This Week in Ford Racing: Brett Bodine

Brett Bodine, driver of the No. 11 Ralphs Supermarkets Taurus, is one of many NASCAR Winston Cup teams currently looking for sponsorship for the 2002 season. Bodine, who is the lone remaining owner/driver on the circuit, spoke about the current climate for prospective sponsors and his hopes for next year.

BRETT BODINE --11-- Ralphs Supermarkets Taurus -- WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT SITUATION AS FAR AS A SPONSOR GOES FOR NEXT YEAR? "We have about 25 percent of what we need committed to us already. We're in final negotiations with probably another 25-50 percent, but it has been a struggle. The economy prior to September 11th was questionable and then when our national disaster happened, it made everybody even more cautious with their marketing budgets and they re-evaluated their positions. We have lost people that we thought we had because of those problems and we had sponsors that we were all ready to sign come back and want to reduce their commitment. So, it has put us in a difficult situation. I feel very confident that we're going to be funded okay, but we're even at the point right now where we've started brand new negotiations with people, just to make sure we have something as a back-up plan. We just started speaking to new companies and new prospects. Unfortunately, this is a bad year not to have another year on your deal, but we didn't and we just have to do the best we can with what we've got. We're just trying to get it done and make it happen."

HOW CLOSE WERE YOU TO SIGNING A SPONSOR? "We were probably within two or three days of having it done and then everything started to fall apart in September and we had to go back to work. We just feel like we've got some good people we're talking and dealing with that have the budget. That's the key thing, some of the people's budgets have been taken away, but we feel like we're talking to people who still have the budget to do the project. Certainly, we are probably not gonna be able to raise the funding that we had anticipated for the 2002 season and beyond, but if we can get through the 2002 season and the economy hopefully takes an upturn, people will want to get back involved in this sport in a bigger way."

YOU'RE NOT THE ONLY ONE IN THIS BOAT. THE 33, 01, 92, 7 AND 90 CARS ARE ALL CURRENTLY WITHOUT SPONSORS FOR NEXT YEAR. "I look at it is that if I can make my business and my company survive the downturn, then I'm doing a real good job. The weak will fall away. Fortunately, some of those teams looking for sponsors are for their second team. That's not their bread and butter. That's their second team, so they don't need to have two teams. They can race on one team and keep their business going on one team. We only have one team, so we have to make sure that one team is funded at a level that the business can survive and that we can try to become more competitive for the 2002 season."

IS THIS DEVELOPING INTO A BIG PROBLEM FOR NASCAR? COULD THERE BE ONLY 38 OR 39 FULL-TIME TEAMS NEXT YEAR? "We've warned them as owners, and I think we've all shown our concern, that this could happen. We were already on the edge in a good economy of just getting by and in a downturned economy, it's gonna be hard to hang on. That's exactly what looks like is happening -- the economy has taken a downturn. The second team of some of these two-car teams that is sponsored at a lesser level than the owner would like, but at a level he can make it work, can't make it work now with less money. Fortunately, we have really tried very hard to keep our fixed cost and our overhead as low as possible with our business so that we could survive on possibly less money than we received this year. By no means are we one of the better sponsored cars, but we were sponsored at a level that we could survive and see an improvement in performance over 2000. Our position is that if we can be at least funded at the same level as 2001 for 2002, we can continue to do business in NASCAR."

DOES BEING A DRIVER/OWNER HELP YOU WHEN YOU GO INTO THESE BOARDROOMS AND MAKE YOUR PITCH? "I think it speeds it along slightly because when the driver or personality that is going to do the representation goes into these meetings, I think we get a lot farther along initially than if we have to check with the driver and coordinate the number of appearances. I can go into a meeting and basically give away the farm because I'm working hard to keep my business going and not only keep the racing funded. Whereas, a driver that is just driving for an owner, he doesn't have that interest, so to speak, trying to service that sponsor at the level the owner wants it serviced."

YOU'VE BEEN IN THIS SITUATION BEFORE WHERE SPONSOR NEGOTIATIONS GO DOWN TO THE WIRE. ARE THESE STRESSFUL TIMES? "It's terribly stressful. It's hard on the family and it's hard on the race team. I've got families of my employees that are concerned, but we're gonna be in business. I just feel like we're gonna be okay. I'd like to say we're gonna get it buttoned up in a week, but it might take more than that. We're gonna be okay. This is all we do and this is all we've done. We're gonna fight tooth-and-nail to make sure that Brett Bodine Racing stays in business for 2002."