run the gamut. Many want to place blame in the drivers’ and/or crew chief’s laps, while others are blaming the owner, the engineers and/or the fabricators. Some blame just about everyone! 
For myself, I’ve learned (most of the time), to keep my blaming fingers curled inward until I do a little research. Things are not always as they seem, and in Sadlers’ (and EMS) case – there’s a lot more going on in Detroit, Michigan and Stuttgart, Germany than in Statesville, NC or Emporia, VA!
The Chrysler Sale
It looks as if Dodge’s parent company, Germany’s Daimler/Chrysler, is serious about selling off the Chrysler portion of its’ operation to a private equity firm. There are numerous bidders, and the sale looks likely within the next 4-6 weeks according to Wall Street and Detroit pundits. Will a new Chrysler owner commit to the same estimated $100 million annually to keep a presence in NASCAR – it’s ONLY racing endeavor? It seems unlikely that a new owner with a need to compete with America’s NEWEST #1 automaker – Toyota – will resist the urge to streamline it’s budget.
BUT……
The UAW (who reportedly opposes the sale) is in the midst of collective bargaining with Daimler/Chrysler. If a sale is eminent, the UAW may be forced to make concessions in its contract negotiations in order to entice Stuttgart into keeping the truck-heavy Chrysler lines intact. When unions make concessions (particularly in health care and retirement benefit packages) – they lose members AND dues. If they manage to help salvage Chrysler by drastically cutting employee benefits – THEY might be the ones who need to “streamline” their budget!
BUT……
Many of the drive train parts for Mercedes Benz are made by Chrysler plants in the US. Shedding the marque will DEFINITELY cost the Benzers in the long run. And German workers have representatives, too!
So….. What’s This Got to Do With NASCAR?
Eggs! That’s what. My EMS #19 car has all its hardboileds in the same German-owned and Labor-Unionized basket.
Although there are several “Dodge” teams – only our two EMS cars are sponsored by the “manufacturer” via it’s dealership network IN PARTNERSHIP with the UAW. There is no “Ford Dealers Ford” or “Chevy Dealers Chevy” – let alone one who’s partnered up with a labor union that is at times diametrically opposed to the manufacturer’s profit potential! From where I sit – it seems that anything fortuitous that befalls EITHER of our primary sponsors in this upcoming “deal” is going to take potential NASCAR sponsorship money out of the other’s pocket.
And right now – it’s that very money that’s much needed to boost Evernham’s chassis engineering staff and put Ray back in the shop (as opposed to pounding the pavement for a partner). Evernham, himself, stated on Sirius last week that his forte was under the hood rather than in the boardroom – so here’s hoping a new financial partner will have the B2B expertise needed to find a sponsorship marriage that doesn’t repeat the current reliance on all things Dieter Zetsche!
BUT……
The UAW (who reportedly opposes the sale) is in the midst of collective bargaining with Daimler/Chrysler. If a sale is eminent, the UAW may be forced to make concessions in its contract negotiations in order to entice Stuttgart into keeping the truck-heavy Chrysler lines intact. When unions make concessions (particularly in health care and retirement benefit packages) – they lose members AND dues. If they manage to help salvage Chrysler by drastically cutting employee benefits – THEY might be the ones who need to “streamline” their budget!
BUT……
Many of the drive train parts for Mercedes Benz are made by Chrysler plants in the US. Shedding the marque will DEFINITELY cost the Benzers in the long run. And German workers have representatives, too!
So….. What’s This Got to Do With NASCAR?
Eggs! That’s what. My EMS #19 car has all its hardboileds in the same German-owned and Labor-Unionized basket.
Although there are several “Dodge” teams – only our two EMS cars are sponsored by the “manufacturer” via it’s dealership network IN PARTNERSHIP with the UAW. There is no “Ford Dealers Ford” or “Chevy Dealers Chevy” – let alone one who’s partnered up with a labor union that is at times diametrically opposed to the manufacturer’s profit potential! From where I sit – it seems that anything fortuitous that befalls EITHER of our primary sponsors in this upcoming “deal” is going to take potential NASCAR sponsorship money out of the other’s pocket.
And right now – it’s that very money that’s much needed to boost Evernham’s chassis engineering staff and put Ray back in the shop (as opposed to pounding the pavement for a partner). Evernham, himself, stated on Sirius last week that his forte was under the hood rather than in the boardroom – so here’s hoping a new financial partner will have the B2B expertise needed to find a sponsorship marriage that doesn’t repeat the current reliance on all things Dieter Zetsche!
Lest we also forget – The UAW Daimler/Chrysler 400 (a/k/a the Las Vegas Race) has already been run for 2007. If a reduction in NASCAR financing is on Dr. Z’s mind – will he pull funding for the 2008 premier-sponsorship of the next Vegas extravaganza – or will he pull the greenbacks from the (marginally performing) cars on the track?
As for me – I have a sneaking suspicion that the sale will move forward with Daimler/Chrysler keeping enough stake in the company to ensure an economical supply of Benz parts. Will their presence in racing decline?That’s why I’m checking the Journal!
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