Joel at IRL-O-Rama discovered an AP story that quoted Vision Racing leadership about possibly dialing down to two cars next season, largely because they have been running AJ Foyt IV without a primary sponsor in 2007. Thus sayeth Tony George:
"It was one of those deals where I felt like I had made a commitment to AJ, put the infrastructure in place and the league needed to have committed teams for the season so we just went forward," George said. "It did stretch it. It taxed us greatly without having the funding in place. We're running on tight money and everyone at Vision is working hard knowing how we have to do it."Before you laugh at his suggestion regarding sponsorship not being all about performance, bear in mind that two drivers who are heavily sponsored are Danica Patrick and Scott Sharp – and between them they have one win in the last three seasons. This is not to say performance is meaningless – and the Vision Racing triplets have been “up there” on ovals all year – but if Tomas Scheckter, Ed Carpenter and AJ Foyt IV were able to show some more personality it would make it a lot easier to sell them as drivers.
George would like to keep three cars on the team next year, but admitted it could be difficult if another sponsor doesn't come on board.
"Hopefully, it's not all about performance anymore that sponsors consider," he said. "But showing we're capable of competing at the top level is important." (MORE from Metronews)
Either that or they can conduct some photo shoots appearing in scant clothing. Apparently that works as well.
The effectiveness of the scant clothing thing depends on the subject. In some cases (in my case, for example) it may be counter productive.
I dunno, Dog. I think it depends on the type of scant clothing.
I bet it we snap some pics of you in a Belushi-esque toga you might become the most popular guy in the series.
Why not ditch Ed Carpenter instead? Put him in as a crew chief, and let AJ keep his ride. Not likely, but it's what I'd prefer to see.
i knew aj4 was w/o sponorship, and looking at the outpouring of support he's received after his and VR's showing at KY, i'd guess that there will be some sponsorship money soon. hopefully sooner than later because i'd hate to see anthony lose his ride after all the progress he's made.
Team operating costs tend to be lower when you aren't wrecking a car every race...or maybe Tony has just figured out that he can run 16 cars in ChampCar for the money he's put into Vision Racing.
insurance question... i've heard that the cars have accident insurance, and i've heard they don't... does anyone know the story on that?
i bet it's not cheap, either.
On track, race cars do not have insurance that covers replacing parts after a crash. Off track, the teams have insurance that covers the cars in storage and transporting, such as in a hauler. If the cars were damaged or stolen off track, they are covered.