Mayfield's team hampered by the start and park teams
When Jeremy Mayfield decided to embark upon NASCAR team ownership, he knew it would be an arduous undertaking. Even the most successful car owners will admit that owning a team in the Sprint Cup Series is not walk in the park.
Mayfield Motorsports was one of many teams that were assembled just weeks prior to the start of the 2009 season. Throughout the off-season, several teams shut down, or merged, leaving hundreds of skilled mechanics and crewmembers unemployed. People such as Jeremy Mayfield and Tommy Baldwin Jr took advantage and hired a handful of employees. With so many other teams, even quality teams, shutting down, they felt as if it were the prime opportunity to enter into ownership.
Mayfield also received sponsorship support from Gary Smith of Big Red, the company that owns All Sport Drinks. He bought a few cars from the Bill Davis Racing stables, and raced his way into the Daytona 500. Unfortunately, he has only successfully qualified for one other event, the Auto Club 500. He raced in the Goody’s 500 at Martinsville, but he received a starting spot only because NASCAR cancelled qualifying due to inclement weather.
When Mayfield races, he attempts to run as many laps as he can. Of course, he is not threat to win, or stay on the lead lap for that matter, but he does not park his car after twenty laps with the listed status of ‘handling’, or ‘fuel pump’, or whatever else some of the other teams use. The same goes for Tommy Baldwin Racing. Scott Riggs does not park the car after a handful of laps.
Unfortunately, these start and park teams only intend to collect a paycheck. There is no reason to believe that these cars cannot last longer than 25 laps. These teams park their cars in order to save money, and make money. The less time the car is on the track, the less wear and tear. The less the car runs, the less they have to spend on tires. Minimal laps also limit the chances that the driver will wreck the car. It is a simple and smart business plan.
Nevertheless, you have racers such as Mayfield, Baldwin, and Kevin Bucker, owner of TRG Motorsports, who are in danger of missing the races because of the start and park teams. Fortunately for Buckler’s team driven by David Gilliland, they have qualified for all races with the exception of the Daytona 500. Gilliland has performed admirably in lesser equipment.
Riggs and Mayfield have not enjoyed the same success on qualifying day. Before Talladega, Mayfield failed to qualify for five of the first eight races, while Riggs successfully qualified for only four of the eight races.
Just to shed some light on the situation here, prior to this past weekend’s race in Talladega, Mayfield had competed in three races and completed a total of 812 laps. Riggs had competed in four races, and had completed a total of 1196 laps. On the other hand, Joe Nemechek and his NEMCO Motorsports outfit had competed in twice as many races as Mayfield, and two more than Riggs, and had completed a grand total of 496 laps. How about Dave Blaney driving for Prism Motorsports, a team co-owned by Phil Parsons? Blaney has competed in six races, but only completing 321 laps.
Now, if I were Mayfield, Riggs, or Baldwin, I would be seething. It almost seems unfair. However, one thing these guys must take note of is the fact that they are being outqualified by the start and parkers on a consistent basis. That is on their shoulders.
Whether we like it or not, the start and park teams have every right to be doing what they are doing as long as there is no rule stating otherwise. It just seems that some teams that have every intention of competing in as many laps as possible should be the ones racing.
There is no real solution unless you simply outlaw the start and park idea. Essentially, Mayfield and Baldwin need to vastly improve their qualifying programs, which I am sure they are doing. Furthermore, Mayfield and Riggs need to get even more out of the car on Friday.
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Mayfield's team hampered by the start and park teams
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