Davis: NASCAR thinks it does not need manufacturers
As I sat down recently with Dan Davis, Ford's director of racing technology, my first question was: Does Ford have to be in NASCAR?
"I don't think we have to be in it," Davis replied. "You look at all the options for marketing money and decide where do you get the most leverage out of the money that you spend.
"I view NASCAR as being primarily motorsports entertainment. There are 75 million NASCAR fans who buy a lot of American products. They're pretty loyal to brands and drivers they root for, so [NASCAR] is a huge opportunity to reach that fan who buys our product.
"We're going to spend our marketing money on what we think is the best. Right now, that's motorsports."
Ford's position takes on more pertinence with General Motors' financial troubles. On Tuesday, GM chairman Rick Wagoner said the company will sell assets worth up to $4 billion (including the Hummer brand), borrow $2 billion to $3 billion and lay off an unspecified number of salaried employees. Wagoner said GM will ensure liquidity by raising up to $15 billion by the end of next year.
With GM facing bankruptcy rumors, observers wonder whether the company will reduce or eliminate its commitments to racing. According to Auto Week magazine, GM spends about $80 million annually in NASCAR.
Andrew Giangola, NASCAR's New York-based director of business communications, said yesterday: "[GM's] relationship with us is unchanged. GM remains an important and valued NASCAR partner. Each of the vehicle manufacturers participating in the sport are very important to NASCAR's success.
"With Chevy, no other manufacturer has won more races in NASCAR. We think they agree that the sport is a very strong platform to raise awareness of their vehicles. Our research shows that NASCAR fans are three times more likely to purchase a vehicle from one of the manufacturers competing in NASCAR vs. manufacturers that aren't in the sport."
Davis believes that NASCAR thinks it could run the series without the manufacturers' support.
"I think there is a view that the sport could do just fine without manufacturers," he said. "I'm not agreeing with them, but they might be right."
Referring to the Car of Tomorrow now in use in the Sprint Cup Series, Davis said: "A lot of the distinguishing things that a manufacturer can do have been taken away from us. [The cars] have become a lot more common."
NASCAR could stage races without manufacturer support, but it's questionable whether the top teams could continue spending big bucks on engineering and research and development. Sponsors also might trim their financial support.
Davis said there's no guarantee Ford will stay in NASCAR forever.
"If conditions got to the point where we felt the expense to be here and be competent, [if] more money was being spent than returned – especially if there's a competing marketing initiative that would give you a better return – we'd be hard pressed to keep spending money [in NASCAR]," he said.
"We review the budgets every year in NASCAR [and other series]. We look at the leverage we're getting and decide: Is this something we want to keep doing, or is there a better way to spend our money?"
For decades, a theme among manufacturers in racing was "win on Sunday, sell on Monday." Davis thinks such loyalty is waning.
"But it's still pretty strong," he said.
Davis is retiring Aug. 1 after 32 years with Ford. His successor is Brian Wolfe, a 26-year Ford veteran. In part from Philadelphia Daily News