Sponsor poaching... (1 Viewer)

Jeff

Nitro Member
"Seedy", there is a clue.
I do kind of hope that it gets out somehow who it was. I have a feeling on who it MAY be. But I don't want to say and be wrong.
Sure wish I was connected enough to know. ;)
Comp plus story
 
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"Seedy", there is a clue.
I do kind of hope that it gets out somehow who it was. I have a feeling on who it MAY be. But I don't want to say and be wrong.
Sure wish I was connected enough to know. ;)
Comp plus story
I have no inside information but that is why Josh Hart made his crew chief Ron Douglas part ownership of his operation late last year. Josh is a great guy and very friendly if you ever get a chance to meet him. He became my favorite TF racer after getting a chance to talk to him.
 
I can understand one team making an offer to another team’s crew member.
But, to attempt poaching of someone’s sponsor, to me, is wrong on every level.
We’ll probably never know who the unnamed poacher is. But that person needs to remember karma can be a cruel mistress.
 
A lot of this also lays on the crew members, if they are easily drawn to another team. What's to say it won't happen again?
I remember Scotty Cannon saying he wouldn't try to poach because if that person is willing to jump ship chances are that crewmember will do it again.
 
A lot of this also lays on the crew members, if they are easily drawn to another team. What's to say it won't happen again?
I remember Scotty Cannon saying he wouldn't try to poach because if that person is willing to jump ship chances are that crewmember will do it again.
I know how it happens-been there and know how it happens-show them Josh why you are better than they are. been there and see how it goes down
 
Why is going after another team's sponsor so wrong? It's all a business. In what other industries do companies not go after their competitor's customers? If the team that has the sponsor is doing a good job for the sponsor, the sponsor won't leave. If the sponsor does leave, it is because they are not happy. It's competition and it keeps everyone on their toes.
 
I do understand going after crew members. It just part of the business. Guys like Wilkerson with smaller budgets than other teams will always be in the situation of training new guys. If you worked for Wilk for 50K, and Force offered you 60K to come work for him, most won’t pass up a 20% raise. It sucks for the little teams but it has happened for years. Im not sure if crew members have contracts are not with teams but if they don’t then it’s no different than any other job. Money isn’t everything in life but it depends what financial situation your in and your long term goals.

My memory is fuzzy, but I think Bob Gilbertson owned Trick Tank. A mega team tried poaching them from him not knowing the situation. I’m sure Beserko Bob would know if this is true. I heard that years ago.
 
I do understand going after crew members. It just part of the business. Guys like Wilkerson with smaller budgets than other teams will always be in the situation of training new guys. If you worked for Wilk for 50K, and Force offered you 60K to come work for him, most won’t pass up a 20% raise. It sucks for the little teams but it has happened for years. Im not sure if crew members have contracts are not with teams but if they don’t then it’s no different than any other job. Money isn’t everything in life but it depends what financial situation your in and your long term goals.

My memory is fuzzy, but I think Bob Gilbertson owned Trick Tank. A mega team tried poaching them from him not knowing the situation. I’m sure Beserko Bob would know if this is true. I heard that years ago.
I was sitting in Gilby's office one day when he got a phone call from a guy wanting to speak to the owner of Trick Tank. Gilby picked up the phone and the voice on the other end told Gilby that he had a funny car team and could do a better job representing Trick Tank at the drag races than the current team he was sponsoring. Gilby chuckled and told the caller who he was and he'll continue to sponsor himself. Then Gilby pipes up and says if you want the Trick Tank sponsorship why don't you by the company? I couldn't hear the reaction on the other end of the phone but it made Gilby belly laugh. The caller? Don Schumacher...
 
The employees are free to change jobs at will unless under a contract and sponsors have been known to change teams. If he's worried about his guys leaving he needs to create an environment that that keeps them with him.
 
Not the first time I've heard this. My question would be, why are your crew persons leaving?

I had someone tell me 7-8 years ago. After you figured in the amount of hours worked for a certain multi-car team, the hourly rate came out to be around $8-9 dollars an hour.
 
I remember reading that the Force/Schumacher starting line dustup a few years back had to do with crew and crew-chief 'stealing' but if there's any truth to what Hart is saying - I'll assume he's on the level - such shady business is absolutely rampant in the nitro classes. I know it is in Pro Stock, at least when it comes to the cars themselves. I recall taking a couple of pictures of Anderson and Line's PS cars at the Texas Motorplex, from outside the ropes, before the forward-facing rule....I guess they thought I was a spy trying to focus in on the rear suspension - and two crew members rushed over and told me in no pleasant terms to get my ass outta there. I expected one of them to draw down on me at any moment or demand my camera. I told them I hoped Erica beat both of them and walked off.

I think trying to steal another team's sponsors, while there's nothing illegal about it, is a chicken**** move. I don't know why a sponsor would jump ship anyway, unless for the same money they can have their name on the side of Brittany Force's car instead of the consistent first round loser team they're sponsoring now.
 
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I think trying to steal another team's sponsors, while there's nothing illegal about it, is a chicken**** move. I don't know why a sponsor would jump ship anyway, unless for the same money they can have their name on the side of Brittany Force's car instead of the consistent first round loser team they're sponsoring now.
Why is it wrong? Businesses go after their competitor's customers all the time. Sponsors will jump ship if they are not happy with what they are getting from the team they are sponsoring. If the sponsor is happy with the team and they are meeting all their goals, they won't jump. If they are not happy, they will either move to someone else or leave drag racing altogether. Just look at how many sponsors come in for two to three seasons, then leave the sport. They leave because the sponsorship is not meeting their goals. Better they try with another team than leave.
 
Not the first time I've heard this. My question would be, why are your crew persons leaving?

I had someone tell me 7-8 years ago. After you figured in the amount of hours worked for a certain multi-car team, the hourly rate came out to be around $8-9 dollars an hour.

I bet none of the crew members leave over the money. They leave because there is something about the team they don't like.
 
Lots of reasons to leave and lots of reasons to move on. But as many of you know the pits are small. If you develop a reputation of jumping around without regard to loyalty you'll find yourself looking for somewhere else to hang out in the future besides in the pits. Just like those guys not wanting pictures taken of the back of the Ken Black cars, a lot of these guys that work on the cars become privy to information that they don't want out. I would think if you had a reputation of jumping around, even if you are good at what you do, eventually teams will not hire you because they would not want you to be privy to what they're doing to make their cars run good only to find out you took that information elsewhere.
 
I was sitting in Gilby's office one day when he got a phone call from a guy wanting to speak to the owner of Trick Tank. Gilby picked up the phone and the voice on the other end told Gilby that he had a funny car team and could do a better job representing Trick Tank at the drag races than the current team he was sponsoring. Gilby chuckled and told the caller who he was and he'll continue to sponsor himself. Then Gilby pipes up and says if you want the Trick Tank sponsorship why don't you by the company? I couldn't hear the reaction on the other end of the phone but it made Gilby belly laugh. The caller? Don Schumacher...
I did not know that actually happened, I always thought that was one of those urban legends. I wonder what happened the next time Don and Gilby ran into each other.

In my mind there is a difference between pursuing a sponsor that is in the last year of a deal with a current team and actively calling a sponsor looking to poach them from under said team. Same can be said for crew chiefs/members.
 
I know it's not exactly the same, but this is a subject that comes up in my business a lot. Kind of like the reddit AITA forum.

I have always believed that if Fred is the announcer at Dragway 1 and makes $10, that if I go to the track manager and say I'll work for $9 that's pretty sleazy.

But if the track manager calls me and says: I want you to work for me. And I give him a price to work the event and then hires me, I haven't done anything wrong. He is obviously not happy with Fred and looking to make a change.

I don't know the situation here, but if I need a clutch guy and put the word out that I'm looking, and paying $10, and a clutch guy making $9 for another team wants to work for me, I don't feel like I'm doing anything wrong.


And I certainly understand that sometimes guy gets a shot at a smaller team to prove his ability and is good. Then a bigger team makes him an offer, is it that wrong for him to take it?

I love what I do, but if NASCAR called tomorrow and said: "We will pay you double to work for us," I would certainly entertain the offer. Who wouldn't?

Alan
 
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