Robert Yates Racing hits dead end
Automotive Darwinism is alive and well on the NASCAR circuit.
Robert Yates Racing is looking for a new general manager after giving Eddie D’Hondt his walking papers Tuesday. Under D’Hondt’s three years at the helm, RYR failed to halt the slide that has seen the team fail to place a driver in the top five since 2001. Its two regular Nextel Cup drivers, Dale Jarrett and Elliott Sadler, sit 12th and 15th respectively in the standings. Jarrett won the 1999 Winston Cup under the RYR banner.
The D’Hondt firing comes at a time when RYR is in the middle of what would be described in other team sports as a "rebuilding phase." RYR and Roush Racing have been teaming up since 2004 to produce some of the best motors in NASCAR, and both Stephen Leicht and Matt McCall have looked promising in their occasional appearances behind the wheel of the No. 90 Busch Series car. But Jarrett and Sadler continue to post mediocre results, and Sadler’s unhappiness in particular may have prompted the team to cut its development project short.
Fans of sports in general are familiar with the rebuilding process. A team finds itself burdened with overpriced, underperforming veterans. Those veterans are shipped off to other teams in exchange for draft picks and prospects. The new team endures some brutal losing seasons, but eventually the youngsters develop into stars and become winners. RYR appeared to be on a similar path; Jarrett has already announced he will leave the team for Toyota and Michael Waltrip Racing in 2007, creating an opportunity for one of RYR’s developmental drivers. But Sadler was reportedly at odds with the team over the times when he’s been asked to give up his spot in the No. 90 car to allow the prospects a chance to show their stuff. As soon as D’Hondt was sacked, Sadler was back in his Busch Series ride.
Sadler, the younger brother of MBA Racing’s Hermie Sadler, has done little to warrant such star treatment. He’s won just three races in his seven years as a full-time Cup driver – the last in 2004 at the Pop Secret 500. But Sadler remains the public face of RYR, and with rumors mounting that both Sadler and sponsor UPS (who have already said they don’t want an unproven driver replacing Jarrett) could also bolt for Toyota, a little appeasement was apparently in order.
It’s no surprise that the D’Hondt dismissal is getting less than rave reviews in the sports media. RYR has now put together a string of questionable moves, including replacing Ricky Rudd with Sadler in 2002 and watching crew chief Todd Parrott walk out the door after he was switched from Sadler’s car to Jarrett’s, not something Parrott was happy about. He’s working for Petty Enterprises and Bobby Labonte instead.
Compounding problems for RYR heading into this week’s Coca Cola 600 is the punishment handed down to crew chief Slugger Labbe for making an illegal modification to Jarrett’s car earlier this month. Labbe was suspended for four races and fined $25,000, while Jarrett was docked 25 points in the standings. Team founder Robert Yates, who was highly critical of Chad Knaus when he was penalized for an illegal modification at the Daytona 500, maintains Labbe did nothing wrong.
This isn’t quite the refreshing pause RYR was hoping for heading into the Coca Cola 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Sadler is way down the odds list at +3500 to win the event, while Jarrett is even farther off the pace at +5000. Jarrett did win this race 10 years ago when it was still called the World 600; he also took the checkered flag twice at Lowe’s at the Bank of America 500, in both 1994 and 1997. Sadler has yet to win a Cup race on this track.
The runaway favorite this Sunday is Jimmie Johnson at +400. Johnson has turned Lowe’s into his own personal playground, winning the Coca Cola 600 the past three years in a row. Johnson is also the two-time defending Bank of America 500 (formerly the UAW-GM Quality) champion, and sped to victory in last week’s All-Star Challenge at Lowe’s for the second time in four years.
Other notable names in the Coca Cola hunt include Greg Biffle (+700), Tony Stewart (+900), Jeff Gordon (+1000) and Matt Kenseth (+1000). Kasey Kahne, who started his Busch Series career in 2002 driving for RYR before they let him slip away to Evernham Motorsports, is listed at +1200 alongside Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kevin Harvick.
Automotive Darwinism is alive and well on the NASCAR circuit.
Robert Yates Racing is looking for a new general manager after giving Eddie D’Hondt his walking papers Tuesday. Under D’Hondt’s three years at the helm, RYR failed to halt the slide that has seen the team fail to place a driver in the top five since 2001. Its two regular Nextel Cup drivers, Dale Jarrett and Elliott Sadler, sit 12th and 15th respectively in the standings. Jarrett won the 1999 Winston Cup under the RYR banner.
The D’Hondt firing comes at a time when RYR is in the middle of what would be described in other team sports as a "rebuilding phase." RYR and Roush Racing have been teaming up since 2004 to produce some of the best motors in NASCAR, and both Stephen Leicht and Matt McCall have looked promising in their occasional appearances behind the wheel of the No. 90 Busch Series car. But Jarrett and Sadler continue to post mediocre results, and Sadler’s unhappiness in particular may have prompted the team to cut its development project short.
Fans of sports in general are familiar with the rebuilding process. A team finds itself burdened with overpriced, underperforming veterans. Those veterans are shipped off to other teams in exchange for draft picks and prospects. The new team endures some brutal losing seasons, but eventually the youngsters develop into stars and become winners. RYR appeared to be on a similar path; Jarrett has already announced he will leave the team for Toyota and Michael Waltrip Racing in 2007, creating an opportunity for one of RYR’s developmental drivers. But Sadler was reportedly at odds with the team over the times when he’s been asked to give up his spot in the No. 90 car to allow the prospects a chance to show their stuff. As soon as D’Hondt was sacked, Sadler was back in his Busch Series ride.
Sadler, the younger brother of MBA Racing’s Hermie Sadler, has done little to warrant such star treatment. He’s won just three races in his seven years as a full-time Cup driver – the last in 2004 at the Pop Secret 500. But Sadler remains the public face of RYR, and with rumors mounting that both Sadler and sponsor UPS (who have already said they don’t want an unproven driver replacing Jarrett) could also bolt for Toyota, a little appeasement was apparently in order.
It’s no surprise that the D’Hondt dismissal is getting less than rave reviews in the sports media. RYR has now put together a string of questionable moves, including replacing Ricky Rudd with Sadler in 2002 and watching crew chief Todd Parrott walk out the door after he was switched from Sadler’s car to Jarrett’s, not something Parrott was happy about. He’s working for Petty Enterprises and Bobby Labonte instead.
Compounding problems for RYR heading into this week’s Coca Cola 600 is the punishment handed down to crew chief Slugger Labbe for making an illegal modification to Jarrett’s car earlier this month. Labbe was suspended for four races and fined $25,000, while Jarrett was docked 25 points in the standings. Team founder Robert Yates, who was highly critical of Chad Knaus when he was penalized for an illegal modification at the Daytona 500, maintains Labbe did nothing wrong.
This isn’t quite the refreshing pause RYR was hoping for heading into the Coca Cola 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Sadler is way down the odds list at +3500 to win the event, while Jarrett is even farther off the pace at +5000. Jarrett did win this race 10 years ago when it was still called the World 600; he also took the checkered flag twice at Lowe’s at the Bank of America 500, in both 1994 and 1997. Sadler has yet to win a Cup race on this track.
The runaway favorite this Sunday is Jimmie Johnson at +400. Johnson has turned Lowe’s into his own personal playground, winning the Coca Cola 600 the past three years in a row. Johnson is also the two-time defending Bank of America 500 (formerly the UAW-GM Quality) champion, and sped to victory in last week’s All-Star Challenge at Lowe’s for the second time in four years.
Other notable names in the Coca Cola hunt include Greg Biffle (+700), Tony Stewart (+900), Jeff Gordon (+1000) and Matt Kenseth (+1000). Kasey Kahne, who started his Busch Series career in 2002 driving for RYR before they let him slip away to Evernham Motorsports, is listed at +1200 alongside Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kevin Harvick.