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Just when we were starting to feel a bit more optimistic about the economy as a whole, two more bits of troubling news came to the forefront Monday.
First, Richard Petty Motorsports, reportedly needing a significant cash infusion from Dodge that has been slow in coming due to the company’s bankruptcy, laid off nine employees.
That’s bad enough, but the second bit of news is even more serious in nature.
Defending Craftsman/Camping World Truck Series Johnny Benson just lost pretty much any chance of repeating as champ following the unexpected shuttering of his Red Horse Racing No. 1 Toyota truck team.
The reason for the closure? Money – or more precisely, lack thereof. Even though team officials told Benson that lack of sponsorship would not be an issue, well, guess again.
“Part of me was (surprised),” Benson told the Grand Rapids (Mich.) Press. “We have had discussions about this before, and we were told that (lack of a sponsor) was not going to be a problem. Apparently, it is. But we have had this before, and we are actively looking for something else. We will mosey on and try to figure out what is next.
“This is not a good situation for anyone involved. It’s not good for the owner and it’s not good for the driver. It’s just one of those deals.”
What makes the news about Benson’s team so distressing is that a typical Truck series team can be operated on a budget that is substantially less than a similar organization competing in Sprint Cup or even the Nationwide Series. Ergo, a CWTS team needs far less sponsorship dollars than its peers in the larger leagues.
But when the defending champion can’t get enough cash to support his efforts, that’s very alarming.
“It hasn’t been for a lack of effort,” Red Horse Racing owner Tom DeLoach said in a statement to the Press. “We had several people working on finding a sponsor for the No. 1 and Johnny Benson. I’ve been working on it myself.
“We gave it our best shot, and we tried as long as we could, but nothing materialized. I am saddened that we were unsuccessful in accomplishing our goal but this is a tough economic climate and the cost of fielding a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team with essentially no support other than our manufacturer is too much for Red Horse Racing to bear alone.”
Benson is currently seventh in the CWTS standings.
Gee, do you think some of the economic stimulus money that President Obama has earmarked for use across the country this summer could be slightly detoured to help RPM and Benson?
They certainly could use it, for sure.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 06/09 at 01:13 AM
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