What a "silly" season
it has been. Traditionally reserved for the "off" season, silly season has begun earlier and earlier until 2006, when it seemingly
simply segued into 2007.
In the latest of bizarre
events, Dale Earnhardt Inc. (DEI) "merges" with Ginn Racing.
For those of you lucky
enough to have escaped the white collar world of publicly owned companies, let me share a story about a former employer, Maynard
Electronics.
In the internet infancy
days, Maynard Electronics developed a tape backup system for computers. Simply put, it worked like an audio tape deck. One
backed up their computer to tape, and if the hard drive failed, the tape was restored to the new hard drive, no muss, no fuss.
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When they announced that
they were "merging" with a major hard drive company and that the employee’s stock options were to be purchased, a loud
cheer went up. I silently wondered how many voices would be left in a year.
The answer was that in
a short time frame I was one of about 25 remaining out of 500. You see, in a "merger", no matter how they spin it, there is
always a buyer and then, well, the other company could be called something a little different, ending in the suffix "ee".
If there is anyone still
confused by Bobby Ginn’s announcement, DEI essentially bought Ginn Racing, leaving many that had been promised so much
on the sidelines.
Bobby Ginn was not the
first high roller with big plans to enter the sport.
Back in the 1980's there
was JD Stacy, who at one point had his name painted on the rear quarter panels what seemed like the entire field.
Mr. Stacy left the sport
as quickly as he arrived after a little trouble with the authorities over some serious business related legal issues.
Here are today’s
players:
Teresa Earnhardt - Teresa is
not a racer in the same sense of the word that Robert Yates or Rick Hendrick are. She rarely is at the track, but rather is
the widow of a racer and a shrewd business person who has kept the legend of Dale Earnhardt Sr. intact. Teresa also lost Cup’s
hottest commodity, Dale Earnhardt Jr., earlier this year. Teresa is not a "bad" person, she just runs a tight ship and is
trying to regain some of the power that Dale Jr. will be wheeling on over to Hendrick Motorsports at the end of the year.
It remains to be seen whether this purchase will accomplish that goal.
Bobby Ginn - High rolling
land developer with seemingly endless pockets that learned the hard way about that old saying that every hobby stock driver
running on a Saturday night also knows: "How do you make a small fortune in racing? Well, first, you start off with a large
fortune." I believe that Bobby Ginn also had the best of intentions and is probably not a bad guy that wanted to get
into big time racing, and lives by the adage that it takes money to make money. He simply underestimated the enormity of the
task ahead of him. Perhaps spending a few consulting dollars with Bud Moore or Dave Marcis before the purchase would
have been a wise investment...
Martin Truex Jr. - He
has to be in somewhat of a state of disbelief. First he was obviously the support team (as was Michael Waltrip before him)
to the 8 car. Then, when Junior announced he was moving on, assumed a leadership role at DEI and rallied the troops. Now,
Mark Martin is coming on board, and Truex has to be wondering just what will happen next, and what his role will be.
Regan Smith. - Perhaps
the "next big thing" that in an instant went from protégé to... limbo.
Sterling Marlin and Joe Nemechek
- Veterans that were impressed with the money brought to the table last year, and shocked when the rug, and the ride, was
pulled out from under them this year.
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There are no real villains
in this story, but at the same time, no real winners.
In retrospect, as with
so many aspects of racing, there is a moral to the story.
There isn’t a tooth
fairy and if it seems too good to be true, it probably is. The answers in life do not lie in a lottery ticket, a sugar daddy,
or a get rich quick pyramid scheme. They lie in hard work and perseverance, and the same hard work that got those racers where
they were before the "merger" will carry them forward after the dust settles.
Instead of looking for
a quick fix or an easy way out, pray for a miracle, and expect a miracle, but remember that there are no shortcuts. True miracles
follow walking the straight and narrow, and like a ride in Nextel Cup, are earned with one’s heart--hard earned, but
worth it.
2006 StockCar Review.
