Opinion on Micheal Waltrip's car

[EricBrill33]

So what are your guys opinions on the whole thing with Michael Waltrip buying Derrick Cope's car for the Coca-Cola 600? I think that it is kind of cheap that he is allowed to buy out a car even though he wasn't quick enough to start the race. Nascar is turning into having more money then it is having talent. And on this note, does anybody know how much Waltrip paid for the car?

[W. J.]

He got a lot less than he paid for, and just what he deserved. The winner was Derrike Cope and his team. Buying a ride is not new, just another silly thing that people do to keep their names in the forefront. And yes, there is way too much money in NASCAR that is spent on frivolity, and this is a prime example.

[KickItUp]

This is nothing new.. This happens on our level too at Riverhead.. There is nothing wrong with it in my opinion.. It will only happen if someone decides to sell their ride.. If money means more to them than a race that night, so be it.. It isn't of any fault of the guy buying the ride.. You should be looking at the guy and team who sold out. I feel if you can convince the guy to sell his ride, why not? Now if NASCAR made Cope sell the ride, then there should be an issue.. But this, this I don't think should be a headline.. As far as money buying in over talent, in my personal opinion, I think Waltrip has a ton more talent than Cope..

One more thing, I figured NAPA paid for the ride, not Waltrip..

[W. J.]

One more thing, I figured NAPA paid for the ride, not Waltrip..

I think TOYOTA paid for the ride.

[Duke22]

Hey kictitup, do you really think Michael Waltrip has "a ton more talent" then Derrike Cope? I'm not a Cope fan, but he did win the Daytona 500 and Dover 500 in the same year with a good Bob Whitcomb team. Granted Michael has won at Daytona and Talladega, but I think that was more driving a superior car at the time than talent. Michael never won a points race on a track where you had to let off and actually race. Michael is a great personality, but I think he rode his brother's reputation more than having talent. Just my opinion, that's what this is all about.

[AnneMarie]

Michael did this for his sponsor NAPA and for NAPA only. He was obligated and felt responsible to live up to his potential to them. He did this to prove his dedication to them and he did the right thing as a car owner and driver to give them the proper acknowledgement that he promised to them. Especially having moved from one car owner to the next, Michael felt justified in owning up to his responsibility to them. Michael is proving to that this sport would be nothing if not for the fans and sponsors. There is more in an article in the local NC papers here and I will post that once I locate it. Everyone here is pretty impressed with what he did for his sponsor, regardless of the outcome. I'll find the article and post.

SEE BELOW:

Sponsor loyalties rule decisions like Waltrip's
By David Newton, NASCAR.COM
May 28, 2006
01:02 AM EDT (05:02 GMT)




CONCORD, N.C. -- Rick Hendrick can't remember buying his way into a Cup race as Michael Waltrip did for Sunday's Coca-Cola 600, but he can understand the motivation.

Sponsorship.

"We've got 5,000 Lowe's employees here,'' said Hendrick, who has won the past four points races at Lowe's Motor Speedway with Jimmie Johnson in the Lowe's-sponsored Chevrolet. "This is where these sponsors bring their people to have an event.


Michael Waltrip is associated with NAPA. Credit: Autostock

BUYING A RIDE
It'll look like Michael Waltrip's No. 55 NAPA car, and he'll be driving it in the Coca-Cola 600. But behind that paint scheme is really the No. 74 Dodge of Derrike Cope.


"If we didn't make the race it would be a really awkward deal not to have a car in there. I feel [Waltrip's] pain, because I know that would be a disaster for your sponsor.''

What Waltrip did is not much different than when Joe Gibbs Racing made a deal to put the FedEx paint scheme on Bobby Labonte's Interstate Batteries-sponsored car after Jason Leffler failed to qualify for last year's 600 in which FedEx had a powerful corporate presence.

"Ours probably cost a little more than his did,'' J.D. Gibbs, the president of JGR, said jokingly. "The bottom line is the sponsor, you've got to make it work.

"It's a hard, hard situation. Give credit to Michael. He's committed to his sponsor and he sucked it up and paid to make it happen.''

Waltrip made it clear that buying the right to drive Derrike Cope's car was to satisfy NAPA, his primary sponsor, not because he needed to extend his streak of consecutive Cup races to 262.

"We just needed to have the NAPA car on the track,'' Waltrip said. "The story is told that Michael bought his way into the race. Michael got NAPA in the race is what we did.''


Michael Waltrip wasn't much better in this car. Credit: Autostock

COCA-COLA 600
Michael Waltrip struggled in his two practice sessions Saturday in the No. 55, er No. 74 Dodge.

• Second Practice Speeds
• Happy Hour Speeds


Michael Waltrip will take Derrike Cope's place in the Coca-Cola 600 lineup, starting 43rd.

• Race Lineup


Sponsorship always has been a big part of NASCAR. It's how teams pay the estimated $12 million to $18 million it takes to run a Cup team and why NASCAR made a rule where the top-35 teams in owner points are guaranteed a spot in the field.

Waltrip was 36th in owner points, 35th in driver points.

"This is not the way we're going to do business, but if it happens we'll cross that bridge when we get to it,'' said Waltrip, who will field two Toyota teams next season. "If it didn't work out here at Charlotte it isn't the end of the world.''

Rising costs have made keeping sponsors happy increasingly tough. That was evident listening to Waltrip's explanation for buying Cope's spot in the 43-car field.

It also was evident as Hendrick announced a new three-year deal in which Kellogg's and Carquest will be co-primary sponsors, not one primary and one secondary as they have been, on Kyle Busch's car so neither will be left out of a race.

Hendrick said this could be a wave of the future.

"What I'm trying to get away from is when you have paint-outs,'' Hendrick said of changing the entire paint scheme of a car for a sponsor. "Some teams have paint-outs where the sponsor the week before wasn't even on the car.

NO. 5 CO-PRIMARIES
Kellogg Co. and Carquest Auto Parts announced a three-year deal with Hendrick Motorsports that secures the two companies as co-primary sponsors of the No. 5 Chevrolet driven by Kyle Busch in the Cup Series.

• Complete story, click here


"This is my first attempt at trying to get two dominant sponsors the same equal billing on one car.''

The paint scheme basically will be the same every week with only the sponsor identity flopping between the hood and quarterpanel.

The biggest difference for the sponsors is neither has to pay as much, but Hendrick still gets all he needs to run the team.

"Kellogg's deal was up this year and we started negotiating and said these are two options: You can have whole car, or this is what it'd cost you as co-primary,'' he said. "They had a little heartburn.

"Not heartburn but the more they looked at it, the more they felt it was the way to go.''


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Hendrick said the beauty of the deal is if Busch wins the Daytona 500 with Carquest on the hood, Kellogg's can shoot pictures of the victory celebration from the side and get full exposure for its company.

And vice versa.

"So I think it's going to work out extremely well,'' he said.

Gibbs said he has approached his sponsors about similar deals.

"If you've got companies that match up, it is the best way to go,'' he said.

The difference in Hendrick's deal and one like Richard Childress has with Goodwrench and Reese's is the car is painted black for Goodwrench and orange for Reese's.

But Childress agreed that sponsorship deals such as Hendrick's are the direction the sport is headed.

"It's tough,'' he said of selling sponsorships. "And it's going to be tougher next year [with Toyota coming in].''

Childress said sponsors pay for 60 to 75 percent of the funding for each of his three teams -- the No. 29 of Kevin Harvick, No. 07 of Clint Bowyer and No. 31 of Jeff Burton.


"Then you've got to lean on winnings, earnings, souvenir sales, endorsements,'' he said. "That's where you make up the balance. It's hard to get $18 million in one company.''

But when you do have a top sponsor, keeping it happy as Waltrip did NAPA for the 600 is key.

"The reason why I'm here today and running this race is because of my commitment to NAPA and making sure people understand and realize they're a big part of this sport,'' Waltrip said. "I want to make sure they're well represented in every way I can.

"They looked to me and said, 'What are we going to do now?' I said we're going to race on Sunday night. They said, 'Good, that's what we want to do.'''

[RGeeProductions]

Thanks AnneMarie!!!

[Jones44]

The best part of this story is that Derrike Cope receives the owner's points from the race! :lol:

[W. J.]

The only thing I wonder about here is if he "bought Cope's car" or did he buy Cope's starting position? If he bought the car, he (or anyone else in the future) should have to drive that actual car.

[The Bullfather]

He drove Cope's car. It was the Dodge Intrepid, and not the usual Dodge Charger Mikey drives! Probabaly the last time we'll see an Intrepid on the track for a race in Nextel Cup!

[Drumz1959]

They just changed motors in Cope's car.

[maestri fan 1]

Funny I was at the race and during happy hour he was driving a #55 Dodge Charger.