Jack Roush says he takes new rule personally

[BengalszoneBilly]

Right...Nascar isn't gunning for Roush now. Neither were our forces gunning for Saddam Huessien in the Gulf war. It's another case of an organizations buracracy getting in the way of free enterprise. Instead of doing something negative like hindering the larger teams, they instead should be working with the smaller teams and help them achieve the same results.

Anyway here's the article:

Roush on NASCAR car limit: I take it personally

Nov. 11, 2005

CBS SportsLine.com wire reports

AVONDALE, Ariz. -- Jack Roush feels NASCAR is out to get him with a rule limiting a car owner to four teams.

"I take it personally," Roush said Friday. "They tell me it's not personal but I'm the only guy standing here with five teams who is making them work."

In between Friday's Nextel Cup practices for Saturday's qualifying at Phoenix International Raceway, NASCAR chairman Brian France and President Mike Helton tried to put a little flesh on the bare bones of the policy announced Thursday.

"I can understand that," France said of Roush's consternation. "He is the only one with five teams, so it's very understandable he's disappointed. But this is not focused on Jack Roush. He just happens to be the guy who stands out and is affected most."

Roush Racing has three sponsorship contracts that run through 2009 and one that goes through 2011. Its other deal is to sponsor Carl Edwards, the breakout star of 2005 who has won the past two races and is third in the Chase for the Nextel Cup standings, and that runs through 2008.

Roush Racing President Geoff Smith said NASCAR says the team will be allowed to honor its contracts. Smith also wants any sponsors or drivers who're in those deals to be allowed to continue beyond the current terms if they choose.

France and Helton wouldn't commit to that.

"The idea is to have a transition that's as soft of a landing as possible" for Roush, France said. "We're not looking to penalize him for anything he has in place. But there has to be at some point a transition to get him where everybody else has to be. We will work to get him to that without crippling his organization."

Roush, who said the policy felt like NASCAR would "be making it up as we go along," sees a more sinister intent.

"The WWF had its ways of determining who is going to win and what the ranking is," said Roush, who apparently doesn't see much pro wrestling these days. WWF is now WWE, but you get the point.

"Maybe NASCAR, behind the scenes, is trying to do the same thing. They brought it out just at a time when we were starting the Chase. If they wanted to cause distractions to my teams, to create anxiety among my drivers, create a question in my sponsors as to my viabilityand the prospects of Roush Racing going forward, they would do exactly what they have done."

France said he's confident NASCAR can determine who owns what so the new policy can be applied fairly. While the four-team limit on any car owner is a "hard cap," he said, that doesn't mean multicar teams will be prevented from helping new teams get into the sport by selling them engines, chassis or other equipment, or offering other assistance.

"We don't want to put such a moat around the teams that it can't assist us bring new teams in," France said.

He said NASCAR must look "around the corner" to keep multicar teams from growing to eight, nine or 10 teams and creating an even bigger barrier to potential new car owners.

"You don't want a new team owner to think he has to climb Mount Everest to have a winning team," France said. "Not everybody can climb Mount Everest."

Helton said a four-team limit by itself doesn't remove that barrier. Other rules, like a new testing policy that limits teams to six tests at designated Cup tracks beginning next year, are also part of lowering that threshold.

"It has been since 1994 that a single-car team owner has won a championship," Helton said. "If we allowed the current trend to keep going, down the road 10 years we might be saying that it has been since 2005 than a car owner with two teams has won a title."

[Kirkendall]

You think that NASCAR should give the smaller teams a boost rather than capping the teams within one organization?

[bengalboomer7]

Now I know that by definition this wouldn't be right, but doesn't Roush have kind of a monopoly going on in Nascar. And aren't monopolies bad?

[Kirkendall]

Now I know that by definition this wouldn't be right, but doesn't Roush have kind of a monopoly going on in Nascar. And aren't monopolies bad?

Well it's not a monopoly, others have won too and a monopoly would suggest they've won 34 races this season -- although it's pretty close. Bill is right in terms of free market/enterprise working here getting oppressed but at the same time, I'm with NASCAR in that they want other teams to find some level of success.

But this has been NASCAR for years.. a few teams dominate, the rest are "provisionals".

Personally I'd hate to be NASCAR with this issue.

Pros of capping teams:

- more participation, more sponsers, more $$$. But most importantly, it'll create more competition with more rivalries.

Cons of capping teams:

- Reduces free market, innovation, etc..

If NASCAR wants to drive the sport, let the drivers be the people they are.

Not some living corporate sponser when each and every interview is: "yea, the (enter sponser here) (enter car make here) was pretty good today. The guys at the shop gave me a real good car"

Unless they wreck, the interview goes like this: "yea, the (enter sponser here) (enter car make here) was pretty good today. The guys at the shop gave me a real good car. It's just too bad we couldn't bring home a better result"

Give me Robbie Gordon's "piece of s**t", or Smoke's honesty. Or Biffle's accusations and I'll show you a happy fan sitting right here on this nice 3-cushion Maytag couch watching my great Magnavox television with services provided by Time Warner cable which all works with Cinergy electricity.

[bengalboomer7]

Yeah, that Auto Zone, Mac Tools, Time Warner, Kodiak, jack Daniels, Sprint, Radio Shack, Levitra Chevy ran real good today

[BengalszoneBilly]

If NASCAR wants to drive the sport, let the drivers be the people they are.

Not some living corporate sponser when each and every interview is: "yea, the (enter sponser here) (enter car make here) was pretty good today. The guys at the shop gave me a real good car"

Unless they wreck, the interview goes like this: "yea, the (enter sponser here) (enter car make here) was pretty good today. The guys at the shop gave me a real good car. It's just too bad we couldn't bring home a better result."

Give me Robbie Gordon's "piece of s**t", or Smoke's honesty. Or Biffle's accusations and I'll show you a happy fan sitting right here on this nice 3-cushion Maytag couch watching my great Magnavox television with services provided by Time Warner cable which all works with Cinergy electricity.

Hell yeah! Josh! I WANT to see the real drivers, not some sanatized faker in front of the camera. I WANT to hear Junior say "s**t" once in a while ***dammit! This is "Nascar," you pantywaisted pu**ies! Not "Needlepoint!" And don't give me that cop out that you don't want your kids to hear it, because if you think they ain't heard it once or twice already in their lives, you're just in denial. As a young kidI remember the first cursing I ever heard, and it never caused me to immediately start cursing too! (I saved it all up for this stage of my life!) I just talked as I always talked, and just added those words to my ever growing dictionary in my head. NOT to my list of words utilized in my daily vanacular! If your kids are that weak minded, their cursing isn't the #1 thing you need to be concerened about for them. Helping them catch the short bus to school every day is!

Another thing...give me a few teams that dominate most the others for a few years. That way I get to see payback in spades when the shoe goes on the other foot! Richard Petty did it in the '70, and Nascar thrived. Dale Earnhardt did it from the mid '80's into the '90's. Nascar thrived again! Jeff Gordon did it from the early '90's until recently, and Nascar again thrived! You take away Nascar's "Bad Guy" that everyone hates, and wants to see lose or wreck, and you've taken away their reason for watching in Nascar the first place Einstein!

So all that being said, what was this "major" problem we're talking about, because I sure don't see it! If nothing else Roush and Hendricks are pushing these other teams and owners to improve, or get out of the game, and these established "good old boys" don't like it!! They're pissed a Yankee from Michigan is coming down from north of the Mason-Dixon line and showing them how to "Git-R-Done!"

The way I see it, the advantage isn't totally in the number of Roush Cars and the extra testing derived from it! Look at Tony Stewart. He races for little ol' two car Joe Gibbs Racing, and they ain't afraid of Roush racing! Why? They're just as good as they are. Even with just 2 cars. Look at the standings! If nothing else proves my point, that does!The Roush driver are all still chasing Tony. So the issue obviously isn't numbers. Never was. It's about someone who's smarter and better coming in and making someone else look bad, and they don't like it. Think about it! How is this whole situation any different whatsoever than all these new young drivers coming in and doing the same thing to Nascars seasoned veteran drivers. They're threatening the Old Schoolers with their success, effectively telling them, "You better start driving better and winning some races, or I'll smoke your ass and take your big sponsorship ride while you head on up and join Darrell in the booth!

My whole point is it's not about the quantity of cars a team has. It's about quality, and the quality teams are dominating, wheather they are the 2 car team of Joe Gibbs Racing, or the 5 car team of Roush racing. It doesn't matter. Quality always shines through! No matter how many rules you throw up trying to stifle it! If nothing else this is personally pissing off Jack Roush, and making him even MORE determined to drive his teams to excell to even greater heights, just to make sure Mike Helton and his band of idiots (seemingly now...their creation of "The Chase" was pure genius!) get no satisfaction whatsoever from these new rules changes!

I just might fire a copy of this off to those writers at Nascar.com, and see if they can deal with it!