Kahne, Earnhardt Jr. deals will shake up Victory Lane
Limited money for sponsorships may hurt others
The racing memorabilia and marketing landscape officially takes on a new form this week with major announcements of new sponsorships for two of NASCAR's most visible drivers, crown prince Dale Earnhardt Jr. and heartthrob Kasey Kahne.
Gillett Evernham Motorsports and Budweiser today will announce a sponsorship deal for Kasey Kahne's No. 9 Dodge. Earnhardt and car owner Rick Hendrick on Wednesday will announce PepsiCo sponsorship in the form of Mountain Dew, AMP energy drink and other products for the No. 88 Chevy. The most eagerly awaited paint scheme in recent NASCAR history also will be unveiled during a press conference in Dallas, which just happens to coincide with a major Pepsi dealer gathering.
But while the rich get richer, the poor get poorer because there's only so much sponsorship money to go around, and one loser is Yates Racing. Granted, Robert Yates didn't let go of the No. 88 for a song, but the ransom Hendrick paid in a larger sense isn't worth a bag of beans because the team heads into 2008 without sponsorship for either of its cars. Mars is taking away its Snickers and M&M's backing at season's end, leaving Doug Yates, who is inheriting the company from his retiring father -- thanks, Dad -- square behind the 8 ball in the corner pocket.
Speaking of Gillett Evernham, 8 balls, corner pockets and being poor, reports persist that Petty Enterprises, which has been bounced off more cushions -- and concrete walls -- with only three victories since 1984 and none in the past 53/4 seasons, will be absorbed by GEM. It wouldn't be fair to call the move a merger since Petty Enterprises has so little to bring to the dance other than the legacy of the legendary No. 43.
But if it happens, it would represent the latest (the ill-fated Yates/Newman/Haas/Lanigan union aside) in a series of mergers and acquisitions (M&A's in business speak) that have altered the landscape like nothing before. The realizations that it takes real bucks to compete in NASCAR but there are real bucks to be made are sinking in and investors -- and lawyers -- are darkening the skies in their Lear jets to cash in. Sponsorships, however, have been more difficult to come by for the less high-profile teams and for the teams regularly running at the back of the pack because they lack the bucks to compete with the big teams.
It's the whole chicken and egg deal boiled down: You can't run up front without the big bucks and the big bucks won't come unless you're running up front.
That's not an issue for Pepsi, which obviously believes it can and will cash in with Earnhardt. In essence, it traded its contract for pouring rights at International Speedway Corp.'s 12 tracks, Daytona included, for the opportunity, at the cost of more than a few million bucks, to ride shotgun with two of the sport's most popular drivers. Remember, it also is a key sponsor of Jeff Gordon. Not a bad deal considering Earnhardt has the largest and most loyal fan base in the sport, and Jeff Gordon is in strong pursuit of his fifth championship.
Coke can have the taps. Pepsi's got the keys to the national treasury.
As for Budweiser, it could do worse than Kasey Kahne and GEM, both who have suffered through a 2007 from hell, but are too good to be held down for too long.
Also, believe it or not, Earnhardt, who turns 33 on Oct. 10, falls way outside Bud's targeted 20-something demographics while Kasey Kahne, at 27, still is well within the envelope. Who said marketing and merchandising and money-making isn't a cruel business? But don't weep for Dale Jr. It's not like he's going to be hurting for any meals. After all, in addition to whatever Pepsi deals are unveiled on Wednesday he also has his contracts with adidas, Sony and Wrangler among others.
So it's doubtful that Earnhardt, a person very mindful of those who have come before him, will be humming these Hank Williams lyrics anytime soon:
These shabby shoes I'm wearin' all the time
Are full of holes and nail
And brother if I stepped on a worn out dime
£I bet a nickel I could tell you if it was heads or tails.
But for Doug Yates and any of the other teams unable to find a partner with deep pockets and a good amount of patience, that's another story.
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