It’s not for lack of success, but a car brand is being pulled out of NASCAR racing. Lynn Myers, general manager of Pontiac-GMC announced this week that the Indian would not be involved in NASCAR’s premier series in 2004.
Chevrolet will represent General Motors on the Nextel Cup circuit. Myers said the move is part of GM’s effort at focusing its racing activities. He said that Pontiac will develop other racing and marketing programs.
Pontiac won the Winston Cup with Tony Steward last season and Bobby Labonte in 2000, both Joe Gibbs Racing Team members. Both also were switched to Chevys this year.
An Associated Press story says that Stewart spent his whole championship season complaining about the aerodynamics of the Pontiac compared to Chevy, Ford and Dodge.
Really, I’ve never understood why GM had two different brands in NASCAR anyway. Tony Stewart’s opinion not withstanding, there can’t be that much aerodynamic difference between them. The cars, at least the production line versions, are virtually identical.
Of course, under the skin, there is nothing in common between the Pontiac, (or Chevy, Ford or Dodge) that you buy at your local dealer and the one that you see racing Sunday afternoon.
There is less difference between the Cup versions of Pontiac, Chevy, Ford, Dodge than there is between the racing version and production version of an individual make. Take a good look, disregarding the logos and painted on badges, and all the Cup cars look alike.
If there are differences, they result from the things learned and tweaked by individual teams, not by differences in brands.
So, with Pontiac retiring from NASCAR, ESPN columnist Jerry Bonkowski is suggesting that the “R” word is looming over many of the sport’s household names.
Bonkowski ties the change in sponsorship to the setting suns of several veteran careers. He predicts that, over the next year or two, some of the greatest names in the sport will be dropping out.
He said that, along with the late Dale Earnhardt, these guys helped build NASCAR into the giant it is today. But, Time is creeping up on them.
Bonkowski says that the list includes Bill Elliott, who is 48, Ken Shrader, 48; Rusty Wallace and Ricky Rudd (both 47), Terry Labonte and Dale Jarrett, (both 47 next month) and Sterling Marlin, Jimmy Spencer and Mike Skinner (all 46).
He notes that the veterans account for more than 200 years of racing experience. They also are among the most popular and recognizable sports stars in the country. Without a doubt.
I would wager that, here in the Midwest, no one can identify nine members of the New York Yankees or Florida Marlins, but most anyone could recognize nine or more NASCAR drivers.
Now Jerry Bonkowski must be a generation younger than I. It doesn’t seem like all that many years ago I bemoaned the fact that guys like Darrell Waltrip, Cale Yarborough, David Pearson, Fred Lorenzen, Ned Jarrett and Richard Petty were disappearing from the track.
The passage of time … still beats the alternative.