National Guard Dropping Motorsports (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Paul
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cantdrive55
Nitro Member
After reading the link at Racer.com, This comes across as a guy who has so much hate running through his veins that he'll cut off his nose to spite his face. Now his actions have not only cost himself, but have trickled down to effect RLL and HMS. Every racing fan knows that Government sponsorship of race cars has come under tight scrutiny lately. And to be honest I don't think they needed to sponsor a race car, but it's cool that they did. All the entities and people John Barnes has named in the lawsuit didn't bother him when the NG money was benefiting him. But, when the paycheck didn't hit his account anymore he suddenly cries foul? I seriously doubt the individuals named suddenly resorted to shady tactics overnight all in the name of eliminating John Barnes from the NG sponsorship. There were 2 other IndyCar teams that made bids for the 2014 NG contract that he's not suing that also broke his supposed exclusivity deal with NG. Yet, he focuses on RLL because they won the 2014 NG contract. Also, I'd be willing to bet that Barnes screwed himself by firing J.R. Hildebrand after the 2013 Indy 500. For the 2013 season, Panther's performance was well awful. 3 Top 10's for the entire 2013 season with 5th being their best by Hildebrand. Barnes has long been associated with being one of Tony George's cronies, now he's biting the hand that literally fed him because the IndyCar series knew that the NG was an important sponsor to retain, even if it meant hurting a founding member of the original IRL. Doesn't make it right, but I'd be willing to bet these tactics take place in all forms of business/motorsports.
Tune in to the 2015 NASCAR season, and you'll get your answer.
parrotwhisperer
Nitro Member
No body has mentioned our country's military is being gutted. McCain said if it gets any smaller the pentagon will become a triangle. Seriously, with the so called automatic budget cuts that started last year and continue for some time our military will be smaller than it was before WWII. This makes many left wing democrats very happy but scares the crap out of reasonable people. Anyway, no military = no recruiting needed. I live in a big military town and all of the recruiting offices here have been closed. I am not downplaying other reasons already mentioned, but no recruiting is a real deal.
rckymtn3
Nitro Member
My choices are happy or scared? Hmmmm. I won't even touch the reasonable part.
Between 1940 and 1945, the military swelled from 460K to over 12M. When the next world war comes around, let us know, I'm sure we'll grab our pitch forks and storm the castle.
cantdrive55
Nitro Member
Nope, the 32 million is for sponsorship of Dale Jr only. It's set for 20 of the 36 races this year, Diet Mtn Dew/Kickstart/AMP is for 5, DC Comics Superman was for 1, Kelly Blue Book was for 1, and Michael Baker was for 1. As of now, there are 9 "unsponsored" races remaining for 2014. Last year HMS gave the Guard some "free" races to fill the voids. might happen again this year.
Hope you live in a place that allows you to grill.10-4, I like my steak well done
Jimbo
Nitro Member
The real crazy part about the $32 million dollar deal is that Junior is the most popular driver in NASCAR and has been for years which means another sponsor is just waiting to get their name on the side of a car that get's that much attention.
Jimbo
http://www.nostalgicracingdecals.com
Jimbo
http://www.nostalgicracingdecals.com
FABMAN
Nitro Member
Nope, the 32 million is for sponsorship of Dale Jr only. It's set for 20 of the 36 races this year, Diet Mtn Dew/Kickstart/AMP is for 5, DC Comics Superman was for 1, Kelly Blue Book was for 1, and Michael Baker was for 1. As of now, there are 9 "unsponsored" races remaining for 2014. Last year HMS gave the Guard some "free" races to fill the voids. might happen again this year.
Hope you live in a place that allows you to grill.
Seems awful high for one car even Dale jr but it sounds as if you have an inside source HAS so I will go with that. Either way Washington seems to spend our tax money freely without thinking about the more important issues of our country. Can't blame HMS for taking it.
cantdrive55
Nitro Member
I don't have any sources at HMS, although I know a couple people in NASCAR. The Guard numbers with Dale Jr is public info in terms of how many races they paid for, as well as the other paid for races. There were rumors about how much the Guard deal was worth, but nobody outside of HMS really knew. I know NASCAR discussion isn't exactly popular here, but living in Charlotte helps with hearing about all the latest news concerning NASCAR teams. I agree it's tough to watch our government spend so much money on motorsports, especially in these current times.
Bullard Anderson
Nitro Member
The news in these days in NASCAR is not whom is in the sport as a sponsor, yet who has choosen to no longer be. The owners & NASCAR all became to greedy, and didn't curtail the price of competition.
Jimbo
Nitro Member
When NASCAR decided to let owners have more then one team running out of their shop I questioned the wisdom of this move.
A few years ago teams were allowed 7 practice sessions a year so an owner that had four teams received 28 practice sessions and could then exchange information with the their other teams.
I thought it was a very unfair way of doing things and that it spelled the end of single car teams or at best made it very hard to be competitive.
This move along with other stupid moves like the "Lucky Dog Rule" really screwed up a good thing they had going for them.
For a guy like Morgan Sheppard or an other single team the deck was stacked against them from the start.
Drag racing has made the exact same stupid moves.
And then they wonder why there is not more interest!!
Jimbo
http://www.nostalgicracingdecals.com
A few years ago teams were allowed 7 practice sessions a year so an owner that had four teams received 28 practice sessions and could then exchange information with the their other teams.
I thought it was a very unfair way of doing things and that it spelled the end of single car teams or at best made it very hard to be competitive.
This move along with other stupid moves like the "Lucky Dog Rule" really screwed up a good thing they had going for them.
For a guy like Morgan Sheppard or an other single team the deck was stacked against them from the start.
Drag racing has made the exact same stupid moves.
And then they wonder why there is not more interest!!
Jimbo
http://www.nostalgicracingdecals.com
Hey Keith:Update on the National Guard sponsorship of the #88 in 2015: The following is a team statement from Hendrick Motorsports regarding its continuing relationship with the Army National Guard: "Representing the National Guard and its Citizen Soldiers is an extraordinary honor and source of pride for our entire organization. Communication is ongoing with regard to the future of the sponsorship, which is contracted through the 2015 season.
Not happening............. The Guard has an out clause and they are exercising it. You are only seeing the HMS PR spin, they are holding out hope. Why do you think Nationwide has stepped up and taken an additional 8 races next year (they wouldn't do this if the Guard was coming back as all the races were sold before the Guard bailing)? JR still has 11 races next year unsponsored.
Paul, you dont that for sure anymore than I do but if its true HMS is still going get money from them for 2015. By the way, Nationwide is on Jr's car for 30 races next year..
Nationwide is in primary location for 21 races after today's announcement, the other races 5-PepsiCo, 1-Kelley Blue Book, and 11-unsponsored. Not sure where you're getting your info, but it's not correct.
http://www.sportingnews.com/nascar/...parture?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
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cantdrive55
Nitro Member
Sorry Mike, you're biting on the HMS press release. It's just HMS trying every trick in the book to re-new the NG deal. But, it's been said time and time again that all military sponsorships are annual deals, nobody gets a multi-year contract. Now it wouldn't surprise me if Mr. Hendrick was told by a NG rep that all was looking good for 2015, and maybe they even had a handshake agreement. Ironically the plug in this case was essentially pulled by John Barnes. Dale Jr is a fairly marketable guy, so I imagine the car will have sponsorship for all 36 races next year, even if a few of them are 11th hour deals. Or, maybe this means teams need to start looking at reducing the cost of ad space. It does no good to ask for a dollar figure that nobody is willing to pay. I hope Graham and Team RLL are able to find a sponsor for the side pods. IndyCar remains a tough sell, and having a bad year on top of that doesn't make it any easier.
