Rudd on Toyota's radar
By Marty Smith, NASCAR.COM
April 27, 2006
09:26 AM EDT (13:26 GMT)
Toyota has done well to keep its desired NASCAR driving aces close to the vest, though speculation thereof includes the likes of Kevin Harvick, Dale Jarrett, Robby Gordon and Casey Mears.
Add Ricky Rudd to the list.
Rudd confirmed Wednesday that Toyota is courting him. He's honored, but to date has politely declined. This retirement thing ain't so bad.
"I've had a few conversations with different folks, and that's one group," Rudd said. "It's a two-way conversation. I'm not ready to come back right now, but there has been conversation. They've got to move on with their program, and their timeline and mine are not the same. I wanted to take a year off."
That's not to say he's ruled it out completely, however. Rudd has pinpointed a September commitment time regarding his racing future. Might he come back?
"I enjoy race day a lot, but not the grind of the schedule," Rudd said. "I'm liable to get bored and restless, though, but haven't yet."
From Toyota's perspective, hiring Rudd is pure genius. Think about the public relations windfall they'd enjoy. It's a "two birds with one stone" deal -- not only would they secure quality, if not legendary driving talent with an abundance of knowledge, but would also appease the old school, hardcore fans that currently detest Toyota's entrance into the Nextel Cup Series.
Rudd is impressed with Toyota's progress. That should tell you all you need to know.
"They'll have their act together," Rudd said. "It's amazing -- they'll be really prepared when they get here. They're hiring good people, and are going about things the right way. Real professional. Real organized.
"They're ready to get going now, as far as testing and track time. They're probably on the track somewhere as we speak. They want as much track time as they can get early on."
Rudd said Toyota is already aggressively structuring its Car of Tomorrow plan. The biggest obstacle? Drivers.
"Who can they get to drive the cars right now? Everybody's tied up," Rudd said. "You don't want to put an inexperienced rookie in the car.
"They'd be better off with feedback. It makes sense. The caliber of driver they want, there's only a few that fit that bill that aren't committed right now."
Enter the aforementioned quartet.
Each has leverage. Harvick has stated his case and says it's up to Richard Childress to meet the requested financial stipulations. If RC follows through, Harvick will likely remain in the No. 29 Chevrolet.
Jarrett reportedly has UPS in his back pocket. If so, he's in great shape for the remainder of his driving career regardless the address.
One year removed from dire job insecurity, Mears is one of the hottest commodities in the garage. Several organizations have inquired about signing him to a contract, including RCR.
RCR team sources tell me the organization would like to add a fourth team with Mears as driver, but RCR spokesman David Hart discounted the speculation Wednesday.
"No decisions have been made to add a fourth team with Casey Mears or any other driver," Hart said.
That leaves Gordon, who has long-standing relationships with both Toyota and Red Bull. He is Red Bull's resident NASCAR athlete, and owned a Toyota CART team in 1999. He has also raced a Trophy Truck for Toyota in the past.
Manufacturer support for his off-road initiatives will weigh considerably into Gordon's final decision.
Robby Gordon Motorsports CEO John Story said Tuesday the team is in discussion with more than one manufacturer, including its current backer, General Motors. Story said he and Gordon met with GM senior management last weekend at Phoenix, and have spoken nearly every day since.
"They're good people and have been good to us," Story said. "Ultimately that's where our loyalties lie. But GM is sorting through what they can do. They support multiple teams.
"If they can't do what we need them to do, then we have to decide what's best for us. We want to be very loyal to GM, but at the same time we have to make good business decisions looking past 2007 and beyond."
One thing is for certain, Story said, RGM won't be bought out.
"The objective of Robby Gordon Motorsports today is to maintain our independence," Story said. "That's not to say we won't have alliances, but we didn't start this program to build it up and sell it.
"We believe the direction we're taking is the proper one. The work we've done has been hard, and we want to see it through. Our biggest thing is finding a manufacturer relationship that represents the effort we've put forth."
Story chose not to elaborate, but it seems much of Chevrolet's allegiances lie with larger conglomerate teams, such as Hendrick Motorsports, RCR and Joe Gibbs Racing. Fifty percent of Cup teams wear the bow tie. The current top 30 in points consists of 15 Chevrolets, eight Fords and seven Dodges.
Attractive offers are on the table for RGM. As with General Motors, Gordon's Red Bull association remains very strong, and Story said he and Gordon have discussed with the energy drink company its interest in NASCAR for "several years."
"They're doing a great job of building their own program," Story said. "Whether or not Robby Gordon Motorsports fits with that program remains to be seen.
"We talk to Gary Smith [chief operating officers, Red Bull North America] fairly regularly, whether about the future or just because we like those guys. There's every possibility that they'll do their thing and we'll do our thing, separately.
"Fortunately they have good people running their program with Marty Gaunt and those guys. They don't need us. They told me Saturday they already have 35 people on their staff. They're full bore."
It certainly seems so, yes.
But one component remains in question: the driving corps.
The opinions expressed are solely of the writer.
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