reedsorensononline.com
So it appears George Gillett has signed an “exclusive commercial collaboration” agreement with Prince Faisal bin Fahd bin Abdullah al-Saud, a member of the royal family in Saudi Arabia.
According to one story I read Wednesday, in addition to the Prince investing heavily in Gillett’s Manchester United soccer team in Great Britain, it also means the likelihood of a NASCAR-style racing circuit in Saudi Arabia could be one of the offshoots of the new agreement, if not direct investment in Richard Petty Motorsports (and possibly bringing the Richard Petty Driving Experience overseas, as well). Another story suggested that Gillett might also be selling out his majority ownership share in RPM to the Prince as part of the overall deal.
Can you just imagine a headdress-clad Prince and a cowboy hat-wearing Petty in the same room? I can hardly wait to see how that would all play out, not to mention how each man would likely have a hard time understanding the other’s accent.
But I don’t say that in a smug way at all. If anything, serious investment from a wealthy investor – regardless if he’s an American, Brit, Saudi or Chinese – is more than welcome in NASCAR right now. The days of ignoring “fur-in-ers” is, hopefully, long over. As long as their money is good and green, and comes from legitimate business ventures, I say “Welcome, Prince.”
Still, I can only imagine the reaction a Prince and his entourage would get at a place like Talladega. It would not be pretty, but more so because of ignorance and fear from fans who can’t see a gift horse when they see one. Esteemed individuals like the Prince and others of his kind could ultimately wind up being the saviors of American stock car racing. After all, they have billions of dollars just burning a hole in their pocket.
Ah, the irony. Yet at the same time, it would be a sweet irony and one that would only be helpful to NASCAR and the sport as a whole.
I’ve known about the intense interest in motorsports in Saudi Arabia, Dubai, the Arab Emirates and other Middle Eastern countries for some time now. Formula One has always had a keen interest there fan-wise. But from a participant’s standpoint, drag racing and import racing have been growing by leaps and bounds there over the last few years. It was only a matter of time before NASCAR would pop up on a prince’s or sheik’s or sultan’s radar screen.
In fact, if Prince Faisal truly is as serious as some of the reports indicate, how much do you want to bet that he’ll have a free-standing racetrack up and ready to use in less than two years? And, to add to the mix, the prince and his buddies could likely import a number of Cup race teams and drivers to put on a few exhibition races, with likely all expenses paid.
Sure, GM and Dodge are in the tank and have scaled back their involvement in NASCAR. Over 1,000 people remain laid-off from the sport. Teams and whole organizations continue to merge at an almost alarming rate.
Frankly, Brian France and NASCAR needs big help, no matter where they can get it. And if there’s a gazillionaire ready to spend multi-millions, if not billions, of dollars to be a big player in the sport, who are we to deny him – even if he isn’t from the USA?
What’s more, the Prince and several other wealthy members of the Middle East elite could ultimately help France achieve one of his long-held goals: to build out NASCAR internationally.
I remember when Felix Sabates first came into NASCAR around the mid-1980s. The Cuban-born immigrant was the epitome of a rags-to-riches American success story. He’s proven to be nothing but a great story in business, as well as his involvement in NASCAR.
I can see the same thing happening for the Prince or if some of his other buddies decide to join in the fun, as well. It may be a bit of culture shock for American race fans, but think of all the good these foreign investors can bring to the sport and sanctioning body.
Welcome to our world, Prince, not to mention welcoming us into yours.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 09/30 at 09:11 PMWould prerace inspection include looking for bombs
| 
|