We’re at that awkward time of the year in motor sport where there really isn’t a lot to talk about. The Rolex 24 at Daytona has come and gone — although another photo gallery by ace motorsport photographer John Larsen accompanies this entry — and the 12 Hours of Sebring is a month away.
NASCAR won’t get going for another two weeks, with the Busch Clash* plus qualifying, followed a week later by the Daytona 500. Indycar’s stop-the-presses moment was the announcement that they’ve started to build the track at St. Petersburg, Fla., where the season will open in March.
Which leaves us with faux news, such as Nico Rosberg thinking Fernando Alonso instead of Valtteri Bottas should have replaced him at Mercedes (really?), Sergio Marchionne suggesting Ferrari might not continue in F1 past 2020 (don’t make me laugh) and Max Mosley saying Liberty Media should have kept Bernie Ecclestone around (which many of us have also been saying, but earlier than this weekend).
Racer.com published five stories on the Bathurst 12-hour race (thank God somebody did) and my mailbox received intelligence that young Montreal formula racer Kami Laliberte was racing in New Zealand Series in the Castrol Toyota Racing Series and was finishing in the top ten in some of the races.
So, time to take care of some business that has been hanging around.
First, the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame is seeking nominations for its Class of 2017. Some people might have the impression that the Hall’s Board of Directors sits around and decides who’s going to be inducted but that is not the case. There is a nomination process in place, and a Selection Committee and neither can work if people aren’t nominated.
So, this means that if you — and you must be a racing fan if you’re reading this column — know of someone who’s made a significant contribution to Canadian motorsport as a driver, pit crew member, organizer, reporter, marshal, track owner or whatever, please go to the Hall of Fame’s website — www.cmhf.ca — and click on 2017 nominations. Follow the instructions and voila, it’s easy to take it from there.
Now, you can’t just download the nomination form and write in, “I think you should induct good, old Charlie because he’s a really nice guy.” You have to contact the person you want to nominate and collect all the information you can on their career and include it all when you submit the form.
Nominations will close in March, so I would urge you not to procrastinate.
I don’t know of a race fan anywhere who doesn’t know of at least one person who should be considered for induction. I mean, I’m a race fan and I can think of three or four people right off the bat.
So let’s get going on this. Time’s a-wastin’.
Now, I’m reading a fascinating book these days — rereading it, in fact — written about a man who is a truly wonderful Canadian success story. Born into poverty out west, he started in the world of commerce selling radio ads in London, Ont., and wound up creating, developing and managing a public relations firm called Campbell and Co. that counted among its clients the Ford Motor Co.
The guy’s name is Rod Campbell, he lives in California and — among other things, many other things, in fact — he’s a walking encyclopedia of why corporations enter into sponsorship arrangements in racing in order to publicize their brand and maximize their bottom line.
The reason I started to reread the book — called Rod, incidentally, and you can’t buy it because it’s never been released commercially — was because Nature’s Bakery, which signed on in NASCAR last year to sponsor Danica Patrick, has allegedly reneged on its commitment and now Stewart-Haas Racing is suing for millions of dollars that the company had reportedly promised to pay in 2017.
Now, I could never figure out why Nature’s Bakery — Danica Patrick aside — ever contracted with NASCAR in the first place. I’m not saying the company shouldn’t have been in racing, but Indy cars or sports cars would seem — seem — to suit their demographic more than stock car racing ever could.
Why?
Because Nature’s Bakery manufactures fig bars. They even have gluten-free fig bars, made (according to its website) with a blend of ancient grains — amaranth, sorghum, and teff. This did not, and does not, seem to be a fit with NASCAR fans who would seem to be more of a beer and pizza crowd. I might be wrong but I don’t think so.
As Campbell says in his book, most corporations get into car racing because the guy at the top likes it. But it can get interesting when there’s either a change at the top or else the sponsorship doesn’t bring the expected economic benefits. I think the most famous example of executive change came in 1985 when the late Carl Haas signed an $85 million deal with Beatrice Foods for a CART and Formula 1 effort that was to last for three years. The deal was signed and the very next year Beatrice was broken up into parts and some of it was sold and the new CEO said, “We signed a deal to do WHAT???” There was an escape clause and Beatrice paid Haas some money but that was the end of that.
I’m not suggesting that this is what happened here (Nature’s Bakery is a father-and-son business) but a company doesn’t enter into a sponsorship arrangement to lose money and I bet that’s what happened. It will be interesting to read how the court case turns out, unless there’s some kind of out-of-court settlement first, which is likely.
Meantime, it’s said that between a third and a half of all NASCAR fans are women and if that’s true I don’t know why Stewart-Haas isn’t going after that advertising segment to sponsor Patrick. I mean, despite what the haters say, she can drive a race car at speed and she does a great job representing sponsors. Pick up any women’s magazine and she’s in it, advertising some female product or other.
Now, that would be a better fit for NASCAR than Nature’s Bakery, any day of the week.
*It’s the Advance Auto Parts Clash now, but it will always be the Busch Clash to me …
nmcdonald@thestar.ca
nmcdonald@thestar.ca
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