Costly to Compete

Prior to the 2001 season, NASCAR announced rule changes that would make Busch Series cars more closely resemble their big brothers in Winston Cup. Gone are 9-to-1 compression ratio engines, replaced with 12-to-1 engines—just like Winston Cup.

The new engines generate about 150 more horsepower and 1,200 more rpms over last year’s engines. However, what the Busch Series gained in power it has lost in competitors. Complying with the engine rules has added more stress to already maxed-out budgets and forced some teams to stay home.

No longer do fans see nearly 60 Busch Series teams show up to make a qualifying run. Forty-five cars tried to make the 43-car field at Daytona in February; 40 cars showed up at Darlington in the spring, and 43 cars entered the race at Texas in April.

The rule changes helped fuel rampant inflation in the Busch Series that within the last three years has nearly doubled the cost of running up front. Teams now need $3 million to $5 million a year to compete—the price to run up front in Winston Cup racing not too long ago.

Money Buys Speed

The old adage “money buys speed” is alive and well in the Busch Series. Even Jeff Green’s 2000 championship operation would have lost money if it had to make it on purse, contingency awards and point funds alone. Every team has to have a major sponsor to run competitively.

Even a major sponsor was not enough to put Dale Earnhardt Inc.’s (DEI) team in the black during championship runs in 1998 and 1999. According to Ty Norris, team manager at DEI, when Dale Earnhardt Jr. won those championships, the No. 3 team spent nearly $4 million in 1999 to win the trophy, but lost money.

“We won seven races and the championship in 1998 and three races and the championship in 1999, but we lost money,” Norris says. “We’ve got trophies and two championships to show for it, plus we moved up to Cup. We were lucky we had a boss like Dale Earnhardt who wasn’t afraid of spending his own money to win.”

The cost to compete is rising faster than purses or sponsorship dollars, says Frank Cicci, owner of Cicci-Welliver Racing’s three-car operation with drivers Tim Fedewa, David Green and Hank Parker Jr.

“Cost of inflation in this country is 3 percent, but in Busch, racing inflation is 50 percent,” says Cicci. “You cannot go to a primary sponsor during a bad economy and ask for such an increase. The best you can do is 5-to-10 percent.

“I’m fortunate because I have great primary sponsors for my three teams, but I am concerned about the health of this series. I had a long meeting with NASCAR at Texas (in April) and, to its credit, they are very aware of what’s going on.”

BACE Motorsports owner Bill Baumgardner, whose team won three Busch Series titles in the ’90s—two with Randy LaJoie in 1996-’97 and one with Johnny Benson in 1995—says costs are skyrocketing with no end in sight.

“I don’t know of a single Busch team owner accumulating wealth right now,” says Baumgardner. “In 1997, we were the first team to cut a $2 million sponsorship deal. Now, just five seasons later, the cost has doubled.”

Other team owners echo Baumgardner’s assessment.

“As recent as 1996, our sponsorship was $975,000, and we ran competitively,” says Greg Pollex, owner of Progressive Motorsports. The team fields cars for Jeff Green and Jason Keller.

The bad news is there isn’t an influx of new sponsorship blood flowing into the Busch Series.

Equipment

The new engine rule has been a burden to all teams—even the heavily financed ones.

“At this point (April), we can only get one race per motor with the new rules,” says Cicci. “It cost me $25,000 to $38,000 per engine to convert from last year’s compression ratio. My best advice to NASCAR is to have a moratorium on rule changes for a while.

“NASCAR deals with Ford, General Motors and Dodge—not just us owners. The companies wanted to develop one engine line for all three series. I understand that, but it’s been costly in both financial terms and in man hours.”

“The new motor program has cost me at least $500,000 and it may end up being nearly $1 million,” says Pollex.

No time or money, however, is spent on developing qualifying engines. NASCAR began prohibiting qualifying engines in 1999.

“The system has worked well,” notes John Darby, NASCAR’s Busch Series director. “We really didn’t have a problem with qualifying engines at the beginning of the ’99 season, but it became an issue by the spring. That’s why we took action.”

Engine rule changes aren’t the only item that has squeezed owners’ budgets. Reinvestment in top-grade equipment and tools has burdened teams. Busch Series teams are buying equipment that heretofore only Winston Cup teams bought.

“You have to upgrade your equipment every year to stay in the game,” Pollex says. “We started to invest in research and development during 1999 and a chassis dyno at a cost of over $45,000.”

Personnel

Team owners say they have the toughest time controlling labor costs. Talented crew chiefs can bring in $100,000 to $250,000 a year in salary and can earn more in bonuses.

“Salaries have gone through the roof,” says Cicci. “We did get a bump up from the TV package and other bonus money, but that doesn’t make up for the 50 percent increase that it takes to run Busch this year over two years ago.”

“Salaries have doubled in three years,” says Pollex.

“I have what I think is a handsome bonus program. Our guys made a lot of money last year—as much as some Cup teams. But in some instances, it’s getting ridiculous. Someone offered (crew chief) Harold Holly $100,000 a year more than I pay him.”

“The days of Busch being a middle series, a training ground for Cup at far less cost, are over,” says Baumgardner. “In today’s market, you pay dearly for top talent.”

The new TV deal (NASCAR’s contract with NBC, FOX and TBS) added some new money but not nearly enough, says team owners. The bulk goes to NASCAR, Winston Cup team owners and racetracks, they say.

Busch Series teams now have to operate much like Winston Cup teams—hiring specialized people. It takes about 15 people to run a team today, where not too long ago only seven were required. And teams used to go to the track and get a pick-up crew to pit the car. Now they have to pay for full-time pit crews.

Cost Control

Some NASCAR rules have tried to lower costs for teams, such as the limits on qualifying engines. NASCAR also limits the amount of tires that teams can use during a race. Still, first-class teams spend $200,000 to $300,000 a year on tires.

“You can’t get anywhere complaining about the tire bill, or the hotel bill or the travel bill,” says Cicci. “We achieve tremendous cost savings with our three teams under one roof (43,000 square feet).

“Beyond that, I have been a strong advocate of NASCAR becoming more of a partner in helping us to market the series to corporate sponsors. We aren’t as strong in our marketing as we should be, but NASCAR has made a conscious effort to change that. This season they produced a special video to help teams market to sponsors.”

Darby says NASCAR is listening.

“We work hard to control cost,” he says. “We have a range of teams in Busch from the veteran team one step away from Cup racing, to the entry-level guy from the All-Pro Series who has scraped together enough money to buy a race car hoping to be in the top tier in the series in five years. We watch it (the cost) closely.”

Most owners have high praise for Darby because of his background. Originally from Rockford, Illinois, Darby raced in the American Speed Association (ASA) and began his career as a Street Stock division owner at Rockford Speedway. He knows firsthand the economics of racing.

“NASCAR does listen,” says Pollex, “but change is slow. I’ve raced in Busch almost nine years and have never made a profit. But I have made the commitment to our guys that I will get them what they need to win. Our goal is to break even. In fact, I would do a back flip just to break even at this point.”

NASCAR President Mike Helton says, “The biggest issue in 2001 is the new motor rules. We think it will take some time to sort itself out. Plus, we have fewer Winston Cup drivers in the series this year, so we have fewer cars. But we are 100 percent behind the Busch Series.”

Busch Series team owners—just like in Winston Cup—are universal in their criticism of race purses. Purses have grown substantially in both series, but many team owners want a bigger slice of the pie in the Busch Series.

The TV deal didn’t bring an infusion of cash to the purses as many had expected. Transporters are no less expensive, airline tickets cost the same and hotel prices are the same as in Cup. And the Busch Series is now going to four new venues—replacing tracks such as Hickory Speedway with California, and South Boston with St. Louis, Memphis, Miami, Phoenix and Chicago.

“We need either more purse money or more cost control,” says Pollex. “I cannot go to my primary sponsors and ask them to foot the huge increase in the bill. Plus, the associate sponsors have been slim because of the economy.”

Schedule

Busch Series racing has gained credibility with fans and competitors alike over the last few years. Growth has been nothing less than spectacular in the ’90s, with attendance doubling from 1992 to 1999. Over 2.2 million fans watched Jeff Green capture the series championship in 2000, while just over 1 million spectators attended 31 races in 1992. The 2001 schedule features 33 events at 27 racetracks across the country.

“I am very concerned about time off for our team,” says Pollex. “The harder we work these guys, the less productive they are and possibly less safe in preparation of the car. I strive to give them time off, but the schedule makes it tough.”

Team owners say NASCAR needs to get a better handle on the schedule to help keep costs from getting out of hand. At the end of the year, teams go from Kansas to Charlotte, to Memphis, to Phoenix, to Rockingham and to Miami with only one week off. Many say that’s too much. Plus, some owners want more stand-alone events rather than being tied to a Cup event. Darby has a different perspective.

“The Cup and Busch Series compliment each other. Attendance is through the roof for Busch events. The excitement the fans see at the companion-event weekends spills over to the stand-alone events.”

The Bottom Line

Busch Series team owners say teams need the entire package to be able to run up front: superior equipment; an open-minded crew chief who can communicate well; a talented driver; and finally, a fast and dedicated pit crew—that elusive “team chemistry.”

That combination is not cheap. The cost of that package is rising rapidly. And the new motor program is putting financial pressure on teams like never before—to the extent of weeding out many teams this year.

“The combination of the new engine rule and runaway crew salaries are an awful lot to take at one time,” says Frank Cicci.

But the future still looks bright for the Busch Series. Darby says he feels a great sense of accomplishment as he looks at the face of Busch Series racing on the new horizon.

“The thing that makes me very proud is that we graduated three young stars from the series to Cup in 2000 (Earnhardt Jr., Dave Blaney and Matt Kenseth) and Casey Atwood and Ron Hornaday in 2001. They have increased competition in Cup, and I have watched their own popularity grow. I love to watch these guys mature in our series.”