Jay Frye has a daunting task in front of him. Frye has served as the General Manager at Red Bull Racing since 2008, and has been effective when he is allowed to make decisions. Unfortunately, I do not believe he had the influence he needed in order to turn this organization into a consistent threat on the race track. Now, after the energy drink company owned by the dude with the long last name decided to abandon NASCAR, Frye is left as the man trying to salvage the team, not only for himself, but for the hundreds of employees that would be forced to the unemployment line.
Realistically, if Frye does pull off a miracle, not every current Red Bull employee will be saved. There will likely be some casualties. However, the damage will be less severe.
Frye has already revealed his intentions to seek investors, as well as sponsors. He even appears confident he can keep the team afloat without the full support of Red Bull.
"We have talked to some people who have great enthusiasm for what we're doing...We believe we can put something together rather quickly in 30 to 45 days," Frye said.
This situation is somewhat similar to the quandry Richard Petty found himself in last fall. While the Red Bull company is not a financially sinking ship like the Gillette family, the two parties have one thing in common; they are not NASCAR people. Petty and Frye are NASCAR people. That is precisely why Petty fought so hard to keep the team afloat. That is precisely why Frye plans to follow Petty's path.
Petty will admit that it was difficult, but he lined up investors and retained sponsors. The team is actually performing well on the track. But, if it was difficult for a NASCAR legend such as Petty, imagine the task at hand for Frye, who is not a NASCAR legend. If Frye can make this happen, this team would become a sentimental favorite in the garage.
What I would like to see happen is a partnership with Frye and NASCAR driver Mark Martin, along with a group of investors. If they can land secure sponsorship, Martin and Frye can become the next Tony Stewart and Gene Haas. At the moment, Martin is not one of the potential investors. With Martin's will to drive, and love for the sport, I believe he will factor into this equation before it is all said and done.
1 comment:
The model for what Frye needs to do is not Petty but Ross Brawn's acquistion of the former Honda F1 team. That worked well, he made a lot of money and a world championship. Then sold the team to Mercedes for even more money.
If this operation is going next year it will be because of Hendrick, nothing else.
The only thing of value to one of the megateams will be the top 35 points which will ensure a start in each race. Without that no major sponsor will risk their money.
Post a Comment