As Toyota is poised to enter Nascar's Nextel Cup series this season, Ford team owner, Jack Roush is gearing up with the combative rhetoric.
Roush has been the loudest critic of Nascar's decision to allow the Japanese automaker to enter the Nextel Cup series this season by stating that he's preparing himself for seige on the track as well as in the boardroom.
Roush, who has said in the past that Americans shouldn't buy foreign cars because it hurts our economy, believes that Toyota's entry will hurt Nascar because the automaker will outspend teams affiliated with domestic automakers.
But he's ready for a fight. Roush says we're going to go to war with them, and they should give us their best shot.
Given current events, this might not be the best time for Roush, who is a war history buff, to compare sports to war. Toyota will not find that the established teams and manufactures will wither in their path, as has been the case where they have tried to engage elsewhere.
But Roush's preparations to take on Toyota go beyond tough talk. He is in negotiations to sell a significant stake of his team to an investment group headed by Boston Red Sox owner, John Henry, to raise money to race. And somehow Roush has persuaded financially troubled Ford Motor Company to help him meet the extra $10 million he said he had to spend in research and development in the offseason.
Toyota will sponsor three Nextel Cup teams this season, and is going all out to remind fans that they build cars in the U.S. New Toyota driver, Dale Jarrett, recently stated that Toyotas aren't any more foreign than some Fords or Chevys. Jarrett states that the Ford Fusions are all built in Mexico and the Monte Carlos are built in Canada. So we could go through all that stuff and see who is right or wrong, but there are a lot of Toyotas that are built right here in the United States.
And so the controvery goes on.........
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Fast Moves From Nascar
Hey, all you Dale Earnhardt Jr fans. Have you heard about the grumblings within the DEI organization? Dale Jr wants more say in the decision making process. Teresa Earnhardt says she is willing to discuss a larger role for Dale Jr as part of the ongoing contract negotiations to keep him at his late father's company. When Teresa was asked if she was committed to keeping Junior behind the wheel of the Budweizer #8 Chevrolet, her answer was, "absolutely".
Junior's contract with DEI, expires at the end of this season, and his status with the company has been in question since Teresa Earnhardt apparently questioned Junior's commitment in a December article in The Wall Street Journal. She indicated that the ball was in his court to decide whether he wants to be a NASCAR driver or be a public personality.
The remark upset Junior, who said at preseason testing last week, that the two had not spoken since. Teresa said they have since spoken but was unclear on when the conversation may have occurred.
Junior said his relationship with his stepmother would factor into his decision to re-sign with DEI, and he hoped to get an ownership stake in the company. But Teresa skipped the most recent round of negotiations instead sending representatives to the bargaining table to meet with Junior and his sister, Kelley Earnhardt Elledge. Teresa says there is nothing unusual about that, it's all very typical and they are discussing everything trying to get this done.
My thoughts on the situations is, that without Junior behind the wheel, there is no DEI.
Now, on to a little happier note. On Friday, January 19, Sharpie has signed an agreement with Dale Earnhardt, Inc. to sponsor Dale Jr in 2007. This sponsorship will feature Junior friving the #8 Sharpie car in the Sharpie MINI 30, the Nascar Busch series race at Bristol Motor Speedway in March. To celebrate this partnership, a line of #8 Sharpie markers will debut in stores nationwide in April. Junior says he has used his share of Sharpie markers signing autographs and in his shop, so bringing Sharpie on as a sponsor was a natural. Not to mention that now he can get all the Sharpie markers he needs free!
Fast Moves From Nascar
Hey, all you Dale Earnhardt Jr fans. Have you heard about the grumblings within the DEI organization? Dale Jr wants more say in the decision making process. Teresa Earnhardt says she is willing to discuss a larger role for Dale Jr as part of the ongoing contract negotiations to keep him at his late father's company. When Teresa was asked if she was committed to keeping Junior behind the wheel of the Budweizer #8 Chevrolet, her answer was, "absolutely".
Junior's contract with DEI, expires at the end of this season, and his status with the company has been in question since Teresa Earnhardt apparently questioned Junior's commitment in a December article in The Wall Street Journal. She indicated that the ball was in his court to decide whether he wants to be a NASCAR driver or be a public personality.
The remark upset Junior, who said at preseason testing last week, that the two had not spoken since. Teresa said they have since spoken but was unclear on when the conversation may have occurred.
Junior said his relationship with his stepmother would factor into his decision to re-sign with DEI, and he hoped to get an ownership stake in the company. But Teresa skipped the most recent round of negotiations instead sending representatives to the bargaining table to meet with Junior and his sister, Kelley Earnhardt Elledge. Teresa says there is nothing unusual about that, it's all very typical and they are discussing everything trying to get this done.
My thoughts on the situations is, that without Junior behind the wheel, there is no DEI.
Now, on to a little happier note. On Friday, January 19, Sharpie has signed an agreement with Dale Earnhardt, Inc. to sponsor Dale Jr in 2007. This sponsorship will feature Junior friving the #8 Sharpie car in the Sharpie MINI 30, the Nascar Busch series race at Bristol Motor Speedway in March. To celebrate this partnership, a line of #8 Sharpie markers will debut in stores nationwide in April. Junior says he has used his share of Sharpie markers signing autographs and in his shop, so bringing Sharpie on as a sponsor was a natural. Not to mention that now he can get all the Sharpie markers he needs free!
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