Rubbin' is Racin': Fans v. Ginn Racing

Ginn Racing's decision to cut veterans Joe Nemechek and Sterling Marlin was "sponsor driven." I suspect that the majority of fans accept that. That doesn't mean we to have to like it. And we don't:

Both Marlin and Nemechek are among the most popular drivers in the Nextel Cup garage. When word of their firings became public yesterday, internet message boards lit up with comments critical of Ginn Racing. Ginn's own Fan Forum was shut down late Tuesday, after fans clogged it with scathing criticism of the team.

Where is the respect for our elders?
It's hard not to be critical of a team firing two veteran drivers maintaining position in the top 35 in owner points in the middle of the season. But the move is far from surprising--with change in ownership usually comes a change in key personnel.

Bobby Ginn could have fired Marlin and Nemechek when he first took majority interest in MB2 Motorsports. Apparently, it took him a year to determine that the future of his company lies not in experience of aging leftovers, but in the promise of youth.

The team is at least grateful:

"We appreciate everything that Joe and Sterling have done for us. They have been a class act."

Whoop dee doo.

Is Ginn a class act?
NASCAR fans aren't the only ones mad at Ginn. Investors of Ginn's real estate ventures have filed a class action lawsuit alleging they were misled and defrauded in property purchases:

[The lot owners] say they are entitled to and they are demanding rescission of the contracts and that Ginn repurchase the properties and reimburse them for all carrying costs.

The plaintiffs believe all Ginn affiliated entities were set up and run for the exclusive purpose of raising money from unsuspecting purchasers, like plaintiffs, for the benefit of Ginn and its affiliates.

The suit further alleges that Ginn created a complicated maze of companies to be used in marketing, soliciting and promoting properties to potential purchaser in order to avoid scrutiny of U.S. regulators.

According to the suit, Ginn, at the same time, perpetuated a "ponzi scheme" in which returns to investors were not financed through the success of the underlying business venture, but were taken from principal sums of newly attracted purchasers such as plaintiffs.

These are just allegations, of course, but it's not just one person saying it ... it's 99 of them saying they've been had. I've suddenly become quite skeptical of the way Ginn does business. What about you?

NASCAR has sold out
Regardless of Ginn's business practices, the inability to secure sponsorship for Nemechek and Marlin underscores a bigger issue of how dependent upon marketing the sport has become. But we knew that already. Oftentimes the NASCAR community benefits from the emphasis on marketing. Not this time. Or so it seems today. The future is still bright for Regan Smith and Aric Almirola.

What others are thinking
Ginn decision a shame
Kyle Petty and Harry Gant's 2 Cents about Ginn Racing
You have to feel for Marlin and Nemechek
Change is hard, if inevitable

Previously on Fanhouse
Almirola Bails on Gibbs, Headed to Ginn
DEI Ginn Merger 2007 and Beyond
Ginn Racing Downsizing to One Cup Team?

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

7-21-2007 @ 5:12PM

sandie said...

I hate to see two very good veteran drivers treated this way by Ginn Racing. Shame on them.

7-21-2007 @ 5:19PM

Amirola I wish you the best of luck. I am sure that you will not be put out of a car you qualified and are winning a race in to accommodate a crying Denny Hamlin. GOOD LUCK!! I think you have skill and will be a great driver. Gibbs has two really big babies...Hamlin and Stewart to stick pacifiers in their mouths. Watch and laugh as the two crybabies crash each other!!

7-22-2007 @ 8:38AM

steve owens said...

It would seem to me this would be a great oppertunity for M. Waltrip to hire one of these drivers for the rest of the season maybe both of them, your thoughts

7-23-2007 @ 8:56AM

Michael can use all the help he can get on his teams.

7-24-2007 @ 9:03AM

PoDiddy said...

What I don't understand is this: Joe and Sterling have contracts with Ginn Racing, right? Sterling even mentioned this in a statement he made. So Ginn is still paying these guys, but they aren't racing. How does that make sense? Did Ginn also fire all of the crew and shop people? Something doesn't add up...

7-24-2007 @ 9:08AM

7-25-2007 @ 9:43PM

Timmie said...

Well since DEI and Ginn made their big deal here.. Seems like several drivers have been affected by it. I think Ginn was said to have a pretty good stable and could take on more.. Congrats to you Dale Jr. for not taking this ride from Ginn!!! Just look at where you would end back up. I would like to say, that for the most, that have been so politely let GO, that indeed what Sponsors, did they have? Oh you DEI needed the extra place, as the Garage Mahaul, was not big enough, nor Paul Menard, just can't seem to get into the field on his qualifing runs. Now is this indeed what Dale Earnhardt Sr. wanted for that big and roomy place, or does Teresa, think she knows best? Oh while on topic, what happened to RCR?? Is he still in the picture, or is he too, casted out? Just crossed my mind there, due to I hope you (Richard) can tend to your own stable, when this woman makes up her mind. Teresa, should have thought about all this before, then her drivers would not have had to struggle their way through. Until Dale Earnhardt Jr. retired from DEI. did I hear much on Martin Truex, funny how this is all breaking down. Dale Sr. was the brains behind DEI, and to bad Teresa would not listen, now she is in talks with so many companies, buying land, shops, cars, points to get Menard into racing.. What a pity. To all my friends up there, you so right, this does not add up!! To Teresa, YOU know what Dale Earnhardt Sr. wanted.. This sure is not it.. You get a big sorry from me, Sterling and Joe.