What to think of Walker’s fold?
Written by Scott Keller · March 11, 2008
It has been a couple day since Derrick Walker announced that his team will not answer the bell for the 2008 IRL season, and I am still in shock and disbelief. While I’ve not exactly been a fan of Walker, I’ve been a follower, having been a huge Robby Gordon fan in the mid 90’s.
The folding of Walker for 2008 has been something I’ve mulled for the last 24 hours. My thoughts on the subject have been a pendulum of ideas. As a Champ Car guy, Walker’s announcment has made me question the merger that I’ve been in favor of for some time. But then I wonder just how much longer Champ Car could have really continued with teams in such constant financial straits.
Of course, a lot of Champ Car fans will blast me for being in favor of the merger in the first place, but the fact that Walker can’t even bring one car to the first few races of the season while looking for sponsorship shows just how desperate the situation must have been for the lower-echelon teams in Champ Car. It also brings into question the amount of money that Champ Car may have been feeding the smaller teams to keep them in the game. (This, of course, is pure speculation.)
To be fair to Walker, there are other factors that make the situation so dire. Craig Gore, Walker’s former backer, is reported to be moving his money to support KV racing, Kevin Kalkhoven’s outfit. Some have called this “sponsor poaching” in the blogs and the press, but only a few can really know how this is all went down.
The hard fact is that the Champ Car guys are in the big leagues now. Sure, the IRL cars are slugs, some drivers and their capabilities very questionable, and the series is oval-centric, but the CCWS guys are up against the top teams now. These are teams that have figured out how to attract real sponsors and run their campaigns like a business. Champ Car and its teams haven’t run anything on a solid business model for years now, but they will all need to learn how and learn in a hurry. Unfortunately for Walker, he won’t have enough time to put it all together. At least we can root for him, and hope that we see one of his cars at Indy.
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Honestly I can’t say I’m surprised. Derek has been on a shoe string for quite some time. Most of the teams were in CCWS. It will take several years before the sponsor pool for open wheel becomes bountiful again, but the merger is the first step. Now if we just weren’t heading into a recession….hmmmmm……
With Forsythe and now Walker not making the call, two well established Chumpcar teams, it makes me wonder about the “merger”. If you look at this “merger” from another angle it looks more like a hostile takeover.
TG offers free cars and engines to any Chumpcar team to join his league, then Chumpcar decides the time is right to “merge”. Then Chumpcar files bankruptcy, again.
Do you think TG just pulled the rug out from under Chumpcar or was it really a “merger”?
Inquiring minds want to know.
A couple of points I agree with and one I disagree with.
1. This was not a merger but a buy out, plain and simple. Calling it a merger is a face saving device for KK.
2. The weaknesses of the Champ teams was self evident to everyone and I expected some of the weker teams to fold their shops. I DIDN’T expect Forsythe to take his toys and go away.
3. The bankruptcy filing was a result of the accquisition; they would not have filed had the Champ season continued. Their survivability surely had to be questioned. TG is many things but hrdly a fool. He would not have “rescued” the series if they filed chapter 11 first.
4. And don’t forget, the IRL field is not exactly brimming with teams and sponsors either; look at the sidepods of TG’s team and tell me the sponsors name.