Despite Winston Cup parity, money still drives success

SONOMA, Calif. -- Winning in any form of racing requires the right combination of people, equipment and luck -- and plenty of money.

Just ask Robby Gordon and car owner Richard Childress, who parlayed all of the above into a victory Sunday at Infineon Raceway.

"Racing is about the tools you have to do your job," Gordon said. "The more money you have, the better tools you buy."

Childress sees that as an oversimplification. The best tools in his box are preparation and personnel.

"You do more technology," he said. "You evaluate your people in every aspect -- the drivers and crew chiefs, the engineers and tire changers."

All came together when Gordon got the second victory of his Winston Cup career in the Dodge/Save Mart 350. Richard Childress Racing teammate Kevin Harvick finished third.

Gordon won about $205,000 -- Harvick, $120,000. At the low end, Jack Sprague got $54,720.

The winnings paid only a percentage of the cost of putting the cars on the track. That's estimated at about $250,000 per race, depending on the team.

"Twenty guys can win the race," Gordon said. "I think that's why the sport continues to grow. So many people can win.

"Once you have a certain amount of budget, it's how you spend that budget from the top teams to the middle teams to the little teams. You've got to have the right people and you've got to get them to march in line."

Rarely can it be done without big bucks.

When money matters

Andy Petree said in 2001 that he ran two teams the previous year for less than the $16 million he said Viagra's parent company spent to paint its logo on Mark Martin's car. Petree boasted that both of his cars won, while Martin failed to post a top-three finish.

Ricky Rudd, who sold his team in 1999, said he got tired of looking for money. He finished that season in 31st, the worst of his career and the first without a victory in 17 years.

"When we started off, we had a good budget," he said. "Things started going more and more high tech. The cost of gadgets got more expensive. There's all sorts of things going on out there that are very expensive for a car owner.

"The wind tunnel was something you did maybe twice a year, not 20 times, 30 times. I don't know how you can control that."

He cringes at Gordon's assertion that only the wealthy can be successful, but doesn't quarrel with that notion.

"I hate to see it head that way with Winston Cup, but it's here now," Rudd said.

As an owner, Rudd urged NASCAR to require the teams to run cars with identical fiberglass bodies: out-of-the-mold Chevrolets, out-of-the-mold Fords, out-of-the-mold Dodges, where that shape couldn't be altered.

"All that wind tunnel time would really be nonsense," he said. "I was pushing hard for that as an owner just because of the money I was spending cutting cars up every week.

"There's ways you can maybe try to limit so technology doesn't buy the sport."

Childress just shakes his head.

"It'll never happen," he insisted.

He said NASCAR has worked to equalize things with changes such as the single-engine rule and the common template.

"But still, your best funded teams are going to have the best people and the best equipment," he said. "It'll never change in any form of racing, from Formula One to here."

Each of the three RCR teams consists of 35-50 people. All told, RCR employs about 270 people -- many with salaries starting well over $100,000.

Gordon has seen it from both sides as a driver and owner or co-owner at various times in NASCAR, CART and the IRL.

He understands the problems. Still he's looking at getting back into team ownership in NASCAR.

"I don't want to jinx myself," he said. "But yeah, maybe in a couple of years."