Is Pontiac driving off into the sunset?

Sporting News, The, July 29, 2002 by Lee Spencer

Once Joe Gibbs Racing converts its entire NASCAR program to Chevrolet, you have to wonder how much Pontiac Excitement will be left in Winston Cup.

When JGR switched from Monte Carlos to Grand Prixs in 1997, it immediately became the flagship organization for Pontiac. In the six seasons Gibbs has been with Pontiac, drivers Bobby Laborite and Tony Stewart have won 29 races and 19 poles. In 2000, Labonte gave Pontiac its third Winston Cup championship since it entered the sport in 1950 and its first since Rusty Wallace captured the title in 1989.

Gibbs is leaving Pontiac for two reasons: Pontiac isn't strong enough to lobby NASCAR effectively, and no other Pontiac teams are strong enough to give Gibbs' teams a performance measuring stick.

Those also are the reasons GM might best be served by pulling Pontiac out of NASCAR.

As Winston Cup cars became more aerodynamically dependent and NASCAR tinkered with the rules, success was affected by the manufacturers' ability to lobby, whether it was done by the teams or by officials from Detroit. The squeaky wheel usually gets the grease, and that's the case with NASCAR. Ford and Chevrolet, NASCAR's big dogs, have lobbying clout and expertise.

Jack Roush is a master at making a case, and fellow Ford owner Robert Yates should have been a politician. Ford owner Roger Penske and Penske Corp. executive vice president Walt Czarnecki are on the International Speedway Corp.'s board of directors.

Chevrolet lost its strongest campaigner in the late Dale Earnhardt, but powerful owners Richard Childress and Rick Hendrick have stepped up the offense.

Dodge returned to NASCAR with a kinder, gentler political approach that has paid some dividends. With 10 teams, Dodge also has numbers. That's something Pontiac can't claim, especially after DaimlerChrysler lured Bill Davis Racing and Petty Enterprises from Pontiac.

The Pontiac camp has dwindled to five teams, and despite Gibbs' stature, he couldn't--and shouldn't have been expected to--carry the weight of the program. Gibbs is looking forward to having stronger same-brand cars to measure his program against.

"We feel like starting next year, we'll be in a better position as a race team where we can benchmark our cars against a lot of other good cars," Gibbs says. "It's just pure numbers for us, and we feel like we'll be better off in that situation."

Without Gibbs to fight Pontiac's battles, the brand's second string will be hard-pressed to survive.

The strongest remaining Pontiac team is the No. 10, driven by Johnny Benson. James Ince is a standout crew chief and was instrumental in developing the 2003 Grand Prix. He and Benson, who has cracked ribs and is sidelined for the second time this season, have one of the better relationships in the garage. Their team is the best one that has never won a race.

Ince has the leadership skills to push this program forward, but the Nelson Bowers/Valvoline organization lacks the financial backing and dour to offer much help.

The Pontiac leftovers after Benson/Ince make for thin soup. A.J. Foyt's No. 14, driven by Stacy Compton, is a Pontiac, but he isn't a full-time NASCAR owner, and his commitment to GM is questionable.

With Gibbs pulling out, Ken Schrader is the only Pontiac driver left who has won a race, but his last victory was in 1991.

Pontiac has been recruiting teams since last year, but Gibbs' departure isn't good news for any organization contemplating a switch.

Ford owner Cal Wells, who uses Yates engines, has been at the top of Pontiac's wish list, but he only began racing stock cars in 2000 and has doubts about whether he could get matching horsepower from GM. Wells' driver, Ricky Craven, steadily has been improving, and a second Wells team is a possibility. But that wouldn't be enough firepower to make up for the loss of Labonte and Stewart.

Doug Duchardt, NASCAR group manager for GM Racing, says GM is glad Gibbs will remain in the family. He also insists Pontiac will compete in 2003.

"Pontiac was always very strongly supporting NASCAR," Duchardt says. "If you look at what the Pontiac division is about, it's about excitement. So they have always felt that racing is a natural tie for them. And that, I guess, is the unique thing in GM: That with the many divisions we have, we have two divisions to race. So sometimes it causes situations like this (Gibbs moving to Chevrolet). But for General Motors, we think it's the best thing to do.

"This is the right place to be for Pontiac to touch a large audience and improve their image. And with a new production car coming out, there really wasn't any discussion about (Pontiac leaving NASCAR)."

Pontiac needs to stay in NASCAR to advertise the 2003 Grand Prix, which soon will appear in a showroom near you. It's the win-on-Sunday, buy-on-Monday approach to selling cars.

But if Pontiac can't find teams strong enough to take care of the win part, it could end up in the stock car graveyard with the Oldsmobiles and Buicks.

Down the road

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