Auto Racing Capsules: Economic times forcing teams to seek new sponsors
HAMPTON, Ga. — Kevin Conway is a walking billboard for — how can we say this delicately? — better performance in the bedroom.
"That's kind of the elephant in the room," he says with a mischievous grin, wearing a race suit with the word "ExtenZe" around his neck, across his chest and back, and down the sides of both legs.
All giggling aside, the sponsorship deal for the No. 37 car shows how teams must look beyond conventional sponsors in these tough economic times. This is a sport that requires more than just a fast car and a talented driver; someone's got to be willing to foot the bill with a lot of zeros on the check.
Which brings us to Conway, a 30-year-old, college-educated rookie who knew he'd need more than just a heavy right foot to break into the Sprint Cup series.
Like anyone who's had trouble sleeping, he'd seen one of those bawdy ExtenZe infomercials sandwiched between pitches for stay-at-home jobs that will turn you into an instant millionaire and video collections for long-ago television shows.
Hmmm, he thought, wonder if ExtenZe would be willing to sponsor a stock car?
"If you look back a few years ago, there was no such thing as an energy drink. Red Bull kind of created that category, much the same way ExtenZe has done for the male enhancement category," said Conway, who majored in marketing at UNC Charlotte.
"It's the heart of America," said Robert Wilhovsky, the company's director of motorsports marketing. "You reach a real loyal, passionate customer base that sticks with you. They appreciate and understand your involvement in their sport, their way of life, and it resonates well with them. They, in turn, thank you at the counter."
Conway, however, has had a tough time as a Cup rookie. He wasn't approved to race in the season-opening Daytona 500 because of a lack of superspeedway experience, and he hasn't finished higher than 31st in his three starts. The team needs to be in the top 35 to maintain its automatic spot in the field after the next event at Bristol; Conway is 40th.
Although he said there was some resistance at first from NASCAR officials it didn't take much of a selling job. After all, the series once had a car sponsored by Viagra.
"If you look back historically, particularly in the last 10 years, NASCAR has attracted a broad spectrum of sponsors," said Ramsey Poston, the series' managing director of corporate communications. "We've seen more sponsors coming into the sport, which is encouraging."
Especially at a time when many teams have folded or merged because of a lack of sponsorship dollars. NASCAR, like every other major sport, has felt the sting of the economic downturn, though Poston said some recent deals indicate the worst is over.
To pay the bills, teams have been forced to look beyond the base of beer companies, home improvement stores and package delivery services.
For last weekend's race at Atlanta, Greg Biffle was sponsored by the U.S. Census Bureau in the first of a three-race, $1.2 million package.
"Get those Census forms in," Biffle quipped. "If you don't send your form back, I'm going to be at your doorstep."
Although it might be difficult to tell from the potpourri of logos at a NASCAR track, Poston said there are standards when it comes to approving sponsors.
First, the product must be legal.
"Absolutely, there are limits," he said. "We have a lot of casinos that are title sponsors and car sponsors. But right now, the gray area is online gaming."
There's no such gray area with Conway's sponsor. That hasn't stopped the junior-high-level humor, so the company decided it was best to go along with the joke (in contrast to Viagra, which refused to make light of its product during its stint in NASCAR).
The team sells shirts on its Web site and from its merchandise trailer that turns up at the track each week.
"Everybody's had a good time with it," Conway said. "And everybody just wears us out for samples."
Roush satisfied with NASCAR action
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Team owner Jack Roush said Wednesday he's satisfied with the penalty NASCAR levied against driver Carl Edwards for his intentional accident with Brad Keselowski.
Edwards was in an early accident with Keselowski in Sunday's race at Atlanta, and later returned to the track and deliberately wrecked Keselowski. The contact sent Keselowki's car airborne, and NASCAR parked Edwards for the remainder of the race.
On Tuesday, he was placed on probation for three races.
"We are satisfied that NASCAR fairly considered all the circumstances in its decision to discipline Carl," said Roush.
Roush said he looked forward to a NASCAR-called meeting next weekend at Bristol between the two drivers and Keselowski car owner Roger Penske.
"It is our hope to put this behind us at that time," said Roush, who added the incident overlooked an otherwise good day in Atlanta for the Roush Fenway Racing team.
IndyCar
IRL looking to carry momentum from last season
SAO PAULO — Coming off a fantastic finish in 2009, the IndyCar Series is looking to build on that excitement this season with a new title sponsor, a new CEO and measures designed to improve racing.
The 2009 title was decided in the closing laps of the final race, capping a thrilling year in which Dario Franchitti edged Scott Dixon and Ryan Briscoe in one the closest points race in series history.
The three title contenders will be back when the season kicks off in Brazil on Sunday, as will three-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves, star Danica Patrick and several other drivers who can also challenge for the title.
"The depth of the field is definitely growing," Dixon told The Associated Press. "There is a lot of great drivers and teams again this year. It will be exciting."
The inaugural Sao Paulo Indy 300 will be one of the highlights of the year, taking place on a street circuit that goes through a Sambadrome and a mile-long straight that is the series' longest ever, according to organizers. The stadium-like Sambadrome is where Sao Paulo's traditional Carnival parades were watched by tens of thousands of revelers just a month ago.
Sao Paulo is one of the two new venues this season, along with Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama. The only other race outside North America will be the Indy Japan 300 in September.
The series enters the season looking to reach new markets, attract more fans and increase its visibility in the U.S. and abroad. It will begin the year with clothing maker Izod as a title sponsor, and with promoter Randy Bernard as its new CEO. Bernard spent 15 years as the head of the Professional Bull Riders Inc., helping grow the TV audience and attendance at that sport's events.
It will help that the series is keeping one of its most marketable drivers, Patrick, who will drive a full schedule despite a 13-race commitment to NASCAR's Nationwide Series.
There also are four other women on the circuit this year — Milka Duno of Venezuela, Sarah Fischer of the United States and rookies Ana Beatriz Figueiredo of Brazil and Simona de Silvestro of Switzerland. Fischer is not expected to run all races and won't be in Brazil for the opener.
"We know the competition is going to be tougher," Franchitti said. "There will be the usual suspects that were in the title fight last year and I think you'll add a couple more. We'll have to work harder if we want to come home with another championship."
Penske, in its first season since 1990 without longtime sponsor Philip Morris, will enter three cars for the full season, something it hadn't done since 1994. The drivers will be Castroneves, Briscoe and Will Power.
Patrick's teammates at Andretti Autosport will be 2004 points champion Tony Kanaan, Marco Andretti and Ryan Hunter-Reay, who is on a limited schedule for now. Japan's Takuma Sato, who spent seven years in Formula One, will run for KV Racing Technology.
"It's going to be very challenging," Briscoe said. "There are going to be lots of different drivers vying for wins so we're going to have to be very focused and paying attention all the time."
Officials are hoping the racing will become even more entertaining on the track after they gave drivers nearly twice as much horsepower when pushing the overtake button. The measure should significantly increase passing compared to last year, pleasing fans and drivers alike.
Fans, however, had few reasons to complain after last year's season finale.
Dixon had a five-point lead over Target Chip Ganassi teammate Franchitti and an eight-point advantage over Briscoe entering the deciding race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Franchitti won the thrilling race on fuel strategy, clinching his second series title — the first since an unsuccessful stint with NASCAR in 2008.
The points lead changed hands a record 15 times in 2009, and no more than 33 points separated first to third during the 17-race season. The final margin was 11 points, and of the 40 drivers who started at least one 2009 race, 27 earned a top-10 finish.
The IndyCar series will remain diverse this year, running on eight ovals and nine road or street courses.
The Indianapolis 500, the year's main event, will have one less week in its traditional schedule in May to help teams save money.
Other changes in 2010 include the addition of a reverse gear to cars running on road and street courses, and the recommendation of using a new headrest designed to give drivers more protection in crashes.
-- Tales Azzoni
Franchitti back to defend Indy title this time
The last time Dario Franchitti was the defending IndyCar Series champion, he was racing on a different circuit.
What followed was Franchitti's disappointing and abbreviated foray into NASCAR.
Franchitti returned to open-wheel cars last year and won another championship, edging defending champion and Target Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Scott Dixon for the title.
"This was going back to learning something that was instinct for me," Franchitti said. "It was all I'd ever really done so it was a lot easier and I love driving those (open-wheel) cars. I love the horsepower, grip, the tracks I get to drive on. So it was a good homecoming."
So this time, the Scotsman is staying put.
When the IndyCar Series opens its season this weekend in Brazil, Franchitti will be there in the red-and-white No. 10 Ganassi car looking to get off to a solid start in defense of his championship. Sam Hornish Jr., who is now in NASCAR's Sprint Cup series, is the only driver to win back-to-back IRL titles (2001, 2002).
"Being with a great team, it gives us an advantage. It also gives Scott (Dixon) an advantage," Franchitti said. "We've both won championships before so we both know what it takes. We can all do the jobs and it's up to us to do it. I approach it as each week we are going to do our best and that's what we did last year. We'll see what happens."
Franchitti certainly had no problem getting reacclimatized to the IndyCar Series, winning five races and finishing outside the top five only four times in the 17 races.
"I'm back doing exactly what I want to do," said Franchitti, who won the 2007 Indianapolis 500 during his IRL championship season for Andretti Green Racing.
When Franchitti's Sprint Cup team was shut down by Chip Ganassi only 17 races into the 2008 season because of a lack of sponsorship, he was 41st in the standings. He had missed five races because of a broken ankle, didn't qualify for two and had an average finish of 39th in the other 10.
Despite his struggles in NASCAR, Franchitti said he benefited from his stint driving stock cars.
"I definitely learned stuff while driving in NASCAR that took me out of my comfort zone and that made me a better driver. Did it make me a quicker driver? I don't know," he said. "But it definitely allowed me to do some stuff that I haven't been able to do in the past and deal with different problems with the car. In a way, it did make me a better driver."
Sure, Franchitti would have liked to have had the chance to be in a front-running car and have some Sprint Cup success. But he believes things "all worked out for the best."
While Franchitti is solely focused on the IndyCar Series, Danica Patrick has turned her full attention back to open-wheel cars only after running the first three NASCAR Nationwide races this season.
Patrick will concentrate on her IndyCar ride with Andretti for the next four months before returning to the NASCAR circuit the last weekend in June. She will then spend the rest of the season jumping between the drastically different cars, doing the final nine IRL races while also driving in at least 10 more Nationwide races.
Franchitti sees Patrick's NASCAR involvement as a positive for the IndyCar Series.
"I think it will increase the profile a bit because she has such big coverage in her stock car races. Not only in the Nationwide series, but they talk about it during the (Sprint Cup) broadcasts on Fox," he said. "I think it's going to bring fans to the IndyCar Series, and once they see the racing and all that kind of stuff, we'll have some new fans out of it."
As for IndyCar changes this year, Franchitti is looking forward to a schedule that includes more road or street courses than ovals (nine to eight) and getting an opportunity to chat with Randy Bernard, the league's new CEO.
Bernard was head of the Professional Bull Riders Inc. the past 15 years, helping grow the TV audience and attendance at bull-riding events.
"As I understand, I don't know much about him yet, but he's a promoter," Franchitti said. "That's a good thing. I think that is one thing the IndyCar Series would really benefit from."
-- Stephen Hawkins
Formula 1
Highly anticipated F1 season begins at Bahrain GP
MADRID — Months of anticipation and speculation finally will come to a close Sunday when the 2010 Formula One season gets under way and Michael Schumacher marks his return to racing at the Bahrain Grand Prix.
The seven-time F1 champion headlines perhaps F1's most competitive starting grid, coming out of three years of retirement to race for the newly formed Mercedes GP, which bought out last year's constructors' champion Brawn GP.
The 41-year-old Schumacher said he felt like "a child at Christmas" coming to Bahrain, where he'll line up against defending champion Jenson Button, two-time champion Fernando Alonso, 2008 winner Lewis Hamilton and talented Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel.
"I love this fight," Schumacher said. "It is because of this fight that I came back to Formula One."
Two-time Bahrain champion Alonso and Ferrari are the preseason favorites as the Spanish driver looks reinvigorated following his move to the Italian team, which also welcomes Felipe Massa back for the first time since he sustained life-threatening injuries in a crash at the Hungarian GP in July.
"It's a very important moment for us after a horrible year. It was also a difficult moment for me with the accident. I'm concentrated, I'm ready 100 percent," said Massa, a two-time winner in Bahrain. "This is a fresh start for me. For all."
Massa said McLaren's design was "strange," but with the past two champions in its lineup the British team is among the favorites. Button partners Hamilton, and the former Brawn driver is savoring the No. 1 tag on his car.
"It's a responsibility and an honor, but it's something I'm going to enjoy for as long as I can. I don't want to lose that number from my car," Button said. "There are a number of teams and drivers who appear to be in the hunt, and, as with the start of every new season, it will be fascinating to see who emerges as the team to beat."
McLaren's rear wing is under scrutiny after Red Bull expressed doubts over its design, with the British team confident it conforms to regulations and governing body FIA set to check it at Friday's opening practice.
Schumacher took over Button's seat as Mercedes' Silver Arrows return to the track for the first time in 55 years. Fellow German Nico Rosberg also makes his Mercedes debut.
Schumacher's experience could pay dividends as refueling is now banned, meaning teams will only pit to change tires. Also, the top-10 qualifiers on Saturday will not be able to swap tires before the start on Sunday, while the rest of the field can.
"You will have less sets of tires available than last year, which makes it harder to do what you need to do for setting up the car perfectly," said Schumacher, whose win here in 2004 is among his record 91. "But driving is always about adapting to new circumstance, and this is one of my strong points."
Fellow German Vettel will be looking to make a mark as Red Bull is expected to be in the title mix a year after it was Brawn's closest challenger.
"You can't underestimate the opposition, but expectations are high at Red Bull now," team principal Christian Horner said. "We just want to get the most we can out of every weekend."
Vettel and teammate Mark Webber make Red Bull one of three teams with the same drivers as last year. Toro Rosso and Force India are the others.
Williams, Force India and Sauber are also expected to be in the points and have even been tabbed to surprise at a track that has been changed to 49 laps instead of the usual 57. The desert layout features a new, longer configuration with eight additional corners making it the second longest race on the 19-track circuit after Spa in Belgium.
"We will have good racing there, I think, and all I want is to fight because this is what I missed most," said Sauber driver Pedro De la Rosa of Spain, who is taking the grid for the first time since 2006.
Renault, meanwhile, is hoping just to reach the final qualifying session with Robert Kubica leading the French team.
Three new teams will be on the track as Malaysian-backed Lotus returns for the first time since 1994, while Virgin Racing and Hispania Racing Team also will debut in the 12-team, 24-car field.
HRT-F1 was the only team not to test and only announced last week that Karun Chandhok would partner Bruno Senna, the nephew of three-time champion Ayrton Senna.
Several of the leading teams have criticized the decision to allow so many new teams in, especially as they are well off the pace.
"I am under no illusions about what we're in for," Chandhok said. "At the end of the day, we will be a new team with two rookies and no testing at all, so the first few races will be very hard indeed.
"If we can finish the first race that would be an achievement," the Indian driver said.
-- Paul Logothetis
F1 favorite Ferrari spurred on by Alonso's arrival
MADRID — Spurred on by arrival of two-time champion Fernando Alonso, Ferrari goes into the Formula One season as the championship favorite with a bit of a chip on its shoulder following a disastrous 2009 campaign.
Last year was the worst showing for the Italian team since 1993 as it finished fourth in the constructors table with a single victory. Felipe Massa missed the second half of the season after sustaining life-threatening injuries in a crash at the Hungarian GP.
Ferrari has emerged from the doom and gloom of last season to rally behind the signing of Alonso. The Spaniard, meanwhile, is coming off three straight difficult seasons and has been re-energized by what he calls "the best car I've ever driven."
"It's unbelievable the feeling here, the passion of everybody," Alonso said last month in Valencia, Spain, where a record 36,400 spectators came out to see his first spin in the iconic red car.
Alonso replaced Kimi Raikkonen, whose standoffish personality never enamored itself to the Tifosi even if the Finnish driver beat both Alonso and McLaren teammate Lewis Hamilton to the 2007 title by one point.
Alonso will finally get the chance to duel with Hamilton in a worthy car, while old foe Michael Schumacher, defending champion Jenson Button of McLaren and Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel are all expected to be at the front of the field, as is Massa.
"He's definitely one of the best," former Ferrari driver Rubens Barrichello told the Associated Press. "And when you first start at Ferrari it's a dream team with all they can offer you — not only the car, but what they offer you outside too. With that he's living a good moment, so I tip him and Massa (for the title)."
Ferrari is accustomed to excellence and team president Luca di Montezemolo is expecting a lot from his two drivers after last year's woeful results.
"I haven't forgotten the humiliation of the Abu Dhabi weekend," di Montezemolo said in front of Alonso, Massa and 400 Ferrari employees. "But now we know that our efforts paid off, because we can look at the start of the season knowing that we have a reliable car and we're ready to tackle our competitors."
Last season was a disaster by Ferrari's high standards.
Ferrari focused on 2010 earlier than usual since it was already out of the title fight by April's Spanish Grand Prix, and then Massa's replacement, Luca Badoer placed last in the two GPs he raced before Giancarlo Fisichella was signed. Fisichella remains as a reserve driver this season.
Ferrari concluded the preseason with more test miles than any other team and the fewest reliability problems.
"What we could see, and considering all the unknown factors in the testing, I think that we've shown that we can be competitive and are part of the top group in terms of pure performance," team principal Stefano Domenicali said.
Alonso also struggled uncharacteristically last season.
The Spanish driver managed only one top-three finish with Renault, who guided him to back-to-back titles with in 2005-06. Those championships spurred his move to McLaren, where promising rookie Hamilton proved to be the biggest obstacle to a third straight title as the British driver was favored despite his inexperience.
"That helped me become a better driver," Alonso said of his McLaren gap-year. "I've arrived with more maturity because of those experiences. I'm more relaxed, more at peace. I'm ready for any challenge."
Massa cannot afford any mistakes following his early exit last season after a freak accident in Budapest led to skull surgery and the lengthy layoff. Raikkonen picked up the team's sole win at Spa.
"I've never had problems with teammates in the past or present so I'm 100 percent sure that I will never have a problem with Fernando — we work well together and that's important," the Brazilian said. "We're working very well in the right direction."
There seems to be no doubting Ferrari is heading in the right direction, but one of the most competitive fields — which includes former Ferrari driver Schumacher — seems to be the biggest obstacle this season rather than internal affairs.
-- Paul Logothetis
Brawn honored by queen after F1 triumph
LONDON — Ross Brawn has been honored by Queen Elizabeth II for guiding his team to last season's Formula One championship.
The 55-year-old team principal of Mercedes GP received the OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday. The honor recognizes not only last year's F1 victory under the name of Brawn GP but also 30 years of service to the sport.
Brawn's talents helped Jenson Button win his first F1 drivers title last season but the British driver has moved to McLaren.
