An announcement which was a surprise to many within the sport, nine of NASCAR’s elite teams have joined together to form a new “collaborative business association” being call the Race Team Alliance. The Alliance hopes to create an open, working forum for NASCAR’s top series team owners to discuss business, and have a singular voice to NASCAR on important issues each of the member teams face on a daily and weekly basis in the industry.
Teams that are founding members of the Race Team Alliance include Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates; Hendrick Motorsports; Joe Gibbs Racing; Michael Waltrip Racing; Richard Childress Racing; Richard Petty Motorsports; Roush-Fenway Racing; Stewart-Haas Racing; and Team Penske.
It was also announced that Michael Waltrip Racing co-owner, Rob Kauffman was named the chairman of the new Alliance.
According to a report from the Associated Press, one of the goals of the Race Team Alliance will be to lower costs for NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams, including potentially looking at brining onboard a hotel partner for the series which would allow tremendous travel cost savings as teams reserve dozens of hotel rooms nationwide on a weekly basis.
In an official statement issued to media on Monday, NASCAR Vice President and Chief Communications Officer, Brett Jewkes said: “We are aware of the alliance concept the team owners have announced, but have very few specifics on its structure or purpose. It is apparently still in development and we’re still learning about the details so it would be inappropriate to comment right now. NASCAR’s mission, as it has always been, is to create a fair playing field where anyone can come and compete. Our job is to support and strengthen all of the teams, large and small, across all of our series and we’ll continue to do that. NASCAR is a unique community with hundreds of stakeholders. They all have a voice and always will.”
About the author
Greg has been with Frontstretch since 2014. A life-long NASCAR follower armed with an extensive sport and digital marketing background, Greg assists the marketing team and helps to manage relationships with some of the website's sponsors. From time to time his work appears on Frontstretch, focusing on the business side of racing and how financial partnerships are affecting the sport. He and his family reside in southern Connecticut.
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