Wednesday, September 7, 2011

What to make of KHI-RCR merger?

    On Wednesday, Richard Childress Racing announced it would be merging with Kevin Harvick Inc. to run a joint program in the Nationwide Series next season. Basically, it's the reversal of a deal announced over a year ago in which RCR said its Nationwide programs would be run out of KHI.

   The question remains about how this merger affects the future of KHI as an organization. Team owner Kevin and DeLana Harvick have yet to announce their plans - if any - to field teams in the Truck series in 2012.

   With the Nationwide program at RCR and without a Truck program, in essence KHI would no longer operate as an organization fielding multiple teams in NASCAR's national series.

   Any way you put that, that can't be good for NASCAR.

   One of the things I thought that was always a bonus for NASCAR was drivers who made their way through NASCAR's lower-tier series "giving back" to the sport, so to speak, by operating teams in those series when they have moved on to Sprint Cup.

   Think of the wins and championships of the last several years in Trucks and Nationwide and the role KHI teams and drivers have played in them. That's a big contribution to see exit the playing field.

   Organizations like KHI, Kyle Busch Motorsports and Brad Keselowski Racing epitomize what is best about many of the sport's drivers. Racing is not only a hobby to them, but a way of life - and one they like to share with others like them.

   We don't know the future of KHI yet. We don't know all of the reasons for the decisions that have already been made.

   What we do know is NASCAR is worse off today than it was yesterday.

  

4 comments:

  1. I hadn't heard this...if true that's very sad to see. Kevin and Delana appeared to be the next great owners after RC and RH who i saw start out many years ago.

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  2. While I see your point, consider that maybe Delana wants lots of babies and running a race team would interfere with motherhood.

    Maybe she just doesn't like running a race team. Although it's been successful it's a tough job.

    It's also possible that NASCAR is hinting that going to bring the gate down on Cup drivers running lower-tier series and Harvick wants to divest himself of an investment that's lost much of it's intrinsic value.

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  3. I really think this is just the start of Kevin and Delana Taking over RCR when Richard and Kevin are ready to retire. I'm sure they will be very involved in the operations at RCR and basically when Richard decides to call it quits they will step in. While I would love to see KHI be a 3 series powerhouse over the next few years this is really the easier and more logical way to do it. RCR already has the stuff in place needed to be a contender. I think the Harvicks have the now how to really take it to the next level. I really think in the next 5-10 years we will see a deal develop naming the Harvicks Richards successor.

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  4. Harvick will not take over RCR. This is the case of a sport bankrupting itself because the spending involved is too much for the likes of Harvick and even for some of the bigger teams. Harvick quit because the sport's economics put him in over his head as an owner.

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