It’s Tough to Merge When You’re Tight in Turn Two

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Early in the 2007 NASCAR season, someone asked Tony Stewart what he thought about the possibility of Dale Earnhardt Jrleaving the team Junior’s daddy had founded, DEI. Tony famously said…

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DEI without Dale Earnhardt Jr. is a museum.”

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Well Junior did leave for Hendrick Motorsports and DEI has soldiered on. More than a museum, but less successful than before, Teresa Earnhardt’s organization faces an uncertain racing future, with lack of sponsorship and no real headliner of a driver being the chief problems, it seems.

For a week or better, NASCAR’s rumor mill has featured DEI with Petty Enterprises as a potential dance partner. So the Bench Racing with Steve and Charlie blog wants your thoughts on this question.

Is there any good reason that you see for a Petty Enterprises and DEI merger?

Charlie:  I don’t see it if it’s there. Normally, mergers take place between a strong and a relatively weaker partner or between two entities with complimentary assets. Maybe one has a surplus of cash and the other a talent or technical advantage, for example. I can’t see that here. Both teams have the same, critical challenge in finding major sponsors. Steve claimed ON PIT ROW  Tuesday that Petty Enterprises has this in the Wells-Fargo deal. I don’t see it. As I understand the Wells-Fargo sponsorship, it is, 1) for maybe 20 races and 2) it’s tied to Kyle Petty, who seems to be on the way out. A half season sponsor package for one car doesn’t seem a compelling reason to partner-up with Petty.

DEI has strong personnel in their shops. But are those people committed to staying? This one just doesn’t make sense to me.

Bruce:  It seems like a desperate measure between two teams that don’t have
a solid foothold in the competitive or sponsor race.

Back in September Patty Petty let slip in an interview  that between Chad Mcumbee and Terry Labonte, that Kyle’s last ride is probably going to be at Phoenixand that McCumbee is plan A for Petty Entperprises next year. With the lack luster performance of Petty Entperprises, and DEI’s slowly going down the drain when Dale Earnhardt Jr. / Budweiser left, and now Mark Martin, the only reason a merger would be considered would be to join the two classic names of NASCAR and maybe capture some new sponsors with that spin.  That’s the only thing I can come up with. At the very least, if this merged entity does run down the drain, the swirling, sucking drain sound will be twice as loud and unmistakable!

That’s what we think. What do you think?

Over at Bruce’s NASCAR Bits blog, Bruce has a question that’s close to my heart. It’s about racing bars. Not track bars or sway bars this time but good, old carousing bars, where the beer and the Bench Racing flow in commensurate quantities. Since we broadcast ON PIT ROW and INSIDE ARCA live from just such a place -  the Toledo Speedway Bar and Grill - every week, I have some opinions. Check it out and give us yours…

SPEED Channel is opening a new cantina next to Phoenix International Raceway and should be ready for business by the time NASCAR hits the track next month. Charlie, you got anything on NASCAR bars… I mean “joints”. Damn… I bars… I meant “cantina”?

 Photo credit: Icon Sports Media, Inc