Team will continue without Jim Beam

[Schwartz Fan]

Robby Gordon says team will continue to race without Jim Beam

DOVER, Del. – Robby Gordon lost one of his bigger sponsors this week, but the driver/owner has several sponsors that should help him handle the departure of Jim Beam.

Gordon said Jim Beam was the primary sponsor for 12 races this year and a to-be-announced sponsor has committed for four of those, leaving him eight to replace from that sponsorship next year.

Menards and Mapei are returning, and Gordon said he has a good opportunity for other sponsors such as Polaris, Monster and Camping World to return.

“The nice thing about our program is one sponsor does not dictate the whole swing of things,” Gordon said Friday at Dover International Speedway. “I don’t know if that’s by design or just by luck over the years. When Harrah’s went away a couple of years ago, they were an equal partner of Beam and we continued for three more years.

“Obviously we’ve got to find new partners. Jim Beam has been a great sponsor for five years, and I appreciate what they’ve done. That said, it is what it is. This is what we do – we race cars.”

Gordon said he can generate a lot of exposure through his various racing avenues, which includes offroad racing. He said he is still not interested in merging with another team.

“We’re five years down the road headed in one direction,” said Gordon, who drove for car owners Felix Sabates and Richard Childress before starting his own NASCAR team in 2004. “And that’s obviously the best thing for our company. We mix other things as well. My shop just doesn’t work on stock cars. The machine shop works on off-road parts. Those two programs work hand-in-hand and they both need each other.”

One thing that could help Gordon is if the Indianapolis 500 starts earlier next year, allowing a driver to do both that race and the Sprint Cup Coca-Cola 600 on the same day.

“I have a sponsor that I talked to today that said they would take Indy and Charlotte at the right dollars today,” said Gordon, who has extensive experience in open-wheel cars. “They’ve already told me that. If Indy changes, I think you can count me in it - with a new sponsor, a different sponsor that’s not on my car today.”

There also might be another opportunity for sponsorship if Toyota gives the team some engineering help and engine stuff, but Dodge has lost a three-car team in Richard Petty Motorsports.

Gordon drove a Dodge without a contract with the manufacturer in 2008.

“We do have a relationship there, and that’s all I can say on that matter,” said Gordon, who is 33rd in points. “I think our cars, we run good at times. What we have to do is the ‘at times’ part, we have to figure out how to make them run all the time better.”


Robby Gordon says team will continue to race without Jim Beam - Sprint Cup Series | NASCAR Racing News - SceneDaily.com