Is Knoll done? (2 Viewers)

["Dr. Dirt"]

I rest my case.

 

[Nitrohelper]

I didn't know this was considered a "pubic" forum.

Well, now that you mention it ,I have noticed a few "dicks" around here ! Thanks for the help.

 

[HEMI6point1]

I feel the same.
On Saturday I went to the Supercross race in Phoenix. Team Honda has Torco oil on half of the trailer. I asked one of the Team Honda guys if they were affected with the events at Torco? He said not to his knowledge, and he just herd about it that morning.

First off, I have to thank Evan for all he has done. Hopefully he'll return in '09 like nothing ever happened.

As far as the supercross, maybe that's not affected because after all, how expensive can a dirtbike be to sponsor?

 

[George.]

If he has indeed entered into a written contractual sponsorship with various racing teams, "personal matters" for defaulting is an incredibly selfish excuse that insults the intelligence of the average person..
If he is suddenly cash strapped , and chose to spend more than his income will allow, then I am sure his counsel has told him that he is in for an experience of a life time.
I am hoping his contract has language allowing him to opt out at his sole discretion. If so, then he has every right to do so without owing a single reason why to any of us..
If not, then I would be there would be a team effort, class action law suit from all affected to help defray legal costs for those who can not go it alone..

Again, I do not know any facts about this case, but one thing is for sure, the money has stopped. Whether that money is contractually guaranteed is the million dollar question.
No pun intended.

 

[yoda]

First off, I have to thank Evan for all he has done. Hopefully he'll return in '09 like nothing ever happened.

As far as the supercross, maybe that's not affected because after all, how expensive can a dirtbike be to sponsor?

Well, let's see-
Truck and trailer, fuel for the same.
Hotels.
Crew salaries and hotels.
Replacement gear (and lots of it, if you aren't a factory ride..)
A few more races in a lot more out-of-the way places

Obviously, not as much moola, but this isn't about the money now, is it??

Or is it?

 

[Jim]

I am a 49 year old businessman who knows NOTHING about this situation but I have done plenty of business contracts and real estate deals..

One thing I can say for sure, business is business.
Black and white.
"Personal matters" or "gray areas" are not wild cards to be played. Any potential wavers must be explained in the language totally and completely. If not, then there is a breach of contract.

If you make a deal, sickness, health, cash flow has nothing to do with it.
You better have prepared to honor the deal fully and completely.

I smell some very poor excuses here, so expect and understand that any law suits here may have merit.

I guess I just feel the same as any other business person.
You make business arrangements built on agreements between grown-ups. You hire people - you buy parts and pieces (prolly with money you don't have YET) - and the key entity (the BUSINESS that has agreed to pay you for your expertise changes the deal unilaterally and, worse, at a time when you're really 'gonna be harmed by this change - just a poor business practice.
Shame - Shame - and more ugliness if there were NOT written contracts.

 

[mike cummings]

A few people in this post comment that the deals Evan had with various teams were "handshake deals". I don't have any experience in being a racer or the sponsorship of a race team but is it common for a deal between a race team and a sponsor to be a "handshake deal"?

It seems to me that a handshake deal might work well with a weekend bracket racer who is in the sport for fun, but doesn't seem like a good way for a professional team who is running a full national series to ensure they will be properly funded.

 

[none]

First off, I have to thank Evan for all he has done. Hopefully he'll return in '09 like nothing ever happened.

As far as the supercross, maybe that's not affected because after all, how expensive can a dirtbike be to sponsor?

Ask Double B how much Gilby does on his team.

Blogs.NHRA.com - NHRA Driver Blogs

 

[Paul]

Its pretty clear that in addition to his health problems, Evan Knoll also must have had some serious setbacks in his business and financial situation.

But if he stretched himself too thin by sponsoring too many teams, please keep in mind that he took on that substantial risk for the benefit of both the drag racing teams and drag racing fans in general, and we all benefited greatly from his contributions to the sport.

At this point the discussions of a class action lawsuits and etc. are pretty disappointing to me, he doesn't deserve that. The man took a big risk and put his financial future on the line for all of us, fans and racers alike, and if he's in trouble now he deserves us all standing behind him to do whatever we can to help him recover, on both the health and financial fronts.

Paul T.

 

[Butch]

First off, I have to thank Evan for all he has done. Hopefully he'll return in '09 like nothing ever happened.

As far as the supercross, maybe that's not affected because after all, how expensive can a dirtbike be to sponsor?

Obviously you have never been to a national race. About the only difference is the race vehicle. The Trucks, trailers, crews and hospitality trailers rival any pro drag race team. Riders salary the top make over 1mil. Where not talking about a 16 year old with his KTM in the back of a rusted out S-10

 

[blackbeard]

I am a 49 year old businessman who knows NOTHING about this situation but I have done plenty of business contracts and real estate deals..

One thing I can say for sure, business is business.
Black and white.
"Personal matters" or "gray areas" are not wild cards to be played. Any potential wavers must be explained in the language totally and completely. If not, then there is a breach of contract.

If you make a deal, sickness, health, cash flow has nothing to do with it.
You better have prepared to honor the deal fully and completely.

I smell some very poor excuses here, so expect and understand that any law suits here may have merit.

george, thank you for articulating what i was trying to say all along!

 

[handsome]

Some of you people just make me sick. Most of you have never spoke 2 words to Evan and you're deciding everything about his life. Leave him alone and allow him to get better. Even if he does never sponsor a driver again, who are you to say anything about it? He gave people the opportunity to do so many amazing things and win a championship. You can't put a price on that. Whether it was for a year, or 10 years, it's still more than you'll ever do. He has helped more people in a year than most of you will ever do in you life. He's an amazing person and I'm truly grateful to call him a friend. He's an incredible person and will make it through this. He believed in so many people and proved that by backing them with everything he could, so don't you think we owe it to him to do the same thing?

And for those of you who think he just writes a check you're sadly mistaken. He's extremely hands on. He puts his whole heart into racing. It's not about just writing a check, he gives it all he has.

tell that to the team owners that have millions of dollars worth of inventory on order, deposits on new cars, and lease payments on shops, trucks, and equiptment. also tell it to the unemployed crew members scrambling to find a job weeks before the start of the season to pay bills not only for themselves but for families relying on them to provide as good husbands and fathers do. how would you really feel if you were a single parent who went to work monday morning only to find a "sorry were closed " sign on the door. i bet you wouldn't be too simpathetic then.

 

[rocketman]

George! Welcome to Nitromter!

 

[NHRADeuce]

Let me start by saying that I have no idea what the situation is beyond what the press release has said. I also think Mr. Knoll has been great for our sport and a hell of a great guy. Also, I home that what ever health issues Mr. Knoll is facing are quickly overcome.

It seems to me this is a business decision by a CFO who is now in charge of a business instead of the guy who founded the company and loves racing.

This is EXACTLY what I was thinking when I read the official release. I don't know Mr. Knoll personally, but this does not seem like the type of thing he would do. From his posts here he seems like a pretty straight up guy. If the problem was financial then it seems like to me he would have told his teams what was up long before this.

This seems like the kind of thing someone who has no ties to the sport would do. If Mr. Knoll is having severe health problems (which it would seem is the case) then someone else is running the show at Knoll Gas and it's pretty likely that they are not interested in spending millions of dollars in sponsorships that probably don't result in a very good ROI. Mr. Knoll does it for the love of the sport, bean counters don't get that and this smacks of a bean counter decision.

Just my $.02

 

[T.J.]

Everyone here on this board can agree that we pray for a solution to Evan's ongoing medical problems first and foremost, as they are making his life a living hell, but our concern should also be with the crew members and there families that are left scrambling to find other jobs so close to Pomona! I know that I have thought to myself just how many people are deeply affected by this one decision.
What we all know is what we have seen in the press release from Torco, but things just dont add up...as others here have made clear. A business should/would be able to continue running it's normal operations if the CEO or manager takes a vacation or a medical leave. We will just have to wait and see

 

[George.]

george, thank you for articulating what i was trying to say all along!

Lots of emotion here...
Some are saying Evan Knoll doesn't deserve this. He's done so much for the sport..
In the words of William Munnie in the Clint Eastwood movie Unforgiven, "deserves got nuthin' to do with it".


If two people enter into a contract, and one defaults, there are no other considerations other than the language of the agreement. A proper contract should have clear language of default senerios from both ends.
And forget the "beancounter" scenerio. If the corporation has a contract, it just doesn't go away because some "beancounter" wants it to go away...

Knoll claims he needed a year off to rest.
If he were still suffering from a 4 year old injury, yes a 4 year old injury, why was he so aggressive in sponsoring and impacting hundreds of lives, and then suddenly pulling the plug on all involved because he alone was leaving the playground?


Again, I do not know any facts and I've not met Evan Knoll. If these sponsorship deals were sealed with a handshake, then shame on the team owner for not having the guts to make the sponsor put it in writing.

I am going to predict that the contracts were vague and will never hold water in court. That is why he simply chose to quit.

 

[rocketman]

From what I've heard and this is grapevine stuff, it wasn't Mr. Knoll but the Torco board of directors that finally pulled the plug. They did it for several reasons including what's been outlined in the press release.

 

[turbo ken]

From what I've heard and this is grapevine stuff, it wasn't Mr. Knoll but the Torco board of directors that finally pulled the plug. They did it for several reasons including what's been outlined in the press release.

I have to agree with Rich, IMO the board of directors at Torco took advantage of Evan's health to pull the rug out from all those teams without Evans knowledge to increase their profits so they can line their pockets with the money instead.

Case in point, where my dad works they had a board meeting without the CEO present, and they decided to retire my dad early in order to make some extra bucks for their pockets, but when the CEO (who is also one of my dads best friends) found out that they wanted to retire him early the CEO called a 30 min behind closed door meeting, afterwards every time one the those board members came near my dad they allways ask him, how is your day sir. I would have loved to have heard what the CEO said to the board members in that meeting.

I have a feeling that when Evan gets in good health and back to work some of the heads at Torco will roll.

 

[rocketman]

What's the frequency Kenneth? I think you read into it the board action more than I was letting on. They probably did what they had to do. I don't think there's a person at Torco that wanted this to happen in the name of increased profits.

 

[turbo ken]

Sick CEO, money, and greed, it's all about the money!