Geoff Smith wants to keep 5 teams

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CONCORD, N.C. – Roush Fenway Racing President Geoff Smith thinks NASCAR should rescind or at least delay implementation of a rule that would force the outfit to cut one of its Sprint Cup teams after the 2009 season.

“We’re going to have to [cut down to four] if NASCAR still thinks the prospect of potentially losing the team is worth the principle of shrinking us to four,” Smith said Thursday during the Sprint Media Tour presented by Lowe’s Motor Speedway. “I certainly would be hoping that people would be taking a look at what the impact the economy is in the sport and how people survive in the sport.

“The performance on the race track has so much to do with maintaining sponsorship. It always has been, but it’s really very visible right now that the performers are the ones that have been able to keep their money. Owners of multiple cars that know how to operate race teams in general perform better than other people, so there’s a deeper competitive field even though there’s fewer owners.”

A NASCAR spokesman said Thursday morning that there will be no reconsideration.

Smith called attention to the number of mergers and new affiliations that have taken place in the last year as a sign of the changes in the sport since NASCAR announced plans for the rule change.

“If you are a clear-headed person taking a look at the sport and where the teams are and the difficulties that we’re all going to have in 2009 going forward to 2010, that it is something you would think one would want to revisit,” Smith said. “I don’t know why they reacted, honestly, in the first place. It was some vision that was misplaced about how to get new owners in the business.

“It’s a difficult business to be in. It is economically very difficult even in the best of times. It takes a lot of capital to get people trained and get engines developed. It requires cooperative combinations to make it work.”

NASCAR announced a four-team limit in November 2005 but gave Roush Fenway until the end of 2009 to make its cut because of the contracts the organization already had in place.

“If they struggle this year to have full 43-car fields for the Sprint Cup Series and if it appears that by my going back to four teams rather than five that a sponsor would leave the series rather than accept an assignment to another team – either to one of the Wood Brothers team or a fourth team [at] Yates team or one of the Hall of Fame teams – there is certainly something for them to think about,” team co-owner Jack Roush said.

“I’ve got no encouragement at all that the issue is open. As far as I know it is a closed issue, and in 2010 we’ll be back to four.”

Roush said he did intend to “sell” a team, but Smith said moving a team won’t be simple.

“Just saying you’re going to move something doesn’t mean that the drivers and the sponsors will go along with that scenario,” Smith said. “The value of the team relates to the points, relates to the fact that the crew is trained and has got the right equipment and assets to be competitive, but it doesn’t mean very much unless there is money around the team from sponsorships and a driver that is willing to [move].”

Roush said he could make his program work with four teams.

“It was discriminatory when they came down with it since I was the only program that had five teams, and they decided to tax me for that,” Roush said. “If that tax winds up being bad for the sport overall, they’ll have to think about that and think about whether changing their mind and losing face is offset by the fact that a sponsor might otherwise stay and we might have one more team in service.”

~Scene Daily

I can't agree more. In the current situation, it would be stupid for NASCAR to kick a team out when they can't even find 43 teams to race (competitively).

The rule should have been a 5-car cap anyway, not four... Jack already had 5 when this stupid rule was made.

NASCAR says cap more important now than ever, won't reconsider - ARTICLE

Had Nascar done the right thing, the limit would have been 3. Nascar got mad for Jack getting all 5 into their precious chase and this is their way of payback.

The limit couldn't be 3 - that would mean that RICK HENDRICK would have to drop a team! Can't let that happen!

FordGT wrote:

Nascar got mad for Jack getting all 5 into their precious chase and this is their way of payback.

Kind of odd how NASCAR said that right after that particular season (was it?).

I'm somewhat devided as to how many cars a team can have? I think I tend to lean towards a 3 cap limit myself?

But, I have a suggestion for Mr. Roush.
The Wood Bros. are struggling, why not put your 5th car over in their garage, and help them out in the process.

If you recall, Roush used to support the Wood Bros. and I think it was after McSwain came over to the Wood Bros camp that things deteriorated?

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If you recall, Roush used to support the Wood Bros. and I think it was after McSwain came over to the Wood Bros camp that things deteriorated?

That's correct. Roush used the Woods as there test team. They got all the test stuff. I don't think the Woods want to do that again. When Fatback came on board he wanted to build his own stuff. That's when things deteriorated. His stuff was better then what they were getting from Jack.

I'm gonna go with you on the 3 cap limit. I think that was the original goal? Then team found ways of getting around it....suddenly Gordon owned the #48 and Mrs. Team own owned a car or some relative .... etc.

With the way it is now, it's only a matter of time before NASCAR will franchise the teams. Soon it will be 11 four car teams. ~JMO

The old rule was 2 cars per owner, but the owners just listed their wives, executives, drivers, etc. as owners of the cars to bypass that rule.

Who knows, but I'm sure the cap would be 5 if it were not Roush who had the 5.